Page 45 of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang Us, Daddy

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Son, when has Tatum ever done anything to make you think he’d want to see you homeless? You’re not going anywhere. Tatum is a grown man, he’s perfectly capable of behaving like a rational . . . Well. You know what I mean.” He’s right to stop himself, because I think we all know that’s not true. I love our ex-boyfriend, but maturity isn’t his strong point. “I’ll tell him this is the way things are, and he’ll need to come to terms with it.”

“I’m scared,” I admit. “We only just got you, and now?—”

He silences me with a kiss, deeper than any of the ones before. Then, Bennet enters the mix, kissing the side of Dad’s face. Nipping playfully at my chin. Tickling my tummy. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt this complete in all my life, and I want to rip off the Band-Aid now to save myself from falling even deeperinto something that might be taken from me. I break the kiss and look into Dad’s love-drunk eyes. God. He really is into this, isn’t he? He couldn’t be more obvious if he tried.

“Call Tatum,” I tell him. “I want to get this over with. If we don’t get to have this for forever, I’d rather know now, because . . . because I’m in love with you, Dad, and I couldn’t handle loving you even more, just to have it taken away.”

Dad smiles at me, but I know his heart’s not in it. He’s just as worried as I am. I know Tatum is his blood relation, but I’m just as much a son as him, and knowing Tatum holds the power to take it all away makes me resent him. He got his happy ending already. When is it supposed to be our turn?

Dad sighs as he fishes his phone out of his pocket. He initiates a video call with Tatum, and I curl up at Bennet’s side, letting him hold me.

“It’s going to be okay,” he tells me, but our pseudo twin powers also tell me he doesn’t believe the words at all.

“All or nothing,” I whisper.

He squeezes my hand, using the other to touch my half of our half-heart necklace. “Beginning to end.”

Dad stares at us with a determined expression. “Forever and ever.”

Bennet and I both suck in a sharp breath, because that’s the part that’s been missing. Though the saying has always kept us tethered, it never kept us grounded. Dad’s addition to our childhood promise feels truer than anything has ever felt.

“Bennet,” I whisper, looking over at him. He’s just as moved by it as I am. He looks like someone’s just rocked his entire world. And I suppose Dad has.

Before Dad can respond, Tatum’s voice cries out through the phone’s speaker. “Jesus, Abi. Yeah. Yeah, Daddy, just like that.” I look at the phone and have to giggle, because all I can see is Tatum’s sweaty face as he bounces up and down.

“Is he . . .” I don’t know why I’m even asking. It’s clear as day what he’s doing.

“Hey, Dad,” he says breathlessly, not making eye contact. “What’s up?”

Dad looks absolutely scandalized. “Why would you answer the phone?” he groans. “Good Lord, I saw enough of that at the wedding. Well, I saw enough of Abi, at least.”

“Hello, Dad,” Tatum’s husband says off screen, his thick Russian accent sounding absolutely obscene as he obliterates Tatum’s hole.

“Good morning, son,” Dad says with a sigh, scrubbing his face with his hand. On the other side of the screen, Tatum’s bed squeaks, their thrusts coming faster and harder.

“Hold on,” Tatum says. “Just . . . just give me a few seconds and I’ll—Oh, fuck, Abi. Yeah. Yeah, Daddy. Please? Please make me come.” Tatum’s eyes roll back in his head as he comes to an abrupt halt, screaming his husband’s name as he announces to all of us that he’s coming.

And Bennet says we have boundary issues.

Tatum pants and gasps as he tries to catch his breath, his forehead drenched in sweat. Once he’s breathing steadily, he lies on the bed, kissing his husband before Abi announces that he’s going to give us privacy. In the background, their cabin’s door opens and closes, and Tatum stares euphorically into the camera.

“So, what’s up?” he finally asks.

“Son, I think it’s time for us to have a talk,” Dad says, making me shake with nerves. This is the part where we lose him, and it kills me to know it’s coming. “Things have happened here, and you need to know.” He doesn’t sound like he’s asking permission. He’s simply telling his son the facts as they are. It ignites the smallest spark of hope in my heart that things might work out for us.

Any rosy hue that might have been dotting Tatum’s cheeks vanishes and he quickly sits up in bed. “What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?”

Dad takes a deep breath and holds it in. Once he releases, he scoots closer to us, pulling me onto his lap, then reaches over to carefully pull Bennet to his side. “They couldn’t be better, Tate.”

It takes a moment for it to register with him, but once it does, Tatum looks like he’s ready to jump through the phone and kick our asses, which, yeah, fair. Still, it’s not as if we’ve killed anyone. He hasn’t stolen us from a happy home or anything. We’ve just stumbled into a situationship with the potential for more. I need Tatum to be okay with this.

“Tatum,” I start, but the glare he gives through the phone is enough to stop me in my tracks.

“Are you fucking serious?” he asks with enough venom in his tone to put a rattlesnake to shame. “Abso-fucking-lutely not. Do you hear me? Not today, not yesterday, and not any other day.”

“Tatum,” I plead.

“Don’t you dare give me those puppy-dog eyes, Benjamin Applebaum. I’m in no mood. What’s next? Are you going to fuck my uncle Tyler? Do you want to dig a small hole over my grandfather’s grave and breed him? Where does the madness stop? This is actual insanity. He’s my father!”

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