Page 27 of Faking Ever After

When I released my dick, it throbbed, hanging heavy before me, leaping with every twitch of a muscle and every touch my fingers laid on my body. Water poured down my back and my front as I stepped back, sweat and shame and guilt washing away from my skin.

I had moaned far louder than I had meant to and the memory of it only grew louder as seconds ticked away. I postponed returning to the room for as long as I could, convinced that hemust have heard me. How would I ever look him in the eyes after this? Even if he hadn’t heard it, his naked body was the image etched so deep into my mind that I couldn’t carve it out no matter what. So I decided to be a big boy and face him sooner rather than later. Drying myself with a big towel, I felt tingles running down into my toes at every touch of the soft fabric against my cock.

Shivers ran down my neck even after I put my clothes on. Holding my breath, I stepped out with the coolest, most composed face I could pull off. And the room was empty.

My breath left me in a big, long exhale, relief splashing over me like the waves of the ocean.

When I opened the door of my room, I heard the chatter downstairs. They were all up. Laughter rippled, and then Finn’s voice came over the uproar as he finished telling some wild anecdote. “And the pigeon looked me dead in the eye, and I kid you not, it hopped over to the window, dropped its load, so to speak, on my floor, and just left.”

The setup must have been epic because my family was ripping with laughter. Dimitrios bellowed like Santa and even Nektaria cackled.

Slowly, I climbed downstairs, listening to my father’s follow-up questions regarding the pigeon debacle, to which Finn replied lightly as if talking about today’s weather. At the foot of the stairs, Emily slipped into the back kitchen, and I followed her instead of joining the dinner table. “Why are you sneaking around?” I asked.

My sister snorted. “I need to water my wine without giving Dimitrios a stroke.”

“He’s been serving the good stuff all this time,” I said.

Emily smiled. “He must be having a very good time.”

“They all seem to be having a good time,” I mused, nearing the kitchen island and dragging my fingers over the polished marble countertop.

Emily pulled a pitcher of cold water from the fridge and splashed some into her wine glass. “And you? You’ve been on edge since you got here.”

I continued moving through the kitchen until I stood by the row of windows looking out at the sea. Far to the left side of the window, I could see the dining table on the terrace, and the people gathered around it. Once, I had imagined all of this completely differently. I had imagined myself with Richie, hosting our anniversary party and bringing my family as guests. Not in a million years had I imagined hiring a boyfriend to bring to my parents’ thirty-fifth.

“He’s a lucky catch, big bro,” Emily said softly, joining me by the window.

Finn was flailing his arms high above his head, hands shaking in an imitation of something I’d never learned about. I had been trying to control him, to make him as unnoticeable as possible, just to avoid the risk of my embarrassing truth coming out, yet he was mesmerizing. He captivated his audience, even if it consisted of only five people, and he made them laugh like nobody had done in recent memory.

Mother waved her glass and wine splashed over the deck, laughter rapturing at the dinner table, and Father nearly spat out his Martini. Aunt Judith had a napkin over her mouth, shaking with laughter.

I should have encouraged him to be himself right away. I shouldn’t have tried to make him less than what he was.

“It’s like every time he smiles, I expect he’ll shove his hands into his pocket and throw a fistful of glitter at me.” The words tumbled over my lips before I could hold them back.

“Why would you keep something like that a secret?” Emily asked, suspicious and disbelief thick in her voice. She blinked at me when I met her look, her eyebrows rising.

I didn’t have a ready answer to that. I improvised. “What happened the last time I brought a guy here with me?” I winced.

“You can’t be serious,” Emily said. “They’re nothing alike.”

I shrugged. For one thing, Richie had actually been my boyfriend, while Finn was just my assistant’s friend looking for some fun away from the States.

“Finn is nice,” Emily said. “He’s fun and lovely and bubbly as hell.”

“He sure is all that,” I agreed, looking at him. Currently, he was deeply engrossed in a story my parents were telling. There was hardly ever a story they told individually. Most of the time, it was like a very well-rehearsed script, with each of them saying every other or third line, never missing a beat. Finn’s gaze darted between them, telling me which one was speaking just then.

“And he’s nothing like the other guys you dated,” Emily said. Her tone hinted at something that went far above my head. Emily was happy to elaborate anyway. “He’s the first good guy you had, Percy. Or the first we know about. It’s almost like…he’s not your type.” She chuckled to take away the edge.

I narrowed my eyes at my sister. “Types change.”

Emily wrapped her hand around my upper arm. “It’s a change for the better, big bro. Don’t miss this opportunity.”

I smoothed the momentary frown that creased my forehead. “We’re doing well.” Yet not even I believed those words.

Emily nodded firmly, pausing a second away from touching the side of her nose conspiratorially. “Of course you are. And he likes you, Percy. Don’t blow it.”

He doesn’t like me, I said internally.He acts that way because he needs to. “Should we join them before Nektaria puts together a search party?”

---