Page 48 of Reclaim

At her request, everything becomes more needy, more feral. The mixture of her moans and whimpers stirs me on.

“I can’t get enough of you, Em. It doesn’t matter if it’s fast or slow. It’s never enough.”

Licking and sucking my way up to her mouth, I tattoo myself on her skin the only way I know how. She’s like a canvas, red and marked.

“Oh God. Jagger, I’m so close.” We rock, harder and faster, while our kiss obliterates all reason and rhyme. Ready to explode, my fingers stroke her clit.

One.

Two.

Three.

Together we jump. Together we fall.

With Emerson I feel like I’m on borrowed time. Like all good things must come to an end.

Whispering in her ear, I lay my claim on the only thing I’ve ever wanted. “I’m going to find you in the next life too.”

* * *

Stayingin for Friday night football, Hendrix and I have a much needed guy’s night with beers and bets while we watch our team destroy the opposition.

‘Pizza for dinner?” he asks me at half time.

“Yep. Pepperoni, and can you add stuffed crust to it?”

He nods, already on the phone waiting to place the order.

So, I’ve been meaning to tell you something.” Finishing off the phone call, he sits on the recliner opposite me. “I’m thinking of packing up and living overseas for six months. What do you think?”

Don’t go.“What brought this on?”

“A lot of things. Namely, Sasha.”

“Is it that bad you need to move countries for it, though?” I’m skeptical that this could be the answer to all his problems, worried he’d only be running and then returning to the same thing.

“It’s the only way I can do it. Out of sight, out of mind. Otherwise, she’s everywhere I turn.” Rising, he starts to pace across the room. “I was never going to leave until you came out, but now you’re here, and everything is better than I could’ve hoped for... They’re your family, Jagger, and I’m ready to give them back.” His voice cracks at the end, the reality of what he’s said hitting us both for different reasons.

“Drix, I can’t thank you enough for taking care of them for me, and I’m sorry it got so complicated.”

“You have nothing to thank me for, bro. I would do it all again for you.”

Taking a moment, I hide my head in my hands and thank anyone who will listen for giving me Hendrix as a brother.

“So, what did I miss between you and Sasha that seems to be irreversible?”

“Honestly, it’s been fifteen years of nothing but heartache and disappointment. We hate each other, we love each other, and then we hate each other again, and I don’t want to live like that anymore. I don’t want to feel guilty for being happy without her, when she doesn’t want to be happy with me.”

I’m frustrated for Drix. He isn’t a man of many words, and I know he’s reached his absolute limit. “Bro, I feel like this is my fault.”

“What’s with you, man? Just because you went to jail doesn’t mean I’m going to blame you for every fucked up thing in my life. There are things I can blame you for and I did at the time. But now Sasha and I need to take responsibility for our actions. We only see the worst in one another, and we’re missing out on life fleeting past us.”

“So, you’re just going to leave?” I clarify.

“It’s not like it’s happening tomorrow.”

“And Dakota?” I drop her name selfishly, because as much as he’s happy to give my family back, my family includes him.

---