Page 9 of Catching Him

“I’ve got you.” The last few whirlwind weeks had been exhausting. Amazing but draining. Eric had size, if nothing else. He could be the strength for once. That’s what marriage was, shoring up each other through every aspect of existence. They would have a gorgeous life. Eric knew it in his heart.

Chapter Six

It was sexy watchingOakley on the field. Eric would take it to the grave, but he maybe had a thing for athletes. Their competitive nature and do anything to win attitude. The sexy way their bodies moved while flexing a perfectly honed talent. A shiver ran through Eric. Goddamn. He couldn’t wait to get Oakley home. First, Oakley had to win this game. The game was just some charity softball thing with a bunch of celebrity players. It wasn’t only baseball players involved, but soccer, football, and hockey too. There was an interesting mixture of people, and it was for a good cause, so how could Oakley say no? Eric tried to ignore the fact that Jakk was also on the field. They were mostly okay, especially after Jakk bringing his mom to the wedding, but it was still strange to be in his sphere. He hated to admit how kind Jakk’s gesture had been. That move truly proved how longand well they knew each other. It was something a real friend would do. It was the exact move Eric needed to completely leave the hard feelings in the past. They were better off without each other. Sometimes, life just took some turns to get to fate.

With the game being played in Southern California, Oakley had insisted they come early so they could visit Eric’s mom. Every day, Eric fell a little more in love with him. They had only been married a month, but every second had been perfect. He hadn’t known life could feel this way.

Rocky leaned his way. “You look happy.”

Eric had forgotten he was there. He had been so focused on Oakley, everything else had disappeared. Eric flashed him a smile. “I am.” He had a thought he hadn’t considered until he had seen the way Oakley worried over Rocky’s reaction to their marriage. Still, he hesitated before deciding just to talk about it. “I hope you don’t feel like Oakley was hiding anything from you.”

A sweet smile touched Rocky’s lips. He truly was a handsome guy. Eric saw what Jakk saw in him, as strange as that was to admit. “Nah. Oakley has always been someone who plays things close to the chest. As much as I consider him a good friend, I’m still not sure I even know him.”

That was a very fitting description. Eric had silently fallen in love with Oakley. It had happened so quietly, mostly because Oakley could be so closed to the world around him. Eric had never seen his love coming. “Yeah. I’m not sure why he’s like that. He loves hard. He just doesn’t let people in.”

With his gaze locked on the game, Rocky nodded. “I imagine it’s because of his dad. You know he had all that tough guy, men don’t have feelings attitude, and raised his son to be a real man. The guy’s a dick, which I’m sure you know.”

Eric hadn’t known. Oakley never talked about his parents. Eric had asked, but Oakley had only said they didn’t talk. When he had tried to dig, Oakley had just smiled and nicely asked him to stop. He never brought up the topic again. It hurt his feelings a little that Rocky knew something he didn’t about Oakley’s past, but they had known each of for several years. Eric couldn’t compete with that. Rocky likely knew a mountain of things Eric didn’t.

“I think I owe you an apology,” Rocky said suddenly, surprising Eric.

“Why?” Seriously. He had no clue why Rocky thought he owed Eric anything.

An uncomfortable-sounding chuckle fell from Rocky’s lips. “When Jakk and I first got together, I thought you were trying to split us up. I’m the reason Oakley spilled that beer on you.”

Eric laughed. “He told me. Don’t be sorry. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be happily married now. Sometimes life is funny, but fate is rarely wrong.”

Rocky turned his head and held his stare. “Still, I feel bad for thinking badly of you. Not just anyone could handle what you do. Jakk says, after taking care of your mom until the secondyou literally couldn’t anymore, he never dreamed you’d marry someone else with a chronic illness.”

Eric’s blood ran cold.

Rocky kept talking like he hadn’t dropped an atomic bomb on Eric’s life. “I realize Oakley’s MS is still in the beginning stages now, but he could very well end up in a wheelchair. You saw all that and still chose him. Despite everything with Jakk, I think you must be an amazing person and you deserved better from me.”

First off, considering Rocky had married his ex, that was the nicest fucking thing in the world. Now Eric felt bad for ever hating him. Secondly, what the fuck? He scrambled to say something, anything, while his brain tried catching up. For pride’s sake, he couldn’t let Rocky know he hadn’t known. Eric cleared his throat. Thankfully, he just sounded uncomfortable with the topic and not ignorant as hell. “I love him. That’s all that matters.” There. Fuck. Eric’s gaze moved back to the field and latched on to Oakley. His mind raced as he went over every second together. There were signs. He should have noticed and questioned some things. But Oakley was damn good at making excuses and laughing about being a klutz. Plus, Eric had no reason to doubt him. Unfortunately, he saw it now. The rigid moments when Oakley had trouble moving. He blamed it on too many years of professional sports. Any time Eric saw him tremble, his brain automatically blamed anything and everything else.

Oakley’s head turned. Their gazes met. A sexy smile stretched Oakley’s lips. He winked. Goddamn it. Jakk was right. Ericprobably wouldn’t have chosen to take care of anyone ever again. The mental drain of his mother’s care had nearly killed him. But Eric hadn’t lied. He loved Oakley. They were through sickness and health until death parted them. Eric blew out a slow breath. He would take care of Oakley. He felt too much to ever walk away.

Everything hurt. One of these days, Oakley would have to give up doing these charity games. For now, the exercise was good for him, and he wasn’t ready to surrender. He also kind of adored seeing Eric watching him. Oakley had never had anyone he loved cheer for him. Before Oakley publicly came out, his dad had come to games, proud to have raised a man’s man. That stopped the moment Oakley became an embarrassment. Maybe this was just a softball game. Nothing like his pro baseball. Still, he knew someone was there for him who loved him for him. He was scared shitless it was only temporary.

A thousand times, Oakley had almost told Eric the truth. Then he would think about how bad things would likely get and his tongue would freeze. He wasn’t ready to watch Eric walk away—the way people always did when he stopped being perfect in their eyes. Oakley wanted more memories with Eric. One ofthese days, he would have to let him go. For now, though, Oakley wanted as much time as he could get with his husband. Having a spouse mattered to him. He hated the idea of not waking up in Eric’s arms. Oakley didn’t know how to lose that, but he also couldn’t expect Eric to give up his adult years to take care of him the way he had given up his youth for his mom. That wasn’t fair. Oakley loved him too much to burden him.

“You’re being awful quiet.”

Oakley looked up from packing his suitcase. They would head home in the morning. He liked being prepared, so he didn’t leave anything behind. “Sorry. I guess I’m just tired. It’s been a while since I played. I’m out of shape,” he added, forcing a chuckle.

Eric closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arms around Oakley and made a show of stroking his body. “You don’t feel out of shape to me.”

Oakley’s smile turned real. Eric made it impossible for him to mope. “You’re biased.”

“No… maybe, but I’m also not blind. I assure you, you’re sexy as hell.”

In spite of himself, Oakley’s smile slipped. “That’s probably all I have going for me.” And it wouldn’t last forever. His body probably wouldn’t last five more years before he started to really deteriorate.

Eric scowled. “Don’t say shit like that. I didn’t fall in love with your looks. I fell in love with your heart. This marriage is forever. Do you plan to leave me when I start looking old? Or what if I’m in a horrific car crash and end up deformed and paralyzed? Will that change how you feel about me?”

Even though Eric sounded truly enraged, Oakley snorted at the stupidity of the question. “You’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met. Why would I care how you look?”

Eric gave him a sharp nod. “Exactly. Stop being dumb.”

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