I chuckled. “Can you imagine if he tried to enter Taz into that parade? He’d be trying to eat everyone’s dick.”
“Who’seating dicks?” Marty asked, eyebrows rising.
“My brother’s devil of a Chihuahua,” I said darkly. “He almost got mine.”
“Poor Emory would have been so deprived,” Allison teased.
Matteo smirked. “Taz is super sweet. I don’t know why you’re afraid of him.”
“You just haven’t seen his evil side yet,” I said. “He’s luring you into a false sense of security before he gobbles your dick.”
“No one gobbles my boyfriend’s dick but me,” Allison joked.
“Allison!” Matteo exclaimed, horrified.
She laughed. “Oh my gosh, we’vegotto exorcize your Catholic guilt. We’re all adults here, babe. Emory and I tell each other everything, anyway.”
“Well, not everything,” Emory said. “Much to Allison’s disappointment.”
She made a pouty face. “I was just being a good friend by showing an interest.”
Matteo snorted. “Sure, your interest in another guy’s dick was altruistic.” He didn’t seem particularly jealous, at least. Then he added, “It’s a good thing Emory and Gray are having so much sex, or I might get worried.”
“How do you know they’re having so much sex?” Marty asked.
Matteo smirked. “Because Holden and Bailey bitch constantly.” He held up finger quotes. “‘They’re so loud! I’m losing sleep. Even with headphones, I can still hear them!’”
Emory covered his reddening face. “Oh my god. I can never have sex again.”
“I hope to hell that’s not true,” I muttered. “Just wait. When Bailey gets a boyfriend, I am going to give him so much shit for this.”
“Just Bailey?” Emory asked while we walked back to the Glazed Holes stand so Marty could get another jelly-filled roll.
“Holden doesn’t date, as far as I know.” I lowered my voice so only he’d hear my words. “He’s got touch aversion.”
His eyes widened. “I noticed he kept his distance from people, but…” His brow furrowed. “Didn’t he shake my dad’s hand at the bank?”
“He can push through it for less personal touches. When it’s necessary, anyway. But if you catch him off guard, or it’s something more intimate…”
“Oh. That’s so sad.”
“He’s been through a lot. It used to be a lot worse. It’s just a long, slow healing process.”
Emory nibbled his bottom lip. “Do I want to know why he has this aversion?”
“You really don’t,” I said darkly.
“It puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? We’re luckier than we know. So much suffering happens, sometimes to our family or friends or neighbors, and people just eat doughnuts, and laugh at cute dogs, and go on as if it’s just another day.”
I squeezed his hand. “People aren’t built to bear the weight of the world every day. We’d all go mad. Or get so depressed we’d want to die too.” I caught his gaze. “But we don’t forget either. It’s always there. The people we’ve loved and lost. The pain we’ve endured. The reason we should appreciate these small pleasures.”
He smiled tentatively. “Yeah. I guess I owe him that much, don’t I? To enjoy the life he didn’t get to have.”
“Yes.”
Allison returned from the stand, holding a carton of doughnut holes. “You two are looking serious.”
“Just appreciating what an amazing day this is,” Emory said. “I’m so glad we could all get together like this. I wanted you all to get to know Gray. To see…”