Page 112 of Bloom
A huge fight had started between the husband and wife with her screaming at him.“You snuck off with that whore again?!”
“Mother led me off, and I had to explain to her what happened. She laughed but said if anyone asked me to keep secrets, I had to immediately tell her or Father, and I wasn’t to take anything if someone said they’d give it to me for keeping quiet.”
As an adult, it made sense in case anyone ever tried to bribe him for worse things.
“I didn’t get any more free sweets from him. It was good while it lasted.”
“You weren’t very good at keeping secrets.”
“No, I wasn’t. I asked Mother why the lady’s chest was so big and wobbly, and she had to sit down because she was laughing too hard.”
Aleric snorted. “Did the husband and wife break up?”
“Well, they left and never came back. They might have divorced over infidelity. If I’d never said anything, I’m surehe would have been caught at some point. It’s his fault for cheating.”
“I guess those big, wobbly breasts were too tempting. He couldn’t stay away.”
Jaime rolled his eyes. “The level of interest some men have in them is just…I don’t get it.”
“Because you can touch them and play with their nipples. Depending on what she likes, you can make her feel quite good.”
“You can touch a man’s pecs and play with those nipples. Plenty of men think that feels good too.”
“But breasts are usually bigger, so you can really hold and play with them. It’s different, and they’re fun in their own way. For me, anyway. If you’re not into women, you probably won’t get it. Have you ever seen a pair?”
“Besides that one woman, I’ve seen them in whorehouses, and that’s it. So you like both? Is that why no one was suspicious when you married Clementine?”
“Yes, although I prefer men more. To me, breasts are kind of alluring because they’re always kept covered in public. A man might go shirtless, but women won’t. That’s how I see it anyway. When I first got to play with a pair years and years ago, it was like-I don’t know. I was amazed by them, and she wanted me to suck on her nipples. She said it made her wet, and well…I couldn’t say no. I was hoping she’d let me do more so I could lose my virginity, but she didn’t want to. At least I got to play with her breasts.”
Jaime suddenly busted out laughing as he remembered something.
“Don’t laugh at me just because you don’t care for breasts.”
“It’s not that. I heard a neighbor saying that once some men get off of their Mother’s tits as babies, it’s not long before they’re running to find a new pair to latch onto.”
Aleric chuckled. “She’s not wrong.”
Jaime stretched under the blanket. “I’ll take your word that breasts are fun.”
They grew quiet, and the tension didn’t seem so strong anymore. Nasty words hadn’t been exchanged, and after a few minutes, Aleric’s breathing sounded deeper and even, like he was asleep. Maybe the effort to talk about something besides their current predicaments had been a welcome relief.
It made the guilt worse. Jaime had been trying to not think about it, but Aleric had shared private things. Jaime hadn’t admitted the truth at all. He’d told himself it didn’t matter because it wasn’t relevant to their situation. With their marriage approaching, he would talk to Aleric about it.
Since he was seven, it had been driven into his head to never say a single word. Aunt and Uncle had decided he’d be Théo, and he’d taken their surname of Meyer. He learned to respond to Théo and say that was his name. A couple of years after leaving home once his Aunt and Uncle were dead and buried, he’d gone back to using Jaime.
The fake first name had made it safer in case anyone local ever grew suspicious. Orange eyes. Dark hair. The right age. Same name as the dead lord’s son. He still wanted to go by the one his Mother had chosen. All he had from them was his name and Father’s sword. It didn’t matter if he’d lost his future position and family. He wanted to beJaime.
The name wasn’t uncommon, so he hadn’t worried while drifting. As long as he never said his true last name or told anyone where he actually came from, he’d be safe.
The two rules had been ironclad since childhood. Still, it wasn’t right to hide it, and with Aleric sharing so much, he couldn’t quite squash the guilt since he’d just twisted a story a little to fit his fake background.
He’d even altered the later truth about what village he lived in, and he made it sound like only an Aunt had raised him. Whilehe was pretty sure no one had been hunting him, he’d felt more secure by changing a few more facts to make it hard or even impossible to trace him.
“Why do you wander?” Aleric mumbled, making Jaime jump.
The question was easy and didn’t need a lie.
“It's hard to put down roots when they’ve been ripped out. I don’t have any living relatives.”
