Page 63 of Atlas & Miles
“Anyone special in your life?” I ventured. When he didn’t immediately answer, I glanced over at him to see him staring over the lawn, his jaw clenched tight. Oh, shit, did I stick my foot in my mouth?
“Not at the moment.”
It wasn’t too hard to put the pieces together. I’d put my money on some unrequited love, but who? My curiosity piqued, but I didn’t want to be rude and ask outright, so I just kept quiet.
“Can I say something, Miles?”
My eyebrows raised at his hesitant question. “Of course.”
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior in high school. I was a homophobic asshole, and that couldn’t have been easy for you to hear. I’m sorry for any pain my ignorant, hateful words caused you.” He paused, still staring out at the crowd. “I hurt a lot of people during that time. It’s no excuse, but being in the closet can make you do horrific things.”
I just gaped at him, completely lost for words. Did . . . Was Reece coming out to me?
He let out a derisive chuckle. “Anyway, yeah. I didn’t know I was gay then, and my asshole dad always spewing anti-gay hate didn’t help matters. I figured it out at uni a few years later, and it all made sense.” He scrubbed a hand through his short hair. “But that doesn’t excuse any of my behavior. I was a little shit. And I figured this reunion was as good a reason as any to make what amends I could.”
I didn’t say much for a few moments as I processed everything he’d told me, writing over my high school memories with added layers of understanding. But then, I realized I had to know something, so I turned to him with hard eyes. Because he wasright; nothing he was dealing with back then excused the trauma his behavior had caused. “What about Holden?”
Reece winced, a painful look on his handsome face. “I’ve spoken with him, but he still hasn’t forgiven me. I need to make amends with him, big time, if he’ll let me. He didn’t deserve anything I did to him.”
The wistfulness in his voice made me pause. Did he have a thing for Holden? “He really didn’t.”
When Reece just nodded, his jaw clenching again, I decided he was hating himself enough and could use a friend. So I did what I could to help.
“I’m glad to hear you’re trying to make amends, Reece. You made some pretty awful mistakes, but it seems like you’re doing your best to make up for them now. Don’t beat yourself up over it forever.” My words sparked the sudden realization that I’d done the same thing, and in coming out, I’d taken my own steps to salvation. “Truth be told, I’ve beaten myself up for a lot of years for not stopping your bullying back then. I’ve only recently been able to forgive myself for that. It’s been so hard, and I didn’t feel like I deserved it, but I’ll tell you what I learned for myself: Forgiving yourself might be the hardest part, but it’s also the most freeing.”
I thought I saw a tear well in his eye before he blinked it away. “Thanks for saying that, Miles.”
I clapped his shoulder. “Of course.” I scanned the lawn, spotting Atlas fairly quickly. His hands moved wildly in the air as he told what was certainly a hilarious story to a group of people I didn’t recognize. The entire group was red-faced and laughing as his gestures got even more over the top. My heart warmed at the sight of him, and since I could sense Reece was ready to move on to lighter topics, I changed the subject. “So where are you living now?”
We shot the shit for another twenty minutes or so until Atlas came flying over, his shirt trailing behind him, baring his smooth stomach. Fuck, he was so goddamn sexy.
With a wave and a quick “see you around, Miles” and hello, goodbye to Atlas, Reece stole away, presumably to find Holden. I hoped they resolved everything and that, no matter how Holden felt, Reece could eventually forgive himself. He needed to be held accountable—and I hoped Holden would do that—but no one needed to live in that dark place forever. I should know.
As soon as my Daddy was within reach, I pulled his perfect body into mine by his tiny waist and planted my lips on his. He dropped his yearbook to the ground alongside my own and moaned against my mouth, rising up on his tiptoes to sink into the kiss and wrapping his arms around my neck.
I opened for him, groaning as his tongue plundered my mouth and our dicks filled until our hard shafts were rubbing against each other deliciously.
Then I remembered where we were. Shit.
I pulled back suddenly, just the upper half of my body. I kept our lower halves glued together so we didn’t give anyone a lewd show.
Atlas smirked at me. “Miss me, sweet boy?”
I gulped, staring down at this absolutely gorgeous human as I nodded. His sparkling green eyes glittered up at me in the midday sun, bright despite the shade under this tree. “Yes, Daddy. Did you get all the signatures you wanted?”
He stepped back just enough to glance down at our mini-pile on the ground. “I think so. At least everyone who’s here right now.” With a hard swallow and pointed look between us, he took another step back. “Looks like we’re good to go.”
I chuckled. My dark jeans thankfully hid the rest of my hard-on that hadn’t fully gone down. “Good enough, anyway. You said we have a break until prom . . . ?”
Atlas’s smile turned devious, and he popped my ass once before backing away. I gasped at the pain he’d reawakened on my already burning cheeks and the way my reaction caused me to clench around the plug that had been making my prostate ultra-sensitive all day. “We do. Sounds like you have ideas about how we can spend that time?”
I wiggled my eyebrows just to hear his tinkling laughter. “I do. Though my ass needs a break. Maybe blow jobs and a nap?”
Atlas’s grin felt like the sun came out from behind the clouds. But in truth, it always hit me like that. “You’re on.”
Chapter twenty
Atlas
