Page 55 of Wanted
Liv hummed. “If I were you, the dick up my ass would definitely feel gayer,” he said with the slightest mumble.
Knox turned his head just enough to graze his lips over Liv’s stubbly cheek. He was now allowed to do this? Absolutely fucking crazy.
Shane shook his head, going through the bottle of whiskey he shared with Frank. “In the can lots of guys fucked around, but almost no one was gay. A mystery how that happens.”
“Sometimes, you just want another warm body, I guess. And you don’t have to like guys to fuck them. I’ve known several men who did that because it paid well,” Ezra muttered against his glass of cognac and stroked Frank’s shoulder, absent-mindedly watching the wall.
It still blew Knox’s mind that not only had he had sex with Liv, but also now hung out with not one, butfourother gay guys. And couples at that, who weren’t shy about showing affection. As if it was normal. Maybe it was and he needed to get used to it.
Alcohol was helping, and he might just want to sit in Liv’s lap soon.
“And I wasn’t even allowed to wrestle ‘cause my dad said it was gay to touch guys so much,” Knox said, taking a big swig of beer. Just the memory made the drink taste sour. “This one time I was wrestling with some kid. I had to be like twelve or something, and I got a bit of a boner. Maybe he saw that I wasn’t putting my all into winning, connected the dots and that’s why he pulled me out of the classes.”
Frank’s hard features twisted. “He couldn’t have noticed if you were close together.”
Liv put his entire face in Knox’s hair, breathed in against his scalp and gave it a kiss. “Your old man’s got shit for brains. That level of obsession with that topic is not normal.”
Ros, who’d definitely had a bit too much to drink at this point, rested both his arms on the table and used them as a pillow.“Maybe he’s one of those people, who are scared of something inside them and then see it everywhere? All my dad cared about was that my coming out would ruin his reputation. Fuck ‘em.”
Knox shrugged. “Well, he’s in prison now, so who knows, maybe he’s discovering a whole lot about himself.”
Ros laughed out loud, pushing some hair off his face. “You didnot! Then again, my dad’s in prison too. Imagine them meeting?”
Knox shook his head. “Nah, mine’s back in California. He’d be so pissed off if he knew what I’m doing.”
Liv twisted in his seat as he put both his arms around Knox. “He’s a shithead. Bad fucking person all around. Forget about him. He doesn’t matter.”
Knox had to take a deep breath, but it only made him want to cry again. Liv was so sweet. So understanding. Always on his side. Always had been, even before everything had changed. Knox was just finding it easier to accept now.
Ezra put down his glass and rose. Knox half-expected him to disappear to the bathroom, but he returned with a massive, unopened jar of chocolate cream. He put it right in front of Knox, along with a box of vanilla wafers and a spoon.
Shane whistled. “Dirty secrets?”
Ezra’s face twisted as he rejoined Frank on their side of the table. “It’snotmine. Dex left it here, but I think Knox might… need it,” he added, hiding behind the glass as if this small kindness was something to be embarrassed about.
“I’m fine,” Knox muttered, but greedily pulled the jar close. “He was just so shit to me, you know? No matter how hard I tried, I was always too weak in his eyes because of my stupid heart thing. I even won a kickboxing competition at one point, and he said it was because I was in the lightweight category.” Just thinking back to it made Knox stuff his mouth with a whole spoon of chocolate cream.
The collective groan shook the room, and Frank shook his head with bitterness curling his lips. “Some people should not have children. Pity it’s not hard to make a baby. My father beat me until I proved that I could strike back.”
Ezra kissed his shoulder, his beautiful face full of understanding. “I’m not in touch with my parents either. They both failed me.”
Knox’s throat tightened. He didn’t expect his hosts to open up like this so soon. Maybe it was just the booze, but maybe the common thread they shared crumbled walls that would normally stay in place. If that was the case, could he leave his own down too? And going by these confessions about parents, most of them had found family here, with each other, instead of trying to please society.
Knox leaned into Liv and put his arm over his shoulders, but watched Ezra. “I’m sorry.”
Ros snorted and winked at Ezra. “Don’t be. He found himself a daddy.”
Frank rolled his eyes, and Ezra shook his head in disapproval. “Wow. Next you’ll say his magical dick healed my daddy issues.”
Ros, who was now drunk enough to find that funny, broke into a long giggle. “I’m s-sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” Ezra said, and when Ros stirred, it became clear he’d gotten a playful kick under the table. “Full disclosure, I do not need a father figure. Just a man who has enough emotional intelligence to be anexcellentpartner,” he said, facing Frank.
Frank’s self-satisfied smile was all the answer needed as he put his arm over Ezra’s shoulders and stroked his ear.
Seeing two men interact like this still felt a bit odd. Would Knox act like that around Liv in a year or two? Like a married couple with a house and their shit together? It was hard to imagine such a future. Sure, they’d lived together before, butlike two brothers, not acouple, and they’d skipped all the transitional steps, going from nothing to fucking and cuddling within less than a day.
Would the sex changeeverything? He loved the relationship he had with Liv, their stupid jokes, and teasing, and didn’t want to end up being treated like Liv’s girlfriend. Liv romanced women intensely only to fly off to another pretty flower that caught his attention. But for Knox, he’d always seemed to have endless understanding and patience. If Knox did indeed have daddy issues, he did not want to lose his best friend trying to heal them through sex.
