Page 52 of Winning You
“Bro.”
Lucas flopped his hands to his sides. “I’m saying that I had an orgasm from someone else, and I’m kind of freaking out about it!” He took a step back, realizing he didn’t exactly care if Adele heard him. He was a grown adult, and he trusted Adele not to go blab to his dad. Well…maybe. He began to rock gently, his fingers dancing at his sides. The stimming was helping him breathe a little easier. “Do I look different? Can you tell?”
“I literally cannot tell. That’s the one thing blind and sighted people have in common. We can’t see when someone loses their virginity.”
He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or not. But that probably meant no one knew he was a virgin either. Had been a virgin, anyway. “It counts, right?”
“It counts,” Gage said. “So are you two, like…”
“No.” Lucas bit his lip. Hard. He’d been so dead set on not wanting a boyfriend, but now that he’d tasted Frankie’s lips, he wanted more.
Frankie seemed keen on the idea too. He’d kissed the absolute shit out of Lucas before he had to leave for work and told him to come by that evening if he wanted.
“Elodie will be there, but she’ll be happy to see you too.”
See him too. Just like Frankie would.
“I think it’s just a friends thing,” Lucas finished. “With sexy benefits.”
“Is that…bad or good? Because dude, while I trust you to know your own mind, I don’t want some older fuck-ass player convincing you it’s for the best. I literally will murder him. I’d get away with it too. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
Lucas’s entire body softened, and he reached out, finding Gage and tugging him into his arms. “Was today bad?”
“It wasn’t great. My dad’s having a panic attack about possibly being a grandpa alongside panicking that his one andonly son was…you know. Assaulted. He says he doesn’t know what to hope for, which puts more pressure on me because, like, if it’s my kid, can I just walk away? When people here will love her?”
Lucas’s heart twisted in his chest. He’d never really wanted kids before, but things felt different now. And he knew that if Gage had a baby, he’d love it with every atom of his body. But there was a cost to all of this. A cost to Gage that no one should ever have to pay.
Lucas set his hands on the sides of Gage’s neck, feeling for his pulse, feeling the way his skin was heating up like he was flushed and anxious. “How can I help?”
“You can’t.”
Lucas wanted to argue with that because he literally would attempt to conquer a small country if Gage asked him to. But he also knew that not every problem had a solution. At least, not one he could provide.
“I’m heading out of town for a few weeks. My dad, Kash, and I are taking a little break.”
Lucas’s heart ached for how much he knew Gage needed it. And for the fact that he didn’t need Lucas. But they were getting older. They were stepping further and further apart. It was natural, but it hurt.
“Oh. You can come if?—”
Lucas squeezed him tightly. “I know you need your family.”
“You are my family.”
There were footsteps, and then Adele said, “He’s right. You are.”
Lucas managed a smile and bowed his head. “I know. But also, I’m not. This is some serious shit, and I have a lot to manage with the truck.”
“Which you’re supposed to be opening right now?” Gage questioned.
Lucas shrugged. “I had a day off. Last night was a lot.”
Adele sighed, and his footsteps got closer. Lucas braced himself for the large hand that patted the center of his back. Adele’s presence had always been large and looming. It felt a bit like when Lucas approached very tall buildings. He dampened all the sound around him.
“I’m not gonna give you a lecture, but I do want you to promise me you’re being safe.”
“We were totally safe,” Lucas said. He was mostly telling the truth, except they hadn’t even talked about condoms.
“And that just because it’s shaped like a dick or a butt plug doesn’t mean it’s for there,” Adele went on.
