Page 137 of The Husband Game

A quick glance down at the other end of the table showed the other guys standing up and gathering their things, ready to head out, so Dustin stood too.

“On that note, I think I’ll go home and suck my husband’s dick,” he said with a little grin.

Nico’s eyes lit up. “Hey, you want any help? Because Charlie may be little but I noticed on Matty’s boat that he wasn’t hurting in the size department and I really do like choking on a nice cock …”

“I can more than take care of him myself,” Dustin said dryly. “You go enjoy your hookup.”

“You sure?”

“Very.” His tone was firm.

“You’re no fun.” But Nico hugged him warmly, pressing a loud, smacking kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for listening, D.”

“Yeah, of course. Any time.”

* * *

“I’m not doing great,” Charlie said with a sigh as soon as Taylor joined the video call.

Taylor frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”

“My fucking mother.”

“What now?”

So Charlie told Taylor all about the stupid friend request she’d sent to Dustin and that his eating had been worse since.

“That woman!” Taylor fumed when he was done. “I swear to God, if I ever run into her, I’m going to push her into traffic.”

“I wouldn’t even be mad at you if you did,” Charlie said.

Although, no that wasn’t entirely true. Because as much as he hated what she’d done, she was still his mother. He still had so many good memories of her. He’d loved her more than anything in the world when he was growing up.

He hadn’t understood what she was doing to him.

At the time, he’d believed she’d helped him succeed. That he couldn’t do it without her. And he still remembered the pride on her face when he’d won his first international competition.

He remembered the trips they’d taken and the fun they’d had.

That was the hardest part about realizing your own family was abusive. The love you’d felt, the good memories you had with them, they never went away, not even when you wished they would.

“—come home to Chicago,” Taylor said firmly and Charlie realized he’d missed the first part of what he’d said.

“What?”

“I said, you need to come home to Chicago. Clearly being there in Toronto isn’t good for you. I know you signed a contract, but Charlie, this is your health,” Taylor said firmly. “You need to come home and get well.”

“Taylor, no. I am not moving back to Chicago!” Charlie protested. “My home is here now.”

Taylor froze. “What?”

“I … I’m actually happy here,” Charlie admitted, a little surprised at how true those words were. “I love you and I miss you. And I miss Jamie and Ava and your parents but I love it here. The team here is really great.”

“You’re friends with Dustin’s team?” Taylor sounded a little shocked.

“Well, yeah,” Charlie admitted. “I mean, sometimes I play video games with the guys, even when Dustin isn’t around. And like, Nico and Matty and I had lunch the other day while Dustin did some commercial. I’m making friends with the wives and girlfriends as well and we meet up for drinks or whatever. Go shopping. I love my job here too. The firm in Chicago was good but I have so much more freedom here. Of course I still have someone overseeing my work but I have a lot more autonomy with my designs. They’re all impressed with how many clients I’ve brought in already.”

“I guess I didn’t realize how much you like it there,” Taylor said slowly.

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