Page 207 of Haunted

“You going with ’em?”

The idea came to him, and he knew he should dismiss it, but…

“Didn’t you promise me a ride to Mirror Lake?”

Butch pulled back and beamed at him. “Seriously? You wanna do that?”

The light in his eyes and the unfettered joy in his voice unraveled all Sol’s intentions. “Yeah, I would.”

“I could have Matt make us up some lunch to take with us.”

Sol had to smile at that. “A picnic?”

“Why not? I can’t tell you the last time I did that. And it’s a glorious spot for a swim too.”

Sol stretched to grab his phone and peered at the forecast. “Hell no. There’s a high of fifty-two degrees today. My balls’ll shrink to the size of peas.”

Butch chuckled. “I can always warm ’em up for ya.”

“I’m sure you could.” He put his phone down and cupped Butch’s dick. “Ready for it to go back on? Or have you had enough?”

Butch went quiet for a moment, and Sol would have loved to know what was going on inside his head. Then he nodded.

“Yeah, put it back on. I liked it.”

Sol pressed his lips to Butch’s forehead. “I had a feeling you might.” On impulse, he rolled Butch onto his back, then covered him with his body, pinning him to the mattress.

“Love it when you do this,” Butch murmured before Sol claimed his mouth in a lingering, chaste kiss.

“That’s good,” he murmured back against Butch’s lips. “Because I love doing it.”

The trouble was, he couldsoget used to it.

They sat on bedrolls, and Butch debated grabbing one of the blankets he’d brought along and wrapping it around him. It was way too cold to swim, but the air up there was fresh and exhilarating, the sky dotted with clouds. A breeze ruffled the water, and the sound of it lapping against the rocks filled him with peace and contentment.

“I love it here,” he said quietly. “This is where I come when I wanna think.”

Sol sat beside him, arms resting on his knees. “I can see why. It’s such a beautiful, tranquil place.” He leaned into Butch. “What are you thinking about right now?”

Butch sighed. “Scott.” He gazed out at the lake, listening to the light wind catching in the branches of the trees. “I still feel guilty for the way I treated him, but I’m glad I know the truth. But part of me wishes…”

Sol’s strong arm was around his shoulders. “Wishes what?”

“That I’d had the courage to be honest with him. That we could’ve been friends. That he could’ve found enough courage to tell me what was going on, and then maybe I could’ve helped.” His stomach churned. “All I did was make things worse.”

“We all wish we’d done stuff differently when we were kids,” Sol told him. “But as for being honest with him, you know what it was like back then. Can you name me one kid who was openly gay? Or bi?”

Butch shook his head.

“Exactly. No one wanted to stick their head above the parapet, and that included me.” He went quiet, but it felt as though the silence had weight, even significance.

“My turn to ask.” Butch looked him in the eye. “What areyouthinking about?”

Sol gave a shrug. “We all have regrets, right? All of us can think of one or two moments in our lives when if we’d acted differently,saidsomething, we might have changed the outcome.” He stared at the sky over their heads.

“You thinking of something specific?”

Sol swallowed. “Maybe? But there’s a possibility that if I’d acted differently, I might not be sitting here with you now.”

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