Epilogue
JOSHUA
(Six Months Later)
It was cold enough out on the deck that I brought out the thick blanket Matthew kept at the foot of the bed. I had it pulled around both of us where we were wedged together on the sectional, watching the last of the light disappear off the end of the horizon.
Matthew sipped a beer while I finished off my hot chocolate. "You remember the first morning we sat out here?" His voice was nostalgic as he squeezed my hand.
"When you handed me coffee before I was even fully awake."
"You looked so cute with your hair all crazy, wearing my clothes."
I laughed. "Yeah, I wanted to bolt, but I was so damn tired. And I didn’t want to be rude."
He took a drink of his beer and scoffed. "Thank god you have such misplaced manners."
"Also, I think I already had a crush." I pulled the blanket tighter and put my head on his shoulder. “Obviously.”
He looked back at the water as the last hint of orange evaporated. “That was definitely not obvious.”
"Well, at that point, I just didn’t want you to regret what you did." I sighed, still embarrassed and guilty for the choices I made that night, even if they did lead me to Matthew.
He was quiet for a second. "I would never regret helping someone, but helping you was the best decision I’ve ever made."
“I think so too.” I wrapped my hands around his arm and squeezed him.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you Sal put me on the Burlingame job starting next week.
" It was a longer commute but proof that he trusted me to work on a job that he wasn’t physically at.
"Trey is managing the project and said he’d only do it if I could go with him. "
Matthew kissed the side of my head. "Trey’s a smart guy. He knows you’re reliable and smart…and sexy."
I laughed. "You think Trey thinks I’m sexy?"
"If he has eyeballs, he does." Matthew chuckled and pretended to bite my neck. “But you’re all mine.
"I definitely am." I ran my hand across his stomach and up to his chest. “Because you have something no one else has.”
He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I’m proud of you. Sal is too. He says you’re one of his best employees.”
I looked back at the water and nodded. There wasn't a response that didn't make me embarrassingly emotional. Even now, months into therapy and a loving, healthy relationship, I still got choked up at the idea of someone being proud of me.
We sat out there until it was fully dark, and then we went inside. Matthew heated up the leftover soup from the night before. I sat at the counter and watched him move around the kitchen.
“Can I help?” I still asked every day even though he rarely let me.
“Nope.” He sliced up the fresh bread he’d baked earlier and handed me a slice with a big pat of butter on it. “You know this is my love language.”
“Making me fat?” I bit into the bread and moaned. It was so good.
He put a bowl of soup in front of me and sat down across the counter. “Taking care of you.”
I smiled and blew on a spoonful of hot soup. “Is my love language being lazy and letting you do everything?”
He chuckled. “Your love language is physical touch and words of affirmation.”
“It is?” I’d never looked up what this language was, so I had no idea what he was talking about beyond the few jokes he’d made about it. “Are those real things?”
"Yep." He picked up his spoon and looked at me. “You’re always touching me, and when you curl up in my lap to nurse, I can practically feel your love transferring straight into me.”
I grinned and looked down at my spoon. “It’s yummy.”
He cocked his head. “Maybe it is, but half the time, you’re not even drinking. You’re just…touching.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” I reached across the counter and placed my hand on his. “Because I love you.”
“I love you too.” He leaned over the counter and kissed me before we focused on our food.
Later, we were on the couch, and I was in my usual spot against his chest. Matthew held the back of my head as I closed my eyes and placed my lips over his nipple.
“Welcome home, baby.” He exhaled deeply, and his whole body relaxed with it. “Promise you’ll always come home to me.”
And I would. Always.
Coming Soon in the Broken Boys series…
Ethan stopped dreaming the day he lost the man he loved. His Daddy. The coffee shop they planned to open together sat unfinished, a memory of the future that was never meant to be. But grief has a way of making everything feel permanent, like the best parts of life are already behind you.
He's wrong about that last part. And when he finally decides to start living again, opening the coffee shop feels like the right way to do it.
When Kyle knocks on the door, looking for a cup and a snack, Ethan isn’t ready. Not to open the doors or his heart. But he quickly realizes that living has to start somewhere.
Not Open Yet is the next book in The Broken Boys series, a spinoff of the sweeter Lactin Brotherhood world. This is a world of strong yet vulnerable Daddies, the broken boys who need them, and all the special gifts they have to offer.