Epilogue
Walker
“ G od, it feels good to be home for a few days,” I tell no one in particular on the back of Knox’s boat.
Jackson and I are racing toward the end of the season within ten points of each other, and I’ve really enjoyed the competition.
He’s a good winner and a good loser, and if I come in second to him, it’ll have been a hard-earned victory for him. One I can fully support.
“It’s been weird without you guys,” Dylan muses, climbing down the ladder to get in the lake. “Ay dios mío, this feels like bathwater!”
“Yeah, keeping Knox from offing himself has become a full-time job,” Hudson muses, completely unaware that there was a time not so long ago that I almost suffered the same fate. I feel Phoenix’s wide eyes on me and turn to see him panicking over how I’ll react to the errant comment.
I flash him a wink from the boat, letting him know I’m okay, before stripping my tank top off and diving into the water.
I don’t get upset about comments like that. I know Hudson has had his own dark days and I’m truly glad that he’s carefree enough now to make the joke lightly, even if it is a bit insensitive to whatever Knox is going through.
I think about the conversation Knox and I had on the front porch after Phoe and I’s coming out/I told my son I’m his dad party, and I feel like shit. Being on the road is all consuming, especially now that I get to travel with Phoenix. Admittedly, we’ve done a terrible job of checking in on Knox.
The man in question is currently floating in his favorite lounge-style raft with a beer in one hand, flipping Hudson the bird.
As my head breaks the surface, I hear Knox reply, “It’s a shame I don’t care about the dumb shit that leaves your mouth.” He doesn’t even bother to open his eyes.
Hudson waves a hand in Knox’s direction, clearly meaning, see?
Phoenix paddles his inner tube toward Knox, no doubt headed to have a quiet heart to heart when I see Jake climbing on the boat and waving Dylan over.
Dylan climbs back on board, listens to Jake talk for a minute, and then lays down across the transom seat on the back of the boat while Jake starts digging around the cooler.
I’m swimming toward Hudson in hopes of sharing his pool noodle when a minute later, Jake is calling us all back on board.
“I just got in!” I protest.
“Yeah, well…you’re gonna win the championship again, Phoe finally gets to marry you, Hud just had a baby, Dyl and I just opened another garage, and I know something big is gonna happen for Knoxy this year, so get your asses up here so we can do celebratory shots,” Jake yells.
I’m about to protest until I see him pour a line of salt across Dylan’s chest.
No fucking way .
Phoenix must see it at the same time I do because he grins like an idiot and starts paddling like his ass is on fire as he yells, “Jakey, is it my birthday? Because it looks an awful lot like you’re setting up body shots, and I’m too drunk to say no.”
We’re all a few in, even Knox. At least he had the brilliant plan to anchor the boat in the shade so our drunk asses wouldn’t burn to a crisp.
Jake shrugs. “It’s not for your birthday, dumbass. That was four months ago. But it could be for my birthday which happens to be next week, if you need even more reasons to lick salt off my husband’s body…which you don’t because we all know you think he’s hot.”
Having gay friends is a fucking blast. We tend to be a little more open and flirtatious with each other. Even Hud who’s mostly straight, and Knox, who I’m ninety-nine percent sure is straight, gets in on an occasional ass-slap and lewd queer humor.
Like right now. Hudson throws his hand high in the air.
“I’m first! And I call seconds,” he yells enthusiastically.
“Are you sure you’re straight?” Knox yells, from his raft, not coming any closer to the boat.
Hudson laughs. “Definitely,” he confirms. But then he pauses and cocks his head to the side. “Well, maybe I’m straight and whatever being attracted to Dylan makes me,” he clarifies.
At this point, I’m pretty sure he’s just trying to get under Jake’s skin—which Jake honestly had coming if he’s going to set his smoke show of a husband up as a buffet table for our liquor…while he’s shirtless and wet.
“Okay, I need the rules,” I say, rubbing my hands together as I climb on board, fully planning on indulging in this shit show.
“Don’t touch his dick,” Jake says automatically .
“ Obviously ,” I say with a roll of my eyes, feeling Phoenix press into me from behind as he climbs on the boat.
His voice is directly at my ear, but loud enough for the others to hear. “Your tongue can’t be on his skin more than four seconds. No licking below his bellybutton. And if your tongue ends up in his mouth, your ass is gonna pay for it later.”
My eyes find Jake’s. “All good with you?”
He nods. “I’m using the little floating shot glasses, so be careful. If you bite too hard, you’ll lose your liquor since you can’t use your hands. You’ll have to go one at a time, because the lime wedge will be in Dylan’s mouth.”
“Jake, trust us, the liquor isn’t the best part of this little game.
If it spills, I’m just going after more salt,” Phoenix says, making Dylan laugh.
All twelve of his abs contract as he does so, drawing our attention.
Neither Phoenix nor Hudson have ever made it a secret they think Dylan is gorgeous.
It’s actually just a scientific fact.
“Knox!” Hudson yells. “Get over here!”
“I’m not doing body shots off of Dylan, for Christ’s sake,” he grunts.
“Yes. You are. It’s my birthday and I want to do it,” Jake says.
“Well, too fucking bad,” Knox fires back.
“Hey, Knoxy,” Dylan says, arching his neck to look at Knox upside down from where he’s lying.
“What?” Knox replies shortly.
“Remember that hand of poker I won and you didn’t have cash, so you wrote I.O.U. on the joker and gave it to me?”
I can see Knox swallow from here as he looks for a way out of this.
“Card’s gotta be present in order to cash in. Sorry, Dyl,” he says triumphantly.
“Jake, grab my wallet from dry storage,” Dylan says with a huge shit-eating-grin. When Jake hands Dylan his wallet, he promptly digs out the card and holds it in the air victoriously from his supine position.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Knox grumbles loud enough for us to hear.
“That’s right, big boy. Get that hairy chest over here and lick me, Daddy.”
Jake, Hud, Phoe, and I burst out in laughter. Like snorting and tears kind of laughter. Knox on the other hand is as red as a beet and his jaw is set in a hard line.
“I fucking hate all of you,” Knox groans. “I’m not doing it.”
“Are you saying your word means nothing?” Jake taunts, knowing this will absolutely make Knox cave. Knox always keeps his promises. He’s nothing if not a man of his word.
“I’m saying, pick something other than having me lick your husband, you perv.”
“Nope,” Jake replies stubbornly, popping the p . “This is how he wants to cash in, so this is what he gets.”
Finally relenting because he knows they won’t give up, Knox climbs on board wearing a scowl the size of my home state.
Five shots are in small, colorful, silicone shot glasses.
They start just below Dylan’s pecs and make a path to his dick.
The third of the five rests in his bellybutton, the fourth is atop his pubic bone, and the fifth has to literally be sitting on or right next to his cock. I assume that’s Jake’s shot.
“Alright, Hud, you’re up,” Jake says, placing a fresh lime wedge in Dylan’s mouth and holding up his phone—no doubt to use this against us at a later date somehow.
Hudson leans down with absolutely no hesitation and licks the salt from Dylan’s chest with the tip of his tongue before putting his hands behind his back and wrapping his lips around the shot glass just under Dylan’s pecs, throwing it back.
Jake pulls the shot glass from his mouth and Hud dives straight for the lime wedge in Dylan’s mouth.
“Fuck, that was hot,” Phoenix says standing beside me. “But I can do it better.”
“It’s not your turn yet,” Jake says before looking at me. “Walker, you’re next.”
Not one to waste an opportunity, I follow suit, savoring the flavor of Dylan’s salty skin mixing with the margarita salt.
Hands held behind my back by Phoenix, I lean forward and put the entire shot glass in my mouth so my lips are flush with Dylan’s abs.
Phoenix tightens his grip on my wrists and I know he knows I did that on purpose.
Knocking my head back, I keep my throat relaxed so the tequila hits the back of my throat, completely bypassing my tongue.
Jake takes my cup, and finally, I grab the lime from Dylan’s mouth, totally smashing my lips against his.
As I’m sucking on the sour fruit, I feel Phoenix bristle. “I said no?—”
“You said, I couldn’t stick my tongue in his mouth,” I laugh, cutting him off.
“God damn, ” Dylan exhales from the table. “If that’s what those lips feel like on my face , I can only imagine what they feel like on?—”
“Watch it,” Phoenix growls much to my delight.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Knox watching every exchange intently. Like he’s wondering how the hell we can all be so open with this.
“Let me go next and get this over with,” Knox mutters.
“Absolutely not,” Phoenix says, moving up to the Dylan-shaped table. “I have a point to prove.”
“And what point would that be exactly?” Knox asks, dryly.
“Watch and find out.” He sends a wink to the grumpy group member before sprinkling salt on Dylan’s chest, specifically from one nipple to the other.
Then we all watch with rapt attention as the blond-haired green-eyed god goes to town on the dark haired, bronze bodied, blue-eyed fantasy laying before him.
Phoenix sticks his tongue all the way out and keeps it flat to ensure he covers the most surface area, then slowly…
painfully slowly, he licks his way across Dylan’s chest.