20. Chapter 20
Some say there’s no such thing as too much frosting, but are they right? I didn’t realize that baking night was just a prelude to frosting night. A heads up would’ve been nice. Not that it would’ve changed anything. I got to obsess over his frosting-covered cock for two nights straight—and enjoyed every fucking minute of it.
Hearing my name chanted over and over like a rock star stroked my ego. I felt like a sex god, turning this buttoned-up, flannel-wearing man into putty with just the lap of my tongue.
“I really hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but the cupcakes won’t move themselves just by staring at them,” Olly says, breaking me from my sugary daydream.
“But that’s a really long walk, and you didn’t make any extra.”
We both turn our heads and peer down at the row of uneven ground where the cupcake booth is currently being set up.
“Which is why we brought the wagon.”
I point to his brain. “You are a very smart man,” I say with a little spring in my step and a kiss on his cheek.
“Do you guys need some help?” Dom asks from the Ink Me booth as we walk by, cupcake trays piled high in the wagon.
“No, we’ve got it.”
“Oh, for the love of all things holy, take him! Please!” Mira shouts.
Olly chuckles. “I’m sure I can find something for you to… lift.”
With Dom’s help, we get all 150 cupcakes unloaded quickly. And earn bonus points with Mira. It’s a win-win.
I’m setting down the last box when I look over at Olly and see the worry lines creasing his forehead. This job is a big deal for him.
I see the weight he carries. Even when he thinks no one is paying attention. I see the slumped shoulders, the dark circles under his eyes.
Embracing his confidence in baking and the chance at following his dream with the opening of the bakery weighs him down with guilt. Plus, I know how much he wants to impress Marcus and Jacob, even though I told him a hundred times he didn’t need to.
I stride over to where Olly is setting up the display cases. Thinking he might need a quick minute to himself, I give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to make sure Ink Me doesn’t need any help getting the temporary tattoos set up.” Jaxon was thrilled when I pitched him the idea. Since we can’t give the kids real tattoos, we brought along fake ones.
“Oh, of course. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think that you might have to work at the Ink Me booth. Here I’ve been taking all your time. ”
“Olly,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I’m at your service today. I already told Jaxon I wanted to help you. If they get busy and need an extra set of hands, I’ll jump in. But until then, I’m all yours.”
I stretch onto my toes and give him a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth. “I just thought I would give you a minute in case you needed it.”
He kisses me back and I smile at the openness of Olly and me kissing—in front of everyone—and I don’t care.
“Thank you, but I’m okay. Though you should go check on Ink Me, or even better, I’m pretty sure Jacob is running around with his head cut off. You could always check on him.”
“Nope, nada, did that once. Marcus and I learned our lesson. Now we just stand by in awe as he does his thing… and we don’t touch anything. Think Mira but gayer.”
A whistle blows out in the distance and we both turn our heads at the sound. Speak of the Devil. “Jacob with a whistle and a clipboard. This does not surprise me,” Olly says, followed by a chuckle. “Go.” He gives me another kiss.
“Okay, I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“You got the jetpack. What more do you want from me?”
“I’m your boyfriend. I should get certain privileges.”
Alex raises his brow, “Oh, Daddy, you get all the privileges, but you and I both know it’s Mr. Moneybags here who has the final say.”
Marcus laughs, “Riiiight. Like I have any say in the matter. I basically hold out my wallet and your boy here gets anything he wants. ”
“See, Mr. Moneybag agrees; Superhuman speed. Just imagine…” Jaxon waves his hand in front of Alex’s face. “Your player racing around the city at lightning-fast speeds, all while shooting flaming arrows and being chased throughout the night. The gamers are already begging for it. Well, that’s what the forums are saying. I’m telling you, it needs to be added as a perk in the expansion pack.”
“Jaxon, baby, how many times have I told you to stay off the forums? You’re already sleeping with the game developer. And if I recall, you found a very convenient way to make me reveal all my secrets.”
“Oh, my God. For the love of all things, make it stop,” Spencer says, rounding the corner with Baby Spy strapped to his chest, feet dangling. “Please, somebody do something. Cover your ears, Mazie.”
So, listen, I’m not proud. I panicked. Can you blame me?
“Marcus isn’t only Alex’s Mr. Moneybags… He’s also my doctor and has been treating me since ‘ the incident .’”
Shit! Now, I’m word vomiting. What the fuck?
I catch Marcus’ eye and he gives me a gentle smile.
Carrying 150 cupcakes followed by confessing your most intimate secrets to your co-wor—friends, was not on today’s to-do list.
But I guess it is now, so I take a deep breath and continue spewing words.
“And he also raised me along with his husbands. From the age of sixteen, I grew up as a part of The Matthew House.”
I can’t even bring myself to look at anyone, my gaze fixed on the floor, my chest feeling heavy with guilt. I’m sure their mouths are hanging open, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Maybe even disgusted.
I peek an eye open at the presence of someone in front of me. “I think we both know that you were a little more than just a part of The Matthew House,” Marcus says, giving me a gentle pat on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you,” he whispers before making his way out of the booth.
I look to the sky, trying to coax away the tears building that I know will eventually fall.
That’s when I feel it. The slide of his fingers as he threads them through mine. Calm settles over my nerves. “Me too,” Olly whispers before kissing my temple.
If I wasn’t freaking out so much right now, I would have turned into a southern belle, fainting over the fact he just kissed my temple.
“So let me get this straight. First Olly, with a mysterious baby. Not that we’re complaining, of course. And now you have a Scooby-Doo-type mystery. It’s like pulling the mask off over and over. It’s Marcus, no wait, it’s Mr. Withermore, no… it’s Doctor who,” he laughs at his own joke, “Or maybe… dun-dun-dun… Dad?” Spencer chuckles, and it helps ease the tension. I need this conversation to not be a big deal.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not Dad.” I hold my hands up with a smile. “He’s something much, much better. A friend, a guide. He’s family. They are my family.”
I see the moment it clicks in Spencer’s, then Jaxon’s eyes. The pity hiding in the crease of their smiles. But Dom? Dom just fucking stares at me with this weird smile, looking more deranged.
“Wait, that means you knew Matthew. Like you really knew him,” Alex says.
I nod my head, and Olly gives my hand a squeeze. I look at him when I say this next part. The feel of our bodies pressed together ground me. “I was there when he was healthy. I was there when he got sick… and I was th ere when he died.” Olly cups my cheek, and I lean into the touch as his thumb swipes a stray tear that has finally fallen.
“You would’ve been working at Ink Me when Matthew died. How did we not know?” Jaxon says, his voice empathetic.
I turn in Olly’s arms and shrug my shoulders. “Growing up in the system, I learned to keep a lot of things to myself.”
“And now you have people you can lean on—if you choose to do so.”
I look up at Olly. “I do, and I won’t take that for granted anymore. I’m gonna learn how to lean.” I kiss him firmly on the lips, which is followed by a few whoops and hollers. I expect nothing less from this bunch during a sweet and tender moment.
“When I first started working for you,” I say, turning to Jaxon, “I wasn’t quite ready to explain everything. I was still coming to terms with a lot myself. I had these three amazing men come into my life. My view of the world was changing. I was seeing things differently, and then Matthew died. There was a lot to process and a big part of me didn’t know how.”
Jaxon scooches Alex off his lap before walking up to me. “You have always been family to me the second you walked through the front doors of Ink Me, whether you realized it or not. That’s never going to change. Every single one of you,” he says, looking around, and my eyes follow suit.
Everyone is here, surrounding me in this booth. Arms draped over shoulders, friends and lovers. It doesn’t matter. We are all family.
Dom’s deep voice, now much closer, startles me. “That first day you came in for your so-called tattoo. I knew you needed Ink Me just as much as Ink Me needed you. You left that day, and I called Jaxon as soon as you walked out the door. I told him I didn’t care how, but he needed to hire you. ”
Jaxon laughs, “Yeah, the fucker even threatened to quit.”
“Dom, that’s… You should not put your job on the line for someone you don’t even know,” I say in disbelief.
That just makes them laugh even harder. “Please,” Dom says in between fits of laughter, “like Jaxon would ever fire me.”
“So you don’t think you could ever do anything to make Jaxon fire you?” Beckett pipes in, eyebrow raised.
“No,” Dom and Jaxon speak at the same time.
Pretty sure some kind of standoff is brewing between Dom and Beckett. “Good to know,” says Beckett, who is currently winning if Dom’s narrowing eyes mean anything.
“Knowing what I know now. It seems The Matthew House has been integrating itself in all our lives for a while…” Alex says. “Wait! So Marcus reaching out about House of Arrows, was that you?”
I smile sheepishly. “All I did was point him toward a local, queer-owned business. The rest was all you and your talent. I swear.”
Alex and I don’t hug. Yet here we are, hugging. “Thank you,” he says as soon as he pushes Olly out of the way. “You barely knew me. I know we’re not close, so the fact you even thought of me. Well, what I’m trying to say is that I don’t know what to say.”
“Baby, let go of Jasper before the little vein in Olly’s neck explodes.”
“What?” Alex pushes Jasper away in a panic and we all double over in laughter.
“Excuse me, Olly?”
“Yes, that’s me,” he says, answering a small child who has appeared wearing a tux and headset, holding a clipboard.
“Jacob was wondering if he could help pass out cupcakes? ”
“Yes, of course. Tell him to stop by the booth whenever he is ready.”
“Great, we’ll be opening the gates in ten minutes.”
“We should head back and make sure the booth is ready,” I tell Olly.
“What? No, you just, you know, spilled your guts. Stay, spend some with your friends, your family.”
“And you’re a part of that family, Olly. Now let’s go. You promised I could have a taste test if I didn’t drop any, and I believe I saved that one cupcake before it hit the ground.”