Chapter 22
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
Axel
Luca’s grin hits me the moment we walk through the door. He scrambles off the play mat and rushes toward us.
“Daddy’s back!” I scoop him up and kiss his chubby cheeks. “So is Unc-Unc!”
“That’s not a thing,” Enzo grumbles.
“Of course, it’s a thing! Isn’t Unc-Unc silly?” I ask Luca.
Patricia laughs. “You’re so cute together.”
Color creeps up Enzo’s neck, blotching pink beneath his stubble. “Oh, we’re not—” He pauses, maybe thinking about how Patricia totally saw him come out of my bedroom this morning.
He gives me a helpless look, which is adorable. He wants me to rescue him.
I turn to Patricia. “It’s quieter in my room. And the bed is more comfortable.”
She gives a knowing smile. “I understand. Don’t worry.”
Luca grins happily as Patricia explains what Luca did all day.
It’s nice.
It’s wonderful, actually.
I can’t believe I have a child, and right now, I feel like I have a family.
It’s not something I was looking for before, but I already can’t imagine it being any different.
Something warms my heart. It’s happiness.
Enzo and I help Luca get ready for bed, and Patricia says goodnight.
Enzo and I are alone in the living room.
“Well…” Enzo glances at the couch. “Good night.”
I sigh. “You know, you’re still welcome to sleep in my bedroom. The mattress is more comfortable.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“And I don’t want to argue.”
Enzo gives me a strange look, one I probably deserve.
I shouldn’t be pressing him to join me so much.
But last night it felt like we were closer to our former friendship. It felt like we were friends, not acquaintances who hated each other.
I liked it.
I liked having Enzo curled beside me. I liked not being alone in my big bedroom.
“Patricia already thinks we’re doing it,” I say.
Enzo’s skin pinkens, and he leans forward and whispers, “aren’t we sort of?”
I chortle and grab Enzo’s suitcase. Clothes spill from the edges, and I carry it into my bedroom. I deposit it on the floor, Enzo at my heels.
“We’ll need another chest-of-drawers,” I say.
“What?”
I point to an empty section of the room. “There’s space over there.”
He still looks at me, confused.
“Or, you know what,” I say. “I’ll just buy what I already got again. It will work for you, right?”
His eyes go wide. “It will work.”
“Perfect.” I beam. “And then they will match!”
He nods slowly but still looks confused as I make the order on my phone.
I let Enzo use the bathroom first, and after I finish, he is already snuggled underneath the covers. He gives me a shy smile, and I climb into bed beside him.
This should feel weird, but the only thing I’m conscious of is a sense of calm, one I didn’t experience when he’d distanced himself from me. Now, Enzo is where he is supposed to be.
“Why did you stop talking to me?” I ask Enzo.
Enzo stiffens. “Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Axel—” His voice is tight. “Can we not do this right now?”
“But—”
“Please.” He turns away from me, and the mattress moves. “I’m tired. Let’s just... sleep.”
“Okay,” I say quietly. “Another time.”
He doesn’t answer, and the tension surges in the room. Have I just reminded him that he doesn’t want to be friends with me after all?
Enzo shifts. “Axel?”
“Yes?”
“Can we go back to last night?”
“You mean when I wasn’t trying to have a heavy conversation with you?”
He gives an embarrassed laugh. “Yes.”
Reminders of last night bombard my mind. I chuckle. “Did you prefer it when I was touching you?”
“You were pretty good at it.”
My shoulders square. My chest puffs out. “That’s a great compliment from a…”
Enzo goes still beside me.
Shit. I was going to say gay man, but I swallow the word. Enzo and I haven’t had that discussion.
I won’t make things weird and heavy.
“Man of your taste,” I finish lamely.
A weak laugh escapes him. I pull him to my side before I’m realizing I’m doing it, and his long legs wrap around mine. I squeeze him against me in a bro-ish side hug which doesn’t seem particularly bro-ish when our cocks press together. His hip bone presses into my thigh.
I harden. Enzo inhales, and I know he feels me too.
“I, uh…” Enzo swallows hard. “I could help you with that. If you want. Just… Well, it just occurred to me that I could…”
“You want to give me a handjob, Enz?”
“Just to make sure you relax. Since it’s nighttime. And you worked really hard.”
“We won.”
“Yeah. That was nice.”
“It was fucking awesome.” I nudge my cock against Enzo’s hand, and in the next moment his hand is on it.
His grip is firm even through the fabric. My hips jerk before I can stop them.
“Is this okay?” he asks.
“Yeah. Fuck, yeah.”
He tugs my boxers down, and his hand, his warm, confident hand, wraps around my bare cock.
Oh.
My cock jerks against his fingers, larger than any woman’s. His touch is firm, his thumb circling my head in a way that makes my breath catch.
“I’ll, uh, get the lube…”
“Or I could—”
My brow furrows. Enzo shifts downward.
He’s not— He can’t intend—
He still moves downward. My pulse leaps.
My stomach tightens. And then his mouth—hot and wet and there—closes around me.
He licks my shaft.
Cells explode. Something short-circuits behind my ribs.
He holds me with one hand, then his mouth swallows me.
It’s good.
It’s awesome.
His tongue does things, and his lips do things and even his hands do things.
He’s been at it for fifteen seconds, and this is already the best blowjob of my life. He sucks me hard.
He knows exactly what he’s doing.
“Fuck, Enzo—”
His tongue does something wicked, and my spine arches off the mattress. He sucks me deep, cheeks hollowing, and the sound I make isn’t one I’ve heard from myself.
He’s good at this. He’s so good at this. His hands press my hips down, holding me still while he takes me apart with his tongue, and I’m gripping the pillow, the sheets, anything—
I don’t know how long it lasts. He finds every nerve I didn’t know I had—the underside of my shaft, the spot just below the head that makes me grip the sheets like I’m falling.
When I come, it tears out of me. Enzo swallows, his throat working, and I’m still shaking when he pulls off.
This can’t be his first time. No way.
Enzo sits up, wiping his mouth. Even in the darkness, I can feel his panic. He was confident, experienced, and—
“I should—” He scrambles for the edge of the bed.
“Hey.” I catch his wrist. “Where are you going?”
“I just— That was— I shouldn’t have—” His pulse bounces underneath my fingers.
“Enzo.” I pull him back down. “That was amazing.”
“You probably think I’m—” His voice trembles.
The pain gnaws at me, and I hate it. I draw him closer to me, cupping his face in my hands even in the dark.
“I think you’re good at that,” I say. “We’re just being helpful. That’s all.”
“Yes.” He still trembles.
That won’t do.
I grin. I have an idea.
I push him onto his back. “My turn.”
“You don’t have to—”
I straddle him. “Only fair.”
“Axel, you really don’t—”
I pull his boxers down and wrap my hand around him. It pulses warm and hard. He wants this.
And then I take him in my mouth.
Because if we’re just bros helping bros, why wouldn’t I?
I’m not as practiced as he was, and my mouth stretches over his head in an awkward manner, and I’m surprised how little I can put in my mouth.
I grasp hold of his shaft and try to hold it as I suck on the top. I fondle Enzo’s balls, getting used to the fact that everything is in the wrong position and I’ve never had a dick in my mouth before.
But then I continue to lick and suck and figure out how deep I can take him.
I like it.
I like feeling him on my tongue and hearing the shocked delight as his breath quickens above me. I inhale his masculine scent and grip his narrow hips.
He rests his hands tentatively on my shoulders. “Axel—” His voice is wrecked. “I’m going to—”
He scrambles away from me, and I watch as he shudders.
I grab a tissue and clean him, then I crawl back up beside him. We’re both breathing hard, both sticky with sweat. His breath is ragged against my collarbone.
“So,” I say finally, trying to sound casual, even though my heart is pounding. “That should help you sleep.”
He laughs. “I can’t believe you did that.”
He stiffens, and I’m pretty sure he’s thinking again that he gave me a blowjob first.
I pull him against me, so his head is on my shoulder. He’s stiff, and for a moment I think I’ve made a mistake. But then he sighs and nestles against me. Our legs tangle together.
“Good night, Enz,” I say.
“Good night, Axel.”
His breathing slows against my chest. I squeeze him closer, and sleep comes easy, my heart beating happily.