Chapter Twenty-Five
Eric
“D o you think our parents will be able to tell we’re sleeping together?”
Donovan’s head whips my direction from the driver’s seat. “What the fuck. I hope not.”
I cock a brow at him, enjoying giving him shit. “Are you embarrassed of me, husband?”
“No. I just don’t want to consider—at all—that our sex life might pop into our parents’ heads.”
I chuckle, then reach over and place my hand on his thigh.
I’ve been enjoying this new layer of our relationship.
While we haven’t been doing it long, sex with Donovan is the best sex I’ve ever had, but my favorite part is how we lie around talking afterward.
The way we laugh and tease each other, or when he talks to me about work and is still trying to get me to consider starting my own business.
I love the way we take care of each other, when we’re fucking and when we’re not.
Donovan is always on my mind, and I can tell I’m always on his too.
He thinks of little things to do to make me happy or to help me out, and it’s probably the most important thing in my whole universe to do the same for him.
“Yeah, I guess you have a point. I just wonder how I’m going to keep my hands off you when we’re there.
” Now that I can touch him, I want to do it all the time.
But we also had a talk before heading out.
We don’t want to do anything to confuse our parents, and us being married will definitely do that. It still confuses me.
“Eric…?” he says, making me realize he’d been speaking while I was lost in what’s becoming a familiar Donovan trance. It’s what I call it when I smile like an idiot and can’t stop thinking about him. Or I’m confused by him. Basically the only options when it comes to him.
“Hmm?”
“No cuddling in front of our parents.”
“You’re so boring,” I tease. “I wish we could have brought Butterscotch. She’s going to be so lonely. She’s used to at least one of her daddies being home.”
“We’ll give her extra loves when we get home.” He tosses a smile in my direction, and it makes my heart speed up.
We continue talking all the drive up to Victorville.
Our parents still live in the same houses they had when we were growing up.
Most of the neighborhood is that way. It makes me sad sometimes, when I think about my mom being alone.
As far as I know, she never even dated after losing my dad.
I know she didn’t when I lived at home, and when I bring it up now, she always has some excuse.
It’s her birthday today, which is why we’re heading up. Donovan’s parents invited her over. I’m glad she still has them. They’re the only family we have—Mom having grown closer to them over the years because of my relationship with Donovan.
I can tell by the way he’s tapping his fingers against the steering wheel that he’s nervous.
“What’s wrong, D?”
He pulls up in front of his childhood home. “Aren’t you nervous at all? It’s different now, and what if they can tell we’re…whatever we are? And then they think it means more than it does?”
My instinct is to get my feelings hurt a little at what he says.
Does this not mean as much to him as it does to me?
But then I acknowledge that I don’t know how to put a name on this either, so how can I expect him to know?
“We’re still us. No matter what, we’ll always be us.
That will never change, so there’s nothing to be worried about. ”
He sighs. “Why are you the best person I’ve ever known? You always make me feel better, even when my head is still a mess.”
“Why is your head a mess?”
“Because we have no idea what we’re doing?”
“We’re husbands—”
“It’s a marriage policy. We’re married for insurance.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t change that we’re husbands. And best friends. Who have sex and like to cuddle. We have the perfect relationship, so why are we freaking ourselves out to put a name on it?”
His eyes close for a beat too long. “Because I—”
“Maggie! They’re here!” Mom shouts from somewhere behind me.
“You what?” I ask.
“Nothing. We should get in there. Your mom looks excited to see us.” Donovan gets out of the car and walks around to my side.
He and Mom get there at the same time, and I’m distracted by their hug. She loves him like I do—well, not exactly like I do, or that could be awkward. But Donovan is like a son to her, and that makes me feel warm and mushy inside.
Maggie and Calvin, Donovan’s parents, come out of the house. Donovan looks a lot like his father. The same kind, brown eyes, the same bighearted smile. He has his mom’s shorter height, though, and his dad has always been bigger and more muscular than Donovan.
I open the door, and Donovan immediately offers to help me. “I got it.” I grin at him, feeling it deeply inside myself, to the parts of me that only Donovan can reach.
“Oh, come here. Give me a hug. I missed you so much.” Mom pulls me into her arms.
“Hey, Mama. Happy birthday. I missed you too.”
“Good to see you, son.” I watch over her shoulder as Donovan and Calvin embrace.
“Good to see you too, Dad.”
“Then why don’t you get your ass home more often?” Calvin cocks a brow, and Donovan holds his hands up.
“I know. My bad. We’ll try and make it home more often. I mean, I will.”
“Hey. You’re not allowed to come home without me.” I throw an arm around him and can’t help but take in his scent. He smells so fucking good, he almost gets my dick hard.
“My turn,” Maggie says. She’s a tiny little thing, one of those people who don’t put weight on them no matter how much they eat.
I pull back so Donovan can give her a hug too. He lifts her off the ground, and she laughs. When he’s done with his mom, he comes to mine. “Happy birthday, Mama S.” He kisses her forehead.
“Thank you. And thanks for taking care of my boy. I can’t believe he broke his ankle.” The group of us walk toward the house.
“I’m not doing anything. Eric is good at taking care of himself. He just lives with me and helps with my rent.”
Way to try and sell me as being more independent than I am, while not seeing how awesome he is.
“Don’t let him fool you,” I say. “He’s always trying to take care of me. If he had anything to say about it, I wouldn’t lift a finger.”
“You boys have always been good at taking care of each other,” Maggie says. “That’s what makes your relationship so special.”
“She’s not wrong.” I nudge Donovan with my arm.
“No. She’s not.” He gives me a strange smile I find hard to read. I don’t like it when I can’t sort out one of his faces.
The house smells good—Calvin must’ve been cooking.
Donovan sits on the couch, and I go down beside him.
I try hard not to touch him too much. We’ve always been affectionate, so I don’t think it’s something they’ll notice anyway, but now that we touch each other in different ways, it’s hard not to have my hands on him as much as possible—palm against his thigh, arm around him, curling up against him because Donovan is really good at snuggling.
Calvin goes into the kitchen to check the food, and Donovan goes with him. When the two of them are together, they spend as much time bonding as they can.
“When do you go back to work?” Mom asks, which makes dread fill my gut.
Is this when I tell her I don’t have a job to go back to?
And then she worries I’ll never get my shit together?
I hate feeling like I disappoint her. It’s not something she would ever say to me, but I can’t deny it sometimes feels like it.
Maybe disappointment is not the right word.
I’m just not as good at stuff or as smart as she is or Dad was.
“Actually, about that… Cliff let me go.”
“What? Because of your ankle? He can’t do that.”
“Yes and no. But what’s the alternative? Fight for my job back from someone who clearly doesn’t want me around? I’ve started looking for something else.”
“You can’t let him get away with that. I understand not wanting to work with someone like that, but what about your bills?
Medical insurance? Are you getting unemployment?
Oh, honey, is that why you moved in with Donovan?
” And now I feel about two inches tall. She’s right.
Of course she is. “He can’t take care of you. ”
“I—”
“I don’t take care of him.” Donovan steps back into the room. “Or I guess I should say I don’t do any more for him than he does for me. He gets up every morning with me to make me breakfast. He meal-preps so I have lunch, and makes sure I don’t work too hard, and reminds me to have fun.”
“Shoot. I didn’t mean for it to sound like Eric doesn’t pull his weight.” She turns to me. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I just love you and want what’s best for you.”
I nod. There has never been a doubt in my mind about that. “I know.”
Donovan jumps in again. “Eric is good at what he does. The best. Cliff doesn’t deserve him. He took advantage of Eric’s kindness and work ethic and then tossed him out when Eric needed him. I don’t ever want him to go back to that. Eric deserves more.”
My chest feels too big, like each word Donovan speaks makes it swell more and more. The feeling prompts me to say, “I’ve, um…considered trying to start my own business. Donovan and I were talking about it, and I’ve done some research. I don’t know if I’ll be good at the business part, but—”
“You will.” Donovan comes over and sits sideways on the couch, facing me. “I know we talked about it, but you didn’t tell me you actually started looking into it. I did the same. I have all the information at home, but I didn’t want to be pushy.”
My heart melts. I love that he did this for me but also doesn’t try to get me to do anything he’s not sure I want to do. “Really?”
“Yes. You can totally do this, babe. I know you can. I’m always there to help, but I doubt you’ll even need it. I want this for you so bad.”
I suddenly feel woozy, my stomach all flip-floppy, and maybe like I’m the luckiest person in the world.
“I think I want to try it.” It feels so wild to admit that out loud. Admitting it makes it real, and real stuff hurts to lose.
“We’ll make it work. Whatever we have to do,” Donovan replies, and the worry I’ve been carrying begins to dissipate.
“We?”
“Always.”
I drop my forehead against his. When the air in the room changes, the feel of eyes heavy on us, I remember we’re not alone. As if Donovan thinks it at the same time, he jerks away.
Calvin clears his throat.
Maggie and Mom are smiling.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Mom says. “It just feels like everything is falling into place.”
“I agree,” Maggie adds.
“What? You always knew I should start my own business?”
“Something like that,” Calvin answers.
Mom just shrugs, her smile growing even more.