Chapter 16 FLETCHER
FLETCHER
Iam trying.
God, I really am.
Georgie is home for the weekend, and I’m listening when she talks, nodding in the right places, asking follow-up questions like a present, engaged father should.
I cook meals, ask about school, Avalon, and the latest drama with her friends.
I don’t rush her. I don’t check my phone every five seconds.
But under all of that, there’s this constant ache for Vince.
We’ve only had a handful of nights together, and every one of them has felt stolen—wedged between work schedules, exhaustion, and responsibility.
I miss him in a way that feels disproportionate to the amount of time we’ve actually had.
Or maybe it isn’t disproportionate at all.
Maybe that’s just what happens when something fits too easily into the empty spaces of your life.
I want more.
I need more.
So Sunday morning, before the sun is fully up, I slip out of the house and into the backyard. Bones pouts loudly from inside the house as I leave him behind.
The morning air is chilly, the brick path cold under my bare feet. The guesthouse has all its lights off and its curtains drawn, which is what I hoped for.
I quietly let myself in, keeping the lights off.
Vince is sprawled on his back across the bed, half tangled in the blankets. He’s breathing slow and deep, one leg bent.
For a second, I just watch him, wondering if I should’ve just left him alone. He looks so peaceful for once, so soft. The tension he carries all day isn’t there, and waking him up to bring that back feels cruel.
But god. He’s beautiful. Painfully so. My aching dick agrees, reminding me exactly why I’d snuck into his room.
Peeling off my clothes, I slide into bed beside him.
He stirs instantly, blinking his gorgeous dark eyes at me.
I slide on top of him, holding my weight on my elbows as I settle between his legs.
The heat of his naked body is exactly what I’ve needed.
Vince grins at me, half asleep, and one arm curls around my back.
Without saying a word, I kiss him. Deeply.
Vince makes this low, pleased sound against my mouth, and his hands come up automatically, as if his body already knows what’s happening even if his brain is still catching up. He pulls one leg out to wrap around me, rolling his hips.
I don’t rush it. I don’t need to. This isn’t about urgency or sneaking a moment in without Georgie noticing.
This is about closeness. About reminding him that there’s something real between us, and it’s so much more than either of us bargained for.
He keeps trying to nudge walls between us, and I refuse to let him.
His rough hands glide over my back, then down to my ass. He squeezes my hips as we rock, our thickening cocks rubbing together.
He rolls us over, smiling down at me. I slide my hands up his perfectly smooth chest, then cup his face. He kisses me, then shimmies down the bed. The cool air of the room, mixed with the heat coming from his solid body, is incredible. I clench the sheets as his hand circles around my cock.
Vince licks up the side, then around the head. As soon as I slide down his throat, I curse. The pressure as he sucks and the way he slowly pulls off, like he’s enjoying a sacred treat, makes my head spin.
I prop myself up on my elbows, hoping to see him, but all I can make out is the faint silhouette as he bobs.
He spreads my legs, sucking on my balls and taking me to the brink of bliss.
Before I can come, he crawls back up and grinds our hips together, kissing hard.
One hand slides under my ass, lifting me as he holds us together.
I gasp at the sudden pressure. Vince may as well be making love to me with the way he’s moving. I feel him everywhere.
“Vince,” I breathe. Wrapping one leg around him, I curl my arms around his back. “Don’t stop.”
He sucks on my throat, just below my ear and ruts harder. I’m gone, spilling between our bellies as I tremble.
Vince lifts his head to look at me. His hips move, chasing his own release, but I can tell he needs more. Wetting my finger, I reach for his ass, sliding between his cheeks.
His lips part, then he kisses me. His large frame is awkward, so I nudge him to roll us over. Kneeling between his bent knees, I spit again, coating my fingers before entering him.
Vince shudders. “Oh, shit.”
I watch his face as I fuck him—taking in all the lust, the need. “Reminds me of the day I found you with the vibrator.”
He groans. “Don’t remind me.”
I chuckle and hover above him. “That was so hot, babe. To walk in on you like that. I had to lock myself in my bathroom after.”
His eyes flutter. “You jerked off?”
“Mm-hmm.” I work my fingers deeper into him, rubbing his prostate. “I came so hard.”
I see a long vibrating dildo by his pillow and reach for it. Turning it on, I touch it to his cock while I continue to finger his hole. The vibration works. Vince’s eyes snap shut as he drops his head back. His fingers dig into my arms, and he grunts—but more out of frustration than release.
I kiss him hard, holding the vibrator against his shaft as I press my hips down, thinking maybe adding weight will help.
“Holy fuck,” he mutters. “Don’t stop.”
I rut a few more times. A second later, his channel tightens around my hand and hot cum slides between our bellies.
I kiss him softly before letting go, turning the toy off and setting it aside. I lie beside Vince, holding him as he catches his breath.
Eventually, he turns to look at me, face breaking into a smile before he laughs. “That’s one way to wake a guy up.”
“The best way if you ask me.”
He rolls toward me, and we end up tangled together, skin to skin, breaths mixing.
The clock is ticking somewhere in the back of my mind, reminding me I need to get back to the house, but I ignore it for now. I need this too. We both do.
I press my forehead to his. “I’ve missed you.”
Vince’s smile is instant, all lazy and soft and perfectly content. “I think the sex was a pretty good hint about that.”
I laugh quietly, resting my weight against him. “I’m serious. I’ve hardly seen you the last two weeks.”
“I know.” He pulls me closer. “I’ve missed you too. I keep hoping I’ll see you walking across the parking lot at work. Sucks you couldn’t draw the bathroom remodel out just a little longer.”
I chuckle, yet his confession hits me right in the chest. Vince misses me too.
I shift so I can see him better. “How’s work been going, anyway? Is the chair helping?”
He sighs. “It helped a lot at first, but… I don’t know. It’s still pretty rough most nights. I’m managing, though.”
I can see it on his face—the effort it takes to keep it together, the way his body holds onto pain even when he pretends it isn’t there.
I want to push for more details. I want to tell him to slow down, to take care of himself.
But I don’t. He needs my trust more than my hovering. Especially after everything.
Besides, Vince knows I’ll be there if he needs me.
“Ace is still here.”
I freeze. “He is?”
“Showed up last night. He says he’s in no hurry to leave, which is just as well. I’d rather someone be in the apartment if I’m going to keep paying for it.”
“You should make him pay, if he’s staying.”
Vince chuckles once. “I already told him that. He agreed.”
What is Vince going to do about his apartment? How much longer does he even have on his lease? He’s been here over two months. It’s another unanswered question. Another uncertainty. Another reason for him to pull away.
I wrap my arms around him and snuggle in.
We talk quietly for a long time, then eventually, reluctantly, get up to get dressed. He follows me back to the main house for breakfast.
Georgie is already up, sitting at the table in her favorite purple pajama bottoms and one of my old hoodies. It’s startling how well it fits her now. It feels like it was just yesterday that it swallowed her whole.
“Morning, kiddo.”
She looks up from her phone, eyebrows knitting together. “I wondered where you were.”
Shit. Right. This must look weird, us walking in together.
Stay calm, Fletcher.
“Yeah. I, uh—” I gesture vaguely. “Vince and I needed to talk. About stuff. You know, grown-up things.”
She looks between us, slowly, blue eyes narrowing behind her glasses. Then mouths, ooookay, before going back to her phone.
Vince rolls his eyes at me, biting back a laugh. My ears burn. Sometimes, I lie worse than a teenager.
After starting the coffee, I scramble some eggs while Vince butters some toast. We move effortlessly together, predicting each other’s movements.
Partway through the meal, my phone rings. Sarah’s name lights up the screen.
“Hey,” I say, answering.
“Oh, good. I caught you. I just have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Ryan and I are figuring out the Christmas Eve menu for this weekend, and it made me wonder… are you bringing Vince?”
The question knocks the breath out of me, and I nearly drop my phone. I haven’t let myself think that far ahead. It felt too dangerous. Too impossible. Painful, even, since I didn’t know if Vince would even be here this long.
But now the image floods in with perfect clarity—Vince seated at Sarah’s crowded dining table, surrounded by people I love. Laughing with Darren. Teasing Ryan’s kids. Belonging—really belonging.
It aches how much I want that.
“I… um. I’ll need to talk to Vince about it,” I manage.
Vince looks up at the sound of his name.
“Of course. He’s invited, though. You know that, right?” Sarah says.
Her warm tone calms me. “Yeah, I know.”
“Okay, good. Tell you what, I’ll just plan on an extra seat, and if he comes, he comes. If not, that’s fine too.”
I let out a breath. “Thanks.”
I disconnect the call and force myself to take another bite. Vince watches me curiously. I shake my head subtly. Not yet. Not in front of Georgie.
The teen looks up then, eyes wide. “Avalon’s parents are inviting me to go to a movie with them. Will says he can pick me up in an hour.”