Forty-One
Logan
My friends enter the bar and stop when their eyes meet mine.
I wave them over to the pool table I’m at with Blake.
It’s been almost a month since he nearly lost his life to his piece of shit stepdad.
Even that term’s too good for him. His mom was in disbelief, but his sister didn’t seem the least bit shocked.
She wasn’t ignorant of the type of man her dad was.
Only some people chose to look past what they thought were small flaws, but she saw firsthand what he did behind closed doors to her brother.
Blake hasn’t been able to tell me everything he’s suffered at the hands of that man, but he has been able to write most of it in his journal.
He writes in it every day and has started seeing his therapist again, but the subject has mostly revolved around his dad and his upcoming funeral.
The smoke inhalation didn’t do much harm to Blake but it did affect his dad enough to kill him in his sleep on the way to the hospital.
At least that means Blake doesn’t have to worry about him anymore.
I don’t have to worry about my dad either, or Hayden.
They’ll be serving fifteen?year sentences with the drug charges sticking more than anything else.
At least something will keep them there long enough.
I’m not sure we’ll be living here by the time they’re released.
Blake is looking into modeling again, and if he chooses to take a job somewhere in the future, I’ll be going where he goes.
There’s no rush for him going back to work in the meantime.
I told him he can take a year off to find what he really wants to do, but mostly I just like having him at the house waiting for me naked in bed.
Sometimes it’s with a butt plug attached to a pig tail, and others it’s him asking me to put it in for him so he can show me how excited he is to see me return home.
Fuck, I love him. I haven’t said it yet, but I do. There have been so many opportunities for me to say it, but I keep thinking it’s too soon and stop myself. He leans against me, holding his pool stick at his side, and I kiss his cheek.
“Yeah, I knew we should have waited longer to come in,” Jimmy says, and Reese laughs, putting some space between them.
Lydia rolls her eyes and pulls me into a hug when she reaches me. “Nice getting to finally seeing you again. Work really has you busy.”
Work and something else, I think to myself as I wrap an arm around Blake. “Yeah. There’s been a lot happening around here the last few months. Hopefully it’ll start slowing down soon.”
“Hopefully.” Her eyes dart to Blake. “How have you been, Blake?”
“I’m okay. Hanging in there like everyone else.”
“That’s a good answer,” Reese says, grabbing a pool stick.
“That’s my whole damn life basically,” Jimmy adds, and Reese rolls his eyes.
While they’re too busy bickering at each other, I turn to Lydia, whispering, “What’s with them?”
She shrugs. “Hell if I know. They’ve been acting weird all week, and every time I ask about it, they act like they have no idea what I’m talking about.”
My gaze bounces between them as Reese excuses himself to the restroom. Jimmy waits to order his drink before following.
“You think they hooked up or something and now they’re regretting it?” Blake says low in my ear, and I smirk.
“Who the fuck knows, but that would be something if they did.”
“Why’s that?” He looks up at me after lining the balls up.
“Because then Reese can stop giving me shit about being with you.”
“Still thinks it’s a bad idea, huh?” He gives an almost frown.
“All my friends do,” I say between chuckling. “But unlike them, Reese actually knows everything.”
“They’ll learn to be okay with it over time.”
“Yeah, they will.” I kiss his hair as Jimmy turns the corner, making a disapproving sound.
We all laugh, and for the next few hours everything feels like old times.
We all give each other shit, play several rounds of pool, and drink, catching up on life.
Blake and I are the last two people to leave after closing out our tab, and as we’re walking back to my car, we catch Jimmy knocking on Reese’s window.
Reese puts his car into reverse, leaving Jimmy standing alone with his arms raised in defeat.
Yeah, I’ll have to get to the bottom of that later, but in the meantime I’m going to focus on the man sliding into the seat beside me and holding my hand as he tells me what he wants me to do to him when I get him home.