Chapter 20

________

CHARLIE

CHARLIE WOKE up on Christmas morning to find a series of new text messages from Ward.

The lockscreen notification showed a time stamp from last night, after Charlie had gone to bed. Charlie frowned, wondering what the man could possibly have had to say when he should have been asleep.

A heavy feeling filled his gut. Was Ward letting him know that he wanted to see Skylar again? Had the man already made plans? Maybe even already contacted the escort service and set up an appointment?

Charlie hesitated, picturing Ward and his Sky having sex. His skin tingled all over. The thought should have made him angry—and he supposed it did, in a way—but more than anything, it aroused him. His penis grew hard as he sat there. Charlie frowned. Why was his body being so confusing?

He rubbed his eyes, then got up and padded quietly downstairs, taking his phone with him. It was hard to think without coffee. Charlie went straight to the kitchen and poured himself a cup, then headed for the sitting room so he could look at the trees.

Charlie turned on the Christmas lights, leaving the room otherwise dark, and sat down in one of the comfortable chairs.

He looked at his phone again, still worried about what Ward might have to say. But curiosity got the better of him. That, and the need to clear the notification off his phone. He clicked on it, opening the text thread, and gasped.

Pictures! Of Christmas decorations!

Charlie scrolled back to where their conversation had ended last night in the parking lot. He found a new text just below it.

Ward : I know this probably isn't perfect, but I tried. I hope it makes you smile.

After that followed a series of pictures of Ward's apartment. Instead of being all drab and sad like it had been, it was now bright and colorful and full of cheer. Ward was right: It wasn't perfect. The garland and light strands weren't straight or symmetrical, and some decorations were clustered too much in one area while too sparse in another, but it was something.

Charlie bounced in his seat and let out a string of noises. He couldn't help it. Ward had gone to the trouble to decorate at the last minute, all to make him happy. He sent Ward a quick text back.

Me : :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Charlie paused. Uh oh . He'd forgotten to say good morning first. The excitement had been too distracting. He had to fix that.

Me : Good morning, Ward. Merry Christmas! Thank you for the pictures!

Charlie waited. Several minutes passed with no response. He started to frown, but then he remembered that everyone else in the house was still asleep. Maybe Ward was, too. Charlie sipped his coffee and looked up at the Christmas trees in the corners.

Ward needed a Christmas tree!

Just as he was about to send a text to tell the man so, his phone vibrated in his hand.

Ward : Hey, buddy. What are you doing up so early?

Me : My body always wakes up at 4:30. Unless it's that stupid daylight savings thing, and then my body wakes up at 5:30 instead. It's the same time, really, but the numbers are different. Why do the numbers have to be different? Laws are stupid.

Ward : Haha! I agree.

Charlie grinned and bounced in his seat. Once he was still, he picked up his coffee and took a sip just as another text from Ward came in.

Ward : I'm gonna go make some coffee. One sec.

Charlie stilled. Uh oh . He held his phone in both hands, hesitating before he sent a message.

Me : Did I wake you up?

Charlie waited, but no response came in.

Me : Ward?

Me : Ward?

Me : Ward?

Me : Ward?

Ward : Hey, buddy. It's okay.

Ward : Sorry, I set my phone down to start the coffee machine. It's okay. Yes, you woke me up, but it's fine. Everything's fine. I promise.

Me : I'm sorry. :( I sometimes forget people don't wake up when I do and then I wake them up and it makes them cranky.

Ward : Charlie, I'll be fine, I swear. It's okay. I'm not upset.

Charlie heaved a sigh of relief. He picked up his coffee and took little sips while he stared at his phone, waiting for Ward. It was several minutes before the phone vibrated again.

Ward : Okay. Got coffee. :D

Charlie grinned and opened the camera app on his phone. He turned around, held out his phone, and took a picture of himself holding up his coffee mug, making sure to get a Christmas tree in the background. Charlie checked the picture to make sure it had turned out well, then sent it to Ward. He got an almost immediate response.

Ward : :D Cheers

Me : Show me!

A minute later, a picture similar to his own showed up in the thread: Ward, holding up a coffee mug, with some Christmas lights behind him.

Except Ward was naked.

Charlie's eyes went wide. Granted, he could only see the man from the chest up, but that part of him, at least, was bare. Charlie stared at the picture. At Ward's big muscles.

Oh . Was that why his Sky got so excited around Ward? Because Charlie definitely didn't look like that.

Charlie looked down at himself. At his own skinny arms. Ward's arms were probably twice as big around. Charlie knew people cared about things like that, though he'd never understood why. Then again, as he studied Ward's picture, he realized his penis was growing hard. “ Hhnn .” Was it the muscles? Or just because Ward's skin was bare? Charlie had no idea.

Me : Ward?

Ward : Yeah, buddy?

Me : Can you teach me how to get big muscles like that?

Ward : Yeah, I could. But can you tell me why?

Me : Because then maybe my Sky will look at me the same way he looks at you.

Ward : Charlie, Sky LOVES you. Okay? He loves you just the way you are. I can tell from the way he looks at you. The way he talks about you. And besides that, there is NOTHING at all wrong with your body. You hear me? Nothing.

Charlie scowled. Of course he couldn't hear Ward. The man wasn't talking. And he was too far away to hear. Charlie was just about to point that out when Ward sent another message.

Ward : If you really want to learn, I can teach you. But do it for YOU. Okay? Not because you think Sky needs that from you.

Before Charlie could come up with a reply, another message came through.

Ward : Do you know the difference between lust and love?

Charlie had to think about that one for a minute.

Me : I don't know.

Ward : You mentioned how Sky looks at me, and that's probably nothing more than lust. That's fleeting. Just physical attraction. And, yes, it feels good, but there's no substance to it. But what you and Sky clearly have is love. That's enduring. Deeper. Lasting. And far more important. Don't envy the way you think Sky looks at me. I envy the way you and Sky feel about one another. I know I've only seen you guys together a couple times, but your connection is obvious. You don't find that kind of deep-seated comfort and security with just anyone.

Charlie stared at the words. Ward was right. His Sky was safe and constant. A comforting, familiar presence in his life. Someone on whom he could always rely.

But Charlie had felt that same thing with Ward, too, brief though it had been.

He was about to write something to that effect when he heard soft footsteps behind him. Charlie turned around and saw Skylar step down off the last stair riser and shuffle across the foyer.

Skylar gave him a fleeting smile as he came into the sitting room.

Early , Charlie signed.

Skylar nodded. He stepped around the couch and sank down onto it at Charlie's side. Bad dream , he signed back, preserving the silence. Then he curled up on his side and put his head in Charlie's lap, closing his eyes.

Charlie found himself smiling, realizing this was what Ward had been talking about. Simple, quiet moments like this one. Charlie and Skylar utterly comfortable in one another's presence. Each knowing the other so well that no words were needed.

He glanced at his phone. Charlie had no idea what possessed him to do it, but he couldn't resist opening the camera app again and taking a picture, making sure the flash and the shutter sound were both off so it wouldn't disturb his Sky.

Charlie checked the picture. He'd had to hold his arm way out so the camera captured both himself and Skylar, the two of them lit only by the soft glow of the Christmas lights. Charlie smiled as he sent the picture to Ward.

Ward : Geez, buddy.

Ward : You two look so adorable together.

Ward : I hope you realize how lucky you are. You don't need muscles, Charlie. You've already got the whole world right there in front of you.

Charlie looked down. His Sky wasn't asleep but he looked relaxed and at peace. Like there wasn't anywhere else in the world he could possibly want to be. Charlie smiled. He felt the same.

Except there was something missing. Charlie carefully turned and eyed Ward's chair. It looked so empty. What would it be like to have Ward there with them? Just the three of them, sitting quietly, having coffee, watching the Christmas lights dance across the trees? Charlie smiled again. It didn't make any sense, but he wanted that.

Skylar stirred. “Oh, that coffee smells good,” he murmured.

Charlie grinned. I make! he signed. He waited until Skylar sat up, then shot to his feet and headed for the kitchen, texting Ward as he went.

Me : I have to go now. I'm making coffee for my Sky.

Ward : Okay. :) Have a great day, Charlie. Merry Christmas.

Me : Merry Christmas!

Charlie put his phone aside. He didn't text Ward again that day, but he couldn't resist sending the man a message the following morning. They were in the van, heading back home. Skylar had kept himself up all night, so he fell asleep the moment they took off, using the drive to adjust his sleep schedule back to days. Charlie scowled. He hated that his Sky worked nights, leaving their routines in conflict.

So he entertained himself by chatting with Ward.

Even as it happened, Charlie wondered at it. He usually didn't like lots of conversation, not even with people he knew well. As for strangers, Charlie had learned the hard way to keep himself aloof. Otherwise, people tended to make fun of him.

But something about Ward made him feel utterly safe. Comfortable. It was so easy to talk to the man without worrying about judgment. He told Ward about everything they'd done on Christmas Day, then shared what he was having for lunch as well as things he saw on the road. The latter was mostly complaints about stupid drivers who couldn't follow simple rules. It made Ward laugh and commiserate with him.

That made Charlie really happy.

They kept chatting off and on, all through the weekend, sometimes with pictures thrown in. Charlie showed Ward his coffee mug—better than the one he'd used at Dakota's house—as well as the bookshelves in his bedroom. He even sent an old picture of Mouse Mouse, though it made him sad to talk about that.

In return, Ward sent him pictures of wine bottles he'd had a hand in producing, as well as pictures he'd taken of the vineyard where he worked. Then he sent Charlie a picture of an aisle in a department store, the shelves full of bathroom rugs.

Charlie told him which color to get so they'd go with Ward's towels. An hour later, Ward sent a picture of his bathroom with the rugs in place. Charlie grinned at that one.

But then came the text message he'd been dreading, and it came far sooner than he'd expected.

Ward : I made you a promise, so here it is. I just made another appointment to see Sky.

Charlie stared at the words, trying to decide how they made him feel. Upset? Aroused? Jealous? He wasn't really sure. Maybe all of the above.

Me : When?

Ward : Mid February. It was the soonest he had a Saturday night available.

Charlie eyed his calendar. That was almost two whole months away. Two months of counting down the days, waiting for it to come, knowing what was going to happen. It was one thing to know his Sky had clients, but now Charlie could put a face to one of them.

Not for the first time, he pictured Ward and his Sky having sex.

Damn it .

Charlie reached for his zipper.