10. Ollie

Ollie

Chapter ten

Iwas grateful for the cool breeze today.

We were working on a big property, a modern mansion type with asshole clients who liked to nitpick over every last thing, but my mind was a thousand miles away. Every time I thought of what had transpired last night with Liam—the kiss, the blow job, eventually leading to us fucking in his bed—I heated up from head to toe, lust coursing through me. That had been the hottest sex of my life, and after years of barely having any, it was blessed rain on the Sahara.

Since we had a good pre-autumn day rolling through, I worked right outside their garage near the closest electrical hookup. I had the latest section of fencing propped up and was welding new pieces in place of the old, rusted ones. I lit up my torch to work my magic. The beads melted in place as I set the latest bit of steel. The surrounding heat bloomed on my skin, making the work as messy as always, and sweat poured off me. Didn’t help that my mind replayed sinking into Liam’s tight ass over and over again.

Hell, if I hadn’t been wearing a condom, I would’ve been content to park in his ass the entire night.

Thing was, I was pretty sure he would’ve let me too.

I fucking adored how much he loved being filled up. It soothed all the neediness inside me for physical touch in a way I’d never anticipated. After years of feeling like I was too much with Josie, who wasn’t as into cuddles or PDA, the way Liam and I fit together—fuck, why hadn’t I seen our potential earlier?

“You’ve got a dreamy look in your eyes,” Cor said as he approached, like he didn’t have a million other projects he could be working on for this house. “Someone got laid last night.”

My cheeks flushed something fierce at the comment. Sex was never anything I shied away from talking about, but a few realizations slammed in at once.

He didn’t know I’d fucked a guy.

He thought I’d had sex with Josie.

Acid broiled in the pit of my stomach, and I focused hard on firing up the torch again and working on the next piece of the fencing to avoid responding. Everything with Liam had collided together so quickly, like it was some pent-up dam waiting to happen, and we felt so right I hadn’t questioned a single thing. But I needed to tell my family Josie and I were getting a divorce, and I dreaded that.

Josie had become such a steadfast part of our family, and she’d gotten close with Aislin and my dad. They would be heartbroken to find out she was moving across the country so they wouldn’t see her anymore, and I was scared my family would blame me. I hadn’t been as attentive the past few years, since we’d both been focused on our jobs, but part of me started to understand that maybe Josie and I hadn’t been right for each other from the beginning.

I finished the piece I was working on and shut the torch off, but to my annoyance, Cor still hung around doing nothing. “Don’t you have a job to do?”

“What was it, anniversary sex or something?” Cor asked, clearly not dropping the subject.

“Our anniversary’s in February.” I said, not knowing how to get around his inquisition. What would my family even think if they knew how fast I’d moved on? They’d be pissed as fuck at me. Worry shot through my veins. What if they were pissed at Liam? I couldn’t bear being the one to ruin their relationships with both Josie and Liam, who’d both been integral parts of our family gatherings for years now.

“You know, this whole barely getting laid thing isn’t selling married life,” Cor said, rummaging through one of our work bags.

“With the right person, it’s worth it.” All the emotions I’d unlocked last night swelled to the fore again. I’d hammered away at my relationship with Josie for a long time, but the ease in which I’d sank into whatever this was with Liam had unveiled some startling truths. Maybe going through a divorce should’ve jaded me toward marriage overall, but the intense connection that had sprung to life between Liam and me made me believe in that sort of commitment even more. I’d just been focusing on the wrong person for far too long.

“Sexlessness?” Cor shot back.

“No, married life, you idiot,” I responded, setting up the next rail.

“Doesn’t sound that great to me.” Cor loitered around like we weren’t on the job. What my brother wanted was beyond me. We usually did our own thing, tossing the occasional exchange while we worked, but clearly, he was working a problem out.

“Is there something else you needed to talk about?” I placed the shut-off torch down and wiped my sweaty ass forehead.

“I don’t know,” Cor said, running his fingers through his hair. “There’s a guy I met—”

“Wait, you have friends?” I asked, unable to resist.

“Har har. I’m pretty sure he’s straight, but he’s super touchy-feely. Kind of like you are with Liam. Guess I just needed you to talk some sense into me.”

My tongue dried. Yeah, I wasn’t the guy to do that—not after boning the fuck out of my best friend. Except Cor thought I was happily married to Josie, and I hadn’t even figured out how to open that can of worms with the family. I chewed on my lower lip. Maybe I didn’t have to dive into the festering bullshit to still be real with him.

“Honestly?” I said, pausing on the work with the fencing to look at my younger brother. “You’ll never know if you don’t ask him.” If Liam had told me he was interested years ago, would I have taken him up like I had now? Back then, I’d had a set path and trajectory in mind, so I’d leaped into marriage with Josie, but after doing the whole “married with a house and career” thing for years, I couldn’t say it had brought me the joy I’d hoped for.

However, this past week with Liam had unleashed a swarm of butterflies I’d missed as well as the passion I’d been searching a long, long while for.

Cor blinked a few times and gave me a scrutinizing stare.

“Maybe he’s straight, or maybe he’s not, but I’m not going to talk you out of trying if you think there’s a chance for something good.” I didn’t look away, but I sure as hell wouldn’t be expanding any further. Coming out to my brother would mean telling him about Liam and backtracking to the fact that Josie and I were no longer together, and that was a whole situation I needed to tackle. And couldn’t help but want to put off.

Fuck, everyone would be so goddamn disappointed in me.

“Well, thanks a lot for making me more confused, asshole.” Cor shook his head before pushing up from his lean. “Better get back to work.”

“It’s about time.” Thank god he wasn’t probing into more. “What are brothers for anyway?”

“Apparently not advice,” Cor said, flinging his hand up in salute as he sauntered away.

Before I could get back to work, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and I slipped it out. Josie had messaged.

Can you meet me at the house for your lunch break?

My brows drew together. We’d been pretty chill since our talk, so she wouldn’t be dragging me over for no reason. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder.

Sure, I’ll be there.

When I pulled up to the house at lunchtime, Josie’s car sat in the drive, and the familiar sight struck me with sadness. Soon, it wouldn’t be in the driveway anymore. Her new job would whisk her across the country in the next few weeks. The timeline was no joke, and I was a little relieved we’d already been drifting for a long while. Otherwise, I would’ve been shattered by how fast she was moving on.

Turned out I’d moved on just as fast.

I got out of my work truck, my heart thumping a little harder as I thought of Liam. He hadn’t been super chatty throughout the day but had sent me our regular messages, which was normal during work hours. I’d been a little worried after everything last night that he’d be freaked out at the big change in our friendship—I might be go with the flow, but Liam was not.

Maybe I should bother him tonight. Take him out? Invite him over?

I walked to the front door and turned the knob. When I stepped inside, all the differences in the house struck me. Josie wouldn’t be taking the furniture, but she’d already started moving a lot of her belongings over to her mom’s house. Truth be told, I wouldn’t miss having Josie’s mom around. She’d never liked me much. Still, the empty spaces in the house were a telltale sign of her leaving—most of the paintings on the walls, a lot of the stupid vases and candy trays she would make a big fuss over.

The idea of putting my own mark there made me nervous and excited at the same time. Except I didn’t want to be alone in this house.

I wanted a partner here. Hell, I liked being married, having someone to come home to. Maybe that was why Josie and I had stayed together for so long, even though our relationship had lost luster fast.

“Jos,” I called out, making my way toward the kitchen. “Jos?” Since I was home for my lunch break, I would need to scrap together a sandwich or something. She wasn’t answering, so I shouted out a third time for good measure. “Jooos.”

“In here,” she called from the kitchen. “For fuck’s sake, I’m not Beetlejuice.”

Thousands of questions and concerns ping-ponged in my head, revolving around what Josie might want, dealing with my nosy family, and what this new situation between Liam and me meant.

When I stepped into the kitchen, Josie was sitting at the breakfast nook, hunched over the documents she had splayed out on the granite countertop.

I wrinkled my nose. Were we dealing with the house shit already? I thought that was supposed to involve a lawyer. “What’s that?”

“The official divorce papers.”

I let out a low whistle. “End of an era.” I plunked into the seat beside her and began to scan the documents. “Did you think you’d ever be signing these?”

She arched a brow. “Yes. I was the one who asked for a divorce.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. When we were young and hopeful and shit.”

Josie snorted as she continued signing her end of the document. “You’re still young and hopeful and shit, and I pray you never lose the attitude, love. We fought a lot because we’re different, but that doesn’t mean either of our styles was wrong.”

I placed a hand over my mouth in a fake gasp. “Are we actually better friends when we’re not together?”

“I’d like that,” she murmured, pausing mid-signature. “You don’t owe me anything, but if you want to keep in contact after I move, I’d always be glad to hear a friendly voice.”

“Psh, you better not ask that, or I’ll be messaging you as much as I do Liam.”

She shook her head, a rueful grin on her lips. “There’s no one on this earth you message as much as Liam. I’m glad you’ll have him.”

I could’ve sworn she was trying to communicate more, a seriousness in her gaze that felt pointed—or maybe that was my own wish. But she didn’t expand upon the line of thought. Instead, she passed the papers my way. “Your turn to sign.”

I scrunched my nose and skimmed over the documents before signing by the empty space next to her name.

“What are you going to do with this big open house?” she asked, sitting straighter on the bar stool. “What are your plans?”

I licked my lips as I stared at the document that would officially end my marriage. I liked a lot about my life—my family, my job, my home, my friends. I didn’t want all that to start changing in huge ways. Josie was heading off to a brand-new place and a brand-new career, and hopefully, those things would make her happy. It had been clear she hadn’t been happy here.

“Guess I’ll find out,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

Truth was though, I already knew what I wanted.

Liam.