Chapter Seventeen

Andy

There was no toothpaste in the guesthouse, but there was mouthwash. I figured that had to come from Lucas. I managed to get rid of the alcohol smell before I went outside, then stopped to take in the scene before me. Dad was sitting on Pop's lap, big surprise, while they talked with Matthias and Killian. I took a second to watch the four of them, the smiles on their faces and the laughter that filled the air. How Killian made sure he was always touching his husband, just like my dads were always doing to one another. I wanted that. I wanted Leo with me and wanted him to look at me the way he used to. With stars, hearts, and smiling face emojis glittering at me.

"Hey, kiddo," Dad called to me.

I reluctantly headed his way. It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with my parents; it was just that I had so much going on in my head. Things I was terrified of sharing with anyone except Leo.

I tentatively sat down by the pool, removing my shoes, pulling up my pants, and dropping my feet in. It was soothing, the way the water swirled around my ankles and smoothed over my skin. I leaned back on my hands and raised my face up to the sun, my eyes slipping closed.

"Someday." Leo giggled as he paddled past me in the pool. I kept my gaze pinned on the tight pink shorts he had on. They accented his body in the most beautiful way. "Someday, you and I are going to have our own pool. One that we spend hours in every single day."

I slid into the water. "Even in the middle of December?"

"It will be a heated pool," Leo assured me, then let out a shriek of excitement when I tugged him into the water, his legs instantly wrapping around my waist.

I nuzzled his neck before I tipped his head back. "Whatever you want, Ricky. I only want to make you happy."

My eyes flew open as my heart leaped into my throat. I was so fucking stupid. I never should have listened to my brother. I should have fought harder. Kept Leo close to me. Then we'd be happy now. Maybe we would be married already. I struggled to climb to my feet, my breath coming out in heavy pants.

"Andy?" Dad sounded panicked. "What's wrong?" His hands were suddenly on my face as he spoke in a whisper to Pop. "It's all right, just relax." Then I was lifted, and Pop was carrying me inside the house.

I wanted to tell him to stop. That I was too big, too old, to be carried around like a ragdoll, but instead, I clung to my father, my face buried against his shoulder. I was crying again, sobbing so hard I felt like I might throw up. Hands smoothed down my hair, Dad's husked voice was in my ear, and Pop cradled me against him.

"I shouldn't...Let go." I struggled against my father, but he only held tighter. "Pop, please, let go of me. I can't...Stop it!"

Dad cooed softly in my ear. "You're okay, kiddo. We're here. No one is going to hurt you."

"Please." I heard myself beg, and then I relaxed against my fathers. Both of them now comforting me as I began to calm down. Then shame niggled its way inside my brain. For acting the way I did. For crying and trying to push them away when all they wanted to do was help me.

Dad gave me a small smile as I met his emerald orbs. He pushed the hair back from my forehead as he sat up and folded his legs beneath him. I crab walked away, yanked my legs up to my chest, and wrapped my arms around myself.

"I need to be alone."

"No." Dad shook his head. "That's not what you need. You either start talking right now, Andrew or—"

"Sweetheart." Pop reached over to touch Dad's shoulder. "You can't push our sons to talk to you, no matter how hard you try. Andy is an adult now. If he wants his space, we'll give it to him."

Dad's lip trembled before he raised his chin, climbed off the bed, and popped his jaw. "Fine." Hurt flashed across his face.

"Wait, just wait." I looked between the two of them. "I don't want you to leave. I just want to... Shit, I don't know what I want." I let out a long breath as my thoughts swirled around inside my head. "I think that something is wrong with me."

Dad was back on the bed in a moment, his arms around me and his face pressed into my hair. "Nothing is wrong with you, baby. You're perfect."

I shook my head, and he pulled back.

"You're my perfect baby boy, do you understand? Whatever you're going through, whatever is happening, I can promise you that we've been there. Me, Pop, everyone. You're not alone in this."

"He's right, Andy." Pop nodded. "But that doesn't mean you have to talk to us or tell us anything you're not comfortable with. You can talk to Uncle Tom or Uncle Dean. Or maybe a friend." He gave me a soft smile. "Like Leo."

Leo was the last person I wanted to burden with my problems. "Yeah, sure, maybe." No, never. Not going to happen.

"I can call him. Ask him to come over to help you." Dad's fingers combed through my hair. "Or we can just hold you, like when you were younger, and you had those terrible nightmares."

Pop moved closer. "Squeeze you until the scary stuff is all gone."

"I always liked that," I admitted.

Both of them lunged forward to hug me, protecting me as best they could. The nightmares I had when I first came to live with Dad and Pop didn't last long. The first one scared Dad so badly that he'd slept outside my room for weeks, thinking I hadn't known. I never told him how much it meant to me that he cared. That he was worried that much.

We might have stayed that way if soft footsteps hadn't filled the air. I smelled Leo the second he stepped into the room. His sweet cinnamon scent hit me hard, then he joined us, his smaller, lean body pressed against mine. My cock instantly took notice as Leo pressed over it, his warmth traveling through my clothes and over my skin.

"It's been such a long time since we had a cuddle party." Leo giggled, once again, but my dick was being more than inappropriate.

He wiggled closer, and then I heard the sharp intake of his breath. His pupils were blown wide when he glanced up at me, and I suddenly wished that my dads weren't here. That it was just the two of us, wrapped around one another under the covers.

I touched Leo's cheek, and when he moved into my palm, I felt myself relax more than I had in a long time. I felt a smile tug at my lips as my body hummed with contentment. He leaned down, tucked his head under my chin, and I swear the world stopped. This was what I needed. Leo had been missing from my life.

"Mavs, we should leave them be alone," Pop whispered.

His weight disappeared from the mattress, followed by Dad's, and then I heard the sound of the door closing behind them. Then the only sound I could hear was my heartbeat as it thumped against my chest.

I inhaled Leo's familiar scent. Felt the way his hair tickled my skin and appreciated the press of his body against mine. My cock was ridiculously hard, nearly to the point of painful, and it took all I had not to cant my hips to get some friction.

"Andy." Leo whispered my name, his breath hot against my skin. "This is a terrible idea."

I somehow restrained myself from flipping him over. "I missed you," I confessed; my hands tangled in his hair. "Tell me you missed me, too. Even if it's a lie."

"But it's not a lie." Leo climbed up to straddle my lap, and I groaned as he brushed over my aching length. "Sorry, you know that I didn't mean to touch you like that." His cheeks burned brightly. But when his gaze traveled down to my groin and the bulge I couldn't hide, the yearning he was trying to hide spread over his face like wildfire.

I grabbed Leo's hands and yanked him back down. He gasped.

"Remember the time I touched you here?" I cupped his round ass, my finger tracing his crease. "You enjoyed it. You whined and begged me to let you come. You wanted it. You"—My eyes dipped to his plump lips—"loved it."

"Yes." He whimpered as he pressed back against my fingers. "You have the magic touch. You could do it again, right now, if you wanted. I wouldn't stop you."

I closed my eyes. "Do you want that?" My entire body trembled with desire.

I had kissed others, had even received a few messy blowjobs, but I had never returned the favor. I hadn't wanted to. I hadn't even enjoyed it when people had touched me. It was a way to scratch the itch that never seemed to go away. Because Leo was all I wanted.

"I wouldn't say no." Leo's words brought me back to the present.

I sprang from the bed, my hands tugging at my hair. "I shouldn't have surprised you at the track. I should have stayed away and left you to live your life. A life that was much better without me in it."

"That's not true. Without you, I was just floating along, not living."

"I know how that feels."

Leo placed a hand on my back as he moved to stand in front of me and then slid both palms up over my stomach and then my chest. "Tell me why you did it."

"Right now?" My brows shot up.

He nodded. "Tell me and then maybe I'll give you a reward for telling me the truth."

"A kiss?" I wanted that mouth on mine again. To swallow the sounds that escaped his lips as he begged me to let him come.

Leo smirked. "If that's what you want."

"Ford convinced me. He told me to break up with you." I couldn't believe how fast I told him, the words just slipping off my tongue.

Leo stared at me, his blues wide, and time stretched. Then he slapped me so hard I saw stars and sprinted from the room, leaving me alone.