Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Gage

“You really think she’s not going to let you take him?”

“I’m not sure.” Xavier sounded exhausted on the other end of the line. “I’m hoping she does. That’s all I can really do since she has full custody.”

“I thought that shit didn’t really matter once they turned sixteen? Can’t they choose who to live with?”

Wasn’t that how it worked?

Maybe I was being a dumbass in guessing. It wasn’t like I ever had any experience with the system aside from CPS coming around that one time after my parents died.

“It’s complicated. Dexter doesn’t really know me so I don’t exactly have a case.”

Damn .

“He seems to be warming up to you, though.”

“Barely,” he mumbled. “But it’s better than nothing.”

“True.”

I felt bad for Xavier. He was clearly trying. To no fault of his own, his son was being rather difficult. To a certain extent, I could understand the situation from both ends. Xavier had always wanted to be a father to Dexter but with his drinking, he’d made that pretty hard on the kid. So it wasn’t exactly out of the blue that his kid was giving him the cold shoulder.

The past few months hadn’t been as bad with Dexter agreeing to the occasional sit down dinner with Xavier. The sad thing was that it was nowhere near the level of closeness he wanted to have with his son.

On my end, I always felt guilty whenever Greyson and Asher were brought up in conversation. My brothers were close with me, even if sometimes they were little shits about it. When push came to shove, we were a family unit and nothing could break us apart. I’d been a whiny bastard with them leaving, but only out of sheer love for them.

Which is what made me hesitate in bringing anything up to Xavier about them. I didn’t want to rub it in my boyfriend’s face that I had a relationship with the kids I’d raised while he didn’t. Sure, his drinking and his highly erratic job hadn’t done him any favors in that department—that didn’t mean he had given up because he’d found his relationship with his son to be too hard to deal with.

“I told her to think about it,” Xavier said. “So, now I just need to wait for her decision.”

I wrinkled my nose at that.

From the stories I’d heard of Kate, I didn’t like her. Sure, she’d been blindsided by Xavier’s affair and had every right to divorce him and hate him for it. Taking it out on him using Dexter, though, was too low of a blow for me to forgive.

Why involve your child like that?

Why deprive him of a father, just because you didn’t approve that he was gay?

That was the part that never made any sense to me, no matter what Xavier did to try and defend her actions. Or rather, seek some understanding with them.

I could get behind her not knowing how to navigate a co-parenting relationship with her ex after splitting with him, or even navigating the unknown about her ex being secretly gay and having to still be attached to him because of your shared kid. But the second she’d completely cut Xavier out of the equation and refused to work with him on visitation, that’s where all sympathy for her was lost for me.

Trusting a woman like that who could so easily turn your child against you made a pit form in my stomach. If I were to ever run into her and meet her face to face… I really don’t know what I’d do.

I’d be lucky not to spit some nasty shit at her.

“Well, I hope it works out.”

“Gage.”

Wincing, I realized that my tone had turned rather flippant. Sure, I was being kind of a bitch about the whole situation but fucking sue me. I missed my boyfriend. I wanted him here with me, even if it was only for a weekend and even if I had to keep my hands to myself until his son went to bed.

Having some ex-wife get in the way of all of that was making me fucking cranky.

“Sorry.”

He chuckled softly. “I’m eager to see you, too. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, then hurry up and make her decide…”

“Oh, stop.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “If this doesn’t work out, that just means you need to come visit me.”

“Hey, I can get behind that.”

He laughed again. “Then it’s settled. Either way, we’ll be seeing each other soon.”

I wanted to be happy about that… I really did.

These every few months of visiting were slowly starting to become not enough. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every second I got to spend with Xavier, there was no doubt about that.

The problem laid in this: I wanted more . I was a greedy asshole who was getting tired of only receiving crumbs. When I’d agreed to a long distance relationship, I’d known that it was going to be difficult.

Everyone knew that, even if you weren’t in one yourself. Out of hubris, I supposed I never considered how badly I’d be without Xavier. I had lived before him, so I figured I would be fine after him.

Clearly, I was dead fucking wrong.

“If the boys ever pity me and come back, I’ll drag them along.” Though, knowing them, they’d be questioning me the entire time while planning an elaborate prank.

Such is the way of two nineteen year olds.

“Maybe we can get them together with Dex.”

“He needs new friends?” I teased.

“He needs friends in general.”

Poor kid.

“As long as he can handle psychological warfare, then have at it.”

“Think he’s gotten enough of that growing up in the church, babe.”

“True…” Though hopefully, it wasn’t as bad as Xavier was predicting.

Apparently, Dexter had told him bits and pieces about getting dragged to church and put through intense religious indoctrination his entire life. And while I absolutely believed him, I hoped it also had no lasting effects.

Fuck knew that kid had been through enough already.

“I’m excited to see you,” Xavier said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I smiled and pressed the phone tighter to my ear. “I miss you. I hope we can see each other soon. I’m slowly dying over here.”

“For my cock?”

Oh, that cheeky bastard. “More for that tongue of yours.”

“Shit,” he whispered.

“You at work?” I was already reaching for my crotch. My dick was already beginning to stiffen.

“Yes, so don’t you dare start anything.”

“Hey, I can’t promise that I won’t be sending you a dick pic after we end this phone call.”

He swore again under his breath. “Gage. Behave.”

“I’d love for you to make me.”

“Oh I will. The next time I get my hands on you.”

Fuck, I loved the sound of that. “You got yourself a deal, Cruz.”