Matt pressed his lips to mine, the warmth of his kiss sending a delicious shiver through my body.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his tender lips.
“Say that again and I’m gonna punch you in the goddamn nose.”
Sitting back in my seat, I felt utterly ashamed of myself. As we continued on to Ashley’s house, I thought of all the ways I would make it up to him, stopping when my cock swelled to the point of discomfort as it fought against the restrictiveness of my pants.
When we arrived at the house, the baby was sleeping upstairs so we were introduced to photos instead. They’d named him Bartholomew, and when I witnessed the internal battle on Matt’s face, I wanted to give him a medal for managing to keep a casual expression.
“Can I offer you a drink?” Adam asked, flipping his gaze between me and Matt.
We opted for just water and both Adam and Ashley disappeared to get them.
“See? He can be nice,” I said to Matt, bumping his shoulder with mine.
Matt shrugged. “So he can be polite. An asshole will always be an asshole. It doesn’t change into a vase just because you stick a flower up it.”
When Ashley and Adam returned with two glasses of water, I stayed mostly quiet and let Matt lead the conversation, conversation which was clipped and uncomfortable. I had nothing in common with these people. I felt like Jesus himself was judging me for that fact as his eyes on the crucifix above the fireplace bored into my back the whole time we were there.
For the first time I started to understand what Matt meant when he said Ashley had changed. I didn’t know her before but the woman whose house I sat in was nothing like the cousin he’d described growing up with. When baby Bart, as they nicknamed him, started crying through the handheld monitor, I felt relieved. Fussing over a baby would be a welcome change from trying to force awkward chatter with the adults. Adam disappeared upstairs, returning with the baby and passing him to Ashley.
Matt’s smile illuminated his face as he reached out and stroked the little guy’s cheek with his finger. “Oh, Ash, he’s beautiful,” Matt said, his eyes transfixed on Bart’s tiny porcelain face. “But how the fu-” He stopped himself mid-sentence, something I’d never witnessed before. “It must’ve hurt. Bet you got through a shi… A lot of drugs.”
“We don’t believe in drugs,” Adam interrupted.
Matt scowled at him. “Would you feel that way if you had to piss a watermelon outta your dick?”
“We’d also prefer you didn’t use that kind of language around our son.”
Even I wanted to punch Adam in the face by this point. I silently admired Matt’s restraint.
“Can I hold him?” Matt asked, ignoring Adam as he turned to Ashley.
Wow. After the meltdown he had when left in charge of Darren’s baby back at Elle and Kip’s wedding I hadn’t expected him to ask.
Ashley smiled, cradling Bart’s head in the crook of her arm as she passed him to Matt. “Bend your arm,” she told him, showing Matt how to replicate the way she held him. Adam flinched, so subtly I couldn’t be sure I hadn’t imagined it.
“He’s perfect,” Matt cooed, picking up one of Bart’s tiny hands and examining his fingers. “You ever need advice, little dude, come see your uncle Matt.”
Bart wriggled in Matt’s arms, his face glowing red as he started to cry.
“Guess that’s what he thinks of your advice,” I teased.
The same fire of panic I saw at the wedding burned on Matt’s face as the baby continued to twist and scream in his arms. Ashley opened her arms to take him but Matt was already passing him to me.
“Alex is a baby whisperer,” Matt said. “Just watch.”
I held out my hands but Adam swooped in and scooped Bart from Matt’s arms before he came into contact with me. I didn’t give it a second thought but Matt must’ve seen something in Adam’s expression that made him angry.
“He’s tired,” Adam said.
“He just woke up.” Matt’s hands balled into fists by his sides. “What’s your problem?”
“Matt,” I whispered. “Leave it alone.”
“No! Did you see the way he looked at you? If he’s got an issue I want to know what the fuck it is!”
“Let it go. It doesn’t matter.”
Matt ignored me, jumping to his feet. “You do know being gay isn’t contagious, right? He won’t infect your son with homosexuality if he touches him.”
Stop, please, I screamed internally, standing up and grabbing Matt’s arm. He shrugged away from me.
“It’s not just that he’s…gay.” Adam said the word like it felt dirty on his lips. “He’s infected with a disease born from his sinful lifestyle. I’m not prepared to expose my son to that.”
Whoa… “Matt I think we should go.”
“What about you, Ashley?” Matt barked, spinning on his heels. “Is that how you feel? Or are you just gonna sit there like a fucking mute, afraid to disagree with your precious fucking husband? Isn’t Christianity supposed to be about loving thy neighbor and all that shit?”