“I’m sure they’ll re-elect you, Walker. Everyone loves you, and your family has lived in Hobie since the Middle Ages.”
“Except those years in Minnesota…” I said hesitantly.
“Yeah, don’t remind me. I call them the shitty years,” he grumbled before taking a deep breath. “But they’re over now, right?”
I nodded, and reached out to fiddle with the hem of his scrub shirt. Otto’s body was warm against mine, and I couldn’t help but notice how hard his muscles were underneath the fabric. I could tell his dick was soft in his pants but for every second I stared down at his crotch, it seemed to grow.
I brushed the backs of my fingers across it just to see what would happen.
A rumble vibrated through Otto’s chest against my cheek.
My fingers snuck under the hem of his scrub shirt and felt body hair that hadn’t been quite so thick when we were teenagers. The bumps of his abdominal muscles felt delicious under the pads of my fingers, and I heard him suck in a breath.
“Walker…”
I brought my hand back down his stomach and reached for the tie of his scrub pants, pulling one end slowly until the bow fell apart. His stiffening cock pushed the fabric out, and I couldn’t resist running my knuckles lightly down it again. I leaned back to meet his eyes as if I needed to make sure he was okay with our conversation being over for now.
His eyes glittered at me in challenge, and I knew what he was going to say a split second before it came out of his mouth.
“Did you sleep with her, Seth?”
Chapter 14
Otto
Otto,
I had sex with someone else today. My wife.
My wife. Those words don’t even look right. They don’t look real. They can’t be right, can they?
Oh god, I think I might throw up. It wasn’t you. All I can think is that it wasn’t you, it wasn’t you, it wasn’t you. I can barely breathe with missing you and the wrongness I felt touching someone else. I was lonely, Otto. So very lonely for you. I just wanted to be touched. It’s been so long since I felt your loving hands on me.
I’m not sure I’ll ever deserve your forgiveness.
I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,
Walker
(Unsent)
Maybe it was none of my business, but I needed to know anyway. I couldn’t stand not knowing whose body he’d touched in the years we’d been apart.
It wasn’t like I’d been a saint. I hadn’t. I’d slept with a couple of guys in the navy and several more during leave times over the years. But for some reason, the thought of him sleeping with a woman, with his damned wife, made me feel ten times more jealous than the idea of him having a random hookup with some guy.
Maybe it was because she’d gotten everything I’d wanted. All those years, the happy family, the rest of his youth and optimism.
I knew the answer before he opened his mouth. My heart felt like it was cut in half, and I scrambled to get up from the sofa.
“Wait, Otto. Wait,” he cried. “Please let me expl—”
“It’s okay,” I lied. “I just need to get a drink of water and some air.”
I raced out the side door and around the side of the house to the nearest spigot. After twisting it on and thanking the powers that be for the water still being connected, I took deep gulps of the lukewarm water that came out. I felt the warm May sun beating down on my back and noticed a few fat bees buzzing around the grass nearby. The house and property around it were eerily quiet compared to what I was used to. When Saint and I had left for the navy, this house had still been full of life and loud with Wilde kids.
Everyone had a roommate. Hudson and West, Saint and me, Hallie and Winnie, MJ and Sassy, and King and Cal. As soon as Hudson went to college, MJ forced West to move in with King so she could have her own room as the oldest girl. And so the musical chairs version of roommates went until long after Saint and I left.
Even when half of us were gone, there were still five kids at home. It was always crazy and always felt like home. Seeing it abandoned and hearing it so quiet were making me uneasy.
I heard footsteps on the driveway and knew Walker was coming to check on me. I stood up and turned to face him. When he rounded the corner, worry was clear on his face.
After wiping my hands on my pants, I reached out for him. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Why? I’m the one who’s sorry. You have every right to be pissed.”
“No, I don’t. We weren’t together. I didn’t stay faithful to you, Seth. I could hardly have expected you to stay celibate for ten fucking years.”