When he wraps one arm around my body and grips my cock, I know I’m done for. It takes barely three strokes before I’m shooting ropes of cum across the sheets.

“Yes!” he shouts, fucking into me a couple more times. Then he stills, giving in to his release.

A moment later, my arms give out. I collapse to the mattress, managing to move sideways enough to avoid landing in my own mess.

Brenden clings to me, falling on top of me with a quiet grunt. “Am I crushing you?” he asks.

“Not at all.”

“Good.”

He seems either too lazy or too content to move, and while I’m not ready to be separated from him, I do want to see him. So as soon as I regain strength, I roll over underneath him and adjust us both until I’m on my back and he’s only half on top of me, his face close to mine.

I run my thumb along the shell of his ear and gently ask, “Did that help?”

He beams. “That was fucking fantastic. And I feel much calmer now, not like I’m going to crawl out of my skin.”

“Are you ready to talk more?”

“I don’t need it,” he says, shaking his head. “Not right now. Maybe I’ll want to talk about stuff later, but I don’t want to ruin this feeling.”

I guide him in for a short kiss, glad to know I helped him in some way. But I’m aware that talking about the things that are bothering him is a healthier method than trying to fuck the feelings away. “Promise you’ll talk to me later when you’re ready. I don’t want you to keep holding everything in.”

He pulls back, eying me uncertainly. “Since when do you want to talk about feelings?”

Since you.

“Since now, I guess.”

Reaching for my hand, he threads our fingers together, then rests our joined hands between us. “I promise.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

BRENDEN

After my meltdown the other day, I can see the concern in Travis’s eyes every time he looks at me. Like now, at the diner. He’s trying to be subtle, but I know he’s watching me as I sit here with May, picking at my Reuben. We still haven’t talked more about why I was so upset. But what’s the point? I can’t explain it.

All I know is I haven’t felt normal ever since Elise and Grant showed up. I’m lying to them, and my guilt about it keeps growing the longer they stay. I’m forcing May and Travis to lie to them too, which also sucks. But at the same time, they’re making me feel like I’m not a good enough father or business owner. And whether intentionally or not, they’re digging up feelings about losing April that I painstakingly buried long ago.