God, fuck—I don’t know how he doesn’t need a minute to adjust before he starts bouncing up and down, because I sure as hell could have. I’m torn between wanting to allow my head to loll back until it thumps on the wall and being transfixed by the sight of his ass swallowing me whole.
He wasn’t understating the fact that he wasn’t going to take it slow either. He’s crouched over my lap, trying to keep things as quiet as humanly possible, while he rides my dick—down and dirty. All I can do is hold onto his hips to keep him guided in place. No place for dirty talk this time.
“Oooh, fuck. I’m gonna come, Caleb,” he frantically whispers. “I don’t wanna come on this fuckin’ carpeted floor, b-babe.”
I grab the wastebasket and pass it around him.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck, ohfuuuuuck,” he hisses quietly, his entire body quivering and his thighs trembling.
As he spurts into the wastebasket, I haul him back onto my lap, rocking my hips up into him to take the load of his legs. I’m not far from reaching my orgasm myself, so the slapping of skin really shouldn’t be too noticeable. After just a couple more hard thrusts, I’m fuckin’ toast.
Not wanting to make a mess on what will soon be his new dress, I yank the wastebasket from him and urge him to sit up so I can pull out. He’s no sooner out of the way before I start jetting into the wastebasket, adding to what he’s already left in there.
He gapes at me while I stroke myself to completion, then he smirks. “You really are a gentleman, you know that?”
I raise a singular brow at him.
“There’s no way I would have been comfortable with your load dripping out of my ass for the rest of the day, especially in that thong.”
I chuckle, standing to pull up my pants and underwear. “A true gentleman, indeed. Now, let’s get you out of this dress so I can go buy it for you.”
[Incoming call from Cam Dupris]
I prop my phone up on the kitchen island and answer the video call. “Hey, kiddo.”
“Hey, Dad.” Cam beams for the camera, waving both hands, so he must have it on a tripod or something. “Guess who I’m with?” He pans the phone over so I can see Aaron.
“Papa,” he says softly. “I’ve got Dad on the phone.”
He speaks to him as if he’s conscious enough to comprehend everything. The nurses in the ICU, right after the accident, encouraged us to do so. I guess it’s in case patients like him can understand us.
I blink back tears at the sight of him for the first time in over a year. My husband’s physical form there, for sure, but not reallyhim. The man in the bed right now has tubes and monitors that he’s hooked up to. His eyes are open and he’s blinking, but his expression is blank—empty—so devoid of the spark of light he once was.
Aaron’s name passes my lips as if instinctually, though now it comes out soundlessly.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I peer up to find Lauren standing behind me, a small, sullen smile on her lips. She bends a little so she is in the frame. Then, she sees Aaron for the first time. I watch as she bites her lip, studying the screen.
“Hey, Lauren,” Cameron says, interrupting her visual appraisal of my husband. Well, myex-husband. Saying that, even in my own head, doesn’t sit well with me, because I had little choice in the matter of our divorce. Nor did he, really.
“Cam!” Lauren chirps. “How is everything going, hun? Did you set those boundaries we talked about?”
My son nods. “It’s going alright. I can tell Nana and Pop-Pop are biting their tongues, but I let them know I’d leave if they started in with any negative talk. I’m here for something more important than their drama. This is Papa.” He turns back to Aaron, and I can see him squeeze his father’s hand. “Papa, I told you about Lauren, Marcus, and Brody earlier. This is Lauren; she’s standing right behind Dad.
Cam faces the screen again, addressing me, “The nurse that was here with him earlier says that he’s been stable. I guess a few months ago he had to be taken to the hospital to treat a bad urinary tract infection from all the catheters or whatever, but he’s back now and has been as expected since. Sometimes he talks, but it’s mostly jumbled up nonsense.”
I nod. This is incredibly awkward for so many reasons. First, I’m not sure how aware Aaron even is of his surroundings. I don’t know how to talk to him as if everything is normal because—well—thisisn’tnormal for us. Everyone wants to tell me that I was a chatterbox before the accident, but Aaron was so muchmoretalkative.
Second, this is all being done over the phone. I hate that it has to be this way because I’m not allowed near him. Say his subconscious mindisalert, does he think that I’ve justabandonedhim? Is he awarethat I would sell my goddamn soul if I had to, if it meant I could be there with him now?
Lastly, Lauren is here with me, “meeting” Aaron. It’s eating me up inside that I’m having a difficult time reconciling my old life with my new one. With seeing who I once thought was my one and only, now being introduced to someone else who also takes up space in my heart—along with another who is currently with Brody at one of his audiology appointments.
It’s almost too much, and I want to break down and cry. Over what, I’m not sure? Maybe the oppressiveness of it all. This should behappythough. I should beelatedthat I’m seeing Aaron—getting to lay my own eyes on him—finally.
Lauren squeezes my shoulder and whispers in my ear, “There’s no right or wrong way to feel right now, babe. Every single way is valid. Just breathe.”
I release the pent-up breath that I didn’t realize, until now, I’d kept at bay.
“Cam, can you do me a favor?” I ask.
