Page 79 of Catching Sparkles

“You don’t have to freak out about that, ever,” I swore. “I would never do that to you. I mean, I know we kind of never really talked about it, but… I seriously haven’t even thought about anyone else.”

“Me neither.”

“So… You’re not upset, right? I won’t text you about any other girls, I swear.”

He squeezed me tightly, nuzzling into my sweaty shoulder. “I’m not upset. I’m just really glad you came home to me. And that you don’t want anyone else.”

“I don’t,” I reiterated. “Like I said, I’m all yours.”

He didn’t say anything else for a while, and the silence stretched out as we laid in the filthy mess we’d created. I wasn’t sure if he’d fallen back asleep.

“Kendall?”

“Yes?”

“I, um… I really did want to tell them about you tonight. I just… I was freaked out, too.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered, pulling me into another kiss. “I know it’s scary. I can wait for you.”

I didn’t know how long I would keep him waiting, or what would happen to the feelings between us if I couldn’t muster up the courage to be honest about it. The last thing I wanted was for him to resent me. But before I could think too hard about it, sleep dragged me under.

KENDALL

THE NEXT MORNING I woke up and immediately experienced very conflicting emotions. Rhys’ loyalty to me, and our exclusivity with each other, was now a spoken fact and not something I had to hope for and choke tears back worrying about. He’d fulfilled a fantasy I’d always had, being fucked awake, and he’d done it very, very well. And he’d confessed to me, in his very Rhys-like way, that he was doing his best to come to terms with being bi and working towards letting people know. I was ecstatic about all that.

But I was also crusty, sticky, and sweaty. Being covered in cum was so much less appealing the morning after. The lingerie set I’d put on for him was incredibly gross, no longer the pristine, virginal state it’d been in before he’d come home. Well, I guess that was what they made laundry sanitizer for.

Carefully unhooking my leg and peeling my torso away from his body, I tried not to imagine a fresh grilled cheese sandwich being pulled apart. I needed a shower immediately. I wasn’t big on cuddles, at least not with the guys I’d been with in the past. And hanging around after the deed was done was typically awkward, so I’d avoided that too. Of course with Rhys, I’d spend every waking moment for the rest of my life in his presence, so what I’d done before didn’t apply.

Forcing myself to sit up, I noticed my phone on the floor a few feet from the bed. I’d fallen asleep with it next to my head, but I’d probably shoved it off onto the floor while Rhys had been blowing my back out. Oops. Moving over to the edge so I could scoop it up, my eyebrows drew together as I noted all the missed calls and texts from Benji. Had something bad happened? There was no way he’d call me that many times just because.

My heart sped up as I called, pressing the phone up to my ear to listen to the ringing sound.

“Oh man, finally! Did you just wake up!?”

“Yeah,” I answered apologetically, glancing over at Rhys, who was just starting to stir awake. When he cracked open one eye, I held my finger up to my lips so he knew to be quiet. “I’m sorry! Is everything okay?”

“Josie went into labor last night,” he started and my fingers tightened on the phone. “She had the baby at 6:00 this morning.”

“Oh my gosh!” I gasped. “Benji, that’s amazing! I’m so sorry I missed it.”

“No, it’s okay,” he assured me. He sounded sort of shellshocked, but I could totally understand that. “It all happened really fast. She just wanted me and her mom in the room during the uh, you know, all the rougher stuff anyway.”

“Right. How is she? How’s the baby? What name did you guys end up choosing? Tell me everything.”

“Josie’s great. She’s tired, but great. I’m not telling you anything about baby Kensington,” he said jokingly. “You have to come find out for yourself.”

“Let me jump in the shower and I’m there. The hospital in Westport, right?”

“Yep. Mom and Dad just left, but I haven’t been able to get in touch with Rhys. Mom said he didn’t sleep at home last night, but he didn’t take the car either.”

“Uh…” My eyes slid over to him, trying not to focus on his carved abs and thick, half-hard cock resting below his navel. He hadn’t gotten dressed after we’d finished last night. “I hope he’s okay.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Benji scoffed, and I could hear the tinge of bitterness that sometimes made itself known when things involved his older brother. “Probably just shacked up with some adoring admirer. Mom says he stays out most nights. She thinks he’s in a relationship or whatever, but I seriously doubt it.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I was starting to realize that the whole Benji issue might be more problematic than I’d originally considered, especially now that Rhys was seriously considering coming out and being honest about our relationship. Was my best friend going to end up pissed off at me? Would he feel betrayed that I was with his brother? I hoped I could make him understand, but there wasn’t much I could do about it now, at least until Rhys was ready to be out in the open.

“Well, don’t worry about him, okay? I’ll shoot him a text, and if he happens to message me back then I’ll pick him up on the way.”