Page 47

Kane hid me. No one even knew about us. Oak has a child with Serena. He’s part of her family. They planned to spend their lives together, and here I go, getting on my knees for him the second I see him.

Slowly, I push to my feet, stomach twisted up in discomfort. “We good, Oak?” I ask, studying his face. His eyes are closed, but his mouth isn’t tight. It’s relaxed, and, hell, it almost looks like he’s trying not to smile.

He opens his eyes, taking me in with that whiskey brown color, and then…then he lets his lips stretch into a smile, and for the first time since he finished coming, my body relaxes.

“We’re good,” he says. “I’m fucking good. Might not be able to move for a while, but I’m good.”

“Yeah, I seem to have that effect on people.”

“I’m too blissed out to argue with you.”

“Note to self—giving Oakley orgasms makes him much more agreeable. I guess I’ll have to do it more often.”

“You won’t find me arguing with that.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief. He said next time when we were fucking around, but I didn’t know if that was just him speaking in the heat of the moment, or what.

I adjust my half-hard dick and nod toward the living room. “Come on. You thirsty?”

“Wait.” His hand wraps around my wrist when I try to move. “Shouldn’t I return the favor?”

My dick perks up, but I ignore it. “Later. Come on, Mr. Wobbly Legs.”

“Shut the fuck up.” He snickers.

“Seriously. I’ve never seen someone so fucked out just over a blowjob. I knew I was good, but I didn’t know I was that good.”

Oakley tugs his clothes into place and follows me into the kitchen. He takes a seat at the bar, while I get us both drinks. “Really, though…you’re okay? I know this is a big deal to you.”

He takes the glass from me and downs half of the water. “Yeah. I’m good. I think it helps that it was you, and I know this is safe.”

My pulse stumbles in this weird way that only Oakley can make it do. What is it about this man that gets to me so intensely?

“Even though I’ve been an asshole for eleven years?” I quirk a brow, and he grins.

“Even then.” He takes another drink. “I get it, though. I didn’t know how to act around you either. We were kids. It was all tangled up in our heads.”

“Did you know?” I ask. “I mean, you figured you must be bi that night, but afterward?” I don’t know why I need to know so badly, why I don’t want this to be just some random thing that he can’t admit to himself. Maybe because that makes it feel like it will be easier for him to walk away, chalk it up to just wanting to get off with someone—something I figured after the first time.

“Yeah. I’m bi. I know I am. Like I said, I didn’t know it until you, but…attraction is sorta all fucked up in my head. I get attracted to people. I know when I want someone, but I only ever wanted Ree, then you, and then…”

“Then?” I ask, pulse racing.

“Nothing. Just this weird thing. It’s not important, but now it’s you again.”

I nod. “Sexuality can be confusing, and so can attraction. It’s not the same for everyone. So, does she know? Serena?”

He looks away, making me immediately regret asking the question. Sometimes I need to learn when to keep my big mouth shut.

“Nah. Like I told you before, I did tell her I kissed someone on that trip, but she thinks it was a woman. And now she knows I’m meeting up with someone, and she thinks it’s a woman too.”

I don’t react because it’s exactly what I expected him to say. Still, the words land harder than they should; they add weight to my chest, the bones there giving in under the pressure.

What does it matter to me if Oak doesn’t want his family to know he’s bisexual? Especially right now, when he’s got so much going on. It doesn’t have any effect on me, not really, because even if people know he’s bi, they wouldn’t know we’re fucking around because they all think he’s with Serena.

But after Kane, I told myself I’d never get involved with someone closeted again, that it was too much on me to be a secret. I get it. We live in a fucked-up, homophobic society, so I understand the fear, but I don’t know how to be with someone who expects me to hide, someone who doesn’t want anyone to know about us.

That would be what you and Oak do, regardless. Plus, this isn’t what you had with Kane. This is just sex, just Oakley getting out there, having fun and learning what it’s like to be single again.