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I highly doubted it, but I answered the phone all the same. “What do you want, Brent?” I snapped.
“Hey! I’m just in the neighborhood, and I thought if you were home, I could swing by and—”
Eric must’ve overheard, because he plucked the phone out of my hand and put it to her ear. “Sorry, Brent, Jasper’s busy. And you know what? He’s actually busy tomorrow too. And the next day, and the day after that. Forever, Brent. Jasper is busy with meforever. And if you have a problem with that, you and I will have words. Okay?” I couldn’t hear Brent’s reply, but it seemed to satisfy Eric, because he said, “Great,” and hung up, tossing the phone aside. He winced as he realized what he’d said. “Sorry, was that too much?”
My lips had started to stretch into a smile. “No, I think it was just right. Forever, huh?”
He shrugged, turning bashful. “I mean, if you’re okay with that.”
I pursed my lips, pretending to think it over. “I might be able to work you into my schedule.”
“That’s very generous of you.” His smile softened. “I love you, Jasper, and I don’t want to waste any more time.”
His words hit me right in the chest, and warmth spread through my body. He’d said exactly what I was thinking, after watching him get hurt yesterday. Life was short, and even if our relationship didn’t last forever, that wasn’t the point. Being in love wasn’t about playing it safe. And in the end, he was worth the risk.
“I love you too,” I admitted softly. Saying the words out loud after so long felt like flying. The last of my fear and uncertainty melted away, leaving my heart light and open, ready to be filled with love and happiness.
Eric’s relieved smile was shaky, and he grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me in for a sweet kiss, his tongue swiping gently against mine.
When we broke the kiss, I didn’t go far, resting my forehead on his. “You know, Christmas is coming up, and… I was wondering if maybe you’d like to stay?”
His grin was wide, like I’d already given him his gift. “I thought you’d never ask.”
This time when he kissed me it was far from tender, and he tried to drag me over onto his lap with his good arm. “If we hurry, we have time to squeeze in a quickie before we pick Cam up from school.”
“Eric! Your shoulder!” I protested, and sure enough, he hissed in pain as he banged his arm on the couch’s armrest.
He would not be deterred, though. “Okay, change in plan,” he said, leaping off the couch and dragging me by the hand down the hall toward the bedroom. “You might need to do most of the work. But I promise, I’ll pay you back.”
I was more than happy to ride his cock, and I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life making sure we were even.
20
Eric
Christmaswithmyfamilywas exactly what I’d always dreamed it would be. The holiday excitement was one of the things I truly felt like I’d missed out on with Cameron, but if I thought he was too old to get excited about presents, I was wrong.
Before the sun had even crested the horizon, the bedroom door flew open, and Cam came catapulting onto the bed, landing dangerously close to my balls, one elbow in my gut. To be fair, I suspected he’d forgotten I would be here.
“Eric! You’re still here!” he cried in response to my groan, squeezing between me and Jasper to give me a hug.
“Morning, bud,” I managed, sidling over to make room, keeping my injured arm carefully away from the flopping child. “Merry Christmas.”
As eager as I’d been to move forward at lightning speed, Jasper and I hadn’t taken this step lightly. We had lots of conversations, both between us and with Cam, and made sure our son was okay with us being together, and to say he was welcoming was an understatement. Cam had not so discreetly whispered, “Our plan worked!” Jasper just shook his head, smiling, playing along as if he didn’t know our secret. We started off with family dinners, but things had been going so well that we decided it was time for the final step before we could officially move in together. Sleepovers.
We’d begun looking at the real estate pages online, trying to find the perfect home for us. Close to Cam’s school, with a pool, and of course with enough bedrooms that we could expand our family—hopefully in the not-too-distant future.
Christmas morning, though, that was where today’s excitement lay. “Should we go see what Santa brought you?” I asked, ruffling Cam’s hair.
He rolled his eyes at me. “I know my dad is Santa, Eric.” It made my heart hurt a little to hear him say that.
Jasper’s voice was muffled by the pillow as he mumbled, “Nope, not this year.” He lifted his head and peeked one eye at Cam. “This year, it was Eric’s turn to play Santa.” Cam’s eyes glittered, his smile widening.
Cam tried to make a break for the living room, climbing over his dad, but Jasper snagged him on the way by for a quick hug. “Merry Christmas, Cam. Love you.”
Cam sounded exasperated as he said, “Love you too, Dad,” before shoving off Jasper’s chest and booking it out of the room.
We listened to Cam’s footsteps running down the hall to the living room where our Christmas tree was set up, a stocking full of presents hung on the back of a chair.
