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“Why’d you do it when you did? Why not earlier? Or not at all? Why not keep your relationship a secret?”
Reef smiled, his dimples showing, and Ford nuzzled closer. “No, I’d done enough hiding.” He paused and looked at Ford, the love in his gaze palpable. “And we were ready to move on.” Reef pressed a soft kiss on his man and turned back to Connor. “I’m actually surprised we didn’t get outed earlier.”
“You wanna come out, Con?” Ford asked him gently, then shook his head. “Sucks that we even have to do that. Straight people don’t have to make some grand announcement, but apparently, the rest of us do or we’re closet cases. And it happens every time you meet someone new.” Reef stroked his fingers through Ford’s hair, comforting him without even realizing it. God, Connor wanted what they had—so much so it hurt—but fuck, that was so damn selfish. Why couldn’t he be satisfied with what he had? Levi wasn’t hiding him because he was ashamed of him; it was because the world wouldn’t understand and Levi would lose everything he’d worked for. Connor got it. He agreed that Levi didn’t have much of a choice. But it still hurt.
He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “Nah, no point. It’s just hard, ya know? Our relationship is everything to us, so we’re good there, but I hate hiding. I wish we could be more, put it out there, but it’s just not possible.”
“He must be pretty special for you to protect him like this,” Reef added.
“Without a doubt.” Connor smiled sadly. He didn’t want to kill the mood. This was supposed to be a party, and instead, he was being a sad sack.
“Let him know you’ll be there when he is. It’s the only thing you can do if you aren’t prepared to walk away.”
“Yeah, I will. Thanks, guys.” He smiled at them, this time not having to force its genuineness. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I’m gonna help get the barbie started. I’m starvin’. I’ll be back in a bit.” He capped his empty bottle and tossed it in the makeshift recycling bin before heading inside.
His heart pounding, Connor closed the bathroom door behind him and splashed water on his face. Resting his hands on the sink, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Messy curls, suntanned skin, a tattoo on his arm that curled up and over his bare shoulder, a short beard and dark eyes stared back at him.Get it together, mate.Seeing Ford and Reef together had made him yearn for a relationship like theirs with Katy and Levi. They were so open and loving, so uncaring of what the judgement of others held. And there was judgement. Jonathan and Elsie had stared at them, their disgust evident in their turned-up lips and exaggerated shudders when they hugged or kissed. Another reason to hate the stuck-up couple.
The door opening startled him until he saw Levi’s reflection in the mirror as he entered and closed the door without a word. Connor turned to face him, ready to explain. He was sure Levi would know. He always did.
Instead, he crowded Connor, pushing him back against the sink and stepping between his spread legs. “Please talk to me,” he whispered. “You’re miserable.”
“We can’t change it. I want what they have, but I’ll settle for it in private.” Levi sighed at Connor’s words and closed the distance between them, brushing their lips together.
“I dunno what else to do.” The sadness in Levi’s eyes tore at Connor’s heart. His man was hurting just as much as he was. No doubt Katy was going through the same thing too. He cupped Levi’s face, warm, smooth skin against his cool hands. They gravitated towards each other, their lips touching, gently at first. Need overcame him, and Connor deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue into Levi’s open mouth. The taste of Levi’s drink—whiskey, dry, and lime—and that unique Levi flavour burst onto his tongue, making Connor moan. He wanted this man, yearned for him. Needed him closer. Moving his hands down his boyfriend’s firm body, Connor brushed his fingers over Levi’s nipples making the other man gasp.
“Damn, you’re sensitive there.” Connor smirked against the other man’s lips and laughed when Levi bit him. Slipping his fingers under the other man’s shirt, he hummed when the firm muscle quivered under his light touch. Warm, silky smooth skin met his fingertips and Connor was suddenly ravenous. He needed a taste of him. Needed everything. Grasping the bottom of his shirt, Connor ripped it off Levi, bringing them chest to chest.
He kissed him hard, their tongues tangling together as Levi yanked Connor’s boardies down as far as they would go before stepping back and falling to his knees. Levi licked his lips, and Connor nearly came on the spot.Damn.Levi nudged his legs closer together and slipped Connor’s shorts down to his ankles. He sucked in a breath when Levi’s warm palms skirted up his legs and around to his arse pulling him forward until he buried his face in the crease between Connor’s leg and his pubes. He ran his fingers through Levi’s hair, watching as the other man mouthed his abs. When Levi licked up his length, Connor let his head fall back and he moaned. He shuddered, his hips thrusting forward of their own volition when Levi closed his mouth around his shaft and sucked. Over and over again until Connor couldn’t stand it any longer. He was riding the edge, so damn close to coming. Tightening his fingers in Levi’s hair, Connor moaned incoherently trying to pull back. He didn’t want to come yet. He didn’t want it to end.
Then Levi’s mouth was on his, kissing him. Ravaging him. His hands on Connor’s back, he held him close. Con reached between them and grasped their shafts, fisting them together.
The door slammed open, and he froze. Levi did too.Oh fuck.He dared not open his eyes, but he didn’t need to. He knew that voice anywhere. “What the…?”
Katy
Katy had just sat down with Ford and Reef when the words, “You cheating piece of shit,” rang out. She stiffened, her heart sinking. Like a house of cards, she could see everything toppling down around her, bursting the little bubble of blissful happiness she, Levi, and Con had been living in.
Her brother was angry, and that was never good. He reacted like a cut snake whenever someone ticked him off. And by the one-sided shouting coming from inside the house, Katy knew it had to be that he’d walked in on Levi and Con.
“What the?” Ford asked, confused.
Katy pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead. “It’s Jonathan. Sorry, guys, I need to get in there.”
“Yeah, sure,” Reef said, standing and taking Katy’s bottle of beer from her. She wiped her suddenly sweaty palms on her jean shorts and headed inside. But she wasn’t alone. Elsie was already rushing in there too, her long white linen vest and loose skirt billowing behind her. Emma too. Katy followed third, the sounds of the insults being hurled by Jonathan getting louder and louder, and not just because she was getting closer. He was ranting, giving a sermon that he didn’t really believe. Or maybe he did. He’d always been a judgemental prick, being homophobic wouldn’t be a stretch.
When she stepped around the corner, Katy skidded to a halt. In the bathroom stood Con and Levi, and just outside the door was Jonathan. Con was struggling to pull his still-wet boardies up but they were tangled, his shirt balled up next to the sink. Levi was fully dressed but flustered as hell. Trying to calm her brother, Levi placed a hand on Jonathan’s arm, but Jonathan jerked it away. “Get the fuck off me, you—” he shouted, stopping abruptly when Con sidestepped Levi, getting in Jonathan’s face.
“Watch it, mate,” he growled, standing over him with fists clenched. Audible gasps of shock sounded from the onlookers gathered around them. Time slowed, the rushing in her ears too loud to hear her sister-in-law’s shocked screech when she realized what was going on. And then it sped up again, the force of Elsie’s disgust hitting her like a slap to the face.
“Or you’ll do what, faggot? You make me sick.” Seeing he had a crowd gathered, Jonathan almost preened. It made her nauseous. “Kaitlin, do you know why you haven’t got a proposal yet? Why he’s been stringing you on for so many years? He’s cheating on you. With him.” Jonathan pointed to Con, looking at him like shit on the bottom of a shoe. “Another five minutes and one of them would have been bent over taking it up the arse.” The hatred in his tone, the accusation, had tears welling in her eyes. His words were like the stab of a knife, wounding her and drawing out the pain with each one, killing a piece of her one jab at a time. “See what you’ve done? You’ve broken her heart. You’re disgusting, both of you.”
Con staggered back like he’d been struck, Levi catching him in his arms. Her eyes connected with theirs and the heartbreak in each of their gazes eviscerated her. They didn’t deserve her brother’s wrath. She had to fix this. She had to make him stop. Katy wiped her tears and stepped forward, wanting to go to them. Only a few feet separated them, but it could have been the entire Pacific Ocean. Jonathan blocked her way, and cool bony fingers snaked around Katy’s bicep, pulling her back. She looked to the side and met Elsie’s haughty stare. That bitch always thought she was better than everyone and she was in her element now. Katy shook the other woman off, anger pulsing through her at their interference and judgement.
“Kaitlin—” Elsie started.
“Stop it. Both of you just stop.” Katy held her hands up, her tone hard as she spoke. She was done with pussy-footing around. The cat was apparently out of the bag anyway, so she was dealing with this shit head on. How dare they judge her men? How dare they judge her?
“Kaitlin, you’re coming home with us. There’s no need for you to see them anymore. I can take care of getting you moved out, getting you your fair share of the house.”
