They all felt bad for him.
No one wished what happened to Corbin on their worst enemy. There was no doubt it would be a long road back.
“We don’t want you to go home,” Gene said.
He closed his eyes.
“I may not have a choice,” Corbin said. “If me being upset is going to make you guys targets, I’ll avoid you both. It’s not that I don’t love you, but I’m jealous that you’re both whole. I don’t want to be,” he admitted. “But I guess the bottom line is I will likely never have someone look at me like Ethan looks at youwhen you’re sharing these moments with him. I want to be me again, but he’s lost.”
Gene lifted his chin, so he was staring in his eyes.
“You’ll get back there, Corby. You will, but it’s only been weeks. This isn’t a quick-fix problem. You’ll have to work through it, and that takes time. We don’t care that you’re angry. We care who you point that at. That’s the bottom line. You can rage, but not at us. With us, yes.”
He took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. Sometimes, I’m a lot of work.”
Yes, but nothing worth having was worth getting easily. Family stuck no matter what.
That was the bottom line.
“More times than not, I’d back down, Corbin. Normally, I’d put our needs away to help you, but the well is dry, my dude. We’re running on fumes. We need to recharge. That’s me being completely honest with you—not because of you, but because we have rough jobs. Ethan and I stand in people’s blood and deaths. Sometimes, you need to go away, get it off your chest, and regroup. If Ethan is going to shove Tala down for you, I have a problem with that. We all love and care about you, but we’ve had a long five weeks too, Corbin. You haven’t been fighting alone. We’ve been standing in front of you to protect you.”
He was aware.
“Be yourselves and refill your wells because I need both of you,” he said. “I know I crossed a line, and I’ll fix it.”
He held out his hand, and Will put his in it.
Already, he could see the hesitation, and Corbin knew if he didn’t fix this, he would lose the best thing that had ever happened to him.
This was his other half, and the man he wanted to marry.
So, he went there.
“I neglected you, and that will stop here and now. I don’t want to be touched, but I imagine it’s hard for you not to be. I haven’t been doing my job of being your partner. I’ve let you carry the weight, and that’s not fair.”
Will was honest.
“I’m good with no sex, Corbin. I’m not good with you getting angry over my past. I had sex partners. I explored my sexuality. I had a good time. I don’t need to feel guilty for that. I would never be upset if our worlds were reversed. If you had a more extensive sex past, I’d want to learn from you, not condemn you.”
Will was right.
“I’m sorry to everyone,” he said, “and I meant what I said. I’m going to rectify it. So Tala, keep Tala-ing, and Gene, keep perverting.”
The big man laughed.
“Oh, well, thanks for your permission,” he joked, seeing they got through this again—as a family.
Corbin kissed Will’s knuckles.
“I think we should explore more things, and as long as you understand I can’t experience them the way you can, we’ll be okay. If you like a spicier sex life, I can, and will, give that to you, Will, because I love you, and I don’t want you to lose pleasure because of me.”
He was surprised.
“Really?” he asked.
Corbin nodded.
