“Welcome home,” he whispered into my neck. “I missed you like nobody’s business.”
I laid my cheek on his broad chest. “Me too.” We stood for a minute or so, his rising desire evidenced by the thickening of his cock against me. My own dick grew painfully hard, but neither of us let go of the other. We couldn’t. It was as if we were the only ones left in the world, standing in that little apartment with the sun playing warm against our backs. I could’ve stayed there forever. I wished I could.
“Sit down and tell me everything.” He took my hand and pulled me to sit next to him on the sofa.
“You have a month?” I joked, but Cort didn’t laugh with me.
“I got as long as you want.” His thigh pressed against mine. “As long as it takes.”
“I don’t want to keep you from where you need to go.”
Cort cocked a sandy brow. “Don’t be stupid.”
I kicked off my sneakers and tucked my feet under me. “I was sure I was going to fuck up. The first week I wanted to leave. I wanted a drink. I didn’t realize the one hit of coke I’d done would make me crave it like my next breath. For six nights I couldn’t sleep and stayed up cursing everything. Everyone.” I stared unseeingly at the floor. “I wanted to kill myself, someone, anyone.”
“But you held on. You made it.”
“Yeah. Barely.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“It was because of you.”
His gaze snapped to mine. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “I wanted you to see I could do it, that I wasn’t a failure. That I could keep my promise.”
His eyes warmed. “I knew you would. I never thought you’d fail.”
In a month of firsts, that simple sentence hit me the hardest, probably because I’d never had anyone say that to me.
“But for you and James, I’d be dead most likely.”
“James likes to rescue people.”
“He kept calling me, even after that first week. He said he wanted to make sure I had contact with the outside world.”
Cort’s brows shot up in surprise. “Oh yeah? That was real nice of him. He sure knows how to surprise people.”
“Yeah. He seemed genuinely interested.”
“And he never said nothin’ to me.”
“I wouldn’t think so. You never told him about our relationship, right?” At his nod, I continued. “So by that fact, why should he discuss my personal life with you?”
“Still,” he said, grumbling. “He knows we’re close.”
I knew that Cort wanted me to feel secure enough with him to talk about what really happened to cause me to lose my family and my life, but that would take time. When I’d met James, he’d already known who I was. I didn’t have to delve into the intricacies of my family relationship; it wasn’t important. Working at Man Up didn’t involve my heart. But Cort was different. I owed Cort so much more than I could put into words at this time.
“Yeah, well, we could stand here all day, but that’s not going to help me move forward. If you let me borrow your computer, I’ll start looking for a job.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Cort picked up my knapsack and handed it to me. “You can take out your clothes and leave them here; then you’re gonna come with me.”
“I know it’s too early for Man Up, so where are you taking me?”
“Trust me?”
Cort held out his hand, and I took it. “Yes. Of course. You don’t even need to ask.”
