“But I did meet someone, and I’ve been seeing him a lot,” Horny says. I don’t know Horny well. Not by a long shot. But even I can see the flush in his cheeks and the way he’s keeping his eyes on his plate while he hesitates to continue. “Actually… I’ve been hooking up with him and his wife.”
Silence. Everyone stares. I do, too, but only because everyone else is. Maybe that’s a big deal?
“Really?” Hilt asks.
Horny nods. “It was just him at first, and he was really cool about me awkwardly trying to figure out how to suck a dick without making gross faces like I was putting shit in my mouth.”
Caulder chokes on whatever he’d been chewing. Lo laughs, patting his back as Caulder glares at Horny. I try not to smile and hide it behind my napkin.
“He was really nice and… he brought me into the shower and let me watch him wash his cock really thoroughly. I felt better about putting it in my mouth then.”
“I’m strangely morbidly fascinated by this story,” Julian murmurs.
I’m not the only one who nods.
“We started fooling around more often, and doing more things, and I might have freaked out when he told me he was married, but he promised his wife knew where he was and what he was doing. I didn’t believe him, so he got his wife on the phone. She’s really beautiful. Like,sobeautiful. I might have said so when she got off the phone, and the next thing I knew, I was hooking up with both of them together. Guys.” Horny leans forward, his eyes moving around the table to take us all in. “It’s seriously the hottest sex I’ve ever had. Like… watching her peg him while he’s on top of me… god, I’ve never seen anything so damn hot in my life. I’ve never come so freaking hard, man.”
I glance at Julian. His eyes meet mine, and there it is again. The feeling we’re sharing a secret. I bow my head as I smile.
“So, are you seeing them or just hooking up?” Keno asks.
“Oh… I don’t know. Maybe both? No, I think we’re just hooking up.”
“Do you see them for activities other than sex? Do you hang around before or after sex?” Etna asks.
“Do you only text to schedule a hookup, or do you have conversations—sexy or otherwise?” Lo asks.
“Uh… yes.”
Julian snorts.
“Hmm,” Hilt says, patting Horny on the shoulder. “We don’t need to pick at what you’re doing. If you’re happy, we’re happy.”
Horny’s shoulders relax. “I really enjoy it. And they make me feel comfortable trying new things. There’s no pressure and I don’t feel put on the spot. Also, they’ll shower and let me watch them wash if I’m uncomfortable putting my mouth somewhere.”
Lo chuckles. Caulder has a hand over his mouth, but I can tell from the way his eyes are wrinkled in the corner that he’s grinning.
We continue to talk about Horny’s married couple for a while, far after brunch is finished, and then move on to paintball tomorrow. They’re still talking about the details when Julian takes my hand and leans in.
“We’re really close to the Grand Canyon and Vegas. You have any interest in visiting either?” he murmurs.
My heart jumps in excitement. You know what? He can be my friend or boyfriend or lover or partner or whatever. I know he wants to spend time with me. I know I’m important to him. My weird insecurity is a me thing. It’s not a reflection of the relationship between us.
I nod. “Both. If we have time.”
“We have all summer, Arush.” He leans further into my space and kisses my cheek. “I’ll show you as much of the US as I can over the next couple months and whatever we don’t get to, we’ll see next summer.”
The knot in my stomach unravels as I stare into his eyes.
The moment is broken when my phone rings. Which is super weird because it’s almost noon. The only people who have my number are in India and they should be asleep or getting ready to sleep.
Pulling my phone out, I see my father’s face filling the screen. My stomach falls as chills break out over my body. I have a really bad feeling about this.
I meet Julian’s eyes as I get to my feet and answer. “Dad?”
“Arush. I need you to come home. Your sister has been in a car accident.”
My breath catches. “Is she okay?”
