No more thana half hour later, Caleb set foot in his childhood home for the first time in over a year, a box of microwave popcorn with extra butter tucked under his arm. His omega father, Oli, lazed on the couch in his pajamas, one arm dangling off the side so his knuckles brushed the floor.
“Oh, hey, Thing One,” his dad said casually, his eyes still fixed on the screen. “Where are Gage and the babies?”
“Probably at home with Aaron,” Caleb said with a shrug.
A second passed. Realization struck. Wide-eyed, his dad sat bolt upright and stared Caleb down. “Caleb?”
“Hi, Dad.” Caleb smiled, but it was small, and it trembled. “It’s been a while.”
“Caleb.” In a flash, his dad was off the couch. In another second, he’d tugged Caleb into a fierce hug, dislodging the box of popcorn from beneath his arm. It clattered to the floor. Footsteps followed Caleb into the room, and he knew his father had entered. “You brought him home. You brought himhome.”
“He did,” Caleb whispered. He closed his eyes and held his dad to him, not wanting to ever let him go. “I’m home now. Everything’s alright.”
38
Everett
Early that morning, familiar weight joined Everett on the bed. Everett cracked open an eye to confirm it was Caleb, waited for him to settle down, then cuddled up to him and buried his head against Caleb’s bare chest.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Caleb whispered.
“S’fine,” Everett mumbled. He breathed in deep, enjoying the way the subtle notes of Caleb’s body wash combined with his natural scent. “How did it go?”
“Good.” Caleb kissed the top of Everett’s head. “Really good. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before.”
The apology was the validation Everett had been waiting for, and it was every bit as sweet as he’d dreamed it would be. A sleepy smile lifted his cheeks, and he kissed Caleb’s chest in thanks. “S’fine.”
“It’s not.” Caleb wormed his way beneath the blankets and tugged them into place over their bodies. The closer they got, the safer Everett felt. Caleb was his rock, his best friend, and his lover, and at last, it felt like they were back on the same page. “I took you for granted, and I didn’t realize it until it was almost too late. I love you. I don’t ever want you to feel like you come second to myself. We’re equals. From here on out, I’m going to do everything in my power to prove it to you.”
It wasn’t like Caleb to be sentimental. Everett hummed happily, but he was too tired to do much more. “Love you, too.”
For a while, there was silence. Caleb, who seemed to be wired after his night out, cuddled Everett aggressively, eventually rolling him onto his back so he could pin him to the bed. Most times when Caleb pinned him, it was because he wanted sex, but this time all Caleb did was kiss him sweetly.
Everett’s heart brimmed with love, and he kissed Caleb back.
There were men who did a lot of talking, but never followed through on their plans. Caleb wasn’t one of them. Everett saw the change in him, and he knew it would last.
In the dark, it was hard to tell how much time passed, but when Caleb rolled away, Everett’s lips were sore and his dick was hard. If he hadn’t been so exhausted, he would have pressed for more, but the muscles in his legs were sluggish, and his arms felt like cooked spaghetti. Aggressive frotting wasn’t in tonight’s forecast.
“Did you have fun with Jayne tonight?” Caleb asked as he settled beside Everett. “You seem tired.”
“Maybe because you woke me up,” Everett grumped, then snorted and kissed Caleb one last time. “But, yeah, I did.”
It would have been easy to leave it there and go back to sleep, but there were more details to share, and the extra ten minutes of sleep he’d gain weren’t anywhere near as valuable as the conversation they could have.
With a short sigh, Everett admitted, “We didn’t have sex.”
“Why not?”
“Jayne didn’t want to betray your trust.” Everett yawned. “We need to talk to him together, all three of us. He won’t do anything until we do.”
There was a moment of silence while Caleb absorbed the news. “Shit.”
“He’s right to have done it, though.” Sleep crept up on Everett, and for a moment, he blinked out of consciousness before snapping back to their conversation. “If we’re going to be in a relationship with him, we’re going to need excellent communication, both as a triad, and as individuals. We all need to be willing to talkandlisten to each other. If there’s a problem, we can’t bury our heads in the sand and ignore it. Whatever struggles we come up against, we’ll need to face them head-on, and we’ll need to face them together.”
“Shots fired.” Caleb laughed, but it was a light, thin sound that didn’t seem offended in the least. “I’m ready. I know you might not think it, but it doesn’t matter—I’m going to prove it to you.”
“Mm.” Everett smiled. Sleep claimed him again, and he jolted awake only to settle back down. It wouldn’t be long before he lost the fight with his eyelids, but he needed to hear what Caleb had to say before he did. “Is that so?”
