“Uh-huh,” was all Hawke said back to him.
It wasn’t until the car was parked in front of the huge Tudor style mansion and Hawke and I had both gotten out, that I finally got a chance to lay into the man like I wanted. As I moved past Hawke to get Matty out of the car, I bit out, “We didn’t ask to be here. He’s just a kid and he doesn’t deserve you treating him like shit.”
Hawke grabbed my arm before I could reach for the door handle. His hold wasn’t gentle, but he wasn’t hurting me either. Just like the night before, he looked at me like he wanted to say something, but instead, his eyes dropped to where his fingers were pressed against my bare skin. I was no longer surprised by the current of electricity that passed through me or the way heat began spreading out from the place where his skin touched mine. But what surprised me was rather than releasing me, Hawke drew me closer to him.And instead of just gripping my arm, his fingers began rubbing back and forth over my heated skin. I held my breath as he continued to draw me forward until we were almost touching. Everything around us ceased to exist as his eyes held mine and I saw the unspoken apology there…at least, that’s what I thought it was. I saw something else too, but I couldn’t be sure about it either because it seemed too farfetched to be possible.
Longing.
For what, I didn’t know. But he had yet to let me go and I had yet to move away.
It wasn’t until a cold, wet nose pressed against my hand that the spell was broken. I looked down to see a large German Shepherd sniffing me and then glanced up to see a man standing at the entrance to the house. His eyes weren’t on me, though. They were on Hawke who hesitated for a moment before releasing me and stepping back. The dog circled him excitedly several times, but Hawke ignored him and went around the front of the car. I forced my attention back to getting Matty. His initial excitement about the dog seemed to have faded once he got a look at the huge animal because he clung to me as I lifted him out of the car. His legs were wrapped around my waist and his stranglehold on my neck sent a clear message that he wasn’t ready to be put down yet so I carried him around the car.
The dog followed us, but I was glad when he didn’t jump up to try to reach Matty.
“Is he nice, Daddy?” Matty whispered against my ear.
“I think he is, buddy,” I said.
“His name is Bullet.”
I expected the voice to belong to the intimidating man who’d been watching us just moments before, but it actually came from a young man making his way down the entry way stairs towards us. I saw Hawke and the other man deep in conversation and had to force myself to focus on the younger man. I guessed him to be close to my own age, maybe a little younger. He had thick blond hair and a kind face and he immediately held out his hand to me.
“I’m Seth Nichols.”
“Tate,” I answered and I shook his hand.
“And who’s this?” he asked as his eyes fell on Matty.
Matty’s head was pressed against my shoulder and he turned it so he could see Seth better. “Matthew but my Daddy calls me Matty.”
Seth smiled. “Is it okay if I call you Matty?”
Matty nodded against me. “Is Bullet nice?” he asked timidly.
“Very,” Seth responded. “He knows some tricks. You want to see them?”
Another nod from Matty. As Seth showed Matty the dog’s tricks, I lifted my eyes to watch Hawke as he talked to the other man. His eyes shifted to me and whatever conversation he was having ceased. He held my gaze for a moment and then strode into the house. The other man came down the stairs towards us and I resisted the urge to step back.
He was bigger than Hawke by a couple of inches. His hair was coal black and his gray eyes were studying me. Just like Hawke, I couldn’t get a read on him and I automatically tightened my arms around Matty in response. But as soon as the man’s eyes moved from me to Seth, his entire countenance changed dramatically. Even before Seth put out his hand, I knew what they were to each other.
“Tate, this is my boyfriend, Ronan. Ronan, this is Tate,” Seth said as he motioned to me. “And this is Matty,” he said with a big smile as he put his hand briefly on one of Matty’s legs.
Ronan nodded at me as he pulled Seth against his side. “Hi, Matty.”
I barely noticed Ronan and Seth talking to Matty because I was lost in the way the two men held onto each other. My childhood hadn’t exactly given me a lot of opportunities to see how two people in love behaved with one another, but seeing two men being so openly affectionate was overwhelming and a rush of envy went through me. I’d hidden my sexuality for so long that I’d just assumed it was something other gay men automatically did as well when they were in the presence of other people. But the two men in front of me weren’t hiding anything…not from me, not from my son, not from each other.
“Daddy, can we?”
I realized I’d missed Matty’s question entirely when I noticed him and both men watching me expectantly.
“Can we what?”
“Can we take Bullet for a walk?” Matty asked. His voice had started to lose some of its shyness.
“There’s a nice beach down by the water,” Seth explained.
“You sure you’re not too tired?” I asked.
Matty shook his head.
