The sound Hayden made as he came was the best thing I’d ever heard, a shout that cut through everything else in the room, no need to be quiet now that we were alone. It was enough to pull me over with him, crashing headlong into bliss, sticky streaks painting Hayden’s chest and stomach as I came, wrung out and exhausted.
I groaned as I rolled off him, flopping onto the mattress beside him and panting to catch my breath.
“No one can interrupt—”
I was cut off by the sound of my phone vibrating in my pocket, cutting through the happy, fuzzy warmth of post-orgasm haze.
I swore under my breath and leaned over a laughing Hayden, grabbing my jeans and fumbling for my phone.
“Hello?”
“Did you arrive okay?” Mr. Lewis asked on the other end of the line.
How was his timing sobad, even on the other side of the country?
“It’s your dad,” I whispered to Hayden, covering the mic on my phone.
Hayden only laughed louder, gasping for breath between giggles. Even if I’d wanted to be mad at him, I couldn’t have managed it—I loved seeing him like this.
Even if he was laughing at me overyet anotherinterruption at the hands of his father.
“Yeah, Mr. Lewis, I got here fine. Sorry, I meant to text, I just…”
“I understand,” Mr. Lewis said. “You boys have more fun things to do than worry about me.”
He had no idea, and we were still keeping it that way. I wished I could tell him, let him know that I understood how he loved Hayden and why he worried, because I loved him and I worried and all I wanted was to see him happy, but…
But it wasn’t that simple.
“Is he treating you okay?” Mr. Lewis asked.
“He’s been an incredible host,” I said, settling myself down beside him again. “Very gracious. You raised him well. But I already knew that.”
“Tell him from me that he’d better take care of you, or I’ll be disappointed.”
“He’s right here, you can tell him yourself if you want,” I offered, grinning at the look on Hayden’s face.
“No, no, I’ll take your word for it. Although youcantell him that he could call his old man a little more often. This is the first I’ve been sure he’s still alive in weeks.”
I laughed at that, but I knew how Mr. Lewis felt. I hadn’t been able to tell him thatIknew Hayden was still alive, if barely hanging in there.
I hadn’t been able to tell him about the long-distance dates or the all-night phone calls. I hadn’t been able to tell him that I didn’t feel like I could fill my lungs properly when I woke up in an empty bed now.
“I’ll make sure he calls you more often,” I said. “Thank you for checking up on me.”
“Always,” Mr. Lewis promised.
I never quite felt like I could tellhimI loved him, either, but I did. And I knew, even though he’d never said it, that he loved me, too.
I thought maybe that was where Hayden got that from. Neither of them were good at saying the wordsI love you, but both of them were so good at showing it.
How anyone ever missed it was a mystery to me. They both loved so deeply and so fully and soeasily. No wonder they got their hearts broken.
“I’ll let you know if he does anything he shouldn’t,” I said. “And you’ll call me if you need anything, right? I’ve got people on call for you.”
“I’ll be fine,” Mr. Lewis assured me for that felt like the thousandth time. “Enjoy your vacation. I’m expecting you to tell me all about it when you get back.”
“Deal,” I promised.
