Rupert laughed and laughed. “You reallydoalways have to do things the hard way.”
“It doesn’t feel hard,” Reese muttered, “except maybe this conversation.”
Rupert sighed. “I’m going to ignore the obvious jokes about what is and isn’t hard and say I’m sorry. I don’t want to make this difficult for you. And I’m glad you told me. For what it’s worth, you did a good job.”
“At what?”
“Coming out.”
“Oh. That’s…” Shit, that was exactly what he’d done. He swallowed past the unexpected lump in his throat. “Well, since you started with me, I figured I should start with you,” he joked feebly, feeling horribly fond at the memory of a terrified twelve-year-old Rupert telling Reese he was gay.
Reese wished he could have had this conversation with Rupert in person, too.
As if reading his mind, Rupert asked, “Do you want us to come see you?”
“What?No. I’m fine.”
“You’re freaked out.”
“Well, yes. But I’m a grown-ass adult, so I don’t need you to abandon the team and your job to pull your children out of school and fly hundreds of miles just because I want to see a man naked.”
Rupert chuckled. “Is thatreallyall you want?”
“Not even close,” Reese admitted, which made Rupert laugh again.
“You going to do something about it?”
“I am.” He already had, but he’d probably have to be well into Rupert’s scotch collection before he’d consider sharing any of those details.
Rupert made a happy, almost proud sound. “Excellent. Do you have any questions?”
“No.”
“You sure? Because I’m chuffed that I can finally give you advice on your love life.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Such as, always cover your teeth with your lips.”
“Please stop talking.”
“And you can never have too much lube!”
“I don’t know why I’m friends with you.”
Rupert was shouting something about oil-based lubricants breaking down latex when Reese hung up on him.
Mati collapsed on the couch and dragged her feet onto the coffee table. After the gym, they’d come back to the room to shower and David had prepared a feast of garlicky shrimp scampi stir-fry loaded with chunks of summer squash, peppers, and onions, served over a bed of angel hair pasta.
She was never going to work out again without wishing for a perfectly balanced meal prepared by a sex god when she got home. He was magic. The room should have reeked, but David had some trick for the garlic, and the mix of scents remaining was no match for the industrial air handling, already almost completely dissipated after only an hour.
She wouldn’t be recovering nearly as quickly.
Reese sat beside her. “You okay?”
“I think David broke me.”
David smiled where he stood by the windows. “You did great today.”
