I didn’t wait for her to respond but made my way back up the stairs to the man who held my heart. Once in his bedroom, I closed the door, undressed and got under the covers once more. I tried to remain distant from him until I was fully warm once more, but he had other plans. He scooted over to me.
“Where were you?” he mumbled sleepily. “I thought you had left me too.”
I tugged his back to my chest and placed an arm around him. “Never. I’m yours, Ainsley.”
“Mine,” he mumbled on a yawn a few seconds before he started snoring again. I had no idea if tomorrow he would remember this conversation, but I meant every word that I said to him. I was his for as long as he wanted me.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ainsley
“Best. Christmas. Ever,” I gasped in Willy’s ear as I wrapped my legs around his waist more firmly. He rocked into me so slowly, just little nudges without pulling out any at all. And it was exquisite. I always thought sex was better hard and fast, but the goosebumps spreading over my skin would have me declare this a moot point. There was something so sensual about the way he braced his arms on either side of my head not to crush me while our lower bodies fused together.
He leaned forward and kissed me, long and deep without stopping the rocking motion of his hips. The bed barely dipped and groaned beneath our weight because we were being so careful. He trailed kisses across my cheekbone then buried his face into the side of my neck. I pressed the heel of my feet into his hard ass, gasping at the shudders that ran through my body. I wasn’t even touching myself, and I was already so close.
“Why do you always feel so good?” he murmured in my ears. “Fuck, I can’t get enough of you.”
I didn’t want him to get enough of me. I wanted to keep him coming back and never to look at another man with the same intensity with which he looked at me.
“I love the way you feel too,” I returned, sinking my teeth into my lower lip. “Soooo good. I don’t want you to stop.”
He chuckled. “It’s going to be over soon. I can feel it. I can’t help it when we fit together so well.”
He ran his hands beneath my body to cup my ass and hold onto my cheeks while his hips bucked into mine. With one more thrust, his cock scraping my prostate, I lost the battle to make this go on forever. His lips on mine swallowed my moan as I came. He continued thrusting through my climax, and less than a minute afterward, he pulled out and ripped off the condom. He leaned back onto his haunches, hand wrapped around his cock as he nutted onto my stomach. When he got it all out, he rested both hands behind him on the bed and took in the sight of me splattered with both our cum.
“Merry Christmas, Ainsley,” he said softly.
I smiled at him. “Merry Christmas indeed.”
He snagged the wad of tissue he had gotten from the bathroom earlier and cleaned off my stomach. We had already decided to leave first thing this morning, so we headed to the bathroom and took a shower. It took us less than half an hour to straighten the room, almost like we were never there and then walk out of the room. I couldn’t resist peering into my old bedroom one last time. Willy was right about the memories. I would always remember our time in my old bed now instead of the tears I cried after getting home from being bullied.
Mom and Dad were both in the kitchen. If they were shocked at seeing us with our bags, they didn’t show it.
“Merry Christmas,” I said, wishing things had been different between us, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Willy had certainly made it a lot better.
“Merry Christmas to you, too,” Mom answered while Dad just continued to look at us. “Are you leaving?”
“I think that’s best,” I answered.
“Thanks for having us,” Willy addressed them. “If there’s anything we can do for you in the future, don’t hesitate in letting us know.” He reached for my knapsack and kissed my cheek. “I’ll get these in the truck and give you a moment alone.”
I wanted to tell him not to leave me alone with them, but I nodded. He squeezed my arm then left.
“Your sister was looking forward to spending Christmas with you,” Mom remarked.
“Nicky will understand,” I replied. “We keep in touch.”
“Will you keep in touch with us?”
“Don’t pester the boy,” Dad growled at her.
“It’s not a bother,” I answered. “I can keep in touch. If you want me to.”
“Of course we want you to,” Mom replied and sighed. “Ainsley, you know we love you, right?”
I shoved my hands in my pockets because they were trembling from the surprise of her words. I couldn’t remember the last time she had said this to me. “I suppose.”
“There’s no supposing about it,” she answered. “I admit we have not always done right by you, but I hope it won’t be another three years before I see you again.”
Overwhelmed with emotions, I walked around the table and approached her. I couldn’t remember the last time I had hugged her either, but now I pushed past the unfamiliarity of it all and hugged her. “I love you too, Mom.” At first, she was as stiff as a board before she reached around and returned the hug briefly. When she let her hands fall, I walked over to Dad and did the same. I didn’t care if he pushed me off, and when he didn’t, I felt better. Maybe one day things would be better between us.
“I’ll drop by again when I return from my interview in New York,” I promised them. “I may be flying in more often because of Willy, and I’d like to visit from time to time if that’s alright with you.”
Mom nodded with the first smile I had seen since I returned home. “We would like that, wouldn’t we, James?”
Dad scowled at her for getting him involved, but he nodded. “Sure.”
“I’ll see you in a week or two then,” I assured them.
I was backing out of the kitchen when Dad’s voice stopped me. “Ainsley?”
I turned to him. “Yes?”
He didn’t say anything for a while, but his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’m sorry about last night,” he said. “I should have never invited Joey to dinner with us.”
I was stunned by his apology. To the best of my knowledge, Dad had never apologized to me before. He was one of those people who believed because he was the parent, he could never be wrong. Hearing his apology almost made up for all his taunts that I had endured but not quite.
“If you really mean that apology, Dad,” I told him, “You’ll stop with the queer remarks. I don’t find the humor in them. In fact, they are downright hurtful.”
He was shocked into silence, his mouth hanging open but not a word came out. I didn’t regret finally opening up about how I felt. With one last nod in their direction, I walked from the house. I felt lighter. Things might not have gone the way I wanted, but I believed I had made traction with my parents considering I had barely spoken directly to them in the past three years. Our conversation had mostly been repeated through Nicky.
I closed the front door and stood on the porch, smiling when I saw Willy waiting for me. Instead of sitting in the warmth of the truck, he leaned against the hood. As soon as he saw me, he straightened. As ridiculous as I knew I looked, I flew down the stairs and toward him. He caught me in his arms and pulled me into his chest.
“You didn’t fall this time,” he said on a laugh. “Am I losing my irresistible charm?”
“Okay, I’ll swoon since you want me to. Catch me!” I placed the back of my right hand on my forehead dramatically and allowed myself to drop backward.
“Ainsley, you crazy little brat!” Willy cried in alarm but caught me before I hit the ground. “What if you had fallen?”
“Wouldn’t be the first. Plus I knew you’d catch me.”
He gripped my shoulders. “I don’t know if I should shake you or kiss you.”
I upturned my face to him and puckered my lips. “I’ll take one kiss, please.”
He barely kissed my lips. “That’s all you get. Get in the truck. We have
an hour and a half drive ahead of us.”
We got into his truck, and I mellowed under the warmth. I reclined my seat and curled my legs up beneath me, turning slightly to the side so I could watch him while he drove.
“Everything went okay in there?” he asked me as he backed out of the yard. “You sure you don’t want to stay?”
“I think this was enough for being the first time back,” I answered. “Right now, we all probably need this space, but I did promise I would stop by again. Will you come back with me?”
“Sure. Just give me a heads-up so I can get someone to cover for me at the clinic.”
I reached across him to squeeze his thigh. “Thank you. This means a lot to me.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
I pulled my jacket more securely around me. “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”
And so started our long conversation on the way back home. We didn’t stop talking throughout that hour and a half drive. Surprisingly, I wasn’t tired of talking to him either. I learned about his school life, his first crush, his first kiss, where he went to university, and he even talked to me about his deceased husband. I thought I would have felt funny about him discussing another man, but it wasn't. I wasn’t going to be jealous of a dead man.
I spilled everything about my life growing up, how I discovered I was gay, and the time I ripped Nicky’s best dress because I’d been tempted to try it on. It hadn’t fit, and Nicky had cried for almost a week at me ruining her dress. By the time we got back to Huntsville, my head was swimming with new information about him.
I wanted to ask him to drop by the clinic so I could see Cotton, but he was already so adamant that I was getting too attached. Because of that, I refrained from asking him. When he turned into the driveway leading to the clinic, I could have climbed into his lap and smothered him in kisses.
“I figured you would want to see Cotton before we go to my place,” he remarked, parking in his designated spot.
“I was trying to find a way to ask without you thinking I’m obsessed about the puppy,” I admitted.
“Just as long as you know, as soon as he’s healthy, he’ll be going to the animal shelter,” he said. “He’s a cute puppy and will likely be adopted out quickly. If he survives.”
“He will.”
A part of me was sad at the thought of him getting better and leaving the clinic. I would have adopted him but with the no pets allowed rule of my apartment, plus my hectic schedule and flying to different countries, that would be no way to raise a dog. He would be better off with people who could give him all the attention he needed.
This still didn’t stop me from losing another piece of my heart when I saw the puppy. His eyes were still closed, but he was shuffling about in his cot, reacting to my voice and mewling when I talked to him. Willy left me alone for almost fifteen minutes with the puppy while he talked to the other vet, and when he came to collect me so we could go home, I didn’t want to leave without Cotton.
“I don’t think I should see him anymore,” I said as we got back in his truck. “It’s getting harder to walk away every time.”
“I agree,” he answered. “At the rate our puppy is improving, he won’t still be here when you return.”
Willy was right. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to get attached to the puppy, and now that the damage was done, it was hard to unlove the cute beast. I was almost near tears by the time we got to his house. I thought I hid it well, but as soon as we walked through his front door, he pulled me into his arms.
“It’s okay. I promise I’ll get you a dog when we’re in a better place to think about adopting one. It’s just too soon right now, you know? With you being all the way in New York and me here.”
“I know,” I remarked, but it didn’t stop me crying in his shirt for a puppy I wanted but couldn’t have.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Will
“I still don’t see why we couldn’t exchange our gifts at your place,” Ainsley murmured as he exited the truck, and I closed the door behind him. Despite his complaint, his eyes sparkled, and his cheeks were rosy. I’d had to get creative back at my house to get him out of his funk over the puppy, but it had been pleasurable for both of us so I wasn’t complaining.
“Because Mama is holding off on the gift-giving until we get here,” I answered. “It makes sense that we just do everything here.”
“Hmm. Well, can’t say I didn’t try.” He made for the front door while I stood there at the truck trying to decipher what he was not saying.
“Ainsley, what the hell did you get me?” I asked, hurrying after him.
He gave me a wide-eyed look, holding the bag of gifts protectively against his chest. “You will know when you open your gift in front of your family.”
I didn’t like the grin on his face at all. Now I wished I had gotten something else rather than a plaid shirt. I’d thought for a first Christmas gift it would be perfect. It wasn’t expensive, it wasn’t over the top, but it was sentimental because he always made fun of me and my plaid shirts. But what the hell could he have gotten me?
“I change my mind!” I told him as he bounded up the steps to the porch and rang the doorbell. “Let’s exchange in the truck.”
“Too late!” he quipped over his shoulder.
I reached him, hand going around his waist to grab the gift bag when the door opened. Mama stared at us with a frown on her face.
“Merry Christmas, Mama!” I released Ainsley and moved to hug and kiss her, but she stepped away. I was taken aback although now that I thought about it, I should have borrowed Ainsley’s cell phone to call her earlier. My phone had completely died on me after I had spoken to her last night, and there was no reviving it. Given we were going to see my parents today anyway, I hadn’t bothered to call them, saving the greeting until we met in person.
“We’ve been trying to call you!” she said, her frown deepening. “But knowing what you did, I can see why you couldn’t bother to pick up the phone.”
“I’m sorry, but my phone’s dead,” I told her. “As in there’s no more hope for it. If I knew you would be upset that I didn’t call earlier, I would have borrowed Ainsley’s phone. I didn't think it mattered because we were going to see you anyway.”
I placed an arm around Ainsley’s waist, hoping she would lose some of the frostiness if she remembered Ainsley was with me. Her mouth tightened as she eyed the gesture. “You can cut the act. You don’t fool me. Not anymore.”
I glanced at Ainsley to find him eyeing me. His quizzical expression mirrored mine. There was no way she could have found out. She had to be referring to something else.
“Why don’t you tell us exactly what’s going on Mama?”
“It’s better if you see for yourself.” She headed back inside the house.
“What the heck’s that about?” Ainsley whispered as we entered the house and trailed after her. "I feel scolded by your mother, and it's terrifying."
I shrugged. “I’m just as puzzled.”
We ended up in the living room where Dad, Wendy, and Aiden were. I looked past them to the stranger who sat on the couch, looking uncomfortable. He was a handsome guy in his forties or thereabouts. His face turned red when he saw me, and he glanced away. Wendy tried to make signals with her hands, but for the life of me, I could not figure out what she was trying to say.
“Who’s your guest, Mama?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t back to her usual tricks of trying to hook me up with someone. I thought she liked Ainsley.
“Not my guest,” she answered. “Yours.”
“But I don’t know him,” I replied.
The man rose to his feet and took off his glasses, fiddling with them. “Actually, you do know me.” The second he spoke, I knew who he was. I had spent too much time on the phone getting to know him for me not to recognize his voice, even if it sounded less distorted than over the phone.
“What’s going on?” Ainsley asked, and I glanced fro
m him to the man before me, wanting to be anywhere but here. If Brody was here then my parents had found out the truth.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, ignoring Ainsley’s question. “You stood me up at the airport. You catfished me!”
“What’s a catfish?” Aiden piped up, but my sister clamped her hand over his mouth.
“Brody!” Ainsley gasped. He immediately latched on to my side as though prepared to lay stake on his claim. “What are you doing here?”
“The bigger question is why did you and Ainsley lie to us?” Mama asked, her tone full of disappointment. “Imagine our surprise when your dad dropped by your house to borrow your cake holder like we did last year. He found Sheldon in your driveway looking lost.”
My head was a whirl of information as I stared at Brody. “Sheldon?”
“My real name is Sheldon,” he answered. “And I swear that apart from that and the picture, everything else was real. Everything we talked about was real. I was just really skeptical about whether or not you were who you said you were.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do this out in the open like this,” I remarked, then eyed my parents and Ainsley. “I’ll be back to explain. I need to talk to Brody- I mean Sheldon alone.”
“Willy,” Ainsley protested.
I squeezed his waist and pressed my cheek to his. “Nothing’s changing. I promise. Our lies have just caught up with us, and now we have to own them.”
His lips turned down in a pout. “I don’t like him.”
That almost made me laugh if I didn’t think it would annoy my parents even more. “I’ll be back.” I gestured to Sheldon. “We’ll talk in the kitchen.”
“Umm, okay.”
“Mama, Dad, please don’t interrogate Ainsley until I’m back. I want to explain.”
I led Sheldon to the kitchen and gestured for him to sit around the table, but he remained standing.
“I’m really sorry about this mess,” he remarked. “I meant no harm, Will. It’s just that after I stood you up, I couldn’t live with myself. I tried calling to let you know I’d be here, but I think you blocked me or something.”
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