by Lane Hart
“What are you talking about?” Abel asks.
Reaching into the purse hanging from her shoulder, Selina pulls out an envelope and comes over to hand it to me after she gives me a gentle hug.
“What’s this?” I ask her, then see the school’s logo in the upper left corner. “What the hell?”
I rip it open, letting the torn envelope fall to the ground as I unfold the letter and start reading it.
“What does it say?” Abel asks.
I read it three times, still not sure it’s real.
Tired of waiting, Abel jerks the paper out of my hand to see for himself.
“How?” I ask Selina.
“I turned myself in to the Smithfield Police on the charges, then took a copy of the arrest warrant over to the school, telling them they had the wrong person,” she informs us with a proud smile. “Madison helped me find an attorney for the charges, and he also went with me to the school, telling them they violated some student conduct rules by not giving you a hearing or chance to appeal. He also pointed out that they were being homophobic if they didn’t suspend Hayworth. So they did.”
“No shit?” I say in disbelief.
“No shit,” Selina agrees. “You’re going back to school, babe!” She gives me another soft hug, obviously remembering my injuries while I stand there like a statue.
What the hell? Why would she go to all this trouble for me? I wasn’t even certain if she actually liked me or just put up with me to make Abel happy. Now, I’m starting to think she actually does care about me. No one’s ever done anything for me like this before. I’m such an asshole that I didn’t think anyone ever would either.
“I don’t fucking believe it,” Abel mutters. “What were you thinking?” he asks Selina. “It was my fault, my responsibility! I was going to go down there and set the record straight!”
“Too late. It’s done, Abel,” she tells him. “My record was clean, so the attorney was able to work out a plea with the district attorney’s office. I have to pay restitution for the car damage and do two hundred hours of community service in like six months. No biggie.”
“No, I will pay the restitution,” Abel declares.
Selina rolls her eyes. “Fine, you can pay the restitution if it will make you feel better.”
“What if I don’t agree to this?” I snap at them both since they seem to have forgotten that I haven’t agreed to go back to Georgia.
“Tough shit,” they both say and then laugh together.
Abel comes up to me and puts both of his palms on my shoulders to look me in the eye. “Cory, baby, you’re going back to school.”
“And does it even matter what I want? I like being here with both of you,” I tell him.
Abel shakes his head. “You have to finish. For me, so I won’t feel like an asshole for fucking things up, and for Rita, for paying all that tuition. But mostly, you have to do this for yourself. You’re so damn close…”
“I still have two more semesters to go, and that’s assuming I don’t fail any courses this semester!”
“That’s nothing,” Selina says as she slips an arm around my waist and one around Abel’s.
“Easy for you to say…” I trail off.
“Baby, you won’t lose us if you go back,” Abel assures me.
“Sure, I will,” I argue. “You and Selina will get to spend every day and night together. You’ll forget me and probably realize you don’t need me…”
“It’ll be impossible to forget you or stop needing you,” he replies. “We’ll call you every day and see you every weekend. That is a fucking promise.”
“I promise too,” Selina agrees, resting her head on my shoulder. “So, should we start packing again or what?”
“Fine, I’ll go back,” I grumble, making both of them smile. “But when I finish, I’m coming back here and moving in with you. No takebacks.”
“No takebacks,” they both agree.
And for some reason, I actually believe them. Even if it takes me more than a year to finish school, they’ll be here waiting and cheering for me at my graduation.
How I lucked out and found two people to love me, I’m not sure. But I know I’ll never take Selina or Abel for granted.
Epilogue
Abel
“Are you sure you have everything you need?” I ask Cory once we have him settled back into his apartment, ready to get back to his classes tomorrow. Not only is Hayworth suspended, but once Cory went and filed a report, he got arrested and locked up. Which means I won’t have to worry about him coming after my man.
“For the millionth time, yes,” Cory replies with his trademark grin while chomping on his cinnamon gum. I’ll have to get a few packs to help me make it through the week without him. Grabbing the back of my neck with his good hand, he pulls my face to his to plant a kiss on my lips. “If you want to stay, then just stay.”
“I don’t mind staying,” Selina happily offers.
“No, we’ve got a lot of work to do to get the B&B up and running,” I remind her. She’s sacrificed so much with the criminal charges that I can’t ask her to postpone working on her dream.
Slipping her arm around my waist, she says, “Fine, but after a week of hard labor, we’ll be ready to take a few days off this weekend, right?”
“Probably,” I agree with a smile of my own.
“Good. I’ll see you both then,” Cory tells us. Lowering his arm to my shoulders, he starts to guide me to the door when my cell phone rings.
Sighing, I reach into my jean pocket to retrieve it. “Probably just fucking telemarketers wanting to talk to me about my car’s warranty,” I grumble. Then I see the name plastered across the screen. “Holy shit. It’s Hugo!” I press the Answer button and hurry to put the phone to my ear. “Where the hell have you been?” I ask him.
“Abel…” he says tersely and then goes dead silent, so I fill it.
“Man, I’m so glad to hear from you,” I start. “And, ah, listen, there’s something I need to tell you before you hang up…”
“There’s something I have to tell you too,” Hugo replies.
“Let me go first,” I say before blurting out what I’ve been keeping from him for years. “I’m bisexual. I know I should’ve told you that before today. I’m sorry I didn’t, I just didn’t want it to change anything between us.”
“Abel…”
“I’ll understand if it does change shit. I would hate it, but I would get it. I know it’s weird as shit for you since we had threesomes together and all…”
“Abel, stop talking for a second!” Hugo interrupts again, making my throat burn as I wait for him to tell me to fuck off or stay the hell away from him. “I already figured as much. Why do you think I wanted to stop the threesomes?”
“Huh?”
“I wanted you to figure your shit out instead of keep hiding what you really wanted behind me and the threesomes! You needed to find a guy who felt the same way and could be what you needed.”
“Oh. So, you knew I was attracted to men, yourself even, and that was your way of…what? Encouraging me to come out with another guy?”
“Yes. And I get that it’s huge for you to finally admit to yourself and everyone else, especially the club…”
“It is. It was. But I met someone. Two people actually, Selina and, um, Cory, Rita’s brother,” I confess as I squeeze his hand.
“Good. Great. I’m happy for you. Can’t wait to meet them, even the little bitch who sent Nolan to prison if you care about him, but that shit will have to wait. Right now, we’ve got a big fucking problem.”
“Okay? What is it? Where have you been?”
“I found Felicity.”
“Yeah? That’s what you wanted, right?”
“She’s got a daughter.”
My eyes widen in surprise since I remember how wild and out the stripper was back when we were screwing her. “Wow. All right. That’s crazy, but it has been what? Four or five years since we saw her?”
/> “Do I have to fucking spell it out for you?” Hugo snaps, his tone frustrated as hell with me all of a sudden.
“I guess you do because it sounds like you’re pissed at me about something.”
“Abel, we were with Felicity five years ago. The kid is old enough to be one of ours!”
My jaw and the phone drop as his words slowly sink into my skull. Then, I say the only thing I’m capable of in that moment. “Oh, fuck!”
The end for now…
Coming Soon
Thank you so much for reading Abel!
Find out how that cliffhanger turns out in Hugo’s book!
Order your copy now!
Everly Fulton is desperate for a man to come along and sweep her off her feet, giving her a brief reprieve from her hectic life. She’s been anxiously awaiting prince charming or a knight in shining armor for years.
What she got instead was a grumpy Savage King who is just passing through town.
Hugo set out in search of an old hookup. Instead, he finds the woman’s bubbly sister raising what may or may not be his daughter.
While trying to figure out how to navigate this potential bombshell, Hugo plans to stay as far away from Everly as possible.
But the more he turns the perky woman down, the harder she pursues him, until he can’t resist her for even a second longer.
Neither Hugo nor Everly planned on such a complicated future. And with those complications come obstacles they’ll both have to struggle to overcome.
Order your copy of Hugo!
About the Authors
New York Times bestselling author Lane Hart and husband D.B. West were both born and raised in North Carolina. They still live in the south with their two daughters and enjoy spending the summers on the beach and watching football in the fall.
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