Perfection

by Gianni Holmes

  I carefully removed his hands from his face. “Are you saying you’re no longer afraid of losing me?”

  “I’m saying I know you love me, and I trust you not to hurt me. I trust you with my fragile mental health, Callum.”

  “Good, because there’s absolutely nothing but friendship between us.”

  “Then invite him to the party this weekend,” he said. “If he’s your friend, I want to know him a little too.”

  “So he’s cool with this?” Dane’s question brought me back to the present before I got too deep in that thought and what had happened after between us on that couch.

  “Yes, in fact, he’s having a small dinner party this weekend and told me to invite you.”

  “Is this the part where I say no? Because I’ve been dying to rub elbows with the rich and famous.”

  “It’s just a couple of people, D.” We crossed the street together and entered the area of the park where the food trucks were allowed to operate. Several people were already milling around and being served.

  “If it’s not a problem, then okay.”

  “Good. I’ll text you the specifics later.”

  “Things are good between you two, then?” Dane asked while we waited in the line.

  “Yeah, way better than I’d hoped for. He still has off days, you know, but he handles them now. And we talk. A lot.”

  “Sounds like a chick thing,” he teased.

  I bumped him with my shoulder. “Just for that, I’m asking the cute food truck operator to write his number down for you.”

  “Don’t even dare!” Dane gave a little giggle when his outburst carried loud. The cook glanced in our direction, aiming a smile at Dane, then returning to the customer he was serving. “Oh god, he knows we’re talking about him.”

  Dane fretted all the way to the front of the line, where I deliberately ordered before him. Usually, we ordered together.

  “Thanks.” I accepted my meal from the cook and winked at Dane as I walked away. “I’ll try to find us seats. Don’t come back without his digits.”

  I snagged an empty park bench as my phone chimed in my pocket. Only one person sent me text messages. Ashton’s message brought a smile to my face.

  When r u getting a better phone? I hate I can’t send you dick pics when I’m horny. Not even a freakin’ emoji. Btw, that’s me telling you I’m getting u a new phone. Love u, Daddy.

  I was about to ring him back when Dane dropped his drink to the table. His face was flushed, but he was grinning.

  “Do tell me this isn’t your first time asking someone for their number.” I unwrapped my veggie burger with the buns made from actual green plantains. It was different but in a good way, and it was at least a healthy option on their menu.

  “Yeah, but I didn’t ask him.”

  “Chicken.”

  He waved his receipt in front of my face. Numbers written with blue ink flashed before my eyes.

  “Doesn’t matter that I didn’t ask. He gave it to me anyway.”

  I’d never seen him this giddy with excitement, and I was happy for him. His ex seemed to have done a number on him.

  Dane was a great guy. I clung to his friendship because I needed people like him around me. Not only did we hit it off, but just the thought of him asking the people from his salon to respect my relationship with Ash made me like the guy even more.

  “For god’s sake, save it to your phone before you lose it,” I cautioned him.

  “True.”

  While he added the number to his phone, I took a bite out of my zucchini fries. For something that was healthy, it was surprisingly good.

  “Damn, Twitter is blowing up.”

  I glanced up at him. “With what?”

  “Not sure if I should say.”

  “Now you have to.”

  “Battersea Daily posted a link to their headline today. It’s about Ashton.”

  I dropped the fry I held and wiped my hand on the paper towel. “Let me see.”

  Nothing good could come from this. Battersea Daily was where that sleazy journalist who had snapped shots of Ashton and me outside the courthouse worked. Given his rhetoric that day, I could imagine what his article would be about.

  Dane handed me his phone reluctantly. “I don’t think you should read it.”

  How could I not read it? I followed the link to the article on Dane’s phone, bristling at just the headline.

  Battersea’s Wealthy Alcoholic Heir Presses Charges of Attempted Rape Against Former Friend. What Really Happened That Night?

  The byline had the scumbag’s name, just as I’d predicted. The article was a disgusting pile of garbage meant to discredit Ashton’s case. The bastard even went so far as to question people who claimed they knew Ashton.

  “Easy,” “slutty,” and “never says no” were only a few of the words used by individuals to describe him. Someone even claimed to know both Ashton and Louis. The person was anonymous but stated he’d always just thought they were hooking up behind Louis’s girlfriend’s back.

  I forced myself to read it all, then quickly handed back Dane’s phone. Otherwise, I’d throw it right into the dumpster where the article belonged.

  “That sorry excuse for a man,” I growled. “How do you dismiss somebody’s claim of almost being raped by turning it into something else?”

  “I’m sorry, man,” Dane said, brows furrowed in concern. “This is just vile.”

  “I need to call Ash.”

  Had he even seen the article yet? Damn, didn’t that journalist know how much he was fucking with Ashton’s mind when he wrote an article like this to victim-blame Ashton? After the short encounter at the courthouse, Ashton had to call his therapist.

  What would this lengthy article about his sordid past do to him?

  “Hey, Daddy.” He answered the call, sounding quite chirpy.

  “Hey, baby, where are you?”

  “I’m just about to leave home. I’ve got my first reading at the nursing home, remember?”

  “Maybe you should stay in today.” I wanted to protect him so much from the world and people like Louis and this journalist. He tried so hard to stay sober. We didn’t need them to add unnecessary complications to his life. It was bad enough that we’d be spending a long time in court with Louis.

  “Why? I don’t want to break my promise to them.”

  I didn’t want to give him the news over the phone. I wanted to be there with him in case he had a breakdown.

  “I just think it’s best for today. We’ll talk about it when you come by later.”

  Silence followed, but his breathing came through on the line.

  “Ashton?”

  “You saw it, didn’t you?”

  My stomach dipped. He knew. “The article?”

  “Yeah. In the Battersea Daily.”

  “Dane just showed it to me. Did you call Jeanine to talk about it?”

  “I don’t need to talk about it.”

  “Ashton—”

  “I swear, I’m fine.” He did sound calm and not at all like I would’ve expected. “I’m not bothered at all by it. Mother already called me about it this morning, threatening to file a lawsuit against them, but I told her no. I can’t control what that asshole writes. Neither do I care. The people who know me know I’m not making this up.”

  “I wish there was something I could do.” I sighed in frustration. “Like punch his face in. I bet that’d teach him to stay away from you.”

  Ashton chuckled. “Or add fuel to the fire. You’re not bothered by it, are you?”

  “Bothered that they tried to trivialize what happened to you? Fuck, yes.”

  “Actually, I meant the truths they told,” he said, his tone going all serious. “You know…about my drinking, sleeping around, basically calling me a cock slut.”

  I growled in the phone. “You’re nobody’s…” I trailed off at the reminder of Dane sitting right there in front of me, hearing my end of the conversation, even though he pretended t
o eat. He couldn’t help but hear.

  Ashton chuckled. “I don’t care what they say. I’m only Daddy’s cock slut now, so everyone else can fuck off.”

  “You’re more to me than that.”

  “I know, Daddy. I’ve got to go, but I’ll come over to the café when I’m finished here.”

  “All right, see you then, Pretty Eyes.”

  He hung up, and Dane made a face at me. “Really? Pretty Eyes?”

  “Don’t even start.”

  His snicker ended, and he sobered up. “Everything okay?”

  “I hope so. Since he came back, he’s been pretty honest about his emotions, and he says he’s feeling fine.”

  “Good. Trust him. God, I really need a date with Kent.”

  “Kent?” I was still so uptight from my call with Ashton, and I couldn’t follow the conversation.

  “That’s the hot owner’s name.” Dane glanced in the direction of the truck. “Let’s hope that this weekend he’ll be the one to rev my engine.”

  His comment broke the tension in me, and I laughed. I almost felt guilty, given the article I’d just read. But Ashton was okay. He said he was. He sounded it, and I believed him. We were getting through this.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Ashton

  “Fuck, Daddy.” I mewled like a kitten as he entered me. I was plastered against the glass wall of the bathroom, the shower beating down hard on us.

  We should’ve taken separate showers. Now we were going to be late, but damn did it feel good the way that dick slowly entered my body.

  “You were saying?” Callum asked, nibbling on my shoulder. “Want me to stop?”

  “Don’t you dare.”

  “Are you threatening your Daddy, boy?”

  “No, begging. Unequivocally and shamelessly begging for you not to take your cock out of me until I’ve come.”

  “Until we’ve both come.”

  His hands planted on either side of my head on the wall, Callum pulled out and thrust inside me hard. His pelvis smacked into my ass, the sound loud. We were both wet, our shower interrupted by what we’d been trying to put off all evening.

  Callum being inside me.

  All through helping me to get dinner prepared for our guests, he’d rubbed up on me. He’d kissed me, sucked on the back of my neck, gently teasing me. I should’ve insisted on the separate shower.

  Oh god, no, I’m glad I didn’t.

  He felt so fucking good. I shifted my stance, leaning my head to the side so he could lick my neck up to my ear. One of his hands came around and held me around my stomach to keep me steady as he pushed harder and faster into me.

  “I’m not going to last,” I gasped. I really wasn’t. Not after all the teasing downstairs. My cock throbbed, and I reached a hand down to stroke myself fast.

  Callum’s hand crashed onto my ass, hard and unexpected. I yelped but moaned as he brought me to nirvana. My senses heightened from the sting of his hand connecting with my ass.

  With a loud cry, I convulsed, stroking my dick faster as I came, jets of cum shooting to the wall. My ass felt extremely sensitive, where Callum continued plowing into me.

  Callum pulled out and stroked his dick, his head bowed and pressed to my back.

  “Come inside me,” I begged.

  “You sure?” He licked the shell of my ear. “You always complain about how I take forever to run out.”

  “Not a complaint.” I turned my head and sealed my lips against his. “I love it.” I winked at him. “Sincerely, your cock slut.”

  Callum’s laugh brought a smile on my face that I could make him feel this good. This man who had known so much pain at Mario’s hands and then mine trusted me with his happiness. And I intended to hold it dear.

  “Like that?” One of his hands held my hip steady to keep me planted firmly to receive his thrusts.

  “Yes, yes.”

  “Fuck, Ashton, baby.” His body went all stiff, his breathing irregular and harsh while he rutted between my cheeks, filling me with his cum.

  He leaned heavily against me on the wall, his heart thumping against my back.

  “I’d love to cuddle, even though you’re almost drowning me in the shower,” I said with a lazy smile. “But we have guests coming over in a few minutes, and we still need to finish our shower.”

  “Sorry for ambushing you.” He kissed my shoulder in apology. “I couldn’t resist you.”

  “Good. You don’t have permission to resist me until I’m seventy.”

  “What do you mean? I’ll be eighty-seven then and still smacking your ass to get a rise out of you.”

  I giggled at his words. He pulled out, and we hurried through our routine. He left the shower before me. I needed some time to get as much of his cum out of me as possible.

  By the time I entered my bedroom, wrapped up in a towel, Callum was dressed. He sat on the bed, putting on shoes. New shoes he’d made only a minor fuss about when I bought them. They were matching to the ones I planned to wear tonight. It wasn’t like I was dressing us alike.

  Just the shoes.

  And the shirt.

  It wasn’t weird at all, right?

  “I want to know how you do it,” I said, dropping the towel from my body to the floor. At Callum’s quirked eyebrow, I snagged it and hung it on the back of the chair for now.

  “Do what?”

  “Get dressed so fast. I’m going to need at least half an hour to put on my clothes. My hair’s going to be another half an hour.”

  He chuckled and got up. Was I upset his hands went straight to my sore ass as he pulled me into him for a kiss? Hell no. I was game again if he was up to it, but the poor guy needed some time to recuperate.

  “I’ll be downstairs, making sure we’ve thought of everything.” He squeezed my buns playfully, then released me. “Don’t take too long trying to figure out if you’re wearing your hair to the left or the right.”

  I threw the towel wrapped around my head at him for that remark, but he only laughed when it didn’t even land in his direction. My aim was always shit. Except for the night I’d hit him. Something I still struggled to forgive myself for, but we’d talked about it openly. He’d explained how abusive Mario got when he was drunk or high or couldn’t get his next fix.

  He’d been stern about never intending to go back through that again. We were cool about it unless it happened again. Another hard limit of his, which I definitely got.

  I tried my best to hurry up, but when the doorbell rang, I was still in my underwear and wielding my flat iron. Tonight was supposed to be important. I’d invited everyone who was close to us in some shape or another. The only one who hadn’t been sure if he’d come was Rue. Since his husband was also invited, he’d said he would leave the decision up to him.

  After the doorbell rang, I needed another twenty minutes to make it down the stairs. At the entrance of the living room, I took in all the guests. Callum was doing a decent job of keeping everyone entertained and giving them a glass of nonalcoholic cocktail.

  I’d found a simple enough recipe on a food blog, and Callum had helped me to buy the ingredients, since I still had some difficulty finding items on shelves. I cooked a lot these days, and he’d also taught me best practices for shopping.

  “Well, look who finally got dressed!” Mother said, and all heads turned in my direction. I noticed with disappointment that everyone was there except for Rue and his husband.

  Once upon a time, I would’ve taken Mother’s words as criticism, but the smile she gave me made all the difference. We were still not at the regular hugs and “I love yous” yet, but I liked to think we’d get there someday. I certainly appreciated the new phase our relationship was in. Healthier and without the antagonism.

  Callum held out an arm to me, and I got to his side just in time to hear his friend Dane tease him about us dressing alike. I could tell he meant no harm with the comment, though.

  I greeted everyone individually. The people who were there for
Callum—Dane, Phil, and Noelle—and the people who meant the most to me—Mother, Ava, and Justin, who had brought along his girlfriend. Rue and his husband should be here too, but it didn’t look like they’d show up.

  We spent some time chatting, but I only half listened to the chatter around me. I was waiting for the doorbell to ring, announcing Rue.

  “Everything okay?” Callum whispered in my ear.

  I smiled halfheartedly at him. “I guess so.”

  “Try again.”

  “I thought Rue would be here.”

  He took my hand and squeezed. “Sorry. Maybe something came up.”

  I was about to announce we should move on to the dining room when the doorbell rang. I jumped to my feet, my heart beating fast.

  “I’ll get that. Babe, can you bring everyone to the dining room?”

  He nodded, and I hurried to the front door. I couldn’t contain my emotions. When I saw Rue standing there, I threw my hands around him in a hug.

  “Oh god, I’m so glad you came!”

  “Umm, can you please release my husband?”

  Not even that frosty voice could dampen my mood. I released Rue and hugged Jos too.

  “And thanks for coming with him.” I stepped back and beamed at them. “You’re late, and Rue is never late, so I assumed you weren’t coming, but here you are.”

  “Figured the least you could do is feed us for every time I had to eat alone without Rue.”

  My stomach lurched, but then Jos smiled and winked, and I felt better. “I really appreciate you being here. I know I was quite the shit-faced kid, but I’ve done a lot of growing up.”

  “It’s so good to see you looking so happy, Master Ashton.” Rue squeezed my hands.

  “Just Ashton, please.”

  He nodded. “Ashton. Jos got home late from the hospital.”

  “Hospital?” I blinked at him. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m a doctor,” Jos replied. “I work at the hospital.”

  “That’s so cool,” I gushed. “I’m thinking of studying nursing. Maybe after dinner, I could talk to you a little?”