“Haha…” he said sleepily.
I pushed the butt plug, the riding crop, the bottle of lube, and the handcuffs to the floor. I’d take care of them later.
Wrapping my arms around Luke, I pulled him in close to cuddle. He pulled the cozy duvet over us, and I felt like I would simply cease to exist because I was so happy.
My everything was here in my arms, and I’d managed to please him. We were both so satisfied, and everything was right in the world.
“I love you, Adam,” he whispered sleepily.
“I love you too, Luke. So much…” I said, pulling him in tighter.
* * *
The next morning, I woke up and Luke was gone.
For a moment, I panicked. Did he leave me? Was the play we did the night before too much for him? I didn’t think it was too hard…
Then I blinked sleepily trying to remember. Did he say yellow or red and I just didn’t hear him?
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. The sun was just coming up; no one else in my family would be awake yet.
There was a noise from outside the bedroom door. My eyes snapped to it, wondering if one of my cousins was poking around the house.
But everything in me relaxed as I saw it was Luke.
“Hey boo,” he said, stepping into the room. “I hope you don’t mind — I made you breakfast!”
My eyes fell to his hands, which were filled with a tray.
And just like that, I felt my heart melt again. “Oh babe, you didn’t have to do that!”
No one had ever brought me breakfast in bed before.
“I wanted to,” Luke said, his blue eyes brimming with happiness. “I want you to feel how much I appreciate you.”
He set the tray down on the bed and I saw what was on there: A bowl of steaming oatmeal, a cup of black coffee, a little bowl of fruit and berries, and a side of brown sugar. A silver spoon gleamed on the napkin to the side.
“Wow, this is… this is amazing, Luke!” I exclaimed, happiness filling my heart.
“I’m glad you like it!” he said with a smile.
Then I paused, stricken by a thought. “But where’s yours?”
“Oh I don’t eat breakfast normally,” he said.
I thought back to the time we had french toast in the kitchen.
He was watching my face carefully. “Unless it’s a special occasion. You know, for someone special.”
I smirked as I popped a spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth. After I swallowed it, I started humming Call Out My Name.
“Oh stop it!” Luke said, blushing and hitting me gently with a pillow.
I chuckled and took another bite of my oatmeal.
“There’s… something I wanted to ask you,” Luke said, his expression turning serious.
“What is it? Anything for you, Luke,” I said, touching his hand.
He looked down sadly. Then his eyes were cleared from the thought that had been crawling around behind his vision. “My mom… she gets out of the hospital today.”
His hand was grabbing the duvet underneath him and twisting it tightly.
“I was wondering if—”
“—if she can come to the cookout?” I asked.
Luke nodded, his eyes wide and pleading.
“Of course she can come!” I said, my heart rate settling. “I’d be happy to have her here. Is she okay?”
Luke’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Yeah, she sounded normal on the phone. I just want to keep an eye on her, you know? And I was wondering if she was surrounded by… by a bunch of people that are filled with so much love for each other, then it’ll help her forget about the divorce.”
I nodded. “That’s a good idea. Yes, yes she’s welcome here. Let her know that.”
Luke brightened, but then his features became strained with worry.
I set the breakfast tray aside and took both of his hands. “Luke, everything will be okay. Don’t worry… I’ll be here for you the whole time.”
He blinked tears out of his eyes.
My heart rate was starting to pick up. It was impossible to tell what was bothering him — was it something I’d said? Did I trigger him again?
Finally, he blinked the tears away and said, “It’s… I have to tell you something else, too.”
I was sitting up straight, ready to quash any fear or doubt that was on his mind. “What is it?”
“I… I got a text this morning. A text from him. My ex.”
“What did it say?” I said, making a conscious effort to loosen my tightening grip on Luke’s hands.
“It said, ‘Can’t wait to see you on Wednesday. We should talk.’”
23
Luke
As the day went on, more and more of Adam’s relatives arrived. I got to meet his mother, who had the same green eyes as him, and his father, who looked like the spitting image of Adam but aged thirty years into the future. Gray hair swirled at his temples and the stern on his face seemed to have become permeant over the years.
Adam introduced me to them both as his boyfriend, which made the butterflies in my gut flutter around like confetti.
I was keeping an eye on my mother too — Adam let me drive his truck to the hospital to pick her up because he was busy hosting his family at the farmhouse. When she got into the truck, she seemed eerily normal. In fact, she seemed downright chipper.
It was like she was trying to convince the world — and herself — that she was fine.
I made a mental note to keep an extra close eye on her.
We chatted in the truck as I drove back to our house so she could shower and change clothes.
“I’m excited to meet Officer Bra— I mean, Adam’s family,” she said stiffly.
“They’re all really nice,” I said gently.
“I’m sure they are,” she said, looking out the window.
A long silence stretched out between us.
I didn’t want to talk about the elephant in the room considering she’d just gotten out of the hospital, but I couldn’t resist.
“Mom, what’s the matter?” I said, watching the road.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said in
