Page 74 of Don't Puck Up

His gaze ping-ponged between Chris and me. His hair was a mess, like he’d run his hands through it and tugged on it for hours. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he was wearing what looked like a set of white pajamas under a long trench coat.

A black trench coat. One that was very familiar.

He tentatively stepped closer and bit his lip, then slid his hands into his pockets. He didn’t say anything at first, but he didn’t need to. Everything clicked into place. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it earlier. There were so many signs that pointed to him. He was on the island with us, karate, his donation…. But the accent he’d put on had completely thrown me off.

I stood up and slipped my arms around him, holding him tight. He was freezing. I reached back, snatching the blanket that had fallen off my shoulders, and wrapped it around his, then pulled him close again.My tears were cried out, but I released a shuddery breath and choked up anyway. He didn’t hesitate, enveloping me in a hug that healed every one of the pieces of my shattered soul. He kissed my hair and held me tighter, rocking me slowly as I sank into those safe arms that I’d needed more than ever.

Locke drew me to the bed and sat down. He pulled me between his legs and wrapped his arm around my waist. I buried my face in his shoulder and breathed him in while Locke reached for Chris’s hand, grasping it gently.

“Hey,” Chris croaked. I pulled back to look at him, and he blinked a couple of times, then winced. “What are you doing here?”

“Kam called me,” Locke explained. Chris blinked slowly, his eyes glassy from the painkiller-laced sleep he was coming out of. He furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to speak but groaned in pain instead.

"I called V," I clarified for Chris. The confusion began to lift as the gears in Chris’s brain began to tick over and understanding dawned.

Locke nodded. "You did. If you hadn't guessed already, I’m....” He shook his head, and the utter devastation written on his features gutted me. “I'm sorry for the deception—the accent, telling you I live in Phoenix—"

"Why? How?" I asked, my own brain not quite functioning yet.

"I overheard you that night in Fiji when you were talking about your fantasy. I was attracted to both of you. It started off with me wanting sex.” He shrugged, then gently tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. His hands were already warming up, the chill from when he’d walked in slowly dissipating. “Then it turned into so much more. I couldn't give you up. On Friday night, I’d decided I would block your numbers when I left the chalet. But I couldn’t bring myself to.”

Heturned to Chris and admitted, “I wanted to come clean with you so many times, but I was scared. I knew what it would mean for you—there was no way you’d be able to stay hidden. The whole fucking world knows my sexuality. If they saw us together, rumors would start. I couldn’t do that to you. Not again. Not to someone who I'd started falling for."

"And now? Are you still falling?" Chris asked.

"No.” He shook his head, and my heart stuttered. “I've fallen. I'm in love with both of you. I think I have been ever since Fiji."

I stepped closer to him, pressing our bodies flush, and ran my hand over his stubbled jaw. “It’s really you?”

He nodded, and I dragged his face to mine and pressed our lips together. His deep moan spurred me on, and I ran my tongue along his lower lip, needing another taste of the man I’d only sampled for the first time two nights earlier. After everything we’d done, all the time we’d spent together, every conversation and text, this was the thing I’d wanted most. He opened immediately, letting me take the lead. I slid my tongue in alongside his and tasted him, teasing him with barely there touches and long, lingering presses of our lips.

We broke apart, gasping for breath and I hated that this conversation wasn’t over yet. I wanted to focus on Chris, on getting him better so he could kiss Locke like that too. But first, I needed to know why Locke had run.

Chris spoke first. “That day I spoke to you about coming out—”

“Thanksgiving?” Locke asked.

He shook his head. “You must have thought I was a piece of shit for lying.”

Locke huffed out a laugh that held no humor. “You want to talk pieces of shit for lying? I think I’d win the trophy for that, don’t you? I thought you were smart to feel out what my experience was and so fuckin’ brave, too, Chris.”

Chris blinked, his eyes going glassy, and he nodded, then squeezed Locke’s hand harder.

I nuzzled Locke’s throat and pressed a kiss below his ear, silently thanking him for his words. But I needed to know why he’d run.

"You were going to come out to us on Friday night, but you didn't. Why?" I asked. “Was what you said in your texts true?”

"All of it. I'm so sorry. I did plan on telling you. I wanted us to have the weekend to figure out whether we could make this thing between us work. But then you told me you loved me being your secret, and it hit me.” He shook his head, and his shoulders slumped. “I was being selfish, pursuing whatIwanted, not whatyouneeded. If I tried to be with you, I would have upended your carefully constructed world. I wanted to protect you from all that. But maybe if I'd—"

Chris shook his head and winced again. He tried to sit up but sucked in a sharp breath and groaned. "No. This was my decision. It was time, and I knew they wouldn’t take it well. I just didn't think it'd be this bad or hurt this much."

"Oh, my beautiful boy." Locke leaned forward, cupped Chris’s face with infinite tenderness, and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. He did it again, kissing a gentle line along his jaw. Locke touched his forehead to Chris's, breathing the same air as him while still holding me tight. "I'm so sorry they hurt you."

We stayed like that until Chris groaned again.

“What do you need, hon?” I asked.

“I need to piss.”