Page 72 of Heartstring

“He questioned what happened that weekend. The reasons you could’ve had for not answering my calls afterward. He suggested I call my mom and ask her what she remembered.”

“And you did?”

He nods. “I did. She found the contract my dad made you sign, along with all the medical bills. She knew how my dad was, so I guess it didn’t take much for her to figure out what had happened. Neither of us knew. You have to believe me.”

I nod, my throat feeling like it’s suddenly closing up.

Stan raises his head from his bed as I stand and head over to the couch and sit, leaning forward with my head on my hands.

“Do you know how hard it was to not answer the calls?” I ask.

The place next to me on the couch dips and strong arms pull me into the chest of the man I once loved so much.

“I know. I was on the other side. Every time there wasn’t an answer, I lost a little part of me. And when I got that letter, I lost it all.”

“I didn’t want to write it, but I was so scared you’d come back. I wanted you to come back and fight for me, but I was so afraid of your dad. None of it was true.”

I raise my head to look at him. He cradles my cheek.

“Tell me something, Tyler. Did you get more time with your dad?”

I nod as my eyes fill with tears.

“He got a transplant. I had him for another four years.”

“That’s…what my dad did was wrong on so many levels, Ty, but I’m glad you had that time.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “I used to wish your dad was my dad. That one day we’d be successful, and your dad would adopt me, and we’d be a family.”

“That’s a little wrong on a few levels.” It’s a poor attempt at a joke, but with my voice so thick with emotion, I’m not sure it lands well.

“I was a kid. This was before I realized I wanted you in a less brotherly way.” He laughs.

My eyes land on the photo on the wall behind him. So much time has passed between us. We both had such different lives and experiences.

“What are you thinking?” he whispers.

“I don’t know. My head is all over the place,” I confess. “I’m relieved, but I’m also angry. Because of what happened, I had my dad, I met my husband, I followed my dream…”—I look at him—“but I also lost you.”

“You didn’t, Ty. You didn’t at all,” is all he says before his lips land on mine.

23

TYLER

NOW

God,Mik’s mouth is both divine and sinful. Is it because we’ve known each other since we were kids? Is it because he was my first?

There’s this familiarity and newness every time his tongue traces my lips. I’m powerless to resist, so I don’t. I open for him and let him take everything.

“God, you taste so good, Ty.”

He deepens the kiss, but the position we’re in is awkward. I put my hand on his thigh, and he takes the hint, straddling me.

“Much better,” I say.

“Better access?”

“No, my back was killing me.”