Page 31 of Regret Me Not

Yeah, he’d always wondered if he should come out to his parents—why would he need to if he was married to Cynthia? If Loren was going to break up with him? His mother’s harshly drawn breath was all the reward he’d ever needed.

“Why would you even tell us that?” his mother asked, her voice breaking.

“Why would it even matter?” he shot back. “See? You’re the same people. You’re the people who screamed at Sasha until she broke. You’re the people who drove her boyfriend—the one who’d proposed, by the way—away with a baseball bat. You’re the same judgmental, disapproving assholes you’ve always been—and you just proved it all over again. You want a relationship with your grandchildren, go ahead and send a card and some presents. Just remember, I’ve got an eight-year head start spoiling them rotten, and they arealwaysgoing to love me best.”

“Does Sasha even know who she’s exposing her children to?” Diana asked, voice all venom. “Doessheknow about your… your…perversion?”

“She’s known since I was in college. See, you were never really interested in us as people—but we always had each other’s backs. Still do. So, are you coming to Christmas if I’m there?”

“No. I’ll have to discuss this with your father to see if we want to come at all.”

“Just say no. Neither of us want you back in our lives. If you can’t do the work, don’t bother.”

It was as good an exit line as any, so he hung up. Pierce set the phone in the charger and sat heavily on the bed. He heard a noise in the doorway and turned his head, unsurprised to see Hal there.

“Sorry,” he rasped, hating himself so badly in that moment.

“Why?” Hal asked. He reached behind him and switched off the hall light. Pierce realized the bedroom was the only room in the house that still had a light on. Well, it was pretty late. Suddenly wiped out, he pulled his feet out of his flip-flops and pulled his mostly clean sleep pants out from under the pillow.

“That wasn’t… pleasant.” Pierce sighed. “Hold on a second.” He grabbed his phone off the charger and textedI told her I’d be there and I’m bisexual. Make sure Marshall knows.

Pierce set the phone down and wrestled with his cargo shorts. After he won, he laid them on the dresser and grabbed the sleep pants.

“You can just wear boxers,” Hal said. It sounded like he was tripping over his tongue.

Pierce didn’t even look at him. He felt… numb. And sad. And unwanted.

His phone pinged.Marshall’s always known. She just texted and said she’d be in touch, but they wouldn’t be coming for Christmas. Thank you.

He swallowed. God, he still couldn’t look Hal in the eyes.Love you, Sasha. Night.

Love you back. Night.

His fingers were still fairly nimble. He’d realized that in the past two weeks—his arm had been broken and sustained muscle and nerve damage, but his hand and fingers worked just fine. He unbuttoned his overshirt and laid it down next to the cargo pants before setting the phone down one last time.

He felt Hal’s weight depress the bed and stretched forward to turn off the light while the comforter under his ass got yanked down. Nice. That was a nice thing to do.

He was unprepared for Hal’s heat at his back or the hands at the hem of his T-shirt in the dark.

“What are you—”

“Shh….” Hal breathed into his ear. “Just… hush.”

This again?

But he could feel Hal’s lips his neck, his ear, down his shoulder.Thisagain didn’t seem like a terrible thing. Hal lifted his T-shirt up over his head, and Pierce could raise his hands up to help him out—a thing he couldn’t have done two and a half weeks ago.

“Thank—”

Hal kissed the back of his neck, and he grunted, all senses going on overdrive. Then Hal put his lips almost touching the whorls of Pierce’s ear. “You arenotan asshole.”

Pierce moaned, his entire body going boneless. Hal moved and pulled him backward until he was lying face up in the darkness. He stared at the ceiling while Hal kissed his way down again, thinkingDammit, no. Not… not… ah….

Hal’s mouth, dreamy, insistent, wrapped around Pierce’s cock through the cotton of his boxers. Pierce massaged his head as Hal mouthed him. Pierce grunted, his hips bucking, his libido getting the hint that last night’s activity hadnotbeen a fluke.

He was going to say something, give a direction, ask if he could reciprocate—something—but then Hal tugged at his boxers, and he was naked under the cool air of the ceiling fan, his knees spread before the world. Hal repositioned himself between Pierce’s legs, and Pierce lifted his head, watching Hal suck his cock, bare now, over Pierce’s long body.

Hal’s eyes gleamed wickedly in the dark room, daring him to say anything.Daringhim to actively engage.