tarotgal

Part 13

“Shhhhhhh,” David soothed as he stroked his husband’s head, cradled in his lap. He slid his fingers through the man’s hair. “Just calm down. Of course I’m not upset.”

Lucas choked back a sob. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“I know, baby. I know. You can’t help liking what you like. Believe me, if anyone understands that, it’s me.” He kept petting, soothing. This was what he was made for, but that didn’t mean seeing the man he loved in distress was enjoyable in any way.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh, shhhh. It’s okay, really.” Honestly, David was just relieved that Lucas hadn’t said he was leaving him for Troy. He knew deep down that was impossible. But when Lucas had started rambling about how he hadn’t expected it to happen and couldn’t help his feelings, that was the conclusion to which David’s mind had immediately jumped, however absurd.

A tear rolled down Lucas’ cheek, landing in David’s lap. “It’s not okay. It’s awkward. I don’t even know how to sleep in the same bed with him now.”

Luckily, thanks to Lucas’ forethought, there were plenty of soft tissues at their disposal. David wiped his husband’s face. “You held him all night last night as we slept and didn’t have this problem. He must have sneezed a hundred times.”

“That’s why this is so unexpected. But when he sneezed on me today, and we were both so close to orgasm, that desperation and release… it was more than just the friction. It got to me. I couldn’t help it.” He took a deep breath in and let it out with a shaky whimper. “Now I’m horny and confused and mostly just scared you’re disappointed in me.”

“Baby…” He bent over, straining from the angle, and kissed Lucas’ cheek. “I’m going to keep saying it until you start to believe me, but I promise I’m not disappointed in you. Figuring out how to deal with this isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to take some time and practice, but I know you can do it. And I’ll be right here to help you in whatever way I can.” David knew what it was like to get turned on by an ordinary situation and not be able to do anything about it. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of or sorry about.”

“There is though. More than anything I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the second I realized what was going on.”

“Just because we’re married, it doesn’t mean I’m entitled to know every thought in your head and every feeling you experience.”

David waited for a response, but the silence that followed this struck him as hard as if he’d been punched in the chest. Because Lucas had always been the one who shared everything that was on his mind. And David had been the one who’d hidden his fetish at first. He’d been the one who listened—bored out of his mind most of the time—about Lucas’ day at work without saying much about his own. He’d been the one to cheat on his boyfriend and just hope Lucas wouldn’t find out. Of course, Lucas had been the one to confront him, because Lucas always said absolutely everything he was thinking. That was Lucas.

“Oh shit,” David whispered. No wonder Lucas was upset. The last few days had been an unpredictable, emotional ride for them both. David couldn’t blame him for feeling confused and fragile and questioning everything now. David definitely couldn’t blame him for feeling guilty about not sharing right away… or for telling Troy before him. But to Lucas, that probably felt like cheating. “Come here, baby,” he whispered, his voice breaking along with his composure. With nudges and grunts, he got Lucas sitting up then embraced him. They clung together and shed tears and whispered words of affection until both of them fully felt not only believed what the other was saying.

Though David was content to stay that way all night, holding and hugging and professing his devotion to his husband, Lucas eventually pulled back. Sniffling, he wiped at his eyes and nose and then glanced across the room toward the bathroom. “Baby, is it just me or is Troy trying to break the world’s record for longest shower?”

David tensed, alarm washing over him. In all his emotion, he had almost forgotten about Troy. He had assumed Troy would return after his shower, but a quick glance at his watch told him this particular shower was going on forty-five minutes now. That couldn’t be a good sign, right?

A beat passed.

Two.

Then they both got up and headed to the bathroom.

“Troy?” David knocked on the door. They listened closely, but there was no response, just the sound of the shower running. Without so much as a glance exchanged between them, Lucas turned the doorknob and David pushed the door in.

They were met with a blast of steam. Moisture hung thick in the air and fogged up the mirror. The doorknob on this side felt slick, and Lucas’ hand slipped for a moment as he tried to close the door behind them to keep the steam in. Their fear that something was wrong was put to rest as soon as they spotted Troy. Troy sat on the floor, a white towel wrapped around his waist. He leaned against the toilet, his arm stretched out across the closed toilet seat lid. A stack of folded towels sat there as well, and Troy had laid his head upon them, using them as a pillow. His eyes were closed. His chest was slowly rising and falling. Apart from the handful of toilet paper he clutched in one hand and the inflamed skin around his nose, he looked calm and peaceful.

“At least he’s sleeping,” David whispered. His words must have tickled Lucas’ ear, because his husband gave a little shiver.

They left, pulling the door shut behind them again with just a tiny click. Lucas made right for the blanket on the bed while David gathered up a couple pillows. They were silent but coordinated, gathering what they needed.

David checked his watch again, to be sure of the time. “There’s still a lot of time until he’s supposed to take more medicine. I was hoping he might fall asleep so the time would pass faster for him, but I wasn’t sure he’d be able to drift off with all that sneezing he was doing.”

“Guess the steam really helped. Or else we really tired him out.”

“Maybe both.” He picked up the tissue box.

They headed back into the bathroom and tried to move as quietly as they could as they got settled down on the floor with Troy. Lucas managed to slide between the wall and Troy, getting his arms around the man. David spread the pillows out on the floor. With his tight hold, Lucas rotated and lowered Troy down so gently that the man didn’t wake for even a moment. He kept right on snoring while his head sunk into a pillow and while David covered him with a blanket.

It was so warm in the room and with his arms under the blanket and his body pressed close to Troy’s, Lucas definitely didn’t need more warmth. But he seemed to want it. His eyes met David’s, and David gave a knowing nod and smile. He squeezed in-between the vanity and his husband, fitting perfectly into the small space. It wasn’t often that he played the big spoon, but Lucas loved being held and petted and cared for, and David cherished being able to do it.

“Not having problems holding him now, are you?” David whispered into the back of Lucas’ neck.

“Mmmm. I’ve never been so comfortable,” Lucas whispered back, lying on the hard, tiled floor of a steamy hotel bathroom.

David muffled a chuckle against Lucas’ skin and chased it with a goodnight kiss. He stayed awake long after Lucas had fallen asleep, listening to the white noise of the shower and taking in the glow of the artistically bare light bulbs over the sink. When Lucas had talked him into coming on this trip, he never could have foreseen winding up here, like this. But falling asleep on the bathroom floor was exactly where he wanted to be.