*****PG13*****
The bleep of the phone had been soft and short, but it had been enough to wake Waylon up. It took him a few minutes to focus, but when he recognized Dave in front of him, he closed his eyes again. Reality sank in immediately. Tristan. Lakeview. Dave. Beautiful, but very angry Dave.
With a soft growl he forced his body to sit up, but before he could say anything, Dave gave him a nasty look, pointing at the phone.
“Your lover is ready for more,” he sneered, as he made his way to the kitchen. He needed coffee. Well, he really needed something a lot stronger, but he had to stay clearheaded.
He wasn’t surprised when Waylon showed up behind him. He wasn’t even surprised by the attack.
“So you’re reading my text now?”
Dave didn’t bother to turn.
“Yeah yeah, I’m a horrible husband. So did you already figure out how it’s my fault that you fucked another guy, because I’m sure that’s my fault too in that twisted brain of yours.”
Waylon surprised him by sinking down on one of the kitchen chairs, his head in his hands.
In silence Dave made coffee, filled two cups and sat down too. The warm coffee under his nose made Waylon look up.
“Thanks.”
Dave didn’t respond. Saying ‘you’re welcome’ would be stretching the truth way too far.
It took Waylon a few minutes to find the courage to speak again.
“I am sorry, you know?”
“About what, exactly? Screwing around? Killing Tristan? Being a complete ass this last year?”
“That’s quite a list,” Waylon sneered. “I guess you can play that Blame Game too.”
That made Dave bite his lip. He didn’t want to admit it, but Waylon had a point. He’d resented Waylon for always blaming him when things had gone wrong, but he was doing the exact same thing.
“It takes two to make a quarrel,” he shrugged. That was as far as he was willing to go.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Waylon whispered out of nowhere, his eyes focused on the coffee in front of him.
Dave wanted to yell. To strike out. He didn’t. He just nodded.
“Me neither.”
“The producer wants to dedicate the project to Tristan’s memory.”
Dave wanted to yell again. To strike out again. This time he did.
“You think I care? That damn project is part of the reason why my son is dead!”
Dave hit the table with both hands, spilling coffee. Both men didn’t notice. Dave had jumped up and was ready for a battle, but Waylon stayed seated, his head still lowered.
His “I know” was soft and full of pain. For some reason that small acknowledgement calmed Dave down enough to sit again.
“Have you ever noticed that we both referred to Tristan as ‘my son’ or ‘my boy’? We never called him ‘our son’. I suddenly realized it, last night. It’s strange, isn’t it? Why did we do that?”
Dave felt his heart clinch. It was a valid question, but he really didn’t want to think about stuff like that. It was way easier to stay really mad. And he had plenty of reasons to do exactly that.
“Was this revelation before or after your extramarital sexual encounter?” he sneered and Waylon shook his head.
“I guess I’ve provided the perfect stick to beat me, so go ahead. I know from my own experience it’s easier than looking at your own contribution to the heap of rubble formerly known as our marriage.”
He suddenly looked Dave straight in the eye.
“I also know from my own experience that it will not solve anything. It will only make it worse.”
“Well, at least you’ll leave this relationship with some important life lessons,” Dave sounded cynical and Waylon shrugged.
“You don’t have to demonstrate the Blame Game to me, Dave. We both know I’m an expert. But so are you. The only difference is…until yesterday you never voiced it. Not to me, that is. You blamed me for a lot of things and acted on that blame. Your resentment turned you into Mount Everest. Beautiful, but impossible to get through.”
“I see. So that’s why you turned to some… other hills that were easier to penetrate?”
The hidden meaning of his words were clear and Waylon shrugged.
“I doubt you’ll believe me, but yesterday was a first.”
“Hooray,” Dave murmured and Waylon gave him a small smile.
“I needed to vent and he was there,” Waylon shrugged again. “I’m not gonna justify it, but at least I never came to bed with another man on my mind.”
That made Dave frown.
“Please tell me you’re not talking about Luke Snyder.”
Waylon laughed. A short, painful and fake laugh.
“You’re really gonna lie about it, Dave? You’re really gonna sit here and tell me you never had any sexual fantasies about your young client?”
This time Dave lowered his head. He wasn’t even ready to admit it to himself.
“Don’t try to deny it, dear husband,” Waylon’s tone was hard and sharp. “You whispered his name in your sleep. And let me assure you…not just once.”
Dave looked up in shock, suddenly recognizing the pain in his husband’s eyes. Oh God. He did?
“So sure, it wasn’t very decent to seek some gratification outside our marriage, but it felt pretty good to be with someone who had only me on his mind. Maybe, subconsciously, it was my way to underline what was already very clear for a long time. We’re done.”
For some reason Dave hadn’t expect this little speech. This message. In his mind he had been the one ending things, because Waylon had put his foot in it, over and over again. He had been the one calling it quits. He had been the one assuring Waylon that he didn’t want him in his future. And now the tables were turned. The way Waylon looked at him, made him realize how much he’d hurt his husband without even knowing.
“Why didn’t you mention anything about it?”
“Really?” Waylon laughed without any humor. “As if Luke Snyder was a topic we could talk about…you became defensive immediately. I know I’ve been an ass, Dave. But so have you. Obviously we only know how to bring out our worst, so let’s just admit we don’t work and move on.”
Before Dave could answer, Waylon stood up, muttered something about a shower and left.
***
“The water is lukewarm,” he whispered as he softly licked the earlobe. He loved saying that word. Lukewarm. The chuckle made the ear move up and down.
“Stand still…I’m making love to your ear.”
“It tickles…”
“But it’s the only opening I haven’t explored yet today…”
“That doesn’t stop the tickling.”
Reid reluctantly stopped and turned Luke around in his arms. The brown eyes twinkled as Luke threw his arms around Reid’s neck.
“We need to do this more often,” he whispered, as his fingers slowly touched Reid’s face. “To connect. We’re both so busy… I really missed us like this.”
“I totally agree,” Reid’s smile was breathtakingly loving. “We’re completely in sync again.”
Luke nodded and then put his head on the wet chest. Could life get any better?
