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"I don’t knohat to say," I lied, fisting the back of his shirt and nuzzling ulfingmy hair to turn my head, he swept his lips up my neck, and then his breath flittered across ies Give it to me"

A shiver traveled downflush

And then I gave it to hiive anyone else

"I think he hates me"

No sooner than the words had cleared my lips, he followed it up with a confession of his own "I’ain without hi on the tip of ue But that wasn’t what Porter and I did in the darkness

Turning my head, I brushed my lips with his "He told me that I only loved Lucas, and Catherine only wanted him to replace Travis" I paused to collect myself "He thinks you were the only one who ever wanted hi low "Jesus"

My throat became thick, and I was barely able to speak "I love hiht I want hiers tensed into distract uish init out loud You have to know that I love hier to me" I tried to push off the counter, desperate for so er to me once Now, he is the core to rained into rew into a wildfire And I don’t kno to turn it off And I’ to ask s around his hips and locking theh to erase the pain

His hand drifted down my back and then crept under the hem of ive him to you"

"I’ll never ask you to But I won’t ever stop trying to get hih my system "W…what?"

He shook his head and pressed his lips to h of him for both of us It doesn’t have to be one or the other He’s your son But I’ h the room was already pitch-black, I whispered, "I have no idea what I’ These should be the happiest days of "

His head came up, and while I couldn’t see hi intotoo"

It wasn’t a question

It wasn’t an accusation

It also wasn’t a lie

"We’re all hurting," I adht," he whispered "Tonight, he’s happy Tonight, I’ outside this apartht, your son sleeps safely in your bed Tonight, ht, we can share the darkness"

My mind drifted back to only a feeeks earlier, the first time Porter had taken ht I’d never forget because it was the first tiiven h that had happened too But emotionally I’d offered him my deepest, darkest secrets And he’d taken them, devoured them, and made them his own He’dand acceptance

Porter was like that Everything was easier with hi him

So I asked hiether "What’s going to happen e turn on the lights?"