“Come here,” he gently instructed, holding his hand out to me. I tightened my fingers around Kalin’s wrist, then stepped forward, placing my free hand in Richard’s. He pulled me into the shower, which brought Kalin along with us.
No other words were spoken. Richard held Kalin while I hurriedly washed my hair and bathed, while watching Richard soothe Kalin with soft touches and gentle kisses. Once I was done, he passed Kalin off to me, and I held him, gently rocking him side to side in the way I knew he liked. By the time Richard was done bathing, Kalin was damn near catatonic, his eyelids drooping, sleep tugging at him.
We worked together to wash Kalin’s hair and bathe him, then dried him off quickly so we could get him to bed. The three of us didn’t bother with clothes, and it was a good thing we didn’t because Kalin made a small noise of contentment the moment the three of us were in bed together with him sandwiched between our naked bodies.
Kalin loved skin to skin contact.
“I didn’t realize how bad it’d truly gotten for him,” Richard whispered after Kalin let out a soft snore between us.
“He’s a lot different from me,” I said softly, meeting his eyes over Kalin’s head. “He needs more reassurance and attention. And while both of your feelings are valid, he can’t be kept in the dark, Richard. It’s killing him, and I can’t keep watching him fall apart like this.”
“I know.” Richard stroked his hand over Kalin’s hair. Kalin subconsciously snuggled closer to him, and the love that shone in Richard’s eyes for our boy made my chest squeeze because that was the love Kalin deserved. That was the love I was going to fight tooth and nail to make sure Kalin never let go of. “I’m going on a talk show in the morning. I’ll text you all the details before I go on air. Make sure he’s awake to watch it.”
“A talk show?” I questioned. Richard never did interviews on talk shows. He thought it was nothing more than trashy gossip and avoided them at all costs.
He nodded. “Yeah. The head of the publicity team came up with the idea. There will be backlash, and it’ll be unavoidable, but I can’t keep doing this to you two any longer.” He looked at me, a frown tugging at his lips. “I’m so fucking sorry I’ve made you wait this long, little tiger.”
I shook my head and reached over, settling my hand on his hip. “I’ve always understood your need to protect us, Richard. I don’t need apologies.”
He sighed, clearly disagreeing with me, but he said nothing more on the matter. “Go on to sleep,” he whispered. “I’ve got you both until I have to leave in the morning.”
I nodded. He leaned over Kalin to kiss me, his lips smoothing over mine in a kiss so soft and loving, my chest threatened to implode. “I love you,” he murmured.
I swallowed thickly. “I love you, too,” I croaked.
7
Kalin
Of course, Richard was gone when I woke up. The moment I started coming to consciousness, I’d already been feeling like shit—my eyes swollen, my body drained of all energy, something that was typical after coming home from touring. But feeling the lack of his warmth on the other side of me just made it all so much worse.
Of course, he wouldn’t take the day off to stick around for us. Everything the night before had been a total sack of horse shit, just as I’d known it would be. But—and fuck me for this—I’d been hoping he’d been telling the truth. For once, I thought he was really putting me and Spike first. Because why the hell else would he have revealed his feelings for us and his relationship with me and Spike to our best friends if he hadn’t been planning to change his priorities?
Groaning, I burrowed deeper into the safe cocoon of Spike’s arms and buried my face against his chest. Even after several hours, he still smelled faintly of his Irish Spring bodywash, and I was lowkey addicted to the scent. He’d been using that same body wash since we were like eleven or twelve, and he’d never changed, even after we could afford much more expensive products.
“Awake, baby?” Spike murmured into my hair as he tightened his arms around me.
“No,” I mumbled, making him chuckle, the sound vibrating against my face, where it was pressed against his chest.
He slipped his fingers into my hair and massaged my scalp for a moment. Then, he gripped my hair at its roots and gently tugged my head back so he could look down at me. “Richard had breakfast delivered for us a few minutes ago. Jesse left it outside our door for us. You hungry?”
“No,” I said, my tone a little more snappish than I’d meant it to be. I wasn’t upset with Spike. I was upset with Richard, but I wasn’t all that good at regulating my emotions.
Spike didn’t take offense, not that he ever did. He was a fucking saint when it came to me. I didn’t deserve him, but I was selfish enough to keep him anyway.
“He had to leave, baby,” Spike said gently, massaging my scalp once more. Somehow, he always knew what was wrong with me. He knew me so well—sometimes a little too well. “This wasn’t for work.”
I scoffed. “If he wanted to, he would,” I bitterly reminded Spike. “Stop making excuses for him. I’m sick of hearing them.”
Spike sighed, but somehow, the expel of air was still filled with endless patience for me and my bratty behavior. “I’m not making excuses for him. I swear. He really had to deal with this today. It couldn’t be done another day or time.”
I rolled away. “Whatever,” I muttered. I didn’t want to hear any more on the matter. Richard left, especially after the mess I’d been last night, and that was all the answer I needed to know how he truly felt about us. I was so done.
Spike laid still for a moment, though I could feel his eyes on me. Then, he got out of bed and tugged on a pair of sweats. I tracked his movements as he walked to the door, retrieving a small brown bag that was still taped shut. The moment he set the bag on his nightstand and opened it, the smell of my favorite breakfast tacos assaulted my nostrils, and my heart tightened so much, I couldn’t breathe through the ache.
Richard had ordered my comfort breakfast.
“Did he request the extra hot sauce?” I whispered, hating that my voice trembled.