Avery

Six Months Prior: Winter Break 2022

I just got home from college this afternoon after my most stressful semester

of school yet and with a hellish week of finals behind me, I came straight to the bar to meet my friends. Our high school senior class was super close. There weren’t any cliques; every friend group just intermixed making us one of the closest graduating classes our school had ever seen. Even four years later, we all go to the same bars when we’re home. The same parties. The same restaurants. The running joke is you couldn’t see a Riverside High School alumni without seeing at least three more in tow.

Lucas isn’t home from NYU yet and his older sister, Raegan moved out and is living with her boyfriend across town, which means Theo has the house to himself tonight. Something I haven’t stopped thinking about since Lucas texted me that he won’t be home until early next week. The last time I’d been in Theo’s house when no one was home was this past summer.

We’d made out for hours, losing track of time until we heard Lucas’ car in the driveway and I fled out the backdoor, narrowly missing getting caught.

I’d made out with my best friend’s dad.

And I wanted more.

It’s several degrees below freezing and still snowing in Pennsylvania, but we’re used to winter precipitation, which means nothing short of two

 feet of snow is cause for bars to close early. Still, the chill outside whips through the bar and cools the air every time the door opens and shuts.

The second he walks in, I feel the atmosphere shift.

I turned twenty-one this past semester, so I’m not surprised at the look of shock that crosses Theo’s face when he spots me. He narrows his gaze darkly before his eyes dart up in confusion, and I think he’s trying to recall my birthday to see if I’m even old enough to be here. His gaze finds mine again and then drops to the glass in my hand holding a clear liquid and a lime perched on the side of it.

I tilt my head to the side and give him a cocky smile before turning my back to him to face my friend Aurora hoping that it’s enough to entice him to come over. Aurora, who goes by Rory after an ongoing obsession with Gilmore Girls, turns towards me with a tiny glass full of amber-colored liquid. She sinks her teeth into her brightly painted red lip. “Fireball!” She looks at something behind me and gives me a wicked smirk. I know why. Every girl in our graduating class—Raegan’s too for that matter—has a crush on Theo.

Everyone except me, of course. I’m immune to his charms, obviously. Lucas and Raegan are like my honorary siblings which means Theo Graham is like a second dad.

At least, that’s what I say when all of my girlfriends gush about how fine he is.

“I’m sorry, are you old enough to be here, young lady?” His words are low and smooth and warm my insides like the shot of Fireball in my hand.

I turn around and meet his gaze, slowly raking my eyes up his body. I scoff and press a hand to my chest, giving him my most shocked and disappointed look. “You’ve known me for eight years and have been to at least five of my birthday parties and you don’t know that I’m twenty-one now?”

He shakes his head and chuckles before looking at Rory who somehow has a third shot of Fireball.

“Aurora.” He quirks an eyebrow at her as she holds the tiny glass out for him.

“Mr. Graham! Take a shot with us,” Rory says.

“Now, you know it’s Theo.”

“And you know it’s Rory,” she flirts, batting her long full lashes that are

only highlighted by the round frames that sit perched on her nose like a

 sexy librarian and I can’t ignore the pang of jealousy that floats through me. “Your son isn’t here yet, so you have to fill in.” She rolls her eyes.

“I can’t believe you two are old enough to take shots.”

“Really? Because we’ve been taking shots in your basement since we were sixteen,” Rory admits with a cheeky smirk and my eyes go wide at my friend’s confession.

“Rory!” I squeal and she laughs loudly, tossing her head back before downing her shot without waiting for me or Theo.

“Oh, we aren’t old enough to come clean yet? I always assumed he knew. My parents did.” She shrugs.

“I had an inkling,” Theo says and I wonder if my parents were the only ones who believed that we were all perfect angels whenever I had people over.

Someone calls Rory’s name from across the room and she slips away with a wave and a hug to Theo before moving through the bar, leaving us alone.

“Should we take this?” I ask and he shakes his head.

“I’m a little old for Fireball.” He sets the glass on the bar behind me and I wish he hadn’t because he’s close enough for me to smell his sinfully sexy cologne, taking me back to being in his arms and rubbing against him, and yep, now I’m horny and about to say something bold.

“Oh? Here I thought you liked indulging in things you might be a little old for?” I raise an eyebrow at him and his eyes widen as he stares me down. His eyes close slowly and when he opens them, they’re full of lust and maybe a little irritation at me for bringing up something we have never spoken of out loud.

“You’re playing with fire, Avery.”

“Am I?” I shrug. I down the shot of the cinnamon flavored whiskey I’ve been holding, set the empty glass next to his full one, and reach for his to down before he can protest.

“Avery,” his voice is hoarse. “How did you get here?”

“Uber.”

“It’s starting to snow harder. Do not Uber home. I’ll take you when

you’re ready.” “It’s fine.”

“It’s most certainly not fine. I brought the Jeep, I’ll take you home or I’ll call your father to come get you. At least I won’t be worrying about you riding around in a car that doesn’t have all-wheel drive. I’m not joking,” he says before looking at the bartender. “Water for her.” He points at me. “Drink the whole thing, Avery,” he says before turning away from me and disappearing into the crowd.

Sometime later, those two shots of Fireball coupled with the two vodka sodas I had and the week of poor nutrition and lack of sleep have me more than a little intoxicated. I’m not sure how much time has passed or where Theo went, but something tells me he’s close by. Watching. That thought has me swaying my hips on the dance floor next to Rory who is way drunker than me as she grinds against her on and off high school boyfriend, Justin. It’s winter break, so it’s on.

Another friend of ours is behind me, I think, and while I’m not dancing as obscenely as Rory, I do feel something pushing against my back and hands on my hips. I turn in someone’s arms and spot Nate Reynolds, who I’d dated in high school and was absolutely not who I expected.

“Nate?” I push his chest gently, putting space between us.

“Avery Summers.” He smiles cockily. That same cocky smile that cost me my virginity and months of heartache.

I give him a fake smile before rolling my eyes and making a move off the dance floor, hoping it serves as a signal that I am definitely not interested in going on a trip down memory lane or reliving the glory days or whatever the hell Rory and her ex are planning to do tonight.

“You get even more gorgeous every time I see you.” His hand runs down my arm and I roll my eyes.

“Please.” I chuckle. “Find someone else tonight, babes. It’s not going to be me.”

“You wound me.” He puts a hand across his heart.

I deadpan. “The irony,” I say, referring to all the “wounding” he did to me during my senior year of high school. And freshman year of college.

I move through the bar, grabbing my coat from the booth where we’d all placed our things, and start moving towards the door, wanting to put as much space as possible between myself and my annoying ex-boyfriend.

“You want me to take you home?” he asks and I scrunch my face.

“No. I came out here to get away from you. Read the room.” I pull up my phone, contemplating texting my dad to come get me since Theo threatened me with it anyway. But it’s almost two in the morning and while he’d do it, he would be irritated as hell that I waited this long to call him if I knew I was going to need a ride.

“Look, I’m sorry about all that shit...but that was years ago.”

“Okay?” I chuckle. “I’m not mad at you still, but I’m also not going to hook up with you.”

“Who said anything about hooking up?” he says, but that wicked glint in his eyes tells me I nailed what he was thinking despite what he hadn’t said.

“Please. I speak fluent fuckboy.” I flutter my eyelashes at him and he rolls his eyes before pressing his hands against his mouth and blowing on them. I’m guessing he’s regretting following me outside without a coat. The lengths guys will go to when they think there’s potential for a hookup.

“Ave, you ready to go?” I hear Theo’s voice from behind us and then he’s moving to stand in front of us on the sidewalk.

Nate looks at him and gives him that smile that all the guys give him. They all have Theo on this pedestal and practically worship the ground he walks on. If there wasn’t snow on the ground, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he dropped to his knees and bowed down to him.

“Theo!”

Theo clears his throat. “Mr. Graham,” he corrects Nate. I smile to myself knowing he hates being called Mr. Graham, and all of Lucas and Raegan’s friends call him Theo. Nate laughs like he’s not serious but Theo is less than a fan of Nate; probably because of the weeks he had to listen to me crying in his basement while simultaneously begging Lucas not to beat the shit out of him. He looks at me. “I think I should take you home, it’s getting late.”

I nod in agreement because I’m ready to be away from Nate and alone with Theo. I’m already sending a text to Rory to make sure she has a ride as he ushers me away from Nate and towards his car.

When we’re out of earshot, I feel his gaze on the side of my face. “You okay?”

“About Nate?” I snort. “Yeah.” He nods and I think he’s going to say something but he stops when we get to his truck.

“In you go.” He opens the door for me and it’s a little high off the ground, so he has to help me up into it, and the mere feeling of his hand helping me is enough to make my skin sizzle. He’s around to his side in an instant.

 “Wait.”

“What?” he asks as he turns on the car.

“I want to make sure Rory has a ride. She hasn’t responded yet.”

He sits back in his seat and nods. Neither of us says anything and the

silence stretches between us. I want to bring up what happened over the summer or something...anything that would allow us to have a real conversation about that one interaction that was not like any of the others we’ve had. Yet suddenly, I feel more sober than I did moments ago. It’s as if the palpable tension mounting between us was counteracting my intoxication. What I wouldn’t give for a shot of tequila.

“I never thought he was good enough for you,” he blurts while staring straight ahead.

“Why?” I ask.

His brown eyes find mine and he lowers his chin with a laugh. “You have to ask? Saw a thousand and one kids like that in my day. In high school, college, while I was in the league.” He rubs a hand down his face. “Watched him hit on three other girls before he found you on the dance floor.”

While I know he’s trying to make a point that Nate Reynolds has, in fact, not changed, it still stings that I wasn’t his first choice. Fucker. My phone vibrates in my hand and I see it’s from Rory telling me that Justin hasn’t had anything to drink and he’s taking her home soon.

“Rory is fine. Justin’s taking her home.”

He nods and slowly backs out of the parking space. “Now she may not actually be good enough for him.”

“Hey,” I frown. Rory was one of my favorite people in the world, even if she was a bit of a mess and I wasn’t going to let anyone talk shit about her.

“I know Justin was not one of the kids drinking in my basement that Rory so eloquently confessed earlier, and nine times out of ten he was everyone’s designated driver. He’s a good kid.”

It’s only about a fifteen-minute drive to our houses so if I have a prayer at round two of our hookups, I needed to turn this conversation towards something infinitely sexier than anything that makes him remember that I was once a kid drinking in his basement.

Or maybe that does it for him?

 I turn my gaze towards him. “What would you have done if you caught us all those years ago? Caught me one of the times I was sneaking upstairs to the kitchen for more snacks because I always got voted to do the dirty work.” I roll my eyes. Evidently, my years of dance and the fact that I was a natural at being light on my feet, made me the one that always had to do all the sneaking around. I even had to go meet the pizza guy once when I was so drunk, I confused the front door with the coat closet and somehow fell into it. How Theo never woke up that time, I’ll never know.

“I don’t know. Probably try to sober you up so your parents wouldn’t kill me.”

“First of all, they wouldn’t kill you.”

“Fine, maybe so they wouldn’t kill you.” He corrects.

“That’s all you would’ve done?” I lean across the truck. “You wouldn’t

have tried to discipline me yourself? Maybe take me over your knee and spank me?”

He turns his head toward me, giving me a look that tells me he’s not amused. “I know what you’re doing.”

“What am I doing?”

“Avery...what happened between us...” He trails off. “I’m sorry. I should have known better.”

“Than to what? Kiss the nineteen-year-old girl that lives next door?” “Than to kiss the nineteen-year-old girl, that is you.”

“What’s the big deal? We’re adults.”

“There’s a very big deal in the form of my son and your best friend.” He

shakes his head. “Lucas would hate me forever. You’re...well, you know how my son feels about you.”

“We’re friends,” I tell him.

“Because you won’t marry him.” He chuckles.

“Because I don’t see him that way,” I correct, irritated by his words.

“We’ve talked about it. A lot, Theo. Yes, there were feelings there before, but he’s moved on. He doesn’t want me.”

“Sure, Avery.”

“And so, what, I don’t get a say in this?”

“And what exactly is your ‘say?’ You want to continue to work your

daddy issues out on me?”

Anger flashes in my eyes and in my veins. I feel embarrassed at his

words and I snap. “Fuck you.” The roads are still somewhat clear at this moment, thankfully, because Theo slams on his breaks. “Excuse me?”

My eyes flare in shock and maybe a little terror as the realization sets in as to what I said because did I just use the words fuck and you in that order to Theo Graham?

Like an adult?

Shit!

Well, you can’t back down now. “Don’t project your issues about this onto me.”

“Did you just...swear at me?” His eyes are still wide but I detect some humor in them, like he can’t believe I said it and is somewhat impressed that I did.

“If you’re waiting for me to apologize, we’ll be here all night.” I flash him a smile and he lets out a breath before he begins driving again. He doesn’t say anything. “They’re not daddy issues,” I tell him, still slightly offended for a reason I’m not totally sure, “or maybe they are. What are your issues in this situation then?”

He shifts in his seat and leans away from me, leaning against the window. “That you’re too gorgeous for your own good and one afternoon after I’d had a few drinks, I stupidly allowed myself to think that you were an option for me.” He shakes his head and his eyes flit to mine, dark and maybe a little regretful. “I still think about last summer. You and Lucas had just gotten into an argument. I was pissed at him because I heard the way he was talking to you. But you left, and then you came back a few hours later because you could never handle it when you two argued but he’d left for work.”

I listen to him recount that afternoon and it’s the first time he’s allowed me a look inside his head.

“You were just so sad, and I remember thinking the reason he was so angry was because he had feelings for you, and then...fuck. I don’t know, somehow, you were in my lap. I don’t even know how it happened.”

I remember. I was wearing a tiny tank top and he couldn’t keep his eyes off my tits so I boldly climbed into his lap to give him a better look.

He continues to drive and then we’re moving down the familiar streets towards our neighborhood and I let out a quiet sigh thinking that this night is not going to end the way I’d hoped it would.

 “Fuck, Ave, I don’t know. All I know is I’ve felt like the shittiest father for doing that to Lucas.”

“Why is he involved in this narrative at all?”

“Because he has feelings for you!” he snaps.

I want to tell him again that he doesn’t anymore. That yes, a long time

ago there were feelings that I hadn’t reciprocated but our friendship was able to withstand that bump in the road and now we are fine. I want to tell him that he’s wrong, but something about the way he’s so adamant leads me to believe that Theo may be better versed on his son’s feelings than I am.

So, I say something else.

“Do you?” I ask and instantly regret it. While I’m sure Theo had his fair share of women before his ex-wife and after they broke up, he left all of that behind him with the NFL, and I don’t think I’ve seen him with a woman in the eight years I’ve known him. At the very least, he never brought anyone around Raegan and Lucas and by default, me. Him kissing me had to mean something though. Right? “You wouldn’t just fool around with me for the hell of it, Theo, and don’t insult my intelligence by trying to insinuate otherwise.”

“I didn’t say that,” he grits out. “I’m saying, I can’t have any feelings for you,” he emphasizes. “It would destroy my relationship with Lucas and I can’t do that.” I nod, wishing this conversation was going a completely different way. “Listen, maybe you’re right and he doesn’t have feelings for you anymore and it wouldn’t bother him to see you with someone else. But to see you with me? Hell, it might even bother Raegan.”

A pang of guilt shoots through me thinking about Lucas’ older sister who I wasn’t as close with but who was still the closest thing I had to a sister. She’d gone homecoming and prom dress shopping every year we were both in high school with me and my mom not to mention, she was the first person I told when I lost my virginity.

“Isn’t Raegan dating a guy damn near your age?”

He groans and lets his head fall back. “Do. Not. Remind. Me.”

I giggle. “I just mean maybe she won’t care. I assume she’s on a bit of

thin ice with you right now.”

“This guy hasn’t known Raegan for a third of her life.”

I don’t know much about this guy she’s seeing, only that he’s older and

now she’s living with him much to Theo’s irritation. “Okay, let me provide another rebuttal.”

 “Of course,” he says, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“Why do we have to tell Lucas or Raegan anything?”

He doesn’t say anything and I wonder if that was his hesitation all

along. That I’d tell Lucas after rounds of shots. That I tell him everything and a hookup with his dad would be no exception. “Give me a little credit, Theo. I wouldn’t tell him.”

“Because you know he’d be pissed.”

I don’t disagree that he wouldn’t be thrilled...but I don’t respond to that. “Theo, you’re a good dad,” I tell him. “The best given the circumstances in which you had to parent. Rebecca was never around and...you had to do it all pretty much. I know I don’t have to tell you all of this, or the fact that Lucas and Raegan worship the ground you walk on. They would want you to do things that make you happy. You’ve sacrificed a lot over the years and they’re adults now so you don’t have to anymore. It doesn’t make you a bad father for wanting to have fun.”

“Having fun and having fun with you are very different things.”

He looks at me as we pull into his driveway and park on the side of the house. I’m kind of surprised he didn’t pull into mine but I guess he didn’t want to risk waking my parents. There are several yards between the houses on our street so there’s no chance of anyone seeing us right now from where we’re seated in his driveway.

“I don’t want to want you,” he continues. The snow continues to fall around us harder than before and I’m glad we left the bar when we did and Theo brought me home. “I want it to be easy for me to tell you this isn’t going to happen and then walk you home.” He turns to look at me. “I should walk you home.” He says it but makes no effort to get out of the car or even turn it off for that matter. Instead, he puts his hand on my face, letting out a groan that vibrates through my whole body. His hand is large and warm and frames my entire face. Despite the heat still blasting from his vents, I feel goosebumps all over my skin as my sex clenches thinking about him between my legs. His thumb drags over my lips gently and just before he removes it, my tongue darts out to drag over the tip.

“Fuck.” He groans and just as I sense him moving towards me, I move towards him, our mouths meeting in the middle with both of his hands on my face. His tongue tastes like mint without a trace of liquor and I wonder if he abstained in case he needed to take me home.

Why else would he have gone out to a bar and not consumed any alcohol?

The thoughts float away as his tongue dances with mine, soft yet firm and rubbing against mine, and instantly I’m transported back to the last time we did this.

I want to be closer, I think, wandering back to the time when he pinned me against the wall and kissed me senseless. His hands under my butt as he ground against me. I grab his coat, pulling him closer to me and his hand finds the back of my neck, tangling in my hair and pulling gently. I gasp as a sexy tingle shoots through me allowing his lips to leave mine and travel down my throat dragging his tongue along the skin.

“Fuck, Avery,” he whispers against me and it’s just the encouragement I needed to move closer. I push him back and move my way across the console and into his lap. I feel his seat moving backward, and I adjust to the closeness, sliding all the way down so I’m straddling his lap, my covered sex seated directly on top of his dick.

“Touch me,” I whisper against him. “Please.”

Despite his jeans, I feel his cock twitch beneath me and his chocolate eyes narrow slightly. His hands drop from my shoulders and drag down my frame to my hips, holding me in place as I grind down on him. His eyes drop to where I’m seated before dragging them lazily up my body. “Where?” His voice is low and gruff and I feel it in my clit like a heartbeat. I open my coat and I watch as he trails his eyes over my v-neck sweater. His hands palm my breasts before he drags his thumb over my nipples. Despite my sweater and bra, I still feel the pressure of his thumbs on my sensitive peaks.

His hands move under my sweater, his fingers touching my skin and then he’s raising the fabric. He raises his eyebrows in question and I nod, knowing what he wants to do. I slide my arms out of my coat and pull my sweater over my head all within a second leaving me in a white lace pushup bra that’s practically see through. “Touch me,” I tell him again and he obliges, running his fingers over the cups before his face is submerged in my tits as he takes a deep inhale. I gasp at the feeling of his stubble scraping the skin between my breasts before I feel his tongue between them dragging along the same path up toward my mouth. I reach for his hair, pulling on the luscious strands as I try to guide him back to my mouth even though the feeling of Theo’s tongue inches above my nipple is indescribable.

 His lips find mine again and I moan as I work my hips along his dick doing the best I can to hit the most delicious spot that might have me coming in his lap. “Does it feel good?” He asks me when he pulls away to pepper kisses along my jaw.

“God, yes,” I whisper.

“Are you wet?” He asks and I nod, unable to respond because I feel myself building towards an orgasm. “Show me.”

My eyes flutter open, and my head that’s been tilted back as he trails kisses up my neck slowly moves down to look at him. “What?”

“Show me how wet you are.” I try to move but he holds me in place and looks down between us where I’m seated on top of him. The car is dark but the light on the outside of his garage illuminates the space around us enough for him to be able to see me run my fingers down my body and under the waistband of my leggings.

I slip my fingers beneath it and my panties and drag my index finger through my sex. My mouth drops open and I let out a sigh as it glides through my wetness easily. I whimper and his nostrils flare in response when I feel him pull my hand from between my legs and hold it in front of his face. My index and middle finger are coated with my cum and I watch with fascination as he drags his tongue up both of them.

Oh my God.

He circles his tongue around them, leaving them clean before letting them go. “Make yourself come.”

I gasp. “Right now?”

“Right now.” He nods. My heart is pounding in time with the pulsing between my legs so it doesn’t take much convincing for me to slide my hand back between them. I continue to finger myself while I’m in his lap, my body so desperate for the orgasm. My hand that’s not between my legs reaches for his belt in an attempt to tell him what I want, but he grabs it and pulls it away before bringing it to his mouth. “No.”

“No?” I stammer out as I flick my clit. “But—”

“Are you close?” He asks and I nod. He pushes my hair away from my face. “I know you are. Come on, beautiful, let me see you.”

“Touch me,” I beg, wanting him to make me come even though sitting on top of him with my hand between my legs is high on my list of memories I’ll use while my hand is between my legs again later.

 “But you’re doing so well. Rubbing that pretty little clit for me.” He licks his lips and I convulse in his arms as I think about him running his tongue through my slit. “I can smell you.” He pulls me closer, pressing his lips to my chin while I continue to finger myself. The car is quiet and with it being near three in the morning, the world around us is silent making the sounds of my fingers in my pussy seem ten times louder.

“Theo,” I moan. “Please,” I beg again, trying my best to entice him into slipping his hand between my legs despite the awkward position we’re in. “Fuck me,” I moan because I’m at the peak of my orgasm when I have no control over what’s going to slip from between my lips. “Fuck me. I want you. Please,” I cry out just as I shatter in his arms. I’m vaguely aware that he groans my name but I’m too far gone to recognize any other words he utters. My left hand goes behind his neck, bringing his lips to mine just as my orgasm crashes through me. I taste myself on him and it spurs my orgasm further. I shake in his arms as I continue to rock against my hand and move up and down on his covered dick.

I stop rubbing and pull away from him slowly as I slide my hand out from between my legs. I notice his lips are shiny and I don’t know if it’s from my lip balm, my tongue, or my pussy and I clench at the sexiness of him being covered in me. I glance behind me towards his house before turning back towards him slowly, staring up at him through my lashes. I reach for the hem of his shirt dragging my fingers along the bottom to clean my fingers. A wicked smirk finds my face as I mark him. “Can I come in?”

Lust flashes in his eyes and he lowers his gaze to stare at my mouth. His eyes flick behind me to his house and then back to me. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes.” I lean down to purr in his ear. “I definitely fucking want.” I nibble on his jaw, dragging my teeth along it gently before pressing a kiss to his lips. “Don’t you want me?”

“You just fingered yourself in my lap while you dry-humped me, of course I want you. I want to fuck you into the middle of next week.” He groans and I giggle as I move off of his lap and back into my seat to get out of the car. I’m reaching for the handle when my phone begins to ring and I frown when I see it’s my dad.

“Fuck,” I hiss and Theo’s eyes immediately dart to my house which still looks dark except for the dim lights that my parents leave on for me when I’m out late.

 “Hi, Dad,” I answer nonchalantly.

“Avery, where the hell are you and why is it not in this house?” he asks in a tone that’s not quite mad but not quite pleased with the fact that I’m out this late. I’m twenty-one years old, so I don’t exactly have a curfew but I usually tell them when I’m not coming home and I hadn’t done that. I’m preparing to speak the lie that started forming the moment his name flashed across my phone when Theo takes the phone from my hand before I can speak.

“Shawn,” he says, “I was down at The Clover and figured I’d take her and Rory and some of the other kids home so they didn’t have to Uber in the snow.” I can’t hear what my dad says but Theo chuckles and I cross my arms over my chest angrily at the thought of tonight absolutely not going how I want it to and more importantly where it was headed just moments before. He’s off the phone a few seconds later, after telling him I would be home soon and I turn to look at him as he hands me my phone. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“What happened to fucking me into the middle of next week?”

“Ummm, your father called?” He gives me a look. “Kind of lost my hard-on when I remembered you’re my friend’s daughter which also reminded me that you’re my son’s best friend.” He taps my cell phone screen which is a picture of Lucas and me from earlier this semester in front of The Metropolitan Museum of Art when I visited him in New York.

He points at my phone and when I turn to look at him there’s hurt all over his face. “I can’t do that to him.” His eyes dart away from my phone to my house. “Either of them. They both trust me and...fuck, I don’t deserve it."