“I…overheard him talking on the phone. And when his best friend came over to help him put his playroom together. I made them cookies,” Jude confessed.
“You overheard him?”
“When our windows are both open, I can hear him,” Jude said.
“And you didn’t tell him that?” Law sounded as disappointed as Jude felt.
“No.”
“Okay, we’ll get back to that. What else?” Law said.
“He loves to build sandcastles,” Jude shared. “I’ve caught him outside several times and made sure he was wearing sunscreen and staying hydrated. I even bought him a sandcastle building kit. I bought him fucking toys.”
“He brought out your Daddy instincts,” Law said.
If anyone would understand it would be Law, who always identified as a Daddy Dom. They’d shared that together even before Sam was in the picture. “Every one of them. I’m sorry. I know it’s wrong. I shouldn’t feel this way about him.”
“Why do you think it is wrong?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jude growled out. “You know why!”
“I was afraid that was what you were going to say,” Law replied.
“Afraid?”
“Please don’t hang up on me,” Law pleaded.
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“It has been ten years,” Law said. “Sam wouldn’t want you to be living like this.”
“You don’t know what Sam would or wouldn’t want,” Jude spat. This was a mistake.
“Actually,” Law said. “I think I do know. So do you.”
No, no, Law was wrong.
“I loved him,” Jude reminded Law. “He was my everything.”
“Oh, I’m quite of aware of that.” Law’s voice held bitterness.
“He—”
“He would be so pissed off with you. Sam might have been a pain in the ass, but he loved you. He wouldn’t want you to close yourself off from your friends or push us away. Hiding. He would be throwing the biggest tantrum, and you know it.”
This was why Jude didn’t talk to his friends. They meant well but Jude didn’t need them to tell him what Sam would or wouldn’t want.
“You can be mad at me for saying this,” Law said. “I should have said it a long fucking time ago. Here is my chance.”
“I don’t need you to tell me about Sam. He was my boy,” Jude replied firmly.
“No, you need me to remind you that not everything was as perfect as you’re pretending,” Law replied just as sternly.
“What the fuck!” Jude exclaimed.
“You’re looking back on your relationship with Sam through rose-colored glasses,” Law claimed.
“Stop!” Jude demanded.
