Chapter 10

# Between

They took a break.

Ellie went to the bathroom to clean up. Frank went downstairs. Marco lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, trying to process what had just happened. His body was still covered in semen, his skin sticky, and he could smell it everywhere. He didn’t know what to feel.

He got up and went to the bathroom. There was a shower in the hall, separate from the master bath, and he turned it on and stood under the water for a long time, letting it wash over him.

He toweled off and went downstairs.

Frank was in the kitchen, still naked, making sandwiches. He’d put on an apron, which was ridiculous, and he looked over at Marco and grinned.

“Ham and cheese okay?”

“Sure.”

Marco sat at the kitchen table. He was wearing a towel around his waist, and his hair was still wet, and he felt strange. Exposed. But also comfortable, which was the stranger part.

Frank set a plate in front of him and sat down across the table.

“You’ve got a nice body, kid,” Frank said, taking a bite of his sandwich. “You know that?”

Marco looked down at his plate. “You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true.” Frank chewed and swallowed. “Ellie thinks so too. She can’t stop talking about you.”

“Yeah?”

“All the time.” Frank leaned back in his chair with that lazy smile. “She says you’re the best fuck she’s had in years.”

Marco felt his face heat up. “She said that?”

“Yep.” Frank took another bite. “I told her she should tell you herself. But she’s shy.”

“Ellie? Shy?”

“About some things.” Frank shrugged. “She’s complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

Frank chewed, considering. “She’ll tell you she loves you with her whole chest, mean every word of it, and then five minutes later she’ll do something that makes you wonder if she’s even paying attention to you. She’s got this thing where she picks a person and just ... focuses. Like a laser. Right now that’s you.”

“That sounds intense.”

“It is.” Frank pointed his sandwich at Marco. “It’s also the best thing that ever happened to you. Trust me. I’ve been married to her for fifteen years. I know.”

Marco ate his sandwich and tried not to think about the fact that he was having a casual conversation with a naked man who had just come all over his face. A conversation about how much his wife enjoyed the way he fucked her. Frank made it easy, though. He talked like nothing was unusual, like this was just lunch, like the apron wasn’t the only thing he was wearing.

Frank reached over and flicked Marco’s ear. “You’re thinking too hard.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. I can see it. Your forehead gets all wrinkled.” Frank leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “Stop thinking. Just be here.”

Marco looked at him. Frank’s eyes were warm, playful, and there was something else underneath. Something genuine.

“Okay,” Marco said.

“Good.” Frank smiled. “Now eat your sandwich. You’re gonna need your strength.”

Marco raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Frank just winked.

Ellie came downstairs a few minutes later. She’d put on a robe, thin and silky, and her hair was still damp. She looked beautiful. She went to the counter and poured herself a glass of water, then leaned against it and watched Frank and Marco at the table.

Frank was telling a story about something that had happened at the gym. A client who’d fallen off a treadmill, a trainer who’d accidentally set off the fire alarm, and he was doing impressions, his voice changing, his face contorting. Marco was laughing. Really laughing. Not the polite, uncomfortable laugh he’d been doing for the past few days. A real laugh, the kind that came from somewhere deep.