Page 25 of Sweet Thing

“It looks like his boyfriend and father were killed in a car crash eighteen months ago—suspicious circumstances. They only found two bodies; the chauffeur is missing. Bastian Roth inherited a media empire worth two hundred billion Euros, and apparently, he wants nothing to do with it. There a lot of online speculation as to why.“

Simeon scowled. Was Pieter seriously expecting him to feel sorry for Bastian? Everyone had shit to deal with, but most people didn’t turn consensual sex into sexual assault. Simeon clenched his jaw. Yes, he had hit out first, but still. He felt the edges of his anger soften. Damn it, since he‘d stopped using and boozing, these damn feelings kept creeping up on him. Merde! Losing a lover and father in the same car crash—Simeon knew that, in the same position, he would be irreparably broken.

“He told me about his father, but not—wow, that‘s heavy,“ Sim said ponderously.

“Do you not think he at least deserves a second chance? Maybe just to apologize, for the sake of closure?“

Simeon was impressed, Pieter was subtly reminding him of his mistakes and that he had been given a second chance.

“What did you like about Bastian when you first met? What was your gut feeling?“ Pieter enquired, as he piled food onto his plate.

“What? Apart from being tall, blond and fuckably hot?“ Simeon gave a wicked grin and sat in thought for a moment before he answered pensively.

“My gut feeling was that he was a nice man, although I couldn‘t tell you why I liked him. I suppose the sadness in his eyes... it kind of felt like a reflection, you know. I guess I wanted to see if I could make him smile“, Simeon admitted.

Pieter’s brows rose at the candor of his admission; he‘d never heard Simeon speak about his conquests in anything other than the crudest sexual terms. But that was the old Simeon. Pieter had to admit; he liked drug-free Simeon far better. There was a depth and sensitivity to his personality that had obviously been hidden beneath the layers of bravado and outrageous antics.

Simeon sat deep in thought for a moment; he felt humbled. It seemed that Bastian was dealing with something deeply painful. He would at least think about meeting him for a coffee in a public place—for the sake of closure, of course.

The young men playing football cheered again, and Simon‘s attention was stolen, as he turned around to let his eyes peruse the now sweaty athletic bodies. He rose swiftly to his feet, moved the cushion, and reseated himself beside Pieter so he could watch the game. Simeon had no idea about the rules of football, but hey—he could still look!

They watched silently for few minutes and then Pieter threw his arm around Simeon and pulled him closer for a side hug; he kissed him on the brow. “I’ve missed this,“ Pieter said.

Simeon’s heart did a happy dance inside his chest as Emily reappeared and sat Lukas on his Papa’s lap. She searched in her bag for her phone, and Pieter held Lukas between himself and Simeon as Emily took photos of them.

“Kommen“ Pieter beckoned to Emily, reaching out a hand; she frowned. He knew she hated having her photo taken. But this was Lukas‘s first picnic, so she took Pieter‘s hand and was pulled to sit between his thighs. Lukas sat on Simeon’s knee, babbling and chuckling, as Sim whispered in his ear in French. They crowded into the frame and Emily took another couple of shots of them all.

Simeon was amazed by how at ease he felt in Emily’s company, and how swiftly he had fallen back into step with Pieter. There was no awkwardness at all; it was as if the past few years had never happened. His chest tightened as the feelings begged for release. He turned Lukas around and hugged him, hiding the tear and the sob that evaded his guard.

“Are you okay Sim?“ Emily asked.

Damn, no one was supposed to see. “Yeah, I’m okay,“ he sniffed “This is... a good day,“ he added, the breath hitching in his throat.

On seeing how emotional Sim was, Pieter leaned in, ruffled his hair, and gave him a peck on the brow.

A moment later, when he had hidden his emotions, Simeon laid Lukas on his front on the blanket. Lukas balanced on his rotund belly, arms and legs outstretched like he was free jumping. They all dug into the picnic and Simeon watched Lukas wriggling as they ate, amazed by just how entertaining a baby could be. When they had all eaten their fill of the savory foods , Simeon reached over for his box.

“Now, I haven’t tasted these yet, they look pretty okay, but if they taste horrible...“

“Gott Sim, we don‘t need an intro, what you got in that box?“ Pieter groped for the box. Sim playfully held the box out of Pieter’s reach. Pieter always had a sweet tooth.

“Vanilla cupcakes with coconut cream swirl,“ Simeon announced enjoying the way Pieter‘s brows arched with interest, as he still held the box out of Pieter’s grasp.

“Manners Peety!“ Simeon chided, slapping his hand away effeminately.

“Please, can I eat one of your delicious buns?“ Pieter asked, trying dirty talk to make Simeon submit, while desperately attempting to keep a straight face.

“If you’re very, very good, Peety, I might let you have two.“ Sim purred in flirtatious reply, his brows waggling salaciously. He held Pieter’s gaze for another moment, reveling in the power he held, then presented the box to Emily, removing the lid with a flourish.

“You made these?“ Emily exclaimed in astonishment. “Wow Sim, I am so booking you for Lukas’s birthday parties.“ She picked a cupcake and watched Pieter’s eyes grow wide as she held the coconut cream frosting to her lips and teasingly lapped at the swirled tip with her tongue

“Mmmm. So gutt,“ She moaned suggestively. Simeon gasped a laugh at the performance and turned to see Pieter slack-jawed at his girlfriend‘s wanton public display. Simeon thrust the box at Pieter,

“Jesus Peety, take a goddamn cake before you start drooling.“ Pieter took two, as did Simeon. Emily and Simeon laughed at how delicately Pieter devoured his cupcakes.

“These are Peety's favorite; we used to get them at a bakery in NYC. One of these used to keep you going for a whole day!“ Sim reminded him.

Pieter shook his head at the memory. He had no idea how he hadn’t been malnourished with such an inconsistent diet.