Logan (Dad Bod Doms #1) - Golden Angel Page 0,2

young men playing down at the lake—a scream of laughter followed by a splash—were all that could be heard. Finally, Faris sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face.

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s just… things were so good. And now they aren’t. And I love Leyla so goddamn much. I just want that back.” Faris looked at the bottle in his hand as if noticing it for the first time. “And it’s pretty fucking obvious what a lightweight I’ve become.” He gazed at the beer for a second longer before draining the last of it.

They all looked at Henry, who grunted.

“Come on, man,” Ray said, waving his beer. “Either fess up and share the misery or tell us your secret, so we can use it to fix our relationships.”

Looking away from his friends, Henry chugged his beer and tossed the bottle into the pile of glass he was building.

“Natalie is… she’s good, I guess. Still as beautiful as the day I married her. She’s not complaining, but maybe…” He grunted again and hauled himself out of the lawn chair for another beer. “Yeah. We never did manage to have a baby together, and we’re both busy with work.” He looked away, then added, “When we retire, we’ll figure something out. Maybe we’ll do a club or something to put the spark back in.” Lifting his bottle, he took a sip. “Scheduling sex around fertility treatments isn’t the best way to plan a scene.”

“So, I guess the real question is, what do we do about this?” Logan asked, sighing.

How did it come to this? He'd stood up for each of his friends at their weddings, just as they had for his. He could tell they were still in love with their wives, just as he was with his. So, where had they all gone wrong? It couldn't just be getting older. He knew that wasn’t all it was with him and Felicity.

Somewhere along the way, the spark, the excitement had flittered away. The connection between them had thinned. They didn’t talk the way they used to. Didn’t spend time together the way they used to. And they sure as hell didn’t have sex the way they used to.

“I'm going to join a gym,” Ray said suddenly.

“How is that going to fix your sex life?” Faris asked dubiously. “You think Ally will love you more if you lose some weight?”

“No, but I'll feel better about myself.” Ray glanced at his flab again, giving his stomach a rueful rub, then a pat. “I don't feel very good about myself right now. I’m pretty sure it’s starting to bleed over into other areas.”

If he didn't feel good about himself, he wouldn’t be the confident Dom, Logan knew he could be.

Ray looked over at Faris pointedly. The man met his gaze, and Ray waited patiently.

“Fuck, Ray,” Faris threw up his hands. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” He reached toward the cooler, stopped for a second, then grabbed another beer. Twisting the top off, he took a drink, then wiped his hand across his mouth. “Like you said, my situation is unique.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t fix it.”

“Yeah. Maybe so. But it’s going to take more than just me.”

Ray’s eyes narrowed. “Then you find the people you need to help you do it. No different than building a bridge.”

Faris sat, bottle in hand, a war of thoughts playing out across his face.

“It’s a helluva complicated fucking bridge.”

“You built an incredible one the first time. Just do it again.”

“Jesus, Bueller,” Logan said, using the nickname Faris had been pinned with from Day One. He shook his head. “All this sounds like a lot of weird military code or some shit.” Logan glanced between the two men, raising his eyebrows in question. Unlike the two of them, he hadn’t served, and it felt like he was missing out on part of the conversation.

“It is… and it isn’t.” Ray took a sip from his own beer, his eyes never leaving Faris.

“I’ll give it my best shot,” Faris said after a moment's pause.

“Good man.” Ray nodded in approval, despite the terse reply.

Logan and Henry shot each other a look, but Henry just shrugged. Sometimes, they were left out of things because of Ray and Faris’ past together, but they’d come to accept that. Rather than pushing Faris further, Logan just focused on the problem at hand and possible solutions.

“I don't know what I'm going to do,” Logan said slowly, “but I'm going to do something. Maybe Felicity and I can