Page 75 of Resisting You

Ajish threw up his hands. “The idea of you leaving is like hell freezing over, so I’m covering all my bases.”

In truth, Renato could probably say yes to that last question. Frey had liked what he’d done—Frey had wanted what he’d done. But the fact remained, Renato had been crossing lines the moment he dropped his guard and admitted he wanted to do more than teach Frey a lesson about not being a little shit.

Or, more accurately, it was the moment he realized he wanted to shut Frey’s mouth with his own mouth. Repeatedly. With tongue. Which he had, and now he was sitting there wondering how complicated it was going to be to pack everything up and start over.

“Bankruptcy?”

Renato let out a tired sigh. “If I was bankrupt, I wouldn’t quit this job and take a gamble on a private practice.”

Ajish shrugged. He’d never be in the same position Renato was. He’d work, and then he’d retire to some island somewhere with his wife and kids—or whatever his family dynamic looked like. Renato felt like a complete ass for not really knowing. He’d never bothered to let any of his coworkers close. The only reason Foster knew anything about anything was because he was a persistent bastard who didn’t care about boundaries.

And Renato was grateful for that now, but it didn’t help assuage the guilt that he’d treated everyone a little bit like shit.

“Oh, now, what’s that look?” Ajish asked.

Renato rubbed his hands down his face. “I’m a bastard, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but we love that about you.”

Renato shot him a flat look. “No one loves that about me.”

Ajish chuckled. “Not so sure about that, but if that’s what you need to tell yourself to sleep at night, be my guest.” He tapped the table lightly, then stood up. “I need to run, but hey, if you need an ear or anything…”

“Thank you,” Renato said, where a month ago, he might have told Ajish to fuck off because he didn’t need anyone. Growth, he supposed, or something like it. Whatever it was, it was going to feel bad before it felt better, and he still needed to figure out how he was going to tell Frey.

And how it might just change everything.

Renato sat outside of Frey’s house for so long he was afraid someone might panic and call the cops. He probably looked like a stalker, so he finally forced himself to climb out of the car and walk up to the door. He was invited, which was some comfort to him, and the fact that Frey let him over felt…big.

Important.

Because it wasn’t just for dinner this time. Granted, Rex wasn’t home, so it wasn’t like Frey was ready to tell his son that he was seeing someone, but baby steps mattered when it came to these sorts of things. And it didn’t help that Renato had never planned to have his own kids or date anyone who did, so he had no idea what was right and what was wrong.

His fingers were trembling just slightly as he raised his fist to knock. Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately for his nerves—he didn’t get the chance. Frey whipped the door open, and Renato went tumbling past the threshold. Luckily, Frey was strong enough to catch him, and Renato let out a small laugh as he was hauled up, then shoved against the wall and kissed breathless.

“Fuck, I needed this,” Frey murmured against his lips.

Renato groaned and wrapped his arms around Frey’s waist. He did too. Desperately. Everything felt off-kilter, and there was no way to really fix it. He would just have to learn to live with his choices. But kissing Frey, holding him close, was a reminder why Renato wanted to do this.

No, why he needed to do this.

It would be a cleansing fire.

“You okay?” Frey asked as he tilted his head back.

Renato nodded and chased another kiss, but Frey wouldn’t give it to him. After a beat, he dropped his head back against the wall. “Work is…complicated right now.”

Frey’s brow furrowed with worry. “Did something go wrong?”

“No, I…” He didn’t want to do this now. Tonight, yes, but he wanted a moment to just enjoy being with Frey. He had no idea how often they’d get time like this alone. “Can we eat?”

Frey snorted and nipped at his jaw before dropping his arms and stepping back. “Yeah. I got sandwiches. Italians eat sandwiches, right?”

Renato scoffed as he followed Frey into the dining room and saw two subs rolled up in white butcher paper. “I’m not some sort of alien. You know this, right?”

“Europeans are into super different stuff. Y’all put butter on your bread with lunch meat.”

Renato growled softly as he sagged Frey by the waistband of his sweats and hauled him in for a kiss. “There are plenty of things that don’t seem good until you try them.” He brushed his hand down Frey’s front and cupped him where he was half-hard. “Like sucking a man’s desk under his desk while he’s in a meeting with a nurse.”

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