Page 53 of Choke Hold

EIGHTEEN

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ty this peaceful.

Probably because he’s asleep, but still.

The filtered sunlight coming in through my bedroom curtains highlights his perfect cheekbones, and his soft breaths fill the space between us as I sit in bed and watch him. I’ve never done this before, as I never see him sleeping since he wakes up at the ass crack of dawn. And something about this is just so… comforting. To see him in a state of complete relaxation, with no tension or worry.

I push the blankets back to get up and make coffee, but Ty immediately stirs, his dark eyes opening as he sleepily looks up at me. Of course, even after an all-nighter full of baking he’s still a light sleeper.

“Morning, sunshine.” I smile down at him.

But his brow furrows, and the tension makes its way back in as he sits up, looking confused as he glances at the window and takes in the daylight shining through.

“Coffee cake?” I ask.

“What time is it?” he asks, rubbing a hand over his face.

I shrug. “Don’t know. Late enough to have missed Saturday morning cartoons.”

He pushes the blankets back and gets up, heading out of the bedroom.

I chuckle and follow him into the kitchen, watching his ass in his boxers the whole way.

He finds his phone among the mess of baking supplies and bowls on the counter, and immediate panic takes over his features. “It’s 1:30 in the fucking afternoon.”

“Hm,” I stretch my arms over my head, “early. Could have used a few more hours.”

He glares at me. “We just wasted an entire fucking morning.”

“It’s not the end of the world,” I say with a chuckle. “I’m sure you had many sleepless nights and sleepy days in your wild era. And here you are, A-OK. Bad decisions are allowed sometimes.”

Ty continues to stare at me for a moment. “You think a night spent chasing a high is comparable to a night spent baking?”

“No,” I say with a shrug, and a smile. “But see? Not a big deal.”

He sighs, tossing his phone back on the counter and turning towards the coffee maker.

I take one more glance at his ass before reaching for my phone as well. And my heart immediately sinks, my good mood snapped away in an instant. Two missed calls from my dad, and a voicemail. For fuck’s sake.

“Luca.”

My eyes lift to Ty as he eyes me. “Hm?”

“Did you get more coffee filters?”

“Oh, yeah.” I point to the cupboard behind him.

But he doesn’t move to get them, instead pointing to my phone. “You going to tell me what just happened?”

“Guess,” I say, rubbing a hand over my face.

When I drop my hand, Ty is still standing before me, a look of uneasiness about him. And I can’t help but smile. I know he wants to help, but I also know he has no idea how. And hey, I don’t either. So, fuck it. All I do know is that I want to keep riding the high we had last night from baking together. If my parents want to keep nagging me and being a pin in my side, or a thorn in my head, or whatever it is, then they can go for it. I’ll just keep holding them off a bit longer. I’ve been doing it for twenty-six years, what’s another few weeks.

I close the distance between me and Ty and poke him in the head. “Let it go. Stop thinking.”

He dodges another poke from me, shooting me an annoyed look. “It’s obviously still bothering you. And if I can help…”

I smile as he trails off, a look of vulnerability about him as he tries to figure out what to do.

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