Page 7 of Leo, My Partner

Ty: Yes, but I’m usually off by six.

Me: I’ll pick you up at 7:30.

Ty: I’m sure you’re supposed to ask, right?

I chuckle. Ty doesn’t know me, but he’ll find out soon enough that I don’t waste my time asking questions when I know the answer.

Me: No need. What’s your address?

Instead of a text back, my phone rings for a FaceTime call. A flutter dances in my belly as I answer the phone.

“Hello, Ty.”

Instead of a standard greeting, a cute scowl crops up on his face. “Are you always like this?”

“Like…” My voice trails off so he can fill in the blanks for me.

“Demanding?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Does that bother you?”

He lets out a long-suffering sigh that has me chuckling. “It should, but no, it doesn’t. You’re set on taking me to dinner, huh?”

“Yep,” I answer honestly. I want to get to know Ty. I’ve already claimed him as mine. It would be nice to learn more about him besides that fact. “If you give me your address, I can pick you up on time.”

Ty shakes his head, a small smile on his face. “Leo, are you sure?”

“Surer than you know. Address, Tyshawn.”

“I’ll text it to you.” He chuckles. “You’re relentless.”

Smiling like a cat that ate the canary, I murmur, “You have no idea.”

Sighing once more, Ty tells me, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leo.”

He hangs up, and a few seconds later, a text with his address comes through.

I smooth down my jacket after I knock on the door of Ty’s apartment. It’s seven twenty eight. Our dinner reservation isn’t until eight, so we have time.

The door flies open, and I almost swallow my tongue. Holy fuck, Ty looks good. Like me, he has on a leather jacket over his blue button down shirt that almost matches his right eye and has on a pair of black skinny pants that meld to his body. I can see the definition in his toned legs, his thick thighs almost bursting the seams. I’m at the gym a lot, so I know when someone doesn’t skip leg day.

I’m not sure if he got a haircut between yesterday and today, but his fade looks fresh, and his clean-shaven face appears dewey. Like he has on?—

I reach out and thumb gently along his cheek. “You have on makeup.”

Ty lowers his head, a beautiful blush cropping up where I just touched him. “Yeah. Is that a problem? Some men don’t like when other men wear makeup, but ... I think it makes me look … pretty.”

Smiling slightly, I step into him, just inside the door of his apartment. “You’re pretty without it. But you look gorgeous.”

“Yeah?” His smile is brilliant, and fuck yeah, he looks good. More than pretty. He’s fucking beautiful.

I’m not going to think about the fact that Ty is the first man I’m attracted to in a sexual way. I don’t care. He belongs to me. Nothing else matters to me.

Tilting my head, I give him an easy smile. “Better than pretty, kotenok.” I thumb over his bottom lip that is slathered with clear gloss, his mouth looking plumper than it did yesterday. “Come. I have a reservation for us at Mama Bellas.”

The faint blush is still high on Ty’s cheeks. “Okay. Let me grab my keys and lock up. My roommate isn’t home, or he’d do it. He’s with his girlfriend. I think they went on a date or something. I’m not sure. It’s not like he checks in with me.” He turns around and grabs his keys from the coffee table. “I don’t ask him to, you know? He’s grown. It would be weird if he checked in with me.” I step back as Ty pulls the door closed, locking it behind us. “Even if I asked, I’m sure he’d tell me to shut up and …” He trails off, then his eyes widen. “God, I’m sorry. I’m rambling.”

“I like hearing you talk.”

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