Page 57 of Finding You

Dallas jolted just as he was turning off the water. Sweetheart? Still? “In here. Just got out of the shower.” He reached for a towel and froze when the door swung open, and Kylen walked in.

“Oh, good. I was going to tell you to—oh.” Kylen’s gaze snagged on Dallas’s midsection, then slowly moved down before he snapped out of it. He slapped his hand over his eyes. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”

Dallas wrapped the towel around his waist as he closed the distance between them, and he tugged Kylen’s hand down, rolling his eyes. “You can look at me. You’ve had my dick in your hand.”

Kylen swallowed heavily, and his lips twitched upward. “Yeah. But you said?—”

“I said I needed time to think about commitment. I still like you. A lot. And I like that you’re turned on by me. I’m not sex-repulsed. It makes me feel good to know you find me attractive.”

Kylen let out a shaky breath. “Baby, attractive is not the word.” His hands lifted, hesitated, and then he ran a curled knuckle over Dallas’s abs. “But I don’t think we have time to explore anything right now. It’s ten to seven.”

Dallas groaned as he leaned in and dropped his forehead against Kylen’s shoulder. “Today is going to be the worst.”

Wrapping his arms around Dallas’s waist, Kylen held him softly, rocking him back and forth. The motion was so soothing. “Why is today going to be the worst?”

“Because I have a meeting with a new lawyer about custody, and I asked everyone I know, but no one’s available to go with me. I feel like I’m going to fuck it up, and the guy’s going to laugh in my face and ask me to leave.”

“First of all, no he won’t. I’m sure he’s a professional. And you’re very smart, sweetheart.” Kylen used his grip on Dallas to ease him back. “Second of all, you didn’t ask me if I was free.”

Dallas blinked at him. “That’s…a big ask, considering we’ve only known each other a little while.”

“We’ve also made out in front of my sister, had sex in my bedroom, and you’re totally my fake boyfriend,” Kylen pointed out.

It sounded like a ’90s college rom-com. Dallas grinned at him in spite of the way Kylen’s words made his stomach swoop. “Okay, fake boyfriend. Are you free this afternoon to sit in a boring meeting while I talk about custody?”

“No.”

“I—”

Kylen burst into laughter. “I’m kidding. Yes, sweetheart. I’m free. Why don’t I pick you up at the school so you don’t have to worry about driving while you’re this stressed.”

Dallas wanted to cry. Very few people in his entire life had ever been this thoughtful. “Yeah?”

“Yes. We can have dinner with Flora and Dani afterward, and then if you need more company, we can hang. Flora’s with her for her last night tonight, so I’m still free.”

“And lonely?”

“No one ever warned me that I was going to miss the sounds of slime videos,” Kylen groaned.

Dallas laughed, then gave in to his urge and tipped Kylen’s chin up, kissing him. The laughter died on the edge of a moan, and Kylen swung his body in toward Dallas’s before stopping himself. He broke away with a gasp.

“Sorry.”

Dallas shook his head. “That’s on me. I’m…fuck, I don’t know. I guess we need boundaries, but every time I see you, I want to kiss you. And that feels selfish as fuck after what I said.”

“What you said was fair. You’re allowed to protect yourself after what you’ve been through. And I like kissing you. Kissing can be on the table.”

“Even without?—”

“Yes,” Kylen said. He lifted into his toes to close the tiny height difference between them. He leaned in and pressed his lips to the corner of Dallas’s mouth. “Even without. I told you, sex isn’t everything for me. I like this a lot more.”

Before Dallas could respond, Kylen turned on his heel and marched out of the room, leaving him to his swoony confusion.

“Whoa, where’s the fire?”

The last thing in the world Dallas wanted was to be stopped on his way out. The day had dragged, and he was fairly sure the kids had picked up on his anxiety because they’d been awful. Five of them had turned their cards to red, six to yellow—and one of those had been Flora, which had resulted in a meltdown because she didn’t like doing anything bad.

He’d struggled to make her do it too. He was terrified of what Kylen was going to say when he found out that Dallas had punished his daughter. Even if it was deserved. In the end, he’d cancelled their final math lesson and decided to have free play. He broke out the kinetic sand and the boxes of clay, and the kids who didn’t like those sensory activities were allowed in the reading corner.

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