Page 28 of Finding You

And then nothing.

Just as Kylen thought it was too much, his phone buzzed against his palm.

Dallas: You owe me a coffee for one that bad. See you Saturday?

Kylen: Coffee’s on me. See you then.

Chapter Eight

DALLAS

“You know you can’t just keep her whenever you feel like it.” Dallas was pacing his living room, raging pissed off, his phone to his ear.

Katie’s laugh wasn’t kind. “Tell it to the fucking judge. I don’t think he’s going to side with you on this. My mom is sick.”

“And I think any reasonable judge is going to wonder why you think bringing a baby to a hospital is the right move. She’s not even going to remember it.”

“My mom will. Sue me for more custody, or shut up.”

The line went dead, and Dallas collapsed onto his couch. He fought back the urge to scream or turn around and put his fist through the wall. He was pretty sure that wouldn’t earn him any favors if he had to endure some kind of home inspection for increased custody, so instead, he grabbed a pillow and bellowed into it.

His time with his daughter was both precious and so fucking short. He understood his ex did things simply to be cruel, but he couldn’t seem to catch a break. He regretted letting Katie pick her up that evening. He regretted believing her when she said it was just going to be a few hours.

It didn’t help that he was exhausted either. When Katie said she wouldn’t be back until morning, Dallas had spent the evening curled up on his couch reading article after article about sexuality.

Some things fit, and some things didn’t, and he was starting to feel like a freak. Then he’d come across this blog by a man who’d come out as greysexual, and suddenly, it was like pieces started falling into place. His story wasn’t exactly like Dallas’s. The man had been attracted to other men for most of his life, so he hadn’t dealt with a sudden change.

But he’d gone through everything else. Relationships falling apart because he didn’t see the point in sex the way other people did. Sudden bursts of wanting. Being able to get off easily by his own hand, but being touched by another person didn’t do it for him all the time.

People calling him a freak. Asking what was wrong with him. Thinking it was some sort of imbalance he should see a doctor for.

The guy was happy now. He was in a polyamorous relationship and satisfied in ways that Dallas so desperately wanted to be.

So maybe that was him. Greysexual. It rolled off his tongue and wrapped around him like a weighted blanket.

He just wished he had time to explore more and work on himself, but his actual job, his daughter, pressing custody issues, and now this thing with Kylen were taking over. And Kylen was making it worse because for the second morning in a row, Dallas woke up spent and sticky, humming all over from the fantasy of Kylen pinning him down and kissing the breath straight out of him.

His shower that morning was cold, and his rage at Katie had started a different kind of fire in him. It was one he needed to contain before he met with Kylen because the last thing he needed to do was show up like some pissed-off monster.

A small part of him wanted to cancel, but he did owe Kylen his time. He’d promised to be there for him, and in all honesty, this pretend boyfriend thing was a decent distraction from the chaos he knew was coming.

He wasn’t going to delay anymore. He was going to file for an amendment because he wasn’t going to stand for his ex taking over and ruining what time he had with Audra. So even if being in this farce with a man he couldn’t stop dreaming about might kill him a little, it was better than his current reality.

Grabbing his keys, he shot a text to Kylen and let him know he was on his way. He felt an answering buzz, but he ignored it as he cranked up his music and sang along until the café came into view. The parking lot was mostly empty, so he rolled into a spot and then took a few minutes to center himself before going in.

As he approached, he saw Kylen sitting in the far corner, nestled in one of the brown squashy chairs with a table in front of him. Dallas had been expecting him to bring Flora, but he supposed it made sense that he didn’t. They could have talked about this with Audra babbling away, but the five-year-old would have sold them out for sure.

His heart skipped a beat when Kylen looked up and smiled at him. He went hot in his middle in ways he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Fuck. He’d never felt that for a man before, but it didn’t feel strange.

It felt good. It felt right.

Just like he’d once felt for Katie, though that was an old, rusted echo now.

Running his fingers through his hair, Dallas crossed the room and took the seat beside Kylen. The man looked good, though tired, and his smile was a little strained. “How are you?” Kylen asked.

Dallas shrugged. “It’s been a morning.”

Kylen’s brows lifted. “Anything to do with your lack of baby?”

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