Page 39 of Finding You

Flora could only use unscented soap and would only get in the water if it was tepid. She also had one specific towel she liked to use—no others. And, okay, she had issues with her socks, and he had to cut the tags off all her T-shirts. And she didn’t like things too loud or too quiet or too hard or too soft.

His mother called her spoiled.

Grace called her stubborn.

Kylen was starting to suspect it was something else, but he didn’t have the energy to think about it, and he certainly wasn’t going to delve further into it with his sister there. He couldn’t stand her judgment. He missed Dani fiercely. He missed the peace and quiet of his own home, where their routine hadn’t been disrupted.

“Does your boyfriend think something’s off?” Grace asked, putting the salad on the table.

Kylen felt his stomach swoop at the mention of Dallas. “That’s none of your business.”

She smirked at him, and he turned away from her, grabbing the chicken out of the oven and setting it to the side. It was perfectly brown, slightly crusted with spices—his sister hated it that way, but he’d made himself a promise to stop eating unseasoned beige dinners as soon as he was capable of cooking for himself.

“Can you please get the plates down?” he asked her in the tense silence. As Grace moved toward the cabinet, the doorbell rang, and Kylen damn near jumped out of his skin. He shook the nerves from his hands as he moved into the living room and glanced over at Flora, who hadn’t moved from her spot.

That was a blessing because once she realized Dallas was there, she was going to want all his attention, and Kylen needed a moment. He needed several moments with Dallas.

Cracking the door open, he grinned and stepped out, closing it behind him.

“Secret meeting?” Dallas asked with a small smile.

Kylen went warm in his cheeks. “My sister’s picking a fight, and Flora’s refusing to eat anything but frozen waffles. It’s been kind of an evening already.”

Dallas’s face fell. “Oh, honey.”

Kylen swallowed thickly, then shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m glad you’re here. I just need you to be on my side right now.”

“I will always be on your side.” His promise hit Kylen deep, and then he lifted a hand and cupped it around the side of Kylen’s neck, giving him an out-of-body moment. “What can I do right now?”

It took Kylen a good ten seconds to regain his composure. “Just don’t let my sister get to you. And don’t judge me too hard for letting my kid eat crap.”

“Frozen waffles are fortified,” Dallas said. He stroked his thumb over Kylen’s pulse. “And your sister won’t get to me. I teach five-year-olds for a living. There’s little she could say that will hurt me worse than when they come after me. You should have heard them when I showed up to work with green socks.”

Kylen let out a soft laugh and tipped his head forward, letting his head rest against Dallas’s chest. Maybe it was too much, but he supposed they needed to get used to some casual touches. He wanted this to feel natural. Grace would figure it out if it wasn’t.

“Come on,” Dallas said after a beat. “I can see Grace spying on us. She’s got her face in the window.”

“Waiting to see us kiss,” Kylen murmured, not looking over. When he realized what he said, he flushed. Hard. “Not that we should.”

Dallas hummed softly, then moved his hand to Kylen’s cheek. “I brushed my teeth.”

“I—oh.” Kylen bit his lip. “With mint-flavored stuff?”

“Yes. I outgrew bubble gum when I was six,” Dallas said, his face far too serious for that answer.

Kylen laughed again, but the sound died in his throat as Dallas leaned forward, then stopped. He was going to make Kylen meet him halfway. He was dying a little inside because this was not how he wanted their first kiss. He wanted something real. He craved Dallas’s lips, but only when they were desperate for Kylen’s.

And yet, he couldn’t stop himself.

He pushed up onto his toes, and their lips met in a lingering, soft, chaste kiss. Dallas’s mouth was plush and warm and so fucking tender it made Kylen’s toes curl. He wanted to deepen it, to taste him, to put his hands all over him.

Instead, he pulled back. His vision was a little blurry, and his heartbeat was too fast. Dallas’s hand lingered on his cheek, and there was something in his eyes, but it didn’t last.

Kylen lifted onto his toes again and murmured against Dallas’s ear, “First kiss with a man?”

Dallas cleared his throat softly. “First real kiss, yeah.”

“Out of ten?”

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