Page 56 of Finding You

“You say that now, but…”

Bowing his head, Kylen nodded. “I understand. I do. I can tell you that I’ve basically been celibate for the last seven years, and you still won’t trust me because if I had the chance to not be, I would have taken it.”

“Yes,” Dallas whispered.

Kylen looked up into his face again. “Then all I can ask is that you give me a chance to prove it.”

Licking his lips, Dallas gaze cut his gaze away. “I want to, but I need time. I don’t think I can let myself have this and be crushed by losing you.”

Kylen hated that answer, but only because life had ruined Dallas so badly that he had nothing left in him for trust. He couldn’t be mad at him, of course. He understood in more ways than one what it was like to be beaten down by others just because he didn’t fit into the status quo.

So what he could do was offer patience.

Taking Dallas’s wrists, he brought his hands up and pressed two soft kisses over each set of his knuckles. “Okay.”

Dallas raised a brow. “Okay?”

“Yes, sweetheart.” Kylen smiled at him and squeezed his hands before letting go. “Take all the time you need. And we can even call off the fake boyfriend family thing. I’m not even speaking to them right now, and if I go, I can just tell them we split up.”

“No,” Dallas told him firmly. “I want to be there for you. If you don’t go, that’s fine, but if you do, you have me.”

Kylen wanted to kiss him again, but he had a feeling it would only complicate matters. So he slid off Dallas’s lap and swung his legs over the bed. “I need some water. Can I get you anything?”

“No, but…” Dallas trailed off, and Kylen walked over to his dresser to grab a pair of sweats as he waited for Dallas to finish his thought. Just as he pulled the hem over the curve of his ass, Dallas cleared his throat and said, “Is it better if I leave?”

Turning, Kylen met his gaze and shook his head. “I really don’t want to be alone right now. If you don’t mind.”

Dallas sagged back against the headboard, the relief on his face transforming the way he looked. “Really?”

Kylen walked back over to the bed and held out his hand, and Dallas took it. “Friends for now?”

Dallas closed his eyes and nodded. “For now.”

That was something. Not everything, but for that moment, it was enough.

Chapter Sixteen

DALLAS

Dallas had always had a nervous stomach, but it hadn’t been this bad in years. He woke in Kylen’s bed, in his arms, which was probably the best he was going to feel all day. He was smaller than Dallas, but he was strong, and he was warm and comforting. Dallas let himself linger there until Kylen began to stir, and then he rolled over and stretched as Kylen rubbed at his face and gave several jaw-cracking yawns.

“Breakfast?”

Dallas nodded, though the very idea of eating sent his stomach into a spin. He didn’t have long before he had to get to the school, and then after his day was over, it was right to the law office to see if he had a case against his ex.

He swore he could feel himself turning green.

Kylen didn’t linger, slipping from the bed and heading for the kitchen, and Dallas knew that was entirely his fault. He’d offered something to Kylen—something they both wanted—and then when Kylen asked for more, Dallas turned him down.

The worst part was it was the hardest no Dallas had ever given because the truth was, he did trust Kylen. His words had always been honest. What held him back was the fear that Kylen didn’t know himself as well as he claimed.

He had been trying to protect himself, but now as he lay there in Kylen’s bed, basking in the lingering scent of them together, he realized he’d be just as devastated now as he would in the future if he lost this man. So what was the point in holding off?

Shuffling into the bathroom, he turned on the shower, then relieved himself before stepping under the spray to give himself a quick scrub down. It was going to be torture, going through the entire day smelling like Kylen, but it would also be a comfort.

Knowing he was walking into the afternoon entirely by himself, he’d never felt so alone. His stomach twisted harder, and he fought the urge to sick up whatever was left in his belly from the night before.

“Hey, sweetheart?”

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