Page 28 of Colin

I grunted. That did sound like something Phillip would tell him to do, and shame on me for not expecting it.

“In my defense, you should have come after me yourself or waited for me to come out. Sending a stranger in to see how mad I was? Low.”

“He’s not a stranger to me.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes. You’re right.” I sighed. “I should have known better, but I was afraid you would have run off.”

“I don’t run off. But. I’m also not going to let you control me. Like I said. I need to be independent. Pay bills. Be responsible. When you treat me like I’m not, I question if I’m doing the right thing. Maybe I should move out and give you back the car.”

“No.”

“See…” he held up his hand.

“I respect everything you said. I understand needing to pay your way. But we’re in different situations. I can give you, well, practically anything. So, if I want to help, let me. I do understand the difference between helping out and taking over. Except for letting other people put their hands on you. That’s never going to be okay for me.”

“I would be okay with that if we were in a relationship. Are we in a relationship?”

“Yes.”

“And how exactly are we defining that?”

“You can call it whatever you want, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re my boy. That means committed, monogamous. Call it boyfriends if you want. Does that work?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then, the next thing to discuss is the living situation. I think you should move in here. With me.”

“No.”

“Why?” I put my coffee down and rolled on top of him. He sipped on his with a smile. “Colin? Why?”

“It’s too soon. I’m good with everything but that. Right now, I need to keep some privacy. A retreat. My own space. Call it whatever. I’m not ready to give that up.”

“Okay.” I rolled back over and put my head on his thigh. “For now.”

Chapter nine

Colin

I’ll be the first to admit going in to work this lousy shift that barely covered rent and gas sucked. I could actually be living it up at Rourke’s. But I’d also feel like a crappy person. I piled the last of the to-go boxes on the storage shelf, then grabbed my box cutter to open the order of Columbian coffee we received earlier.

“Hey, Turtle. Why the grumpy face?” Andy grabbed a stack of large cups. They always moved the fastest.

“Not grumpy. Honestly, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, but I still feel like a freeloader.”

“That’s stupid. He wants you there. Right? What did he say when you got home?”

I smirked. Couldn’t help it. “Before or after he gave me the best orgasm of my life.”

“Well, way to go, Turtle-Dove.”

“Yeah.” I put the box cutter on the counter. “I guess we’re boyfriends now. I like that. I like him. A lot. Maybe too much.”

“Sounds like everything’s perfect.”

“Almost.” I shoved the box with my foot, not wanting to unpack it but knowing I would.

---