Page 73 of Born Daddy

Chapter Twenty

Tate glanced sideways at Rogan just as Rogan did the same. They both let out a small laugh. Getting out of the parking lot at Fenway Park was a long, slow crawl, which gave Tate some time to mull over what he and Rogan had discussed the day before. After spending an hour of painfully arousing research at several adult product sites, Tate had thought he was going to explode.

The pictures of the items weren’t the only part that was excruciating, it was also describing some of the more interesting features to Rogan that almost sent him over the edge. However, the afternoon had been thrilling for other reasons. Rogan was into it. Wanted to turn in his vanilla card.

So why can’t we have sex already?

Rogan’s voice startled him from his thoughts. “I’m sure you’re still full from the hot dogs and popcorn, but I’m not in the mood to cook later.”

“I can do it if you don’t want to, I don’t mind.”

“I mind.” Rogan glanced at him again with a lopsided smile. “This is a day off for us both. You got to go to your first baseball game and now we should go home and relax.”

Tate shifted on the seat, tugging at the shoulder restraint so it wouldn’t strangle him. “And…I can still spend the night?”

Rogan reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “Of course, sweetheart. Anytime you’d rather stay with me is fine.”

He wanted to stay with Rogan all the time from now on, but he wouldn’t share that tidbit of info yet.

“Thanks.” He smiled, letting out a happy sigh. “And you were right about the baseball cap and sunglasses. No one paid any attention to me at all.”

Being recognized out in public was always at the back of his mind. With Rogan, he felt safe, but he still hated the stares and hadn’t wanted anyone to cast a dark cloud over their day. He only cared about being with Rogan, and didn’t mind going to the game because it was something Rogan was so excited about. However, he became wrapped up in the thrill of the sport and the crowd and decided he wouldn’t mind going to more games in the future.

“It’ll get better,” Rogan said. “As the news reports of the murders become less and less, and other events grab the public’s attention, your association with Cam will no longer be of interest.”

In his heart, Tate knew Rogan was right, but he didn’t think he could stop being fearful until he was officially cleared by the investigators.

“So, what do you want to do for dinner then?”

“Honestly, I’d prefer something lighter after this afternoon’s decadence, but whatever my boy wants, we’ll get.”

Tate broke into a grin. He could already tell Rogan was becoming more comfortable with the idea of them being Daddy and boy.

“Can we stop and get a salad at the natural foods store? They have lots of other ready-made foods too—if you’re not a salad person.”

Rogan finally broke free of the parking lot and headed toward the Turnpike.

“Actually, that sounds like a great idea. And I’ve never been to that place before, so I wouldn’t mind taking a look around.” He gave Tate a quick peek before returning his eyes to the road. “Is that where you usually shop?”

“Not that exact one, there’s another store closer to where I live I can get to by bus.”

Tate scrunched up his nose at his choice of words. He didn’t want to refer to that horrible apartment as his place of residence. Of course, anyplace would be horrible if Rogan wasn’t there.

I’m falling hard.

He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t falling in love with Rogan. The difficult part would be not falling in love with him.

Rogan signaled then drove onto the Turnpike. “I figured you had to be shopping somewhere like that after I saw what you had in your fridge.” Rogan furrowed his brow. “Hey, should we stop by your place and grab anything you think might be expiring? I’d hate for you to have wasted money.”

Tate didn’t care about the money, and while he hated the thought of wasting food, he didn’t want Rogan to suddenly decide he should stay at his apartment. He knew he was being irrational, that Rogan wouldn’t do that to him, but he wasn’t willing to take the chance.

“No, that’s okay. We don’t need to do that.”

Rogan smiled and gave Tate’s knee a squeeze. “All right. We won’t go there.”

Tate bit his bottom lip. Rogan could tell what his thoughts had been, or at the very least, that Tate wasn’t concerned about the food.

After about twenty minutes, they arrived at the market. Tate followed Rogan around as he investigated all the aisles, giddy from how natural it felt to be doing something so mundane as shopping—like a real couple in love, living their day to day life and enjoying each moment together.

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