Page 75 of Tameron

I could see his right ear pink slightly. “Yeah. Sorry. Uh…I should have texted first, or?—”

“What? No. Sweetheart, you can call me whenever you want. It’s fine.” I frowned. “You got your captions on, or do you want me to sign?”

“I have captions on, and it’s connected to my hearing aid. It’s good to hear your voice,” he added softly.

My chest went warm. “You doing okay? It’s been a while.”

He shook his head, and I knew he wasn’t dismissing my question. “Things have been a lot lately. Uh…I…yeah. Can we talk?”

My heart immediately dropped to the pit of my stomach. I knew what that meant, and frankly, this had been a long time coming. I had just hoped it wouldn’t be so soon. “Yeah. Yes. Of course. Whatever you want.”

He blinked, then rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, Day. No. I’m—this isn’t—I don’t mean we need to talk. I mean,canwe talk? I’m working really hard on letting people in, and I’d like to include you in that.”

Relief hit me so hard it made me dizzy. “Shit, sorry. It was a bad night. I didn’t mean to jump to conclusions.”

At that, he looked torn. “Let me come over and cook for you. Is Dax there?”

I actually had no idea. “Hang on, let me check.”

Rolling off the bed, I stretched, scratched my balls through my sweats, and then shuffled out into the living room, where I hit the switch that would flash all the lights in the house. I waited a moment, but I was met with silence and stillness. “I think he’s out. Probably at my parents whining about his hand.”

Tameron pulled a face. “I heard it was bad. I wasn’t there when it happened, but the guys told me he won’t be back for a while.”

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “If you ask him, it’s a harrowing injury that nearly took his life. He didn’t break anything though. Just some bruised bones and stitches in his pinky where it got jammed in the hinge.”

Tameron winced hard. “You’d think I’d take hearing about injuries better than this, but I swear the idea of pinching my fingers like that makes me feel like I’m getting kicked in the dick.”

I burst into laughter. God, I was so gone for him. “I’d take care of you if it ever happened.”

His face softened, and he let out a sigh. “I know you would. Um…is he okay though? I mean, can he sign?”

“Not well, but he’s always been a lazy fucker anyway,” I said with a wink. “Trust me, he’s just fine, and eventually, you’ll learn to do it too.” I moved back into the bedroom. If I was going to seeTameron for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t want to look like I’d pulled a body out of a burning car.

Even if that was exactly what had happened. My stomach twisted a little at the memory, and I shoved it aside.

“Day?”

“Mm.”

“You okay?”

He was too good at reading me. “Like I said, rough night. But I want to focus on you, okay?”

He hesitated for a beat, then nodded. “Can we, uh…can we do voice-off again?”

‘Of course,’ I signed quickly.

He grinned. “Not now. I have things I want to say, and I need…I need my voice to say them.”

“Of course,” I repeated aloud. “Anything you need. You know that, right?”

“I’m starting to get it, yeah.” He bit his lip, then said, “So,canI come cook for you?”

“Oh, sweetheart?—”

“I know what you’re going to say. You don’t need me to do that. But I can tell you’ve been through it. Let me do this for you, okay? It’s kind of my current love language, and I want to be there if you’re having a rough time. You’ve done so much for me, and I feel like I haven’t been doing enough.”

“You have, but I won’t say no to a home-cooked dinner,” I told him. I stroked the side of my phone with my thumb, wishing it was him. “See you soon?”

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