Page 18 of I've Got You

“Yeah.” I flushed. “I keep doing that recently.”

With a purse of his lips, Davis reached for his keys, his eyes still remaining on me. “Something we can chat about in the future.” He stepped past me and made his way to the doorway. The smile on his face as he looked over his shoulder was sweet and reassuring. “When you’re ready.” He winked, and I all but swooned at the gesture.

Quickly pulling myself together and telling my hardening dick to chill the hell out, I followed Davis out. Once he’d locked up, we headed down the street together, aware we were going in the direction of my place, but with no idea where he lived.

Davis’s snort drew my attention to him. I glanced over, and he was looking at his watch. Barely anyone seemed to wear a watch these days. The thought popped into my head, completely insignificant, but I liked that he did. “It’s not even ten.” A laugh fell from his lips and he angled to look at me.

My mouth curved into a smile. “I imagine you’re tired though, right, and barely get time to yourself.” It didn’t take a genius to work that out. As well as owning his own business and working full-time, he was also a single dad. I couldn’t imagine that would leave much room for anything else. The thought gave me pause. So why did he want to invest time in me?

“True that.” As if on cue, Davis yawned and covered his mouth. “Shit, sorry,” he said, just as a second yawn broke free.

Inevitably, I yawned after him and laughed. “They’re contagious.”

A snort was his answer.

“Do you live in this direction?” Living just a few doors away from Carter and Tanner, I figured he knew where I lived.

“No. The other side of town. It’s not far.”

My heart stumbled as a shot of adrenaline raced through me. He was walking me home. That’s what it meant, right? No one had ever walked me home, but then why would they have? On the bullshit dates I’d had over the years to ensure I portrayed the dutiful son expected of me, I’d dropped the women home as soon as I could get away with it. Even my college friends and some work colleagues I saw socially never made the effort, apart from perhaps me being dropped off first when sharing a cab.

Yet again, another simple and seemingly insignificant thing made it impossible not to like Davis even more. Not that there was anything wrong with that, I didn’t think. He had a child, but we could be friends—at least to start. Things didn’t have to be complicated, and for the first time ever, I saw the possibility of a future, one that didn’t involve hiding and getting blown in the restroom of seedy gay bars, which admittedly happened once.

“I really should take advantage of having no responsibilities tonight and not having to deal with a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call from Libby, but the house feels crazy empty.” Davis looked at me as we crossed the street and continued on. “Is it all levels of pathetic if I crash at Tanner’s?”

Amused, I shook my head. “Not pathetic. A bit crazy for not taking the opportunity to sleep in maybe, but I get it.”

“You do?” He paused the briefest of moments before saying, “Ah, your sister, right? Did you say she was a single mom?”

I hadn’t. I’d been too distracted by learning more about Davis’s situation. “No.” I shook my head then looked both ways as we crossed another street. While the night sky was pitch-black, a splattering of stars lit the way, and the moon was high and bright. It was one of the things I liked about living in this small town. It had none of the light pollution of cities. “She may as well be though.”

“Oh?” Davis’s arm brushed mine. The touch was brief, but I felt the moment’s warmth.

“Yeah, I’m sure she would’ve divorced Stan if it wasn’t for my dad. Her husband is a waste of space and does jack shit to help her or the kids. Plus he’s away all the time.” Guilt slammed into me. I’d been a crappy brother. I loved my sister, and especially my nephews, but I hadn’t been present in their lives. Not only was that due to the distance of the past few months, but when I had lived just a short thirty-minute journey away, I’d been so involved with my own issues, not only my sexuality but keeping as far away from my dad as I could manage without being called out for it, that I hadn’t supported her either.

“That sucks. Are you close?”

I blanched. At one point we had been fairly close, but things had changed when we were teenagers. It hadn’t stopped me from loving her though. I really had to call Jenna. “Once,” I admitted. “I’d like to be again.”

When my eyes landed on Davis’s, I saw no reproach, no judgment, nothing but simple curiosity, as if he were trying to figure me out. I understood that. If I told him I actually enjoyed a simple life, I was sure he wouldn’t believe me. My past made that tricky to swallow. But to me, nothing about my life seemed simple these past thirty-two years.

“That’s good,” he finally said as we turned the corner to my street. “Reconnecting with someone you clearly love has to be the right thing to do.”

While he was right, I couldn’t hold back my grin. “You also a trained therapist as well as a business owner and chef?”

Davis chortled. “Nah, this is just my inability to keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself. You know”—we slowed down as we drew closer to my gate—“I wouldn’t be offended if you told me to fuck off.”

My brows lifted.

“Okay,” he chuckled, “I may be a bit offended and tell you no, but it’s okay to shut me down and tell me you don’t want to talk about it. Honesty, right?”

I thought back to our earlier conversation in the bar. I could be honest, and wanted to be, especially with myself. “No telling you to eff off tonight, so you’re in no danger.” Stopping outside my gate, I turned to face Davis. He wasn’t so close that I could feel his warmth, but if I reached out, my hand would touch skin.

“Good to know.” I could barely make out his eyes in the darkness and had forgotten to leave on the porch light. But between the stars and the moon and the streetlights, his smile was bright and genuine. When he continued to speak, I exhaled a relieved breath. I didn’t want awkward or weird. “Right, thanks for the company.”

“Thanks for the cakes,” I quickly added.

“No problem. So I’ll see you for coffee this week.” It wasn’t a question. “Now I’m going to be a sad, overprotective father and go and sleep in Tanner’s spare bed.” With a grin, he held out his hand, and I happily gripped it and shook.

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