Page 70 of Gideon's Gratitude

I laughed softly. “Oh, I promise you that I’ll speak up if something doesn’t feel comfortable. I mean, I haven’t been with many people more than you, but I’m not feeling uncomfortable about this.”

“I’ve only ever been with Leo.”

Not a surprise.“And you might discover I’m too hot, or I snore, or I kick out in my sleep.”

“Do you do any of those things?”

“Well, my wife never complained.” And wasn’t that just the wrong thing to say? “We didn’t always share a bed. She was the restless one.”

Gideon slowly rose. “Yeah, I’ll go upstairs. I hope you’ll follow.” He ducked his head, turned, and left.

What have you done?

Nothing bad.

Offering comfort to someone in need didn’t always come easy to me. I could empathize with my clients, but often it went no further than that.

I rose slowly, cleaned the bones off Gideon’s plate to my own, and made my way to the kitchen.

Lucky watched me closely.

“You, dog, are not getting any.” I scraped everything into the compost, loaded the dishwasher and used dish soap to finally clean my hands. Messy, but delicious.

The dog rubbed against me.

“You need to go out?” This appeared logical since he’d eaten his kibble while we’d enjoyed our ribs. He hadn’t even begged.

A cocked head. Was that a yes, no, or you’re nuts? Better to be safe than sorry. I walked into the laundry room with the dog hard on my heels. In the end, being safe proved the prudent course. Upon his return, I toweled him off and he gave me a thorough tongue bath.

As I headed upstairs, he made to follow.

I shook my head and pointed to the dog bed in front of the fireplace.

He cocked his head.

Don’t back down.

Of course, Gideon might want the dog in his room. Who was I to decide?

Still, the dog wandered over to his bed, sniffed, and plopped down. Within moments, his eyes drooped.

You and me both, pal.

I hadn’t done anything particularly impressive today. Avoiding people didn’t count, and offering a shoulder was hardly noteworthy.Yet, I’m drained. Was looking forward to a good night’s rest.

After making my way to the bathroom, I did everything I needed to do, including locating the toothbrush I used the night before, grateful Gideon kept a spare around.

Do you know what you’re doing?

Frankly, no.

I played things off like this was no big deal. But, truthfully, this was a big fucking deal. For both of us. Uncharted territory. Somethingneither of us had done before. This felt perilous, though. Like one wrong move and the relationship would be irrevocably changed—and not for the better. In some ways, Gideon was stunningly fragile. Yet, at other moments, he showed great strength.

Admitting he was an addict took guts. Facing his children on a video chat took guts. Going to see a counselor took guts.

Wind slammed the rain against the tiny pane of glass. Yeah, trying to make it back to my hotel wouldn’t have been a great idea. Yet I didn’t regret taking Gideon to his appointment. And I’d enjoyed my time with Rainbow. Truly delightful woman. And Tiffany the yellow lab had been pretty cute as well.

Not as charming as Lucky, though. That little guy was slowly worming his way into my heart.

---