Page 9 of Disciplinary Action
Gideon chuckled. “You forgot old, crotchety, and set in my ways.”
“You aren’t that old. I’m pretty sure you’re still younger than my father.”
“Where is your father?” Gideon pressed, not sure why he was still asking questions.
There was no room in his life for a boy like Cal, no matter how beautiful or eager to please he seemed. Gideon couldn’t be that person for him. He couldn’t be his Grant. He had a hard enough time just being Gideon.
“Last I heard, Club Fed.”
Gideon’s brows ran toward his hairline. “Your father’s doing time in prison? Let me guess…tax evasion?”
The boy gave a humorless laugh. “Something like that.”
Cal scooted closer, his lower lip trapped between his teeth, like he expected Gideon to chastise him. He was like a stray puppy just waiting for somebody to beat him or kick him out into the rain. It was getting late…or early, depending on how one looked at it. He’d asked all his other...dates…to go long before now, but he just wasn’t ready to end this. Not yet. “Are you hungry?”
Cal snorted. “I’m nineteen. I’m always hungry.”
Something occurred to Gideon then. “Do you have your insulin with you?”
Once more, the boy’s gaze slid away from him. “At my apartment. It’s fine. I’ll check as soon as I’m home and dose then.”
The boy was lying, but Gideon let it go. He went to the fridge and paused. “How do you feel about day-old Chinese food?”
“It’s my favorite.”
“Can you use chopsticks?” Gideon enquired.
“Duh,” Cal muttered.
Gideon returned to the bed, handing a pair of black lacquered chopsticks to the boy before twisting his hand in his hair and tugging his head back. “What was that, brat?”
Cal swallowed hard, but there was a sparkle in those moss green eyes when he said, “Duh…Daddy?”
Gideon laughed. “That’s better.”
A large carton of vegetable lo mein from the restaurant across the street was all Gideon had left. He tilted the container towards Cal. The boy glanced up from under those long dark lashes, like he thought it was a trick. Gideon rolled his eyes and dipped his chopsticks into the container, pulling free the noodles and holding them in the air. “Open up, little bird.”
Cal flushed but did as Gideon commanded, laughing as a noodle attempted to escape before he slurped it into his mouth and chewed. Once he swallowed, Gideon tilted the carton towards the boy again, and this time, he captured the noodles and vegetables. He didn’t eat them but offered them to Gideon. “Open up, Daddy.”
Gideon’s heart seemed to fall offline, but he did as Cal asked, taking what he offered. They spent the next twenty minutes feeding each other bits of noodles until they finished the container. Cal flopped back onto the bed, rubbing his now protruding belly. “I have a food baby,” he exclaimed before seeming to remember himself.
Gideon set the carton on the table and rolled onto his stomach, kissing Cal’s belly. “Still sexy.”
The boy giggled, and Gideon couldn’t help but grin. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so comfortable around another person. He had never sat around eating cold noodles naked with anybody, not even Grant. He pressed his ear to the boy’s belly. “I think I felt it kick.”
“Ugh, if you keep pressing on it, I’m gonna puke,” Cal promised.
Gideon rolled a bit until his head rested on the boy’s thigh. Cal pushed his fingers through Gideon’s hair, looking down at him like he was trying to memorize his face.
“Take a bath with me?”
Gideon wasn’t sure who was more surprised by the request. He had no idea what he was doing, but he was having fun, and he wasn’t ready for it to end.
“Okay, but you’re gonna have to carry me.” Gideon rolled to his feet and scooped the boy up into his arms in a bridal carry. “I was kidding. You’ll throw out your back, old man,” Cal cackled.
“Oh, yeah?” Gideon said, shifting the boy until he hung over his shoulder, swatting his abused bottom with just enough force to cause the boy to yelp. “That’s what you get for being a smart mouth.”
The boy groaned. “You’re going to kill our food baby.”
