Page 40 of On The Run

That never failed to make me feel all gooey inside. I knew there would be a time when he was too cool to say it, so I was going to devour every moment I could when he still wanted to spend time with me and openly show me affection.

I flicked his lights off and was just about to slip out of the room when I heard his little voice, heavy with sleep, call, “Dad?”

I turned around to look at him. “Yeah, bud?”

“I really like Aiden being here.”

I smiled softly. “I really like it too.”

Gray sat partly up, resting on his elbow. “Will he be here more often?” Even Gray sounded hesitant, like if he put it out in the universe, he’d somehow jinx it. I swallowed hard, wondering how to answer. Gray was an extremely perceptive kid. I knew he picked up on how skittish Aiden could be.

Finally, I decided on honesty. “I don’t know, bud. I hope so though.”

“Yeah, me too. He makes you less lonely, which makes you happy. I like it when you’re happy.”

I cleared my throat as my emotions threatened to take over. “I’m not lonely, Gray.” It was a lie, but I didn’t want him to think he wasn’t enough for me—because he was. No matter what happened between Aiden and me, or anyone else I may date, it would always be Gray and me, and he needed to know he came first no matter what.

Gray fixed me with an unimpressed look, one that was so much like a tiny version of my own that it was startling. “Dad, it’s ok to want other people in your life besides me. I know grown-ups need other grown-ups sometimes that will listen to them complain and talk about boring stuff.”

I was so taken aback by his statement that I couldn’t hold back the laughter. Instead of being offended, Gray started laughing too, and soon I was doubled over I was laughing so hard, tears threatening to spill out.

Once I got myself together enough, I walked back to the bed and got Gray settled back in. “You’re a smart kid, you know that?”

He nodded sagely. “I know.”

Shaking my head, I gave him another kiss on his cheek, messing up his curly hair with my hand. “Ok, oh brilliant one, it’s time for bed now.”

Gray sighed, put out, but settled back onto his pillow. “Night, Daddy.”

“Good night.”

I got up and left the room, softly closing the door behind me before Gray could stop me again. As soon as the door was shut, I leaned against the wall, giving myself a minute to get my thoughts together.

I needed to get back to Aiden before he thought I was avoiding him, but one thing I’d learned in the last few weeks was that I needed to be steady when approaching him—the last thing I was right now. Honestly, I hadn’t been that way since my feelings started to change for the man. He was always keeping me on my toes, wondering what land mine we would hit next, and it was as exhausting as it was exhilarating. I’d never felt consumed by another person like this before, and it fucking scared the life out of me. But I was willing to take the risk.

Finally, I was calm enough to walk back downstairs. Once I was out of my thoughts enough to notice my surroundings, I realized that it was eerily silent. Panic coursed through me as I barreled down the steps. Did he leave?

The kitchen was completely clean when I burst in, but there was no sign of Aiden. Fuck. “Aiden!”

I shouted like I had this giant house that would take me ages to find him. Silence.

“Aiden! Are you in here?” I called again as I glanced in the empty living room before walking into the family room/office.

Most of the house was open concept. However, the previous owners had added a family room that was a step down from the rest of the home. They had added a sliding divider wall to give that room some privacy, presumably to block the sound from traveling through the rest of the house if they were watching a movie with the surround sound they had set up. When we weren’t in it, I usually had the divider half closed, which blocked off the side of the family room that I had my makeshift home office in. I walked past the divider and had one foot down the step when I froze.

Aiden’s back was turned toward me, but I knew he heard me. He was partially bent over my desk that was pushed up against the far wall, a stack of papers in his hand.

Dread filled me as I slowly walked into the room. I already knew what he was looking at without needing to see it. I had completely forgotten I left them out on the desk when I went to work today, so caught up on all things Aiden.

“Aiden?” I asked hesitantly. I was caught between annoyance he was going through my stuff and guilt and terror of what his reaction would be.

Aiden turned around slowly, still holding the papers. He met my eyes but his were blank. I couldn’t tell if he was angry, upset, sad, whatever. He had his expressions completely masked.

He held up the papers. “I wasn’t intentionally snooping,” he started, admitting his own wrongdoing in this fuckup. “I came in here to wait for you because of the fireplace and then realized my phone was dying, so I went to look to see if you had a cell phone charger somewhere on the desk. These were lying right on top.”

Aiden swallowed hard and for a split second, I saw a flicker of emotion pass across his face before it went blank again. “Max, what are these? Why do you have applications for medical grants with my father’s name on them?”

Chapter19

---