Page 51 of The Husband Game

“Thanks.”

“Do you want some coffee instead?”

Charlie shook his head. “No, I never drink it.”

“Okay. If you want, I can give you a quick tour of the kitchen now?” Dustin offered. “I want you to feel free to help yourself to anything, but my organization probably makes no sense to you. Mostly because there isn’t any. I sort of threw stuff in cabinets and drawers when I moved here and haven’t done anything with it since. Feel free to switch stuff around if you want. I really don’t care.”

“Sure, a tour would be good.”

Charlie followed along as Dustin showed him where things were, mentally taking notes of what he’d change.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make you something for breakfast?” Dustin asked when they were done.

“I’ll grab an apple and some cheese or something.”

“Will that be enough?”

“Oh sure,” Charlie said brightly. “I eat lightly throughout the day. It’s what I’m used to and the protein from the cheese will keep me going for a while.”

Dustin’s brow furrowed but he nodded and stood. “Sure. Grab whatever you’d like and I’ll slice it up for you.”

“Thanks.” Charlie rummaged in the refrigerator, coming up with a block of cheese, his stomach twisting with nerves as he set it on the counter near the cutting board Dustin had pulled out.

He hadn’t considered how much time he and Dustin would be spending together. Sure, once the season got going, Dustin would be gone a lot. But for a while at least, they’d be running into each other frequently. This was a big house, but he couldn’t avoid Dustin completely during the off-season.

Charlie was used to having a roommate, but Taylor knew everything about him. Knew what his eating habits were like, knew why he avoided coffee and chose tea instead. But he could hardly tell Dustin his eating disorder had weakened his heart. Charlie had lived on black coffee for years as a skater. It had kept him full and given him energy.

But most of all, it had suppressed his appetite.

That was one of the first tricks his mom had taught him.

“Here you go.” Dustin held out a plate with a sliced apple and cheese. Charlie blinked. Shit. It was easily twice what Charlie would be able to choke down in a single sitting for breakfast on his best day.

This was going to be tricky.

“Yum, looks great,” he managed. “Thanks.” He reached for a slice of apple, nibbling on it.

He wanted to eat, but it was difficult with someone watching. His throat was tight and he felt oddly exposed, like Dustin was staring. Judging everything he put in his mouth.

“Um, so I know you probably have a pretty strict diet, right?” Charlie asked.

Dustin shrugged as he took a seat at the counter again. “I’m not super intense about it like some guys, but yeah, during the season I have most of my meals delivered. They’re prepared by a personal chef service the team partners with. I get meals that meet all of my nutritional needs. If you let them know what you need, I can add you to it. I mostly cook for myself in the off-season though. Be warned, I’m pretty boring. Lots of grilled chicken. I don’t have a big repertoire of what I’m good at making. Matty cooks for me a lot.” He shrugged.

“What if I took over the cooking?” Charlie offered. “I could follow your diet plan and make sure you’re hitting all of your macros.”

Dustin glanced up. “Oh, you don’t have to.”

“What if I wanted to?” He held his breath.

“I mean, sure, that would be fine,” Dustin said slowly. “I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“I like to cook,” Charlie said lightly. “It’s not a hardship.”

It would be so much easier for him.

He’d been working with a nutritionist and therapist on something called intuitive eating. Learning to trust his body to tell him what he needed. It was tricky because his hunger cues were all fucked up. Most of the time his body had told him not to eat. And when he was stressed, it got even worse.

But when he cooked, he knew what was in each dish and it was easier to talk his body into accepting it.

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