Studying Stuart, I relaxed at the familiarwarmth he’d always radiated under his stern exterior. “I would love for you toshow me around. Thank you.”
Maybe this hadn’t been a bad idea afterall.
Chapter 2
Stuart
Where in the hell had the time gone?
As we walked away from the guys—who reallyhadn’t been terribly polite—I turned back to Asa. “I want to say you haven’tchanged a bit, but that wouldn’t exactly be fair.”
Asa scoffed, but I could see the gleam inhis eyes that said he liked my comment.
“Let’s go sit down first. I want to knowwhat you’ve been up to.” I bit back a sentence asking if he was okay with thatwhen he nodded immediately and seemed pleased with my decision…or maybe justthe fact that I’d taken charge.
There weren’t many options, so I led usover to a loveseat which would give us the most privacy. I had to remind myselfnot to touch him as we walked through the room. He wasn’t mine in any sense ofthe word. But even seeing him grown, he felt so familiar it was hard to keep agood perspective…and the way our knees pressed together as we sat didn’t helpany either.
Ignoring the pressure of his leg, I twistedjust enough to see him easier. “Can I ask about the past or would you rather Inot?”
He nodded, but I could see his body tensing.
I reached across the back of the couch andlaid my hand on his shoulder before I even thought about it. But Asa leanedinto my touch before I’d even started to apologize. “I’m sorry. Is this okay?”
“Yes.” He closed his eyes as I tightened mygrip. “I trust you and it feels nice.”
If grown Asa was still as careful as youngAsa had been, that statement meant something. “Let me guess, you haven’t beendating much, have you?”
He hadn’t made friends easily as a child,so I wasn’t surprised when he shrugged. “Do I need to give you another lectureon trying to make friends?”
That got a chuckle from him, but he keptleaning into my touch, so I continued to hold him tight as he finally explained.“Dating is not easy for a variety of reasons. Most vanilla guys seem to expectimmediate physical relationships without taking the time to build any trust,and the Doms I’ve talked to weren’t much better. Why in the world should I getnaked or let them touch me intimately if we’ve just met?”
I was suddenly getting a better idea aboutwhy he and Conner hadn’t worked well together. “I agree completely. Unlessyou’ve changed significantly, I can’t see you having a physical relationship orsubmitting to someone you don’t trust.”
Asa sighed. “I haven’t changed. Unless youmean changed as in I’ve gotten less trusting.”
His parents had truly fucked him up.
“What happened? You guys moved overnight. Iwent to a short convention over a long weekend, and when I came back, you weregone.”
I hadn’t been sure what to think or do.
Asa’s muscles tensed, but I just waited.The words finally came as I started massaging his shoulder with my fingers.“Someone called CPS. The screaming and the alcohol probably, but they both knewthey couldn’t pass a drug test, much less a CPS interview.”
He looked tired as he opened his eyes. “I assumedit was you at first because of the bruises you’d seen, but later they let slipit was one of the other neighbors.”
I couldn’t decide how I felt about that.“I’d considered calling them, but in the end, I went over and threatened yourfather. I simply told him that if he even thought about touching you again, I’dhide his body where no one would ever find it.”
Being there to see that Asa was safe hadseemed like a better idea than letting the government try to handle it.
Asa grinned. “Well, he must’ve taken thatto heart. Even after we moved, he never grabbed me again.”
“Really? I always worried I’d made thewrong call.” Growing up in foster care hadn’t given me a lot of faith in thesystem. I’d told myself I could watch over him better, but that hadn’t gone asplanned.
Shaking his head, he reached over andsqueezed my arm. “Never again. Even when he was completely fucked up on theweekends, he would avoid me.”
Relieved didn’t begin to describe what Iwas feeling. “What happened next?”
Asa relaxed more as he continued toexplain. “They managed to hold it together enough during the week for a whilethat we didn’t have to move too often, but by the end of middle school, we weremoving about every six months at the outside.”
