Finally, Alek stretches and pops his neck, murmuring something about needing to check some emails and going to bed early. I roll my eyes because I know that’s not true. It’s an obvious attempt to give Caleb and me some time alone, probably to talk our feelings out—gag—but I suppose I should appreciate that.
As he passes, his hand wraps around the back of my neck, thumb brushing over my pulse point, before leaning down to kiss me. With Caleb here, I’m expecting a quick peck. But this is Alek we’re talking about, a man who has no shame. It’s a long, languid kiss, his tongue gently flicking at the seams of my lips before he pulls away with a subtle wink. I blink up at him, dazed.
“I’m going to barf,” Caleb grits out.
“Do you want a kiss too, baby?” I theatrically pucker my lips in his direction, making a show of fluttering my eyelashes as Alek releases a low, throaty laugh.
“Stay the fuck away from me,” Caleb grouses, his eyes narrowing in warning, but I don’t miss the reluctant twitch of his lips.
Alek snorts, shaking his head before heading toward the hallway where his office is. Something like amusement and mirth dance in my chest, my lips spreading into a shit-eating grin. Unable to help myself, I make a show of smacking his ass as he passes. Caleb lets out an indignant squawk just as Alek whirls around, giving me a stern expression full of promised retribution. A small shudder runs through me, Alek’s lips curling into a self-satisfied smirk as he walks away.
Turning back to Caleb, I can’t stop the smile spreading from ear to ear. God, this is going to be so much fun. Now I can get him back for every time he’s ever given me shit. A thrill runs through me as I rub my hands together and open my mouth to taunt him.
“Whatever you’re about to say, don’t,” Caleb growls.
I ignore him. “So, you don’t mind if I call him Daddy, too?”
Approximately one second later, I’m being thumped in the face with a pillow. I grunt, releasing a booming laugh as I knock it to the floor.
“Oh, fuck off!” Caleb exclaims, but despite his irritation, there’s a spark of reluctant humor in his eyes.
Caleb whacks me with another pillow, which then escalates into an all-out pillow fight. We laugh, the rambunctious sounds echoing off the walls when we eventually tumble onto the floor with our arms locked around each other as we wrestle. Even when we knock a lamp over, Alek never comes to investigate. The mental image of him sitting in his plush office chair with those black-framed glasses pushed up his nose, his lips pulling into an amused grin as our ruckus filters down the hallway, makes me smile even harder. It takes us a while to calm down, partly because I keep egging Caleb on. Finally having everything out in the open with my best friend is so freeing. There’s a light, airy sensation in my chest as an understated, sort of quiet joy ripples through me.
When we finally settle down, righting the pillows and lamp, Caleb turns on the Xbox that somehow never made it back to his own apartment and silently hands me the spare controller. We play in amicable silence for nearly an hour, occasionally grinning over at one another. While we’re waiting for the screen to load between rounds, Caleb’s face turns pensive, and he finally speaks again.
“Just don’t hurt him, okay? I can be cool with this as long as you’re good to him. He’s…softer than he lets on. A lot of people have let him down. Don’t be one of those people.”
“Never,” I vow, slightly surprised when my throat constricts. Part of me wants to tell Caleb I would hate myself if I ever hurt his dad. I’ve done and said a lot of things I regret, but I refuse to add hurting Alek to that long list.
Caleb nods, shifting awkwardly next to me as the next game begins. My thumbs mash down the buttons on the controller, my gaze locked on the screen as I wait for the sudden awkwardness to dissipate. Caleb refuses to look at me, his jaw tense as the sound of our characters running floats through the speakers.
Finally, I can’t take the tension anymore.
“Maybe one day you can call me Step-Daddy,” I tease, immediately freezing when I realize the implication of my lame joke, the words somehow bypassing the mouth-to-filter function. With my attention diverted, my on-screen character immediately dies when I accidently let him run off the side of a cliff.
Caleb snorts. “Smartass.”
I chuckle quietly, my heart in my throat as I wait. Until…ah, there it is.Caleb gasps, his hand tightening over the controller as his wide eyes dart to mine.
“Wait, does that mean you love my dad? Like, you want to marry him and shit?”
I open my mouth to refute him, my initial gut reaction telling me howcrazythat is. Alek and I haven’t been together long enough to start throwing around words likeloveandmarriage.
Those are big, big words.
Clamping my mouth shut, I give my thoughts a little more consideration. Because doesn’t Alek deserve that courtesy? Caleb merely stares at me, not attempting to rush me, despite his slack-jawed expression. I take the time to examine my feelings, really examine them, leaving no stone unturned. I think about how utterly safe I feel with Alek. How, in the past month, his arms have become my home, my peace. Staying in his home was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, a way to put some distance between me and my monsters, but neither one of us have mentioned that fact.
Now that I know what it feels like to be in Alek’s orbit, I have no desire to leave, and I doubt I ever will.
In the end, the realization isn’t all that frightening. Actually, I think this was inevitable, because this is Alek we’re talking about. Warmth swells in my chest, my lips pulling into a soft, peaceful smile.
Of course, I’m in love.
How could I not love him?
Luke
Bobbing my head, I hum along to pop music blasting through my headphones. Alek finally relented, deeming my training complete and, grumbling his displeasure as he helped me carry my computer to my own cubicle on the main floor. With a smirk, I peer over my shoulder at the darkened office. He made sure to pick the cubicle that’s within direct sight of his office when the door is open.Because, of course he did.
