“Do you not like the robe?” he asked, baring a shoulder.
“I love the robe, Sky. I’ve just been so busy that I’m running on fumes these days.”
He shot me a sweet smile and rubbed my arm. “That why you haven’t called me in over a month?”
I nodded, then shook my head. “I’m also a little in my head about someone, if I’m being honest. Your text came in at the perfect time, and I thought it was a sign that I needed to…”
“Get over them?”
“Something like that,” I said, wishing I could throw myself into the fun that I usually had with him. Instead, I bent down and kissed his cheek. “Sorry for wasting your time, baby boy. I don’t think I can tonight.”
He gave me the cutest pout, even as his eyes held understanding. “Don’t worry about it, Maj. I’ve got my own situationship that I’m trying to get over. I hope everything works out as it should for you.”
I thanked him and kissed his hand before letting myself out of his condo. I hated disappointing him, but there was no way in hell I’d’ve been able to fuck him.
“Major, why do you look like you haven’t been laid in a year?” Leo asked, shaking his shiny new driver’s license in my face. “I thought you wanted to celebrate my becoming an adult.”
I’d stopped by Lupe to pick him up and take him into San Antonio for a day of shopping and movies.
Annoyed at his perceptiveness but trying to hide it, I joked, “Why are you asking about my sex life? Aren’t you a virgin?”
“No,” he said, ducking his head as he put away his license. “Well… I guess it depends on what you count.”
Ah,shit.
The guilt was instant. Aside from the fact that I shouldn’t have acted like his status was a joke, I’d somehow forgotten the years of abuse he’d endured before he arrived at Lupe.
Dammit, that was why he hadn’t wanted a big to-do for his eighteenth birthday in the first place. For years he’d never even known the actual date of his birth. The life he’d had with his parents was… Well, imagine the worst environment for a kid to be raised in, double that, and only then would you have a small glimpse into what could laughingly be referred to as his childhood.
So birthdays were tricky for him. He knew I had a weird history with birthdays as well—my parents weren’t messed up the way his had been, but their religious beliefs didn’t include many celebrations. It was why I’d been the one he’d chosen to spend this day with.
Way to fuck it up right out of the gate, Major.
“Leo,” I said, reaching for him. “I’m so sorry. I?—”
He cut me off with a wave of his hand. “It’s okay. There’s a lot of it I don’t remember anyway.”
I knew he was telling the truth, because he always did, and that was the most heartbreaking thing of all. I had no clue how he could be this sweet, affectionate person, given all that he’d been through.
He’d also basically taken over my apprentice program and coached our newbies through some of the basics of plumbing repair. The guy I’d chosen quit the first time he’d had to deal with the realities of a clogged toilet, while the two Leo had recommended were still going strong.
Surprising, but not.
Just the past weekend, he’d done a great job of getting his friends to show up at Walker’s classroom to test out building bunk beds as a project for the upcoming semester. Come to think of it, Leo had been the one to point out that Lupe needed better quality beds to begin with.
Seeing him in his element and thinking about how worried he’d been about his future, I’d already decided that he should come live with me. Now that I wasn’t doing business out of my house, I had plenty of room. I still had to talk to Ginger and Beckett about it, but for now I had to get our small celebration back on track.
“So,” I said, pulling him into a hug. “You ready to make my credit card weep?”
“Absolutely,” he said, nearly squeezing the life out of me. “And I plan on using your guilty conscience to ask for a pair of Jordan retros.”
Leo was wearing those Jordan retros a few days later when he and Ozzie got bailed out of jail after an argument with Walker’s parents. I decided to focus on that, rather than on the fact that Ren had quietly joined the group outside the police station and was standing as far away as possible from me, looking more beautiful than ever.
I’d planned another hookup with one of the guys on my roster tonight, but seeing Ren made that prospect seem more like a visit to the dentist. While everyone else was chatting through dealing with Walker’s parents and buzzing over the fact that Ozzie and Walker had finally figured out how much they loved each other, I quietly canceled my plans.
Thankfully, my conversations with Beckett and Ginger went well, and they agreed that giving Leo the option to move in with me would relieve his anxiety about coming of age and making it on his own. As if we’d ever abandon him.
Even if I was having a hard time moving past Ren, I could at least do right by Leo.
