“Hey,” James said, his voice stronger than it had been on the rest of the call. “Please don’t talk about my baby like that.”
Leon huffed. “Your big baby?”
That’s kind of how he felt right now, like a big whiny baby who’d called his boyfriend just to kvetch about wasting a few hours of his work-from-home day.
“My smart, brave, incredibly sweet baby who took a huge step in his ADHD journey today. Then, when he felt rough, he called me to…to hear my voice. That means more to me than I can really express right now, with my minions probably listening in.”
Leon let out a shaky laugh. “Calling me your sweet baby is fine for them to hear?”
James’ laugh was soft, and even over the phone, it was the best sound Leon had heard all day. “I missed you today, too, and I think they could tell. No use trying to hide it.”
That balloon in Leon’s chest shoved up against his lungs, and his next exhale came out as a shaky huff.
Of course, that was the moment Aspen appeared at his side. “Hey, I don’t like that you’re so shaky. I think you actually really do need some protein. There’s a boba shop up ahead that has smoothies with protein. Does that sound okay?”
“Tell Aspen I say hi!” James said.
Leon shook his head, then quickly nodded since Aspen was clearly watching him for a response. “Yeah, that’s fine, and James says hi.”
Aspen’s lips curved up, but then settled back into an uncharacteristically serious expression. “Okay, tell him we’ll get dinner soon, but I want to get you this smoothie.”
Leon was actually feeling a lot better. So much so that he had the energy to roll his eyes, yet he conveyed the message to James and let Aspen hurry him to the boba shop. He had absolutely no idea what Aspen ordered for him, but it was bright, fruity, and delicious, and he felt almost back to normal by the time he finished it.
On the walk back, they agreed to meet up again the following day, and Aspen grabbed their stuff quickly before heading out to meet Noah at a nearby “absolutely adorable looking gastropub.”
Leon began to clean up their mess from the day, but then he realized he should probably leave all of Aspen’s “gifts” on the coffee table in case they needed them tomorrow.
On second thought, maybe he should get his own easy-to-eat food. He might as well take advantage of his newly acquired smoothie energy. He fed Yarmen before putting his boots back on and heading out once again.
Chapter Three
JAMES
“Ican’t believe it’s almost that time again,” James’ mom said as she slowly climbed up the ladder to the attic.
Honestly, James also couldn’t believe they were doing this again.
“The time when you give me a heart attack by carrying unnecessarily heavy boxes down the rickety ladder?” he asked, as he climbed up after her.
“No, silly, the time where I have to kindly inform my adult son that he has to vacate the premises so I can have a steamy holiday evening with my honeys.”
“Oh god,” James groaned.
He stepped around their plastic skeleton and dodged past their Christmas tree to follow his mom over to the Valentine’s Day decorations in the corner. They hadn’t always decorated for so many holidays, but since she’d gotten sick, his mom had really embraced “living life to the fullest.” For her, that meant any holiday that had decorations needed a full celebration.
Last year, they’d made each other Valentine’s Day baskets–like Easter baskets but a lot pinker and redder–and he’d cooked them a steak dinner with a chocolate cake for dessert. Apparently, his culinary services weren’t needed this year, whichwas probably for the best because he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to finally celebrate Valentine’s Day with a partner. He and his ex, Eli, hadn’t celebrated the one Valentine’s Day they’d had together, and they’d broken up long before the next one. He knew it was a silly holiday meant to sell candy and cards, but it was also a sweet excuse to do something nice for someone he lo–
Liked.
He liked Leon. A lot.
There was no way he loved him, because that would be way too soon, and probably way too scary for Leon “The Bad Boy Who Was Actually Incredibly Sweet and Called James After a Tough Day Just to Hear His Voice” Rabinowicz.
Right?
He nearly tripped over a St. Patrick’s Day wreath and decided that falling to his death by taking a wrong step in their rickety attic was probably not the best idea. Then he would never be able to tell Leon he loved–
Er…he would never have time to fall in love with him?
