“Sleep, my sweet boy.” He kissed the top of my head.
I thought there wouldn’t be any way I could, not after seeing him in all his naked glory, but I fell back asleep in his warm embrace quickly.
Waking a bit later was definitely because of him, or, rather, the scent of bacon he was frying wafting into the room. I threw my clothes on and walked out to find him.
“I was coming to get you,” he said.
“Do you need some help?”
“Nope, I got everything all set. Let me spoil you. I hope you like scrambled eggs.”
“That sounds great.”
When Vaughn said that he hoped I liked scrambled eggs, I was expecting bacon, scrambled eggs, maybe some toast. An entire stack of pancakes waited in the microwave, staying warm, with cut-up fresh fruit and chocolate milk to go with it. Not even chocolate milk from a jug, although I liked that too. He made it with syrup, mixed it up. Delicious.
We were very muchbigduring our breakfast, but thelittletouches like the cut-up grapes, apples, and melon, and homemade chocolate milk had me excited for what was to come. Such a natural caregiver.
“This is so good,” I said, leaning back from a plate that still held a pancake and about a cup of syrup. I might have gone overboard in that department. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
I looked at him, questioning whether I should say anything about the idea brewing in my head, but ultimately decided not to. Of course, he caught on that I was holding back.
“Was there something you didn’t like about breakfast?”
“No, it really was delicious.”
“But there is something.”
“Not something bad, more… I was thinking that maybe having alittlemorning might be nice one day.”
“I think so too.” He stood up, stacking his plate on mine, not pushing the topic, which was perfect. I wasn’t ready to go past putting it out there and letting him know where my thoughts headed.
“I can help with the dishes.”
“I’m just throwing them in the dishwasher. Why don’t you shower?”
I wanted him to join me, but we’d already leapt forward in our relationship, and I didn’t want to push things. He’d laid out the basics for me, including towels and a toothbrush, on the bathroom counter. When I came out, fresh clothes waited on the bed for me. I wasn’t used to this level of thoughtfulness.
“I figured you wouldn’t want to wear last night’s,” he said. “And I hoped maybe we could spend some of the day together.”
“I’d love that.”
As I dressed, he took his turn in the shower. The clothes didn’t fit perfectly, and it was very obvious I was wearing someone else’s, but I didn’t mind. There was something warm and comforting about being wrapped in his clothing.
Vaughn suggested that we go for a walk downtown and look at all the Christmas displays in the windows. I couldn’t think ofanything more fun or festive. In the daytime, it wouldn’t be quite as cold. At least, that was my theory.
“Ready to go?” he asked, pulling a beanie over my head.
“Ready.”
He took my hand in his and led me out on our morning adventure, which turned from admiring the Christmas joy to eating at a cool little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that specialized in burgers with unique toppings. It was absolutely the perfect morning slash afternoon to complete our date, one I hoped would be the first of many.
Chapter Thirteen
Vaughn
“Who would you like to have at your playdate?” We’d been sitting at a local bakery/coffee shop having big fluffy cream puffs when we came up with the idea to have the get-together. I pulled out my phone, prepared to make notes. “I wish I had a playroom for you, but I bet we can make the family room at my house into a fun space with a little ingenuity.”
