I might’ve been an ass on the outside, but I had technically been processing everything and getting ready to make some decisions.
“So, going back to my original question, this is serious?” When I nodded, he turned back to the stove and seemed to start working out his frustrations on the sausage. “Are we talking about lots of dates serious or do we need to go shopping for rings?”
I wanted to laugh but glaring at him felt better…and made him laugh.
“Hey, one of the things that we all have in common besides the kink shit is that we seem to bethe wait until we’re in the right relationship and then throw ourselves into itkind ofpeople.” Since we both knew he was right, he didn’t wait for me to respond. “You just…you feel different, so I thought asking might make you think at the very least.”
“I’m kind of in theI shouldn’t thinkphase because going the impulsive route is feeling kind of nice.” The whole thing had felt kind of nice in an unexpected way.
“But?” Gary laughed as I sighed. “Yep, there’s a but.”
He knew me too well.
“Um, but I’m pretty sure we were talking about what we wanted in our first house together the other day, so I should probably think about what I’m doing a bit more carefully.” We’d just ended up in the discussion, though.
That pink house.
Brat.
“That’s a big but.” Giggling to himself, probably about the but versus butt thing, he shifted from stabbing the sausage to moving it around the pan. “Do you mean thinking about what you’re doing so you don’t lead Teddy on or thinking about what you’re doing so you don’t end up buying a house you’re not ready for?”
Oh.
“Um, the second one.” Was the first even an option? “I’m more worried about inadvertently rushing him than hurting his feelings.”
I liked Teddy.
There was something warm and sweet about him mixed in with all his silliness and fun. I felt like myself with Teddy in a way I’d never felt with anyone else.
“I don’t have to hide me when I’m with him.” I wasn’t sure if that made sense, so I was glad when Gary nodded like he got it. “It’s like with you guys but there’s that spark.”
What made us all work as friends was that there’d never been a spark between any of us, and he knew it too, so I didn’t have to worry about hurting his feelings.
Gary was definitely the most sensitive between all of us, but he flashed me a grin and was genuinely excited for me. “I’m glad, but—ha—but I’m going to tell you to be honest with him and to make sure he understands you’re the serious type and not just dating to see how you fit together.”
There was no way he’d think we were just dating to see how we worked, right?
“You’ve talked to him about that, right?” When I didn’t answer fast enough, he turned around and started jabbing at the air with the spatula. “Have you explained that you’re theI’m your Dom and I’m keeping youtype?”
“Yes.”
Maybe?
Yes.
I was pretty sure I’d made that clear.
“God.” Gary didn’t like whatever he saw on my face and rolled his eyes. “You’re going to end up married and he’s not going to understand how it happened.”
“Nope. Once his mother hears that word she’s going to be all in and he’ll understand exactly how we got to that point.” She was going to be a menace. “If it makes you happy, though, I’ll be very clear with him about how serious this feels.”
As long as it came up in conversation because I wasn’t just going to randomly announce I was keeping him.
That sounded creepy.
“Fine.” Shaking his head, he shifted his focus back to breakfast and seemed to leave his worries about my relationship behind. “Hey, if you don’t have any other plans this morning, do you want to go Christmas shopping with me? I want to pick out something for Ruslan and a few things for my family.”
“You still heading out at the end of the week?” Gary had been slightly cagey about what he’d been up to lately, but I knew he missed his family and was ready to see them.
