But what had weighed on my mind more than anything else all morning was a concern that meant a lot to me: what the fuck could I ask him tocall me?
We had other problems, but this was the one that had started picking at me last night as I watched him fall asleep in my arms. He’d already wormed his way into my affections. I wanted to think about him as my boy. I leaned away from the oval mirror that arced up to nearly touch the ceiling and grinned at myself. Maybe I was rushing things by already planning the details of our potential relationship, but I couldn’t see myself letting Angel go after the way he’d been last night.
Trusting didn’t begin to cover it.
He’d given himself over to my care in such a sweet, submissive way, and he’d relied on me to make him feel good. Usually, I was Daddy when I got into these types of relationships. Or Sir. I didn’t like either one of those options for him.Papa?Eh, that sounded too much like a grandpa to me. I glared at my face. Not quitethereyet.
Humming to myself, I shrugged. We’d hammer out the details eventually. I wanted answers ready for him when he asked, though. I didn’t want him to worry or fret. After all, I was the one in charge. It seemed like I’d finally found someone who would be able to take some of my worst qualities in stride. It didn’t quite work to be a Daddy who flipped out and yelled more often than he should. I’d learned that the hard way by terrifying potential partners. While I never wanted to scare Angel, the fact that I hadn’t shaken his trust by yelling at him was a huge confidence booster.
I had all sorts of things I needed to work on.
Hedefinitelycame with issues.
But this might work for both of us, though the long run was still iffy. Knowing he had dealt with Peter Gaffin all his life made me want to tackle the personal bullshit head on that Creed kept telling me I had to work out if I wanted a boyfriend.
I cleaned my razor and put it away as I checked my handiwork one last time. “Alexa, what time is it?” I called, and the robotic voice replied with 6:16. I’d already worked out this morning. I slapped on some aftershave and sprayed myself with cologne before I rushed to pick out a suit for the day.
My bed had me stopping when I stepped out of the bathroom. I stared across the room at it, stacked with several plain old pillows at the top and draped in a soft black comforter that matched the furniture. What would it look like with some stuffies? There weren’t many bed choices for a man of my size, so I’d had a custom-made mattress most of my life, and this one was larger than a California King. Angel would look small if I brought him here and tucked him under the blankets. The idea of him in my bed had my cock on alert and a smile plastered to my face. On my way to the closet I grabbed my phone from the dresser and texted Creed.
911. Meet me at Grounds and Gears before work?
Creed:There is no emergency that occurs before 8.
Please. You’re obviously awake.
Creed:Fuck you. Your text woke me up. Okay. Buy me tea. Good tea. Lots of tea.
Smirking, I went to the closet. There were quite a few choices, but I picked out a dark blue suit that reminded me of Angel’s cute Spider-Man pillow and finished getting dressed. My conscience weighed heavily on me, but money was one thing I had no worries about right now. Tea? Hell, I could send Creed a mountain of tea. My mind took a left turn. There was a jumble of things I’d like to buy for here and Angel’s sparse apartment, and no matter how I told myself to put the brakes on my thoughts, I couldn’t quite do it. I dictated a list of possible purchases to Alexa as I finished getting dressed and sent it winging its way to my email so I could stare at it later in the morning when I should be working.
“Alexa, addfind a nice tea for Creedto my to-do list for the day.”
I barely registered the electronic acknowledgement as I pulled out a tie I’d never worn from my dresser drawer. My youngest sister Ella had gotten me the thing two Christmases ago. All of my sisters still treated me like a kid, and there were quite a few items like this I could pass on to Angel if he wanted them. The fabric was decorated with an old Batman comic strip. I slipped the tie on and didn’t care how silly it would seem to Raven. She was the only one who would have the balls to ask me about it anyway. I tied an Eldredge knot, just to be a jackass, because it made the tie an astounding combination of ostentatious and dressed down.
On my way out the side door into the garage I did the usual check—messenger bag with laptop, keys, wallet, phone, and today one more thing was a must. I jogged back into the kitchen and snagged a box of chocolate protein bars out of the cupboard. I tucked the box under my arm as I went. Angel was thin, and while I didn’t like to think he’d not been eating because his fuck of a father was draining his finances, I’d make sure he got something that wasn’t pastries and coffee from the breakroom this morning.
My heart gave an extra bouncybadumpand I grinned. It was good to have someone else to think about—someone else to consider in my day. It had been a while for me since I’d been in a relationship, serious or otherwise, and I didn’t know if I’d ever been so optimistic about someone sticking around, even with the problems that we still needed to figure out. For a second, the fear of what might happen if Angel ever found out about that fight that had put his dad in the hospital had my heart twisting for a different reason, but I shoved it away.
Creed was good at bullshitting and people things. He’d do the heavy lifting for me in this arena, I was sure of it, and tell me what I should do to make everything go right. I was counting on him.
But when I stepped into the warmth of Grounds and Gears to pick up my usual morning order for the office, and I inhaled the sultry, coffee-laden air, some of my hope slipped. My mood didn’t dive because anything seemed to be wrong with the breakroom goodies—almost everything I needed was piled near the end of the order counter on the little silver wheelie cart they let me use to carry things to the car. No, Creed, who had parked himself at one of the round tables, kicked my excitement down a notch. He hunched where he sat, bleary-eyed and definitely irritated at getting out of bed so early. His neon green glasses sat crooked on his nose and his head slumped against the gray wall below a framed photograph of a motorcycle. Steam rose from a large red mug in front of him, which matched the glass globes that encased the lights dangling at intervals from the ceiling. He raised his lip in a snarl as I approached.
“Aw, Creedence. Did you stay up too late?” I baby-talked at him on my way past to the counter, and he flipped me off. I went to the register to place my personal order with a nervous girl, who wore blonde braids and a spotless apron. I’d never met her. She stuttered her way through taking my simple request and gave me a to-go cup of black coffee. I paid and tipped her before she gave me a real smile.
“Those are mine. They ready?” I asked, pointing at the cart that was there every day waiting, Monday through Friday. More customers came laughing through the door behind me, men and women dressed for a day at the office.
“Not yet. We’re still brewing some coffee for you,” she chirped. I gave her a nod, snagged my cardboard cup, and then went over to plop down on a chair across from Creed.
“You’re not usually this bad,” I said, surveying him over my coffee. I sipped and the bitter liquid burned the tip of my tongue, so I set the cup down with a hiss.
“Merit,” was all he said and pushed the mug in front of him this way and that, until I was worried he might move it off the edge of the table. I grabbed the mug and slid it back in front of him. “Merit wanted to talk again. He got drunk.” He closed his eyes like he was waiting for me to punch him.
I snorted. “Why don’t you just forgive him?”
Creed cracked his eyelids to glare.
“Or, I could stay out of things that aren’t my business,” I said.
“He cheated on me. There’s no forgiving that,” he said with a harsh snort. “Ever.”
