* * *
Before I fell asleeplast night, I had decided that I would speak to James first about taking Alison and Josh under my care. He probably had quite a bit of insight on the two of them. After my shower, I got dressed and went downstairs to start breakfast. On my way down the steps, I glanced toward the closed bathroom door. Someone was already up, and the shower was running. By the time the coffee had brewed, Josh appeared in the kitchen with wet hair. I wasn’t surprised it was Josh who was awake first.
“Good morning, Josh.”
“Hi,” he said in a chipper voice.
“How did you sleep?”
“Like a rock. I was so wiped out.”
“That’s to be expected. You worked yesterday and then drove around looking for Brandon, so your body was physically and emotionally exhausted due to the surge of adrenaline and concern for Brandon.”
“Yeah, I hope Brandon comes home,” Josh said as he sat in the chair I pulled out and gestured for him to sit in.
“I think he will. Would you like some coffee?” I offered and walked to the counter with my mini coffee bar.
“Please.”
“Something upset Brandon, and he’s coping with it as best as he can. Of course, it would have been preferred if he had tried talking to James about it instead of running. I forget sometimes just how young he is,” I said while waiting for Josh’s coffee to brew.
“I can’t imagine being held captive like that for all those years. Things can be bad enough—” Josh’s voice trailed off when I set a mug down with his coffee.Interesting.
“Brandon will be back. He’s very attached to James,” I said. I waited to see if he picked up with what he was going to say. When it was clear that he wouldn’t, I moved on. “Are you originally from Los Angeles?”
“Close. I grew up in the Glendale area,” Josh replied.
I carried on an easy conversation with Josh for another half hour before Alison surfaced. Josh was easy to talk to and laid back, so I wasn’t surprised by his demeanor. I almost wished Alison had been down here first so I could’ve gotten a better idea of how she really was when Josh wasn’t around.
“Good morning, Alison. Would you like some coffee?” I said as I stood and pulled a chair out for her.”
“Morning!” Alison said. She smiled and raised her shoulders up as high as they would go when I pulled the chair out for her. “Ohhh, thank you! What a gentleman.” She looked at Josh and said, “See, there still are some great men left.”
“He also pulled my chair out for me,” Josh said playfully. Alison stuck her tongue out at him and then thanked me for the mug of coffee.
“Are you under the impression there aren’t any gentlemen left?” I asked Alison when I sat back down.
“Ha!” Josh laughed, earning him a death stare from Alison. “She’s under the impression that no man could give her what she wants other than James,” Josh shared.
“Shut up! I do not!”
Josh rolled his eyes as he held up his hand to block her fist.
“Alison,” I said her name to draw attention to what she was doing. “I’m sure there are some very capable Tops and Doms at Oxygen.”
“Try again.” Josh laughed. “She's a masochistic brat. That has a tiny audience.”
“I swear, Joshua,” Alison said under her breath.
I needed to take these two back to James’ to get their cars so they could go home. I really didn’t know how they even lived together. They must be at each other all the time, yet they were still living together and had been since Andrew moved in with Elise. Alison seemed to be the one who jumped from place to place. Josh seemed to have money that a typical guy in his early thirties wouldn’t usually have. He had recently renovated a Spanish-inspired home in Santa Monica. Andrew had lived with him for a while. Though, Andrew had money from the coffee house business. Two young bachelors living it up in Santa Monica fit. Alison moved out of an apartment before she moved in with Josh as soon as Andrew had left. I doubted Josh needed a roommate to pay the bills.
I decided to get a little nosey on our drive back to James’ place.
“Do you two bicker and insult one another constantly at home?”
“No—” Josh began, but Alison interrupted him.
“Only when we see each other,” Alison chimed in. Josh laughed and shook his head at her. He seemed so passive at times and didn’t appear to mind her constant verbal punches.
