“There’s not,” Annie said, looking relieved. “We knew that there had been a leak in the apartment over Dylan’s, and he’d reported the water damage on the ceiling.”
“And they didn’t fix it when he notified them?” Coco asked. “Typical. So what are you going to do, Dylan? Stay with the werewolves until they fix your ceiling?”
“Probably longer,” Dylan admitted.
Annie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is this because of…?”
Coco shot them both an intensely curious look.
“No. It’s not because of that. I just… I like them. I want to live with them. It’s… nice.”
“Nice,” Annie laughed. “That’s one word for it. I would also think that having two guys like that hanging off my every word was nice.”
“Can I see a picture again?” Coco asked, holding out her hand. “I need to see if they’re as hot as I remember.”
Dylan found a picture of August and Ryker on his phone where they looked semi-decent and showed it to her. Coco grabbed it and started zooming in.
“Don’t-”
“Scroll, I know,” Coco interrupted. “I’ll respect your privacy.” She handed the phone back to him. “You are a lucky, lucky boy.”
“I think so,” Dylan said, blushing. He put his phone back in his pocket.
When he’d agreed to meet Annie for lunch, he’d initially intended to tell her about the roleplay mix up, but with Coco joining him, that conversation would have to be put on hold. Though the more he thought about it, the less certain Dylan was that he wanted to tell her.
It was embarrassing, and it would reveal things about his first meeting with August that he wasn’t comfortable sharing.
“So how are things going in the lab?” Coco asked, changing the subject. “Did you figure out that thing you were working on last time?”
Dylan was happy to talk about something other than his relationship. He told Coco about his latest breakthrough and then asked her about her own work.
An hour later, the three of them had filled up on free food and were ready to head out. Checking the time on his phone, Dylan decided that instead of going to the library or the coffee shop, he’d head back to August and Ryker’s place and work there.
“I want to meet your boyfriends,” Annie said, after they’d waved Coco goodbye. “Officially, I mean. You should invite me over.”
Dylan grinned. He’d have to make sure the door to the playroom was locked, but other than that, he’d enjoy having Annie meet August and Ryker. He wasn’t sure they’d get along – Annie might find August and Ryker to be a bit boring – but it would still be nice if they knew each other.
It was introducing his parents that he was worried about.
“I’ll talk to them,” he promised, giving her a quick hug goodbye.
“See you soon.”
27
RYKER
Ryker kicked off his shoes and walked into the apartment, leaving his briefcase by the door to his office before he made his way to the bedroom to change out of his suit. August was still at work – he’d texted earlier that he had a patient with an emergency and that he would be late – while Dylan had been radio silent since their conversation that morning.
Changing into a pair of nylon shorts and a loose tank top, Ryker put on his sneakers and made his way to the kitchen to make himself a protein shake. He hadn’t worked out in a few days and missed the burn.
On his way to the kitchen, Ryker was surprised to see Dylan in the living room. The young human sitting in an armchair by the window. He had his legs crossed, earbuds in and he was typing away on his computer. Since he was facing away from the door, he didn’t see Ryker watching him.
“Dylan,” Ryker called, getting no response. He grinned, walking over and tapping the boy on the shoulder to get his attention.
Dylan jumped, his laptop falling off his lap and onto the floor as he swung his head around and yanked his earbuds out of his ears.
Ryker shot him a grin. “Hello.”
