Then there was the added benefit that always after there was wild sex. It was sort of like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey—If you satisfy my craving, I’ll give you an orgasm that will completely destroy every brain cell you currently have. Deal?
Spoiler—it was always a deal.
“So have you decided which program you’re going to take?” Devon asked. “I know everyone wanted you. Where are you going to do this?”
Devon had been helping him fill out applications and finding reference letters and managing to get him a decent application letter that didn’t suck and proved that he could spell sometimes.
“There’s that low-attendance program—the one where I go for a long weekend every semester and then I can do most of my training at the facility next door to you, like my practicals, and at the hospital over in Montrose. That’s the one.”
Devon bounced for him, and beamed at him. “That’s exciting. Seriously, you’d start in September?”
“Yeah, either September or next January. I’m thinking September. The first bit is going to be all memorization, book work. I could be home with the baby after you get finished with family leave.”
“That sounds amazing. I would love to have you at home with a baby. Not that there isn’t some wonderful childcare available here. Saul’s daycare is wonderful, and Jack and Chase always have a hotline on every nanny out there. But it would make me happy to have our baby be mostly at home or at work with one of us.” They had talked about this before. Since neither one of them were really going to be working with infectious diseases once Laird graduated, it seemed like it would be all right to take the baby to work with them, if it didn’t cause a slowdown of work.
Raven did it now sometimes, and Devon didn’t seem to think it caused a problem.
Laird only nodded, though, and smiled because he wasa little worried about going back to school. But he was a smart dog, he could figure this out.
They ordered their food and then they just sat and chatted. It was unbelievably good to be able to unwind and not be stuck with his own company while he tried to do it.
By the time his belly was full and Devon was checking the time to see if he needed to head for work, Laird felt like he could live through the day, or at least the part of it where he wasn’t going to be asleep.
“Thanks for this, honey. I’m really feeling better now. You do wonders for my mood.”
Devon beamed. “I’m glad. I want to make you feel better.” He reached up to touch Laird’s cheek. “Are you going to be okay to drive home?”
He took Devon’s hand in his and kissed his knuckles. “I am. I didn’t have any coffee, but it doesn’t matter. I didn’t need the caffeine to make it that far at least.”
“Then you’ll be safe, promise?”
“I will. Have a good day, baby,” he said, as he paid the bill and they headed their separate ways.
Laird knew he was doing the right thing. Being in love with Devon and going back to school—all the things that would make them a more solid couple. This felt good, deep in his soul. And he didn’t want to mess it up.
He thought he’d make it. It may not be natural, but he could stubborn his way through it.
Chapter
Thirteen
Devon was feeling a little pouty. It was time for the holiday stroll, and normally he didn’t have a problem working.
But this was his first year to do this annual evening out with his lover, and he was on call, and Laird was at work, so he just kind of moved into the birth center and sat there with his knitting and pouted.
It wasn’t even Christmas knitting because he’d done all of that already.
Fuck Christmas.
Was this how it was going to be his whole life? Working holidays, working weekends, missing everything?
There was a part of him that realized that this was totally ridiculous, like seriously ridiculous. So what? He was on call. He was the boss. He could literally schedule someone else to be on call. One of the single people. They could draw straws.
He was the boss. He owned the name. He owned the business. Raven was his partner, but Devon was themanaging partner. He owned seventy-five percent. He could make the hard decisions.
So really he was just kind of being a pouty baby.
But that didn’t matter because he was mad, and he didn’t want to spend another Christmas by himself, and he wanted to go be out with his lover, nibbling on goodies and having cocoa and spending their one and only Christmas holiday stroll as a couple together.
