Yay.
This was definitely going to be considered my first date.
Chapter 24
Leonardo
Was there any way to politely ask if my boy liked his house?
Being out in the middle of nowhere was nice but the rest was odd and looked like we’d walked back in time a few decades. And outdated furniture aside, his room was empty…weirdly blank like he’d just moved in.
“You need to help me pick out clothes. Mine are boring according to Emerson but I think he also called them creepy?” My sweet boy frowned as he studied his closet. “I’m not sure why they’re creepy, though? Boring makes sense.”
Emerson was a pain in the ass.
“I don’t think he was calling your clothes creepy. They’re fine and very appropriate for going out in public.” Thankfully, Grandma had been weird in a variety of ways but had been normal when it came to letting Cece pick out what to wear. “We just need to pick out some fun things that match your personality more for when we’re home.”
We could figure out where else they’d work once we knew what he actually liked wearing. Everything he’d said made me think he didn’t like standing out in public, not yet anyway, so we’d stick with neutral for the time being.
“What’s creepy then?” Turning back to me, his frown got deeper. “He was mumbling. I really think he said something was creepy but he wouldn’t repeat it.”
Which made my boy frustrated.
“First of all, I think he was doing his best to be polite once he realized he’d said something rude out loud.” There were other ways to explain the issue without muttering about the room being creepy.
Even if it was.
“Secondly, I think he was confused about why your room is so…let’s call it devoid of personality. You have a wonderfully bright personality and none of that is coming through in here.” There wasn’t even books or art or anything that was remotely connected to a hobby. “Emerson has such an oversized personality, the blankness might’ve been strange to him.”
“Oh.” Frown shifting to something more thoughtful, my boy did a circle to take in the room. “You’ve got a lot more stuff in your room, but it’s all about things you like. I never really had that.”
“We’re going to figure out what you like over time and then we’ll add them to the house.” Hmm. “Um, I was thinking the other house but we can do that here too.”
Maybe?
It felt like this was just a badly designed rental he’d ended up living in, not his childhood home. Had his grandmother done this or was it related to something else? As much as he’d talked about growing up, I had a feeling I was missing big parts of the trauma I knew was hiding just around the corner.
“I…I would like to take time and think about that.” Cece was still studying the room, but it felt like he was seeing it for the first time. “I don’t know why but that sounds overwhelming.”
Was he really sure he didn’t want to talk to a therapist?
“Okay.” Doing my best not to sound worried, I grabbed him up in a dramatic hug that made him laugh. “I don’t make any promises about buying you things, though.”
“You like…you like shopping.” He got the teasing words out between gasps of laughter, but it just earned him tickles. “I…I…can’t lie…you…”
Finally releasing him, I tipped him backward and got more barks of laughter as he clung to me with his fingers grasping my arms. “I’m what?”
“Perfect, Master.” Wrapping his arms around me, he had a beaming smile again. “You’re going to buy me silly things and make me art, aren’t you?”
Now I was.
“I’m not going to tell you.” Because I had to figure out what it would be first. “I think I like surprises.”
He crashed his face into my chest as I let him up, and it was clear he wasn’t ready to be released yet. “You’re so silly but I think I’m going to like surprises too.”
God.
Grandma hadn’t liked presents either.
