When he asked about my degree, I explained it would be business analytics with a minor in marketing, and he made a passing comment about how I could find myself working for Vane Corporation one day. I’d never even considered that he’d want me to, and I wasn’t completely sure if he was serious or not. Wasn’t that some conflict of interest or something?
I didn’t know which aspect of the evening felt weirder. The fact that I’d had no idea what the status of our relationship had been up until the moment Caelyx had said we were together, and I didn’t know at what point we had shifted into that without me noticing. Or maybe it was that I’d never actually been serious enough with anyone to do the wholemeet the parent, talk about yourselfthing, even though I’d technically done all this with Faulkner alone.
The odd chill between them started thawing gradually, like a melting glacier, the longer we talked. Faulkner explained that he was happy to see that Caelyx was settled into university life so comfortably, and they discussed some family members that I didn’t know about.
When I excused myself to go to the restroom and came back, the tone at the table seemed to have shifted, but I couldn’t decipher why or what exactly the new mood was. It was clear they’d talked about something while I was gone, but I knew I couldn’t ask about it or I’d look crazy. And anyway, they were father and son. They were allowed to have something between them I didn’t know about… As long as it wasn’t about me. I was sure it wasn’t about me. Probably.
The waiter brought us the check, Faulkner immediately picking it up to pay it. Curious about the price, I tried to subtly crane my neck over to see, but he kept it tilted away from me so I couldn't. Once he'd gotten his card back, a fancy black one that looked like it was made of metal, we left the restaurant.
As we walked out the door, Caelyx’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket, his eyes glued to the screen as he kept walking forward. Completely oblivious to his surroundings, he nearly stepped off the curb into the street, but my hand whipped out from my side and grabbed a handful of his coat, yanking him backwards, just as a car sped past the very spot he’d have walked into.
“Caelyx,” I ground out his name between my teeth, my heart racing in my chest from the danger he’d been in.
He lifted his head from his screen, still completely oblivious.
“That smoothie place down the street from our work has passion fruit for a limited time,” he remarked, sounding excited. “That sounds really good, right?”
“Yeah,” I remarked flatly, inhaling deeply. “Great.”
“You’ll go with me?”
“Yes.”
Satisfied with my answer, he returned his attention to his phone while we waited for the valet.
Glancing over to Faulkner, I saw him staring at me with a weary expression. Grimacing slightly, I gave him a tiny nod to acknowledge him, just enough that Caelyx wouldn’t notice. He heaved a small sigh, and gave me a subtle pat on the shoulder.
All in all, I considered it a successful evening.
CAELYX
ANOTHER TWO WEEKSflew by in a beautiful blur, a highlight reel that would stay burned into my brain for the rest of my life. Not just because I was having the best sex of my life basically nonstop, but because I was feeling Aspen gradually open up to me in real time and start to really understand the depth of my feelings for him. Well, mostly understand the depth of my feelings for him. I still worried, just a little, that if he knew all of it, he might run screaming. That was fine. It was baby steps with him, like always.
He’d wondered if we’d get sick of each other, being stuck together all alone during the entire winter break, but for me it had only achieved the opposite. He’d always jokingly called me a creep and a stalker, but I was pretty sure I could legally be referred to as that now with absolutely no room for interpretation.
I literally couldn’t get enough of him. Even when he was on top of me, moaning my name and driving his cock into me until I was spraying cum all over my abs. Even when I had him up against the wall in the shower, kissing him for what felt like hours as the hot water sluiced over us. Not even when he was unconscious in my arms, his soft breath fluttering out against my chest. I needed him, every part of him, to be mine permanently and indefinitely.
And as completely fucking unbelievable as it might have sounded to anyone who’d known us a year ago, I was certain that perfect future was slowly coming into my grasp. It wasn’t thereyet, I couldn’t seize it and squeeze it in my fist like I wanted, but it was brushing my fingertips, just barely out of reach. One more tiny little nudge, and everything would fall into place.
I’d met with my father one more time, without Aspen, a few days after we’d gone to dinner, to discuss the favor I needed from him. I’d expected him to make me beg for it, or humiliate myself in some way, but he’d been surprisingly generous. I got the sense that seeing how serious I was about Aspen had shifted his perception of me, at least a little bit.
That wasn’t to say he’d beencompletelygenerous. He’d still given me one condition to meet in order for him to cooperate with the secret project I’d been hiding from Aspen. To my relief, it hadn’t been anything too traumatic or difficult.
He would fly Aspen and I out to the swanky, highly exclusive New Year’s Eve party he was throwing. I’d be on my best behavior and show all of his guests, including the press, how docile and grateful I was. They’d coo and fuss over how much I’d matured, and he would allude to the fact that we’d gone through a rough patch in our relationship, but were now making concerted efforts to understand each other as father and son.
That was all fine. I was more than aware of how important image was to him, and the image of an exasperated but loving father was more appealing to the general public than one who hadn’t spoken to his son in over a year. I didn’t mind performing in his lame little stage show, as long as he gave me what I wanted. And we’d made an agreement. He was a lot of things, but he was not the type of man to go back on his word once he’d given it.
I didn’t feel an ounce of guilt about hiding that favor from Aspen, because he was hiding things from me, too. Or at least, hethoughthe was hiding things from me. He wasn’t as subtle or secretive as he seemed to think. And at any rate, now that I understood him more, I knew taking this path would be themuch smoother route, and far more likely to produce the result that I wanted.
Recalling the conversation I’d had with Aspen, explaining how we needed to attend my father’s New Year Eve party brought a grin to my face. Of course, I’d left off the part aboutwhywe were required to attend, but he hadn’t questioned it much. He seemed happy we were making an effort to get along.
Still, the part about how we’d be taking a private jet and staying in one of the most expensive hotels in the city once we landed, had really thrown him for a loop. In a way, I was grateful we were being forced. If not for that aspect, I was pretty sure he would have refused all of it. He didn’t seem keen on the idea of being spoiled, even in the talks we’d had about hypothetical future situations. But being that I was so unexpectedly good at talking him into things, there was no reason for me to lose hope.
A few months ago, I’d have never believed I could talk him intothiseither.
The bathroom doorknob finally rattled and he stepped out into the hall where I was waiting, eyeing me with a bit of trepidation. His cheeks were flushed with obvious embarrassment, his beautiful lips set into a stony pout. But despite all that, he was doing it.
One night after we’d fucked for literal hours, exhausted and probably dehydrated, wallowing together in a sweaty heap on my bed, we’d fallen into that rosy, ultra-comfortable state of infatuated pillow talk. He’d wondered if there were any fantasies I had that I’d never done with any of my partners, to which I’d admitted there was one thing I’d always thought about. I’d warned him it probably wasn’t something he’d be into, but he’d pushed me to tell him anyway.
