I ran my tongue across the back of my teeth. “Well…”
Leo caught my eye with a chuckle. “We’re not.”
I laughed. “You’re right. We’re not.”
“But there’s a lot of space between where are we now and the kind of patterns you want to avoid. And you and I are both very good at keeping ourselves organized.”
“Organized? I guess if you’re looking for a non-romantic way to talk about things, that’ll work.”
Leo laughed. “Here’s the deal. What if you and I keep hooking up, but just once every week?” He finally pulled one of his legs up and opened his body to me. “That way, there’s a clear boundary that we can both follow, and we won’t slip up and get ourselves in trouble.”
I thought about it carefully. Leo was right. Clear boundaries and expectations were exactly what I needed, and I was eager to find a way to keep going with him. But a few worries still itched at the back of my neck.
“You just have to do something on your end,” Leo added.
I cocked my head to the side. “What’s that?”
“You have to go to school, and hang out with other people, and set up your own life in Pittsburgh.”
I blinked, surprised by the left turn. “What, so I have to act like an independent, modern person, or otherwise, you’ll stop hooking up with me?”
“Exactly,” Leo said with a wink, proud of himself. “And no hanging out with me every single night or anything like that. We’re hitting the busy season at the firm, so I won’t have free time anyway.”
I rolled my eyes and shoved Leo’s arm. “Wow, Leo. You really know how to make a guy feel like a priority.”
Leo leaned forward on the bed, and his hand landed next to mine. “That’s the point. You’re supposed to be your own priority. I’ll care about you and treat you right, but in order to do that, I have to make sure you stay on track with your own dreams. I can help you remember that, and then we can both enjoy the reward.”
My breath hitched. “The reward,” I repeated. He had been thinking about me, about us, and trying to find a way to treat me right. No one ever put that kind of thought into caring for me and accepting me the way I was, and here Leo was, doing it even without the promise of love or a happy life together.
I leaned in to his weight, so close our lips almost brushed.
Leo’s hand landed on my chest, his palm above my heartbeat. “Just one more thing,” he said. “If this works and we keep it up, we have to tell Kai. We can’t wait much longer. He’ll be too upset when he finds out.”
My cock was already hard, and my breath caught in my throat. “Okay,” I said with an eager nod. “You’re right. That’s a good idea.”
Leo’s other hand landed above my hip, and he pulled me down. He leaned on his elbow, sideways across the bed, and I stretched out beside him.
“I need something from you, too,” I told him.
“Oh yeah?”
I nodded. “I need you to take more time off work. You’re happier when you have time to yourself. I’ll agree to everything you want, but you have to promise you’ll relax more.”
A grin filled his face. “Just when I thought I had things all figured out. Okay, that’s fair. I’ll promise to take more time for myself, too.”
“It’s funny,” I said. “You’re right there across the hall every night, but I’ve never had you in my room before.” I traced my hand over the plaid blanket, which had followed me through many homes and moves. “It’s nice to have you here.”
Leo laughed. “That’s because I’ve been scared to go in your room. I wasn’t sure I could keep my hands to myself.”
“You’ve really had your eye on me since the start, haven’t you?” I said with a pleased smile. I thought about it for a second, then shook my head quickly, a new fear erupting out of nowhere. “But you never had a thing for Kai, did you?” I’d never even considered it before, but the idea horrified me now.
“What?” Leo blurted. “No.” He was also so horrified any doubts disappeared immediately. “I don’t know what it is. You’re different. He’s like family to me.” His jaw ticked to the side. “I don’t know,” he repeated.
“It’s okay. I understand.” I stretched my legs out, and my toes touched his feet. “It’s nice.” I could see Leo’s erection, straining the front of his pants, and the desire to hook up with him right there in the condo burned through me.
But it felt so sweet and nice just to have in bed with me. I wanted to keep him there and to keep hearing his voice.
“What’s the word for what we’re doing?” I asked, then scrunched up my face. “You’re not my fuck buddy, are you?” I groaned. “Oh god, that’s what we’re talking about, isn’t it?”
