“I’m glad you’re cutting back your hours,” Kit said. “That’s something you needed to do for a long time.”
The frown line was still there though, so I asked, “Was I like this when you were dating? Because you’re surprisingly overprotective.”
“You were way worse. For one thing, you always insisted on meeting the guys I dated.”
“You’re right, I did. But you never listened to me if I told you I didn’t like them.”
“Yeah, I guess I didn’t,” he conceded. “You probably won’t listen to me either, but I’d feel better if I got to meet this guy.”
“We can do that. Tory has some relatives in San Francisco, and he mentioned taking me with him when he goes for a visit.”
“When will that be?”
“Sometime in August. We still need to pin down a date.”
“Okay, good.” Kit’s expression softened, and he said, “I’m sorry if I seem negative. I really am happy that you’ve decided to start dating, but I can’t help but worry about you, Dad. You don’t have a lot of experience with this type of thing, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’ll be fine, I promise. I’m not as naïve as you seem to think I am.”
“I never said you were naïve.”
No, but it was definitely implied. I said, “I’d better go, so I can finish my paperwork. But I’ll talk to you soon, and I’ll let you know about that visit.”
Vee stuck his head in the frame and asked, “Quick question. How’s the sex?”
Kit looked shocked. “Did you really just ask my Dad that?”
He turned to my son and explained, “I sent a bunch of stuff from the health center with Manny when he was here, so I’m just following up.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Lube, pamphlets, that kind of thing, since this was going to be his first time doing it with a man.”
Kit muttered, “I hadn’t thought of that.” Then he asked me, “Are you being safe? You know condoms are important, right?”
“I’m hanging up now.”
Once we said goodbye and ended the call, I leaned back in my office chair and sighed. Sometimes it seemed like Kit parented me as much as I parented him. Maybe that was to be expected, since I’d been such a young dad—he and I basically grew up together. I just wished he didn’t worry about me so much.
And there really was no reason to worry about Tory. I might not know everything about him, but I knew for a fact that he was a good person. He was sweet and considerate, and he’d never hurt me. He just wouldn’t.
He was incredibly patient, too. Even after almost two months, we still hadn’t fucked, because I hadn’t felt like I was ready. But he never pressured me. Last time I brought it up, he’d told me, “Please don’t worry about it, Arie. You’ll know when you’re ready. And if you decide you don’t want to take it that far, that’s fine, too. I love what we have, so nothing has to change if you don’t want it to.”
I missed him, so I sent him a text that said:Thinking of you.A video call appeared on my screen less than a minute later. When I answered, Tory smiled and said, “Ciao, bello. I was thinking about you, too.”
“Yeah? What were you thinking about?”
“Your lips. Your eyes. The fact that it’s only Wednesday, and the weekend is very far away.”
“There’s no rule that says we can only see each other on weekends,” I pointed out. “You could come here today if you wanted to. Although it might be boring for you, because I need to be here until closing.”
“Would it really be okay with you if I drove down and hung out at the diner?”
“More than okay. I’d love it.”
“Then text me the diner’s address, and I’ll be there this afternoon.”
I sent the address after we ended the call, and then I got up and wandered out of my office. The breakfast rush had ended, so the cook was keeping busy by restocking the kitchen for lunch service.
