Page 64 of Off the Clock
“Thought John had you reforming your diet,” I teased. “How are you gonna complete the next SEAL challenge he dreams up if you’re living on sugar and white flour again?”
Scotty’s mouth twisted into something close to a smile. “What John doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
His eyes sparkled like there was a story there, and for the first time, I had hope that I might get to hear it. Our lines of communication felt more open after our earlier conversation.
“Maybe after donuts, we could get a few houseplants?” I suggested before Scotty could close his door.
“You don’t have to bribe me into liking your boyfriend, Caleb.” Laughing, Scotty kicked his door shut, but not before calling, “I want a banana tree.”
“So that went strangely…well?” Tony’s expression was as puzzled as I felt.
“Yeah.” I glanced at the couch. “Should we sit? We should sit, right?”
“Right.” He perched two cushions away from me.
“Are you nervous? Why are we nervous?” I babbled in an effort to fill the sudden quiet.
“Scotty called me your boyfriend.” Tony flexed and unflexed his hands. “And it hit me that I’ve never been a boyfriend before.I’ve got no clue what I’m doing other than that I want to be with you.”
“Winging it seems to have gotten you this far,” I pointed out. “And, apparently, you’re keeping me around at least until homecoming.”
“At least,” he growled, sliding over closer to me. “A lot longer than that if we’re taking votes. I want to be with you like you deserve. A real couple, walking down the street holding hands, going to school functions, all of that.”
“I want that too.” My voice came out all thick and fuzzy.
“You’ll tell me if I screw up? Or if I’ve already screwed up?” He bit his lower lip, adorably earnest for a dude who was also a deadly operator.
“You didn’t screw up.” I patted his thigh, scooting to close the remaining gap between us. “I wasn’t expecting the public coming out, but it was…appreciated.” My mouth twisted. “I’m not sure if that’s the right way to put it because I hope you didn’t only do it because of me?—”
“Us,” he corrected.
“Us.” The word gave me a warm, tingly feeling in the bottom of my stomach. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t say the gesture was appreciated. It mattered. And probably to a lot of people other than me as well. You showed up for the kids tonight.”
“You matter,” he said firmly. “And it also meant something to me. I guess you could say I showed up for me too.”
“You did.” I kissed his scruffy cheek.
“And I told you not to give up on us. I want you to believe in me. In us.” He slumped so he could rest his head on my shoulder.
“I do.” Brushing his hair back, I kissed his forehead. “There’s no one I believe in more than you. But are you sure you want to turn your back on firefighting?”
“Yes.” He stretched so he could kiss my mouth. “And if I’m turning away from something I once wanted, it’s because I’m turning toward something new. A new door opened for me, and I decided to walk through it.”
I nodded. “That makes sense. I…I hope this—us, me—is worth it and what you’re hoping for.”
“Caleb.” Tony straightened so he could cup my face. “You already are. You’re everything I never expected to find and didn’t dare hope for.”
“Oh wow.” I kissed him so he wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes, although he was Tony, and likely, he already knew my emotions were running over.
And then we were kissing, really kissing, living room forgotten, Scotty down the hall forgotten, most of reality forgotten, everything other than each other and how good it felt to reconnect.
I swept a hand under the back of his cotton shirt, loving how he shivered.
“Room?” He stood, offering me a hand up even before I could reply.
“Room.” I gave him a dopey grin as we raced down the hall to my room. Probably not nearly quietly enough, but I tried to shut the door gently before flicking the lock on the knob. “And locked.”
“Bless your landlord for thinking of locking doors.” Tony pulled me to him again, and we traded kisses between removing our clothes.