Chapter Thirteen

Forrest

Things had been going great with Cliff. After our night together, I felt closer to him. It hadn't been a casual thing. That wasn't how either of us wanted it and I appreciated it. Falling asleep in his arms and then waking up in them the next morning had been everything.

We were getting along so well, the sex was great, and he was not only Daddy when I needed him to be but also a friend and partner at other times. It was almost like we were having a normal relationship. Except, we weren't.

Work was still in our way, and it would remind me of that fact every time I wanted to give him a kiss or go out to lunch with him. He was my boss, and our relationship was a secret. We hadn't explicitly said we couldn't tell anyone at work, but it was a given. He was my superior, and being together would land us both on HR's bad list. One of us would get fired, probably him because he was my superior, and that wasn't something either of us wanted.

I didn't know why things at work still bothered me. But they did. Earlier that day, I walked into the staff room to grab some coffee. Cliff was there with another of the admin team and was asked who he was bringing to the work Christmas party.

"I'm not sure. I haven't talked about it to the person I'm seeing."

He'd been so kind, shutting down any attempts at setting him up by letting it be known he wasn't single. And still, it hurt me so much, I nearly cried.

Instead of talking to him about it like a grown-up, I went home and whined to Nick about it as I made dinner.

"I know I shouldn't let it bother me," I muttered as I chopped vegetables.

Nick looked up at me like I'd lost my mind. He was there for dinner, not to be my therapist.

"But how could it not? It's like I'm something to be ashamed of, and that's not fair because I know that's not how he feels, but also...I don't know what to do."

Nick meowed at the cupboard where his food lived. He knew exactly what I should be doing, and it wasn't this. I popped the chicken and potatoes into the oven and got him some kibble. "I hope that covers your fee."

He was already eating it, and I was considering that a yes.

As I stood there, watching the oven as if that helped the meal cook, I had this idea—what if we could work together, but also not? The handbook mentioned fraternizing with people who work under you. It didn't say anything about dating within the company being off the table. I should know; I read that darn thing three times.

After checking to make sure the oven was doing its thing, I opened my laptop and went to the company HR message board where they posted job openings. There were quite a few opportunities listed, and I scrolled through them all. Most of them didn't have anything to do with my expertise, but then I hit one that was basically the same position as mine, just in a different department two floors down. Same salary, same responsibilities, same everything—it was a lateral move.

In theory, if HR wanted to, they could just slide me over. I wasn't sure they would want me to, not after me taking this job so recently, but the opening date was around the same as the one I got. My guess was they both opened at once, and maybe it wouldn't impact them much at all. Fine, it was wishful thinking, but I was going to hold onto that notion for life.

I put my name in for it. It was just a solicitation of interest, and if they offered it to me and I decided I didn't want it, fine. I had to try.

After making sure I got the receipt email, I closed the computer and checked on the chicken. It still had a while to go.

I couldn't shake the guilt hanging over me. It didn't make sense. I hadn't done anything wrong...except I made a life decision without asking Daddy. I hadn't even thought of it that way until just then, but it sure hit me that way.

It was near six, and I sent a text..

Are you still working? I wanted to call but not interrupt you.

My phone rang almost immediately. "I'm just on my way home," he said. He'd had a late meeting tonight, and I knew that, which was why I hadn't wanted to bother him. But I couldn't let this hang over me.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come to dinner. I made chicken and potatoes."

"Are you okay? You sound like something's up," he asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I wanted to see you. I need Daddy time."

"Need me to bring anything?"

"Just yourself."

We hung up, and I set the table and started working on the salad. I had everything ready by the time he arrived, a box from the bakery in his hand.

"I said you didn't need to bring anything."

"And I didn't need to." He grinned. "But I wanted to." He opened the box to reveal gingerbread men…dirty gingerbread men. They were the funniest cookies I'd ever seen.

"I feel like there's something you want to get off your chest." He pulled me in for a hug.

I sighed, leaning into his embrace. "There is, Daddy."

"Tell Daddy."

I sucked in a deep breath and spit it all out. "Okay, so I heard you talking at work about how you weren't bringing anyone to the Christmas party, and it made me feel bad. And I know that's not on you—that's on me. But we can't be open at work because of our jobs, and it was festering, and Nick wasn't any help. So...I went on the work message board and applied for a lateral position that would have me working for Riley. And then I felt guilty because I didn't ask you about it first. And, basically, I'm a mess."

I was talking a mile a minute, and the fact that he could understand any of it was a miracle. He hugged me tighter and kissed the top of my head, telling me that everything was fine. For the first time since I heard his conversation, I started to relax.

"You were such a good boy, telling me all your big feelings and how you made a well-thought-out decision." Another kiss on my head. "For the record, I hated not being able to tell Jim that you were going to be my date. There's not much more I want than to be able to show you off."

Over dinner, we talked more about everything. We discussed work, the party, Nick being a shitty therapist, events coming up at Chained, and how he wished he could shout from the rooftops that we were together. I admitted that I'd been feeling the same way.

It was a nice conversation—not only because of the words we shared but because we were being so open with each other. We'd been fumbling with communication from the beginning, letting our careers get in the way of our relationship. That was stopping today.

After dinner, I asked him to stay. If I had my way, we'd be together every night. There was something about falling asleep in his arms and waking up in them the next morning. But it was still early in our relationship. That could wait.

"I would love nothing more than to hold you in my arms, all night long, my sweet boy, but first, we have to tackle the dishes."

Always the daddy, and I loved it.