12. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I zzy lay on his bed in his underwear. It was too early to go to sleep but the alternative was to go to the club and get shitfaced, which never solved a single thing. Usually he was good at shoving down his problems, hiding them away from himself so he didn't have to deal with them. In the past, it had worked out.

Sometimes, if he drank enough and buried himself in enough willing holes, he could forget he’d had a sister at all. Those moments were fleeting. They lasted until the alcohol wore off and the regret set in.

Afterward he was right back where he started, mourning a woman who’d been more his mother than his sibling. It had been years since he'd had to say goodbye to the one person he’d loved the most in the world.

He'd tried to rationalize his feelings by acknowledging how he was always destined to lose her. She was human. Humans had a much shorter lifespan than dragon shifters. All it meant was he would be in the exact spot he was in. He couldn't help but wonder if every road he could have taken would have always led him to the same place.

And where was that exactly?

Izzy sighed and shook his head.

He had no fucking clue. All he knew was he didn't like the place he was in and wasn't that a shitty thing to feel after all these years.

Maya would have asked him what the hell he thought he was doing playing around with hearts like he was. And he would have said he hadn't made any promises to anyone and that included Ulises. But that was before he'd promised to chauffeur him everywhere.

Although Izzy was almost positive Ulises didn't trust the promise. He hadn't called for a ride in three days. It was hard to believe a social butterfly like Ulises hadn't gone anywhere in all that time. At the very least, he was cleaning for Seryn. And he had probably had to do his job in spurts so he wouldn’t get tired.

Izzy dialed Ulises’ number. It rang forever without a response, so he hung up and decided to text him.

Izzy: Why didn't you answer my call?

Ulises: Because I don't want to talk to you.

Sassy boy. Izzy had half a mind to spank his bottom.

Izzy: Do you need a ride anywhere?

Ulises: No. Thanks. I have it covered.

Izzy: We agreed I'd take you.

Ulises: You agreed you'd take me. I never had a say.

Izzy: I'm trying to be nice here.

Ulises: Wow. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside . Ulises followed that with an eyeroll emoji.

Izzy: Please, just let me take you to work in the morning.

Ulises: Gavin is taking me.

Izzy: Fine but do you need to be anywhere else.

Ulises: You're not going to let it go are you.

Izzy smiled. He had him. Ulises would give in.

Izzy: I just want to help, baby.

Ulises: Fine. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday in the afternoon. You can take me to that.

Izzy: Thank you.

Ulises: With the stipulation that you stop calling me baby.

Izzy chuckled before he even sent the text.

Izzy: Okay, Sweetheart.

Ulises: AAAAAHHHH! I changed my mind. You can't take me to the appointment now.

Izzy: No take backsies.

Ulises: That's not a word.

Izzy: Look it up in the dictionary.

Ulises: Bye, Izzy.

Izzy: Bye, baby. See you Wednesday, if not before.

Ulises sent an angry face emoji a second later.

The conversation improved his mood. Instead of dissecting the reason, he grabbed a beer from his fridge.

His phone buzzed a second later. Izzy noticed it was a message from Ulises through the dating app. It had taken him a while to respond. The fact that he did three minutes after having a conversation with Izzy via text said something. He didn't know what. Especially since Ulises didn't know it was Izzy he was talking to. Whatever it was, it was probably yet another thing Izzy needed to navigate regarding Ulises.

Gods, Izzy wished he could get the boy out of his mind.

MagicMan365: I'm sorry for the delayed response. It makes me nervous returning your message because you don't have photos on your profile.

That was a good point. Izzy needed to have a talk with Ulises about responding to everyone who messaged him and about trusting his intuition. If something seemed off, it probably was. Case in point was the fact that Ulises was talking to Izzy and didn't realize it.

Not that Izzy was ready to clue him in.

DragonDaddy3: I'm sorry for that. I haven't fully completed the profile yet.

DragonDaddy3: I don't have any good pictures of myself. Yours are sexy.

It was everything Izzy could do not to send Ulises a dick pic. The only reason he didn't was because Ulises might recognize his dick. He'd seen it often enough.

MagicMan365: Thanks. And not having pictures is okay. I'm not that hung up on looks to be honest.

DragonDaddy3: So you're a personality guy, huh?

MagicMan365: I just want someone nice. Who I enjoy spending time with.

DragonDaddy3: I wouldn't describe myself as nice, if I'm being honest.

MagicMan365: How would you describe yourself?

DragonDaddy3: You go first.

No way was Izzy telling Ulises the truth. He'd guess it was Izzy. But he couldn't lie either. He needed time to come up with something.

MagicMan365: I'll tell you one thing about myself but you have to tell me something in return.

DragonDaddy3: Deal.

Magic Man365: I like sappy romance movies.

Izzy didn't know that. They hadn't done a lot of talking during their time together. They had unbelievable sexual chemistry. Izzy hadn't wanted to explore beyond that. Maybe he should have.

DragonDaddy3: As in nobody puts Baby in the corner.

MagicMan365: LOL Dirty Dancing is one of my favorites.

DragonDaddy3: Does that mean you want a long-term relationship?

MagicMan365: Yes. Now you go. Unless long-term isn't something you're looking for, in which case, good luck and have a nice life.

Shit. Put on the spot left him in a near panic.

Izzy plopped down on the couch. He thought about not answering at all. It would send a message regardless of what he did.

He picked up the remote and turned on the television. He flipped through the channels but shut it off when the tension built in his chest.

He grabbed his phone.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

DragonDaddy3: I want long-term but it scares me.

MagicMan365: Why?

DragonDaddy3: Abandonment Issues.

He hadn’t thought about Maya as much. He’d been going through the motions of life, trying to forget the pain of losing her. Catching feelings for Ulises had brought it to the forefront again.

MagicMan365: Since you told me something so personal, I'll reciprocate.

MagicMan365: I'm sick.

DragonDaddy3: I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it's nothing serious.

Izzy wished for things that weren't possible. Like his sister to come back from the dead and for Ulises to be well again. Because he might have sounded as if he didn't know the severity, but he did. He knew it was bad.

MagicMan365: Well, I've had this issue my whole life but I'm not dying because of it. It's your turn.

DragonDaddy3: I like movies with violence. Like John Wick.

MagicMan365: Nobody better mess with your dog, huh?

DragonDaddy3: LOL Not that I have one.

MagicMan365: Are you more of a cat person?

DragonDaddy3: I like other people's pets.

MagicMan365: I don't have a pet. I would love one though.

DragonDaddy3: Cat or Dog?

MagicMan365: Can I have both?

DragonDaddy3: You can have anything you want, baby.

MagicMan365: Baby?

Shit.

DragonDaddy3: Too soon. LOL

MagicMan365: Definitely. We should go on a date first, maybe .

Double shit. And a fuck. Because timing was everything and he didn't have that on his side where Ulises was concerned.

DragonDaddy3: How about meeting for coffee?

Gods, what the hell was he doing? Did he actually just ask someone on a date? Ulises, no less.

Izzy's chest tightened. His fingers itched to take back the offer. Maybe he could make a joke about how he was just kidding. But that would ruin everything.

MagicMan365: I didn’t mean to pressure you or to fast-track things. I think we should talk through the messenger a bit first.

Izzy breathed a sigh of relief. Thank fuck Ulises was sensible.

DragonDaddy3: No rush.

One thing was obvious. Izzy needed to get a few things straight in his mind. Like whether he was pursuing Ulises for something more than a fuck.

The very thought of committing terrified him, but not as much as losing Ulises did.