15. Stanton

15

STANTON

M uttering curses to myself, I sat down the bottle of wine I'd been pouring for Beckett and myself. He'd had a shitty day at work. I'd picked him up at the office and brought him home. I'd left him relaxing in bed and taking a minute before I dressed him. Afterward, we'd find a movie and go through the delivery apps to see what caught our attention. No one ever came by without calling me first to make sure I was home. I strode through the kitchen and living room.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared for what was on the other side of the door. I was polite by nature, ingrained in me due to my job. Faking the perfect smile, but I wasn't in the mood. I turned the knob and opened it, that carefully cultivated smile instantly dropped. Clark and Tanner stood on my stoop.

"Don't have to look so happy to see me," Clark grumped.

"I wasn't expecting anyone. Forget how to text?" As I asked, I stepped back to pull the door the rest of the way open.

Tanner looked uncomfortable where he stood behind Clark. Maybe he hadn't planned on a trip to spend time with his ex-husband's man. No way was I going to make a scene and cause my baby discomfort. It wasn't as if I'd told Clark who the man he was dating was to my boyfriend.

"Are we interrupting," Clark asked.

"My baby had a rough day at work. I was just pouring us some wine before I got him dressed after his bath. You know where everything is. I'll be right back."

As I closed and locked the door, I spun on my bare toes and made my way to the bedroom. If Beckett didn't want to come out, then he could stay in there until I could get rid of my friend.

"Is someone here," Beckett asked as he lay naked on his side with my pillow hugged to his chest.

"Clark… and Tanner." I grimaced when he sat up and stared at me. "I didn't tell Clark or Tyler, well, any of my friends, he was your ex-husband. He's not looking like he planned to come here."

"What should I do?"

Crossing the small space that kept us separated, I crawled onto the bed and stretched out in front of him. That sense of satisfaction came over me that I always got when my baby snuggled up to me. Being his safe space became so quickly addictive.

"Whatever you want. You can stay in here while I go be social, or you can come out. We can have wine… pick something for dinner."

"I feel stupid. I'm not the first person to run across their ex."

I stroked his back as I dropped a kiss to his lips. "You're not, but that doesn't change how that feels. He was neglectful. Now he's dating some younger guy."

"I'm dating some younger guy."

I snorted at his bratty tone. "But I pursued you. You weren't going to give me a chance. The ex became distracted by something so-called pretty. Friend or not, Clark has terrible taste in men and gets bored easily. This is more than likely my fault."

"Why do you say that?" he asked as he tucked his head under my chin to nuzzle my chest.

"I've ignored too many invites. And before you try it, nothing to do with you. With interviews for more staff and wanting to spend any free time I have with you, I've been putting everyone off. Even Mama."

"Clora is going to hunt us down, too, if we don't have dinner with her soon."

"This weekend, I promise. She's getting cranky. So, what do you want to do about our current situation?"

"Get me dressed, and I'll go be a mature adult."

Stifling a laugh as he flopped onto his back and threw a tantrum, I crawled off the bed and went to get him a t-shirt and sweats. I didn't expect Tanner to linger long. More than likely, he'd come up with an excuse to get Clark to leave. Appearances were extremely important to a man like Tanner. He wouldn't want to make a scene.

Returning to the bed, I told my baby to sit up. I regretted covering up any part of him. Our time together normally consisted of him being naked, and it didn't have anything to do with sex. I savored the confidence he carried himself with as he healed.

"What are you thinking about?" His question muffled as I tugged his shirt over his head.

"How much I don't want to dress you."

He softly laughed as I finished with his shirt and then dropped to my knees. Softly patting his hip, I silently asked him to stand and then kissed the lower curve of his belly. By the time I had him covered, I wanted to strip him back down and yell for Clark to get lost.

Getting to my feet, I gripped his hips and then hugged his waist. He draped his arms over my shoulders, then lowered his forehead to mine.

"You can do this, baby. But I won't hide you're mine. If I want to touch or kiss you, his presence isn't going to deter that."

"I know."

"Then come on, baby boy, let's be mature adults and socialize." I stepped back, grabbed one of his hands, and started leading him toward the door. "I should've pretended we weren't home."

He tightened his fingers through mine. How bad could it be? Tanner didn't want to make a scene. Even if my baby wanted to say something, I'd be there to distract him. We stepped out of the hallway, and I spotted Clark and Tanner on one of the sofas that faced each other with a coffee table in the middle. They had two glasses of wine, and two were set on the table.

"Hi, nice to see you two again," Beckett said as he took his spot on the floor, and I sat on the couch behind him. He tucked himself between my legs.

"Baby, do you want a snack?" I asked as I whispered in his ear when I handed him his wine and then took my own.

"Not right now but thank you."

"Give me a second. I have to grab my phone so you can pick out dinner." I got up, jogged to where I had my phone plugged in, and hurried back to the living room.

"What are you two up to tonight?" Beckett asked as I settled down behind him. As soon as he took my phone, I slipped my hand into the V neckline of his shirt to run my fingers through his thick chest hair. As my free arm hugged his neck, I rested my chin on the top of his head.

"We had an early dinner and were just in the area. Stanton hasn't been answering our group text, and I was told to come check on him," Clark said with a smile, then took a sip of his wine.

"Knock it off. It's not like I haven't missed a lot of hangout sessions before. Right now, it's summer, and our schedules are full, and I'm doing a few more interviews. I've decided to take off more to spend time with my baby."

"You, taking time… really?" Clark rolled his eyes like he didn't believe me.

"I found a reason."

Shooting a glance at Tanner, I noticed he shifted and hid a small snarl by taking a sip of his wine. All the man had to do was show a sliver of his ass, and I'd make a scene.

"Last weekend, he took me to a ranch for riding lessons and to visit an animal sanctuary. I'm getting a puppy and a kitten."

"Now we're getting two? I thought we'd start with one or the other."

Before my baby even tipped his head back, I knew what I'd see, an adorable pout plumped out his bottom lip. He slowly batted his lashes, and I groaned.

"But, Daddy…"

"Okay, okay, we can get two." I dropped a kiss on his mouth, wishing we were alone.

"You're so weak," Clark whispered, and I lifted my head to find him shaking his head.

"It was either that or try to figure out how to turn our backyard into a home for a mini-Highland cow. That almost happened."

"I was so close," Beckett softly said as he leaned farther back to rest his head on my chest.

"He was also close with the ponies, a baby goat, there was also chicks… I had to check his pockets."

"How long have you two been dating?" Tanner asked.

As always, I learned to read people. Body language gave a lot away. Tanner carried himself with a stiffness that made it seem he was always on the defensive. The two nights I'd spent time in Tanner's presence, I couldn't see him and Beckett together. No wonder my baby was closed off.

"A little under four months now, right?" Beckett asked and brought me back from my mind wandering.

"I think another week. It'll be four since I met you at Mama's party."

"How'd that go over with Clora?" my friend inquired as he relaxed more into the cushions behind him.

"Actually, she was pretty cool with it. Did try to talk me out of it, but not too hard. She told me to stay away unless I was in it for good. How long have you two been together?" I asked, looking from Clark to Tanner and back to my friend.

The two men weren't touching, not even the occasional brush, and I couldn't imagine dating someone and not having some level of intimacy. They weren't in public so there wasn't some danger of discovery. There was an invisible barrier between them. Which was strange because my friend and I had come out about the same time. He wouldn't let Tanner drag him back into the closet. But one of my closest friends had a tendency to get stupid over new men. Although, he easily grew bored.

"I think we met a year or so ago at the gym, but we didn't start dating until recently, though."

That was weird for Clark. He didn't really do friends-only with men like Tanner. In the years I'd known him, he only introduced the men he was dating once and then would bring a new one around. My oldest friend had no idea what he was looking for in a man or relationship. We'd watched him cry into his healthy smoothies more than once over the years.

"With cutting down on work, you going to be around more for our friend nights?" Clark asked with an arch of a perfectly sculpted brow.

"That's up to my baby and if I want to share him." A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I drew circles in the springy curls with my fingertips.

"He'll hang out more," Beckett answered to offset the outrage my reply would cause.

I knew how much my baby loved meeting and hanging out with my friends. When he'd sneak over to an event I was working, my employees were all over him. The more I showed him off, the less tense he was. And I'd discovered how little time Tanner spent with Beckett. I'd barely consider them roommates; I didn't understand how that level of neglect was possible, especially to a man like my baby. The amount of willpower to be a responsible adult and go to work barely existed.

"Our Stanton has been almost a completely different person since he met you. All the bragging he did, we thought you were a saint. Well, you are if you put up with him."

"He has his moments."

"Hey, baby, be nice. I waited a long time for you."

"To the ripe old age of twenty-seven, how did you even survive," he snarked as he raised his hands to rub my biceps.

"I like this one, Stanton," Clark said as he got up and headed for the kitchen. I heard bottles clanking together as he went through my wine stash.

As I lowered my head, I whispered in his ear. "You okay, baby?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Promise." Beckett never took his attention away from his ex.

"Thank you for not making a scene in front of my baby." I locked gazes with Tanner.

His jaw tensed, and his fingers almost white from the hold he had on his glass. "I wasn't informed we'd be coming here. Clark just said a friend needed to be checked on."

"I didn't think you'd come here willingly to spend time with me." I searched for any hurt in Beckett's tone, but I didn't hear it.

Once we'd left the pub after that first run-in with Tanner, he'd told me that his ex had confronted him in the restroom. Well, not a confrontation, really. Yet it was clear Tanner hadn't liked Beckett ignoring him.

"You're looking good, Beckett."

"Thanks. I'm doing good. What about you?"

"Work and the gym take up most of my time. Why haven't you told your boyfriend's friends about who I am?" There was only curiosity in the question, so I let my baby take care of answering.

"You haven't told Clark either. I don't think he'd have brought you here if you had. We're not the first exes to run into each other."

"It's just awkward."

"That's one word for it. I didn't like how you treated me toward the end of our marriage, but that's for me to deal with."

There was that tic in Tanner's jaw again. Beckett must have felt me tense because he rubbed my arms. I met him halfway when he turned his head to tip his chin for a kiss. As much as that helped, it didn't push away my need to protect my baby. Never did I want him to have to deal with anything that hurt or caused him discomfort.

"I was surprised you didn't ask for the divorce first."

"Too late for the what-ifs now. It happened when it was supposed to, any earlier, and I wouldn't have found him," Beckett whispered as he cuddled as close as we could get.

"Love you, baby." The words were nothing more than a sigh of breath across his cheek. Although, I did wish I'd found him sooner.

"Love you, too, Daddy," Beckett said so sweetly. "Tanner, we can be adults, but if you date Clark longer, we're going to have to let him know."

All Tanner did was nod, and I had a feeling he wouldn't be around much longer. Which made me a bit pissed on behalf of my friend. But they were adults and would figure it out. Clark appeared with another bottle of wine and effectively ended our private talk.

"My baby needs dinner, y'all want anything… maybe an appetizer?" I picked up my phone where Beckett had placed it on the table and handed it to him so he could pick out what he wanted. We had similar tastes in food.

"Not me, what about you, Tanner?"

"No, I'm good. I'm still full from earlier."

Beckett made our order for dinner and dessert. Conversation continued, but it was just safe topics—what everyone was up to. What everyone was up to at work. Tanner seemed more relaxed. Yet I didn't miss the looks he kept giving Beckett. Did he regret letting Beckett get away? Even with the history between them, there was no doubt my baby had moved on. I wasn't so sure about Tanner, though. Hindsight being in play, Beckett was a beautiful, sweet, and successful man. He was sexy.

Beckett was mine in every way, a year or twenty, I knew he'd still be worth all my love and effort. He'd never experience another moment of doubt about his importance to his partner. Every day, I promised myself I'd put him first because I couldn't imagine life without my man—my boy.