Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

ARTHUR

My mind was on Hendrix and what he was up to at the club with Laz when I was tucking Sophie in. I trusted him when he said he was only going to help Laz, but it still felt weird that the guy I was seeing was at a sex club right now. He couldn't outright say that's where he was going in front of Sophie, but I got his point from context. Laz was an incubus. If he wasn't taking care of himself, I had to assume that meant he wasn't getting the energy he needed through sex. Laz was friendly with me when I was backstage with them, but I did agree that he looked tired lately. I brought him an energy drink before the last show and he looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

"Daddy? Are you and Hendrix boyfriends?"

Surprised, I jerked my gaze up to Sophie. She was cuddled in her bed, surrounded by her stuffed animals, and watching me curiously.

"I-I, uh… W-Why do you ask, sweetheart?"

She shrugged. "Because you talk about him a lot. Mom talked about Lee a lot before he came to visit too, and he told me he's her boyfriend."

That was news to me. I didn't realize Val was dating. Not that I had any say or any problem with it. It would be unfair of me to say she couldn't while I was. I couldn't even complain about the fact that I hadn't met the man because she hadn't met Hendrix, either. I'd need to fix that soon. I wanted to be open and honest with Val. If I kept things from her, she'd lash out later. I didn't want her to take away my daughter just because I didn't tell her I was seeing someone. I was a little uncertain about how she'd take me dating a man, though.

Sophie looked at me expectantly, and I knew I wasn't going to get out of the conversation without answering her.

"Yes… We've gone on a few dates. Does that bother you?"

Like my parents, I never talked to Sophie about the different kinds of relationships in the world. Maybe that was wrong of me, but I thought she was too little to have that conversation before now. Luckily, she didn't look bothered by it. She shook her head.

"No. Does that mean you and Hendrix are gonna get married?"

"It's a little early to know that," I confessed. It felt awkward talking to her about this, but I didn't want to ignore the conversation completely like my parents had. "For most adults, they date for a while before they discuss marriage. To see if they're compatible."

"What's that?"

Pursing my lips, I thought about how to explain it in a way she'd understand. "Well, when you first meet someone, you don't know everything about them, right?" I waited for her to nod before continuing. "Dating gives you a chance to get to know them to see if your personalities and interests match. You go out together, spend time together, and when you and that person are comfortable with each other, then you start talking about getting married. There's no rush to get married."

She frowned. "But Mom and Lee are already planning to get married."

Stunned, my eyebrows flew up. "She told you this?"

Sophie shook her head. "No. I heard them in the kitchen. Lee doesn't like it when I do that, but I didn't mean to. I was going to ask for a snack and I overheard them."

Val never mentioned seeing anyone, much less getting serious. I made a mental note to talk to her about it.

"Well, if your mom and Lee feel they're compatible, then that's probably why they're discussing it. Don't get ahead of yourself, though. Your mom and I talked about marriage pretty early in our relationship to make sure we were on the same page, but she and I dated a few years before getting married." But if I knew Val, if she was discussing it, she meant business. The only reason we postponed marriage was because we were both still in college at the time. If she'd had her way, we wouldn't have waited that long. "How about you wait for them to talk to you about it instead of listening to conversations you weren't invited into, okay? It's not polite to eavesdrop."

"Okay, daddy." She snuggled down into her bed, smiling when I dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Sleep tight, sweetheart."

After tucking her in, I headed to my office for a little while. I debated calling Val to ask her about her new boyfriend, but I didn't want Sophie to get in trouble for eavesdropping. I decided to wait, and bring up the fact that I was dating to Val sometime soon. Maybe if I started the conversation, she'd tell me about her own boyfriend.

I thought it'd bother me, the idea of my ex wife with someone else. We weren't very compatible, but she was still my wife once. I probably should've been less surprised that my only issue with it was not knowing the man who would be spending time around my daughter. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Val and I were both seeing someone, so it didn't sting as much. But I also wondered if it was because I wasn't as invested in the marriage as I first thought. I loved Val, but I wasn't in love with her. I thought that came with time. But now that I had Hendrix, I realized Val and I were both just going through the motions. We dated a respectable amount of time, had a long, but not too long, engagement, got pregnant right away and followed the order that we both were supposed to follow. There was no passion, no excitement.

I wished I would've realized it sooner. Maybe I could've spared myself a little pain down the line. But if I had, I wouldn't have Sophie. I couldn't regret my marriage, not when I had her. And hopefully, one day far in the future, Sophie would find someone who made her as happy as Hendrix made me.

Thinking of him put a smile on my face, and I shot him a text before I remembered where he was headed tonight. I immediately assumed he would get back to me later and hoped I didn't come off as clingy or suspicious by texting him while I knew he was out. I was stressing about it when he replied to my text a few minutes later.

My heart jumped as I saw his reply, letting me know all was well. He didn't seem bothered by me texting him and he let me know he wouldn't have access to his phone once he was there, but that he'd text me right after. It was all very reassuring, and I felt myself relax. If I texted Val when she was out when we were married, she'd always get furious with me and yell at me to leave her alone. I don't know why I expected the same thing to happen with Hendrix. He was nothing like Val, but I was glad that he didn't seem to have a problem reassuring me.

Once that was over, I popped online to check on those searches I'd been doing earlier in the week. After talking to Henry, I felt better about accepting my sexuality, but I still did some research to confirm his theory. There was a lot out there about the sexuality spectrum, and stories to back it up. I was more receptive to people's accounts online now that I had confirmation that it was real. I scrolled through some pages, mostly out of curiosity, since I'd already answered most of my questions earlier in the week. I was about to shut down my computer and get ready for bed when I noticed an email in my inbox that I hadn't checked yet. I pulled it up, a smile overtaking my face when I realized what it was. My hand went to my phone automatically, wanting to talk to Hendrix, but then I remembered his phone was off.

This was big news, though, and he'd definitely want to hear it. I made a note to call him and share the good news with him and the band. Maybe I'd get a reward this time for pulling this off.

I wasn't willing to tell him over the phone and Hendrix was busy on Sunday with another interview, so we made plans to meet up Monday night. He and the band were going to practice together a bit, but he said he wanted me to join him and I thought it'd be fun to see them practice like that.

Hendrix didn't want me to have to drive at night, so he said he'd meet me at my office after work and we'd teleport back to his place. I still wasn't comfortable with flying, but Hendrix didn't take any offense. He did tease me for it, but I didn't mind so much. I liked that he was playful with me.

My eyes darted to the clock over and over and I launched out of my seat when it struck five. I had my own office after getting a promotion last year, but I had to pass Henry's desk to leave, and he shot me a bewildered look as I darted past.

"Woah, Artie, where's the fire?"

"Can't talk, got a date. See you tomorrow!"

I heard him laugh, but I didn't stop to chat. I was too eager to see Hendrix. It felt nice that I had a friend who was interested in my life, though. I bounced on my toes while waiting for the elevator, willing the numbers to go faster when I rode it down. Hendrix was waiting for me out front, leaning against the wall beside the door. I actually almost ran past him before he called out to me with a laugh. Spinning around, I beamed at him. I had only seen him a few days ago, but I missed hearing him laugh.

"Hey!"

"Hey, yourself," he chuckled. "Got a date or something?"

He was teasing, so I went along with it, shrugging casually. "I mean, there was this really hot demon who's been hanging around. Might go see him."

Grabbing my tie, he dragged me closer, a grin on his face. "So you think I'm hot, huh?"

"The hottest," I murmured, my eyes dropping to his mouth. Aside from near the club, we'd never kissed in public before. Especially not this close to my office and people who knew me. I could see Hendrix hesitate, maybe worried I would want to hide him, but I wasn't going to pretend we weren't real just because people at the office didn't know I was gay. I crowded closer, soaking in the smell of his shampoo, and pressed my lips against his.