16. Gideon

My phone buzzed during the last couple minutes of my presentation. I knew it was either Dante or Kai. They were the only ones I didn’t have silenced completely. And had I been needed at the meeting even a minute longer, I’d have excused myself and answered it. Instead, I powered through the last couple minutes, dismissed everyone, and pulled out my phone.

Kai hadn’t been sending me text messages like I thought. He’d called. I called them right back, wishing I’d left the meeting after all.

“Hey, sorry, I was just finishing up a meeting.” I didn’t give him time to even say hello.

“Oh, do you need me to call back later?”

“No, no, no, no. This is a good time. I just finished. What’s up?”

He didn’t sound like he did the last time he called me. There was no fear in his voice. No break in his words.

“I was gonna ask you for a favor. We were going to ask you for a favor.”

“Ask away.” Whatever it was, I was going to do it. Just having him ask had my heart soaring.

“You know how I was supposed to be gone starting tomorrow?”

I very much did. And while I loved the idea of him being able to travel, having him do so while pregnant made me nervous. But at the same time, he was a grown-up, and the midwife said he could. He hadn’t asked for my opinion, and in this case, it wasn’t my place to interject it.

“Yeah, you’re going with Dante on his work trip.”

“Well, about that… Dante and I had a talk earlier today, and I think it’s best if I stay home. I know the scare at the doctor’s office wasn’t a real scare, but it kind of was, and I’d feel more comfortable staying here.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” And a huge relief. “Do you need me to bring groceries or something over since this wasn’t planned?”

“Well, no… I was more...”

There was a shuffling, and next thing I knew, I heard Dante’s voice over the phone. “What my… our mate was trying and failing to ask was… Well, we were thinking maybe you could stay here… with him… and keep him company.”

I, of course, immediately agreed and found myself packing that night. Dante was leaving early-ish in the morning, so I packed my car while it was still dark and hit up the 24-hour grocery store. He had hesitated when I asked about groceries, and I wasn’t sure if that hesitation was because he had something different to ask me at the time, which he had, or because there was a need. Not willing to chance it was the second, I went and bought anything and everything that I knew he enjoyed eating. The cart was ridiculously full. And I didn’t care. It was better for them to have too much food than not enough.

I carried the bags one trip at a time, leaving them outside their door until I had everything. There was no reason to disturb Kai and Dante multiple times. When Kai opened the door, his eyes immediately fell on the bags.

“Are you moving in?” He didn’t say it like it was a bad thing.

My bear perked up.

“Well, you didn’t tell me no on the groceries. You just said that wasn’t why you were calling, so I brought some.” Some being a major understatement.

“I knew I was leaving you in good hands.” Dante came up behind his mate, a smile on his face.

He kissed our mate’s cheek and grabbed some of the groceries. We unpacked the food together as Dante told us about his trip. All too soon, it was time for Dante to say his goodbyes and leave for the week. As excited as I was about spending time with Kai, I was sad Dante’s work had been the catalyst for it.

And then, once he left, I wasn’t sure how to act. An interesting feeling spread through me, like there was a freedom that came with us being here alone together, but also like there was a piece of me missing. Especially now that Dante and I had gotten affectionate. Was that even the word for what had happened last time I walked out this door?

I still hadn’t fully processed it. I knew I liked it, though. And he did too. And based on the way Kai had been responding, he was right there with us in the loving-it department. This wasn’t something for us to jump into, not until after we had some sort of discussion, anyway.

Doing so would’ve been a far cry from the slowness that my mate had requested. It was best to give our feelings time to simmer, especially when it came to Dante. That hadn’t been something I expected, and while I loved it, it also had me a bit off kilter.

I’d taken the day off to spend with Kai, and we spent it watching old movies. I didn’t fail to notice that Kai didn’t watch television shows. He focused on movies, and I wondered if it was because of his part in a television show and how it hadn’t been with his consent.

But we snuggled on the couch, watching movie after movie, me plying him with food and water to keep him nourished and hydrated. It was nice.

I was enjoying myself… a lot. But as dinner rolled around, it hit me—every minute that ticked away was getting us closer to bedtime. We hadn’t really discussed what that would look like. When I agreed to come, I’d assumed I was going to be sleeping on the couch. But the way we were being together, cuddly and sweet, maybe not. It was all up for him to decide.

Whatever he chose was fine, but I knew one thing, I couldn’t think of anything better than sleeping with him in my arms.