15. Callum

I sawAddison pull up before I even knew what I was looking for. He”d called a ride-share, and the car was nondescript, but my eyes flew to it the moment it turned onto my street.

I walked away from my neighbours who had gathered on the side of the street in the middle of the night, chatting in low voices while the police did their thing.

Addison was climbing out of the back seat by the time I reached him.

As soon as he was upright, he met me in a big bear hug.

We were right out in the open. There were people everywhere… Just like last weekend when I”d acted like a completely heartless fool.

This time I didn”t care. I’d learned my lesson.

His arms went around my back, holding me tightly while I breathed him in. Even Addison”s familiar scent was soothing.

“Thank you for coming,” I whispered, calmer now that he was here.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Some psycho broke into our building,” I said and felt his shoulders tensing.

He pulled back to look at me and then glanced around at the people milling about.

“Did anyone get hurt?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“No. That lady over there woke up with the guy in her apartment. She thought he had a knife on him. I was out. When I came back, my door was open.”

“What?” Addison demanded. “You”re joking.”

I took a shuddering breath and shook my head.

“He ransacked a bunch of the apartments, mine was just one of them.”

Addison”s jaw tightened but he didn”t say anything. He stood close by my side and waited while the police searched the building and finished taking their reports. Cop cars were circling the block, but I knew that whoever had been trying to rob the place was long gone by now.

Now and then, Addison”s hand would land on my back, rubbing gently and I would lean into it, but we didn”t talk much.

Finally, we were all allowed inside again.

Together, we went up the elevator with a few of the other neighbours, but when we reached my apartment with the door hanging open, the lock completely busted, Addison let out a heavy breath.

He bit his lip until we were inside and he saw the state of the place. My stuff was everywhere because the asshole had decided to empty every drawer onto the floor.

“That”s it,” Addison said. “You”re coming with me.”

“What?” I asked.

“There”s no lock on the building,” he said, his voice tinged with frustration. “The front door is always open. Anyone can walk in here.”

I had never seen him look so aggravated before. Like he wanted to make me see sense.

“You”re not a normal person anymore Cal. You”re an NFL player. I”m not going to let you stay here. Not tonight, or any other night.”

“Addison—”

“No. Don”t fight me on this,” he said firmly. “You”re coming home with me. You don”t have to sleep with me, okay? You can take one of the spare rooms and I”ll help you find somewhere you”re more comfortable?—”

I cut him off with a kiss.

It worked at once. His hands flew to my sides, clinging to my shirt—possibly so he wouldn”t fall, but that was beside the point.

When I pulled back, his eyes were on mine now, and not the mess of my apartment. He looked deep into me and I knew that he was thinking about the last time we”d spoken rather than this current situation we were in.

“Does this mean you”ve thought about everything?” he asked.

I bit my lip and his eyes darted down to them. He seemed unable to resist sweeping forward and taking my lip gently from between my teeth like he did sometimes. My eyes fluttered shut as he ran his tongue over the swollen flesh, making me sigh.

“I thought about it,” I agreed in a whisper when he pulled back. “Can we talk when we get back to your place?”

I didn’t want to elaborate just yet because I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me.

“Being here feels creepy.”

It was hard to describe, but someone had gone through all my belongings, they’d most definitely stolen things too, but I hadn’t gone through everything yet, so I didn’t know what was missing. Either way, it felt slimy and gross.

Luckily, I didn’t have to explain. Addison always got me, and I could see the understanding in his eyes.

Instead of pressing, he turned and looked around at the mess.

“I”ll help you pack,” he said.

I shook my head.

“No. You just wait here.”

I set one of the kitchen chairs upright for him to sit on and went to my room to pack some clothes.

I wasn”t sure what to bring aside from the essentials. I would probably be back tomorrow to clean this place up, but the door lock was also broken so I didn”t want to leave anything too important or expensive behind.

Addison wasn”t wrong about this place. I knew it was rough, but I”d thought it would do just fine while I paid off Papa”s medical and funeral bills. Until tonight, I hadn”t complained, but seeing my door hanging open, the wood splintered around the lock had sent a chill down my spine that hadn”t fully left me yet.

I couldn”t imagine feeling safe here anymore.

I”d been planning on taking care of my own needs after my family was set straight, but now I was thinking I should get a nicer place while I worked on it a little slower than originally planned.

My paychecks were big enough now... a fact that was still sinking in.

I returned to the main room and froze at the sight that met me.

Addison had moved the chair to the front door. He had found one of my screwdrivers and was reattaching the broken and bent bits of wood and metal for where the lock had been sitting in place.

“Is that going to work?” I asked.

“One way to find out.”

With my bag in hand, we went into the corridor, and I pulled the door, yanking it at an angle so that it would go back into the right position. When I tried the lock, miraculously, it worked.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“I doubt it will hold for long, especially if it keeps being used,” Addison warned, but I shrugged.

“At least I won”t be worrying about it tonight,” I said. “I don”t want to deal with loading my TV into the back of the car.”

Addison chuckled.

“No. It”s late. We need to get some sleep.”

I nodded and together we went downstairs to his car.

“I”m glad you called me,” he said while we drove.

“I”m glad you came,” I admitted.

He reached out and rested a hand on my thigh, squeezing gently.

It had only been a few days, but it felt like I”d been missing this for ages.

“I”m so tired,” I admitted, “but can you remind me why I was stupid enough to walk out on you the other day?”

“You wanted to think,” he reminded me. “There”s nothing stupid about that. What was stupid was that I didn”t tell you what I wanted before you left.”

My heart sped up.

I glanced over and we locked eyes.

I forced my gaze back to the road, throat dry.

“Oh yeah?” I prompted.

“Yeah.” He let out a sigh. “I don”t know what conclusion you came to over the last few days, but since you called me tonight, I”m just going to go ahead and tell you.”

He swallowed audibly, his voice tight with nerves when he finally spoke.

“There’s no one else I want to be with, Cal. In fact, there”s no one I’ve wanted to be with for ten years. You’re special.”

My heart was thudding so hard I could barely hear anything else.

Thankfully, I pulled into his driveway and shut off the car.

Off the street, we were plunged into darkness and sat there for a long moment.

“So, you want...”

I couldn”t find the words to continue.

“I want to be with you,” Addison said. “And I don”t care if everyone knows it. You”re worth it.”

I swallowed.

“Funny you should say that,” I whispered, “because I came to the same conclusion.”

“What?” Addison asked as though he didn’t believe me. I could hear the tremble in his voice and then feel it in his hands as he reached for me, holding my arm.

“I think...” I took a shallow breath. “I think we should be boyfriends.”

“Are you sure? I mean, you don”t need to go telling everyone all at once or anything, but it’s kind of a big deal. There will be changes—oh my god, I’m not trying to talk you out of this, I swear. I’m just worried?—”

I cut him off for the second time that night with a lingering kiss. I had to hold back a smile because I couldn’t believe that I was the one making Addison feel so nervous.

When I pulled back far enough for us to see each other in the dark, he was smiling.

“Shit,” he muttered. “I can”t remember the last time I was this happy.”

“Me too,” I whispered.

We made it inside and into bed before finally getting to hold each other.

Addison”s hobble meant that we couldn”t exactly jump each other the way we wanted to. I was aching to get my hands on him again. It had been too long.

By the time we were both undressed and under the covers, I already felt like I was burning up.

Feeling him, all his naked skin, his heart beating against my own was better than anything. It was a second home.

“Thank you for being patient with me,” I whispered.

He shook his head.

“I didn”t have a choice. I was going to wait for you no matter what.”

He gripped my thigh, pulling so that it wrapped around his waist, wedging our bodies tightly together.

I moaned softly, luxuriating in the touch of his silky cock against mine, in the heat of his body.

Our lips met and we started kissing deeply, tongues massaging, teeth scraping as we got more into it, our hips moving together in perfect synchronicity.

I knew I wouldn’t last long. Addison knew how to push all my buttons and I was already close.

His hand gripped my ass tightly, encouraging my movements until I was on the very edge and then, his finger slipped lower, brushing my entrance.

Addison pressed in just a little and my hips bucked, an orgasm wrenching through me so suddenly that I cried out and had to cling to him, gasping until the pleasured tremors finished running through my body.

Addison held me through it, moaning in sympathy, his hips still tight to mine and finger offering pressure while my body spasmed.

Finally, I sagged, gulping in air.

Addison kissed my temple, his hand gently stroking my back.

It took me far too long to sleepily remember that I had left him hard and unfinished.

“Sorry,” I chuckled breathlessly. “I forgot.”

He laughed in return and allowed me to push his shoulders so that he was flat on his back. I went under the covers, taking his cock eagerly into my mouth and sucking all my cum off him in the process. I moaned at the salty taste alone. There was something aboutAddisoncovered in my seed that made my insides squirm happily.

The feeling of him sliding between my lips, his hard tip against the roof of my mouth and into my throat was even better.

Then Addison gripped my ponytail, lifting his hips to get the speed he wanted, and my cock sprang back to life, eager to get involved again.

I moaned desperately and just like that Addison came hard, his cock flexing deep into my throat.

Somewhere along the way, I”d figured out how to relax through this part and took it all in, swallowing with ease.

As soon as he was done, Addison pulled me back up so that he could wrap his arms around my waist and squeeze me.

“God, I could get so used to this. Callum Jones in my bed. All the time.”

He shook his head in wonder and breathed me in and I basically felt like the most precious person in the damn universe.

“You still want to be my boyfriend?” he asked. “I didn”t dream that part, did I?”

“No,” I chuckled.

Our lips met and for a while we just kissed in the dark, growing sleepier. When our lips eventually came apart, I was pretty sure Addison was already asleep.

“Addison?” I whispered.

“Mmhm?” he asked sleepily.

I swallowed, unsure how to phrase my question, but after what had just happened, it was on my mind again.

“You know how you like to top?” I asked.

“Yeah...”

“And you know how you went down on me and rimmed me last time and then, just there, you kind of started to put your finger inside?”

There was a silence and then Addison”s voice far more alert than it had been a minute ago.

“Yes?”

“Well... I did like it both times,” I managed to force out. “So, maybe we can try going all the way soon.”

There was another very long, very tense silence until Addison let out a frustrated groan.

“Why am I in this goddamn cast?!” he demanded into the darkness.

I laughed.

“I can go on top,” I suggested, and he let out a pained groan this time.

“No. Not for your first time,” he argued. “I mean, you could, but I want to take care of you.”

He pulled me tight against his chest and pressed his lips to my cheek.

“God,” he sighed. “I”m so happy you trust me with that.”

My cheeks heated.

“It”s not a big deal,” I mumbled but I held him just as tightly in return.

“Can you wait until I get my cast off?” he asked. “It should be less than two weeks.”

I nodded.

“It”s fine. There”s no rush.”

“Maybe not,” he said against my lips, “but I can”t wait.”