10. David

Chapter 10

David

All hell was breaking loose at Express Organics. The CEO sent out some weird political message to their entire database, including those who had opted out of all promotional messaging, and the press was having a field day with it.

This meant the fun and celebratory parties we had planned for their big trade show in Boston were now all about damage control and not more than pathetic attempts to keep some of their bigger clients who didn’t want to be associated with drama, politics, or a manic CEO on a bender, as one of the media outlets was calling him.

It also meant our budget was reduced because so many customers had already started to jump ship.

I was being set up for failure, and I knew it as well as everyone else, but there was nothing we could do but throw the best damn “save-your-ass” parties Boston had ever seen and hope they were generally considered a success.

As if my ability to have good food and decoration in a rented room would make a pissed-off customer re-sign their annual contract. But that was the job I signed up for, so when Allen insisted I book a redeye flight to Boston so we could do some of the logistical planning in person, I had no choice but to buy my tickets.

And that meant three whole days without seeing Xander.

I texted that I was stopping by the store after work, but I didn’t give him any details. Anything that brought tears to my eyes just thinking about was not something that should be shared over a text message. I needed to hold him in my arms and inhale his buttery scent as I told him I’d be gone and would miss our next few nights together.

After checking in with my other clients to make sure they had what they needed from me for the next few days, I headed to the store to see my man.

Xander was behind the counter, talking to Ryan about something to do with their warehouse, when I walked inside.

“Hey, sexy.” Xander left what he was doing and came straight to me, wrapping me in his arms as if it had been months since we last held each other. “It’s always nice to see you in here. You shopping?”

“I wish.” I nodded toward his studio because I already felt a little emotional just having him in my arms. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Of course.” He reached for my hand and pulled me across the store and back to his studio. When we were inside, he closed the door and leaned back on it, pulling me toward him so I was effectively caging him in against the wall. “What’s going on?”

I exhaled deeply and pressed my forehead to his. “I have to go to Boston for a few days to deal with a client emergency. I’ve got to be on a red-eye in four hours.”

“Oh, shit.” His arms circled my neck, and he kinda hung there, pulling my body against his. “That sucks.”

“It does.” I closed my eyes and sighed. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“I don’t want you to leave either, but it’s just for a few days.” Xander placed his palm on my cheek, and I leaned into it. “And I’m so behind on my designs that pulling a few all-nighters here will probably be good for me.”

I pulled back to see if he was exaggerating or not. “I don’t want you working here alone all night.”

Xander just rolled his eyes. “I do it all the time. Well, I used to, and it’s fine. There’s a security service that monitors all the businesses, so I’m probably safer here than at home.”

I knew that wasn’t true because he lived in a gated community and had a state-of-the-art security system with cameras surrounding his entire home. Apparently, my man once had a stalker, so he’d been forced to take extreme measures. “Even so, I’m gonna miss the hell out of you.”

Xander grinned and gave me a chaste kiss. “Me too, sexy. Who am I gonna eat dinner with?” Then he gasped in horror. “And I won’t have any milk while you’re gone. That’s the real tragedy here.”

“Oh, right.” It wasn’t his fault I was being called away on short notice, and it was my fault that I never saved the milk I pumped in the morning because I liked him to take it out orally. So now he was left with nothing. “I’m sorry, babe. Maybe you can buy some from one of your past partners?”

Xander cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. “Really? You’d be okay with that?”

“Yeah, of course. You shouldn’t suffer because I have a shitty client.” I swallowed hard and nodded. “I’d feel better about it if you drank it after being pumped instead of directly from the guy, but I trust you to make the call.”

He smirked and exhaled deeply. “Thank you, David, but I have no interest in getting milk from anyone else, fresh or pumped. But the fact that you trust me to do it if I need to means a lot to me.”

I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to the side of Xander’s face, right by his ear. “I love you, Xander. I’m sorry if this feels like it’s too soon, but I won’t be able to get on that plane without you knowing how I truly feel.”

Xander turned to catch my lips with his and kissed me again, deep and wet and messy this time. “Fuck, David. I love you, too. And you just made it a helluva lot harder for me to say goodbye to you right now.”

I grinned and kissed him again. “I’ve got to get home to pack, take my trash cans out to the front, water my lawns and then head to the airport, but I’ll text you tomorrow.”

He squeezed my arms before releasing them. “Text when you board the plane. I want to know when to start watching your flight to make sure it’s okay.” He was such a sweetheart.

“Will do, babe.” I kissed him again and then backed away. “Don’t miss me too much… and make lots of great designs.”

“No promises on either of those points, but I’ll do my best.” He walked me out to the front door. “I love you, sexy David.”

I turned around and kissed him one more time, wiping a tear off my cheek before he could see it. “I love you too, gorgeous Xander.”