Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Xavier

We spent the rest of the morning into late afternoon in relative silence, wandering the small section of the city Dexter had chosen for the day.

I didn’t want to push him into talking to me about anything when he was clearly very uncomfortable in doing so. For whatever reason, he wasn’t able to trust me just yet with letting me in. He needed time to figure it out, something I could absolutely sympathize with.

I had no idea if my hypothesis was even correct in assuming he’d found that bus boy attractive. Hell, I could be way off base in assuming that, and for all I knew, he’d just never really met another guy his age with lip piercings, long hair, and a healthy appreciation for cats.

I was sure Kate was keeping his circle small in order to fit in with her church-going friends and family, and it would be no surprise to me given that, to my knowledge, Dexter didn’t have the biggest group of friends at school to begin with.

He was a quiet kid. Kept his head down most of the time and worked his ass off to get where he was with his grades. I mean, clearly, considering LSU wanted to give him a full ride and everything.

My kid was smart enough to go and do whatever he wanted. My only hope was that he wasn’t held back by the need to keep his mom happy.

Getting back to Gage’s place, we were greeted by the smell of something cooking from the kitchen. After walking for so long under the blazing southern sun, I was ready to chow down on whatever was placed down in front of me.

Leaving Dexter to take off his shoes in peace, I wandered my way into the kitchen, spotting Gage bent over a large boiling pot. He was still in his uniform, though much more wrinkled than how he’d left in it this morning.

Glancing back over my shoulder to make sure I didn’t have a straggler following after me, I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He sagged into me instantly, tilting his head back to give me access to his neck to leave a trail of kisses up to his ear.

“Missed you,” he sighed softly.

I did, too. Badly.

I breathed him in, dreading having to let him go in a few seconds. He felt perfect nestled back against my chest, his body weight a solid form that I could grab onto versus the figment I’d imagined when we were on the phone every night.

This was what I wanted to come home to every night. Not my empty house with just the sad white walls to keep me company.

“How was your tour around the city?” he asked, looking back at me when I finally forced myself to let go of him.

“Fine. Went to a few places.” Nodding to the pot, I asked, “What’s all that?”

“No clue. I’ll be honest, I totally picked it up from the grocery store on the way home. The package told me to add water and voila.”

God, he was so damn charming.

I laughed, swiping the ripped open container off of the counter. “Seafood boil, huh…”

“Southern classic.”

My hands itched to grab onto him again and wrap him up into a tight hug while we listened to the sounds of the pot boil in the background. That kind of domestic shit was something I never thought I’d want. I’d been too hardened by my days in the military to settle down into a life of seafood boils and relaxed conversations after a long day at work.

At least, that’s what I’d believed. Now I knew deep down, I’d always craved that kind of connection. I’d searched for it for years in between hook-ups and dating stints that never seemed to work out in my favor.

No one could handle my brand of fucked up, that’s what I’d believed. Right up until I met Gage and he’d flipped my world completely upside down.

Leaning over, I stole another kiss before backing off completely. “Work went okay?”

“Yeah, had a small house fire but we got it down before it spread to the neighbors. Not much damage other than the family room in the back.”

“Electrical failure?” I guessed.

“Worse. Cat knocked over a candle and set the carpet on fire. The house hadn’t had an update since the seventies, so you can only imagine how crispy that carpet was when it went up.”

Damn, that sucked. “Least it was only a portion of the house.”

“What’s what our Captain said. Insurance should pay it out, and hopefully, get them a whole new renovation.”

“What happened?” Dexter asked, wandering into the kitchen. His gaze immediately zeroed in on the pot on the stove.

“Oh, just talking shop.” Gage waved his wooden spoon in the air. “You like seafood, Dexter?”

“Never really had it.”

Gage gasped obnoxiously and then had the audacity to pin a glare in my direction. “What the hell are you feeding this poor boy? Scraps?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the bemused smile cross over my kid’s face.

“Funny,” I said, bringing my hand up to smack his ass but diverting in time in order to slap his shoulder instead. “Says the man who got it store bought.”

“Look, you either want it homemade or edible. You can’t have both in this house,” he argued.

“Your poor brothers,” I teased.

He leveled me with the end of his wooden spoon. “They were fed. That’s all that matters.”

“According to who?”

He threw a wink at me. “CPS.”

Shaking my head and turning back to Dexter, I said, “We can find you something else to eat if you want. I’m sure Gage won’t cry himself to sleep for too long tonight.”

To my surprise, Dexter’s smile widened an inch. “I’ll try it. As long as it’s edible.”

Gage held a hand to his chest in a mock salute. “Scouts honor.”

As Gage turned back to the stove to stir his pot, I shuffled both Dexter and I out of the kitchen to give the man some peace and quiet while he finished up. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get out of these sticky clothes. Louisiana humidity is no joke.”

I didn’t know how the hell Gage was able to function in this weather. California residents got a bad wrap for being babies in the wintertime when our temps dipped below sixty-five, but holy hell was the swamp miserable.

Dexter followed me, nodding along. I slipped my shirt off of my body, instantly feeling relief from no longer having the damn material clinging to me.

“Hey, dad?”

I whipped my head around. “Yeah.”

Dexter drummed his fingers along the doorframe to his room in a rhythm that sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where it was from. He searched my expression for something, finally settling with a nod as he spoke again. “He’s a good man.”

My eyes widened.

And with that, he disappeared beyond the door to get changed.