Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Xavier

By the time we got back to Gage’s, I was both mentally and physically exhausted.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Dexter said, moving around me as soon as he kicked his shoes off. “I’m sweaty from walking up and down all those stairs.”

“Take your time. Whatever Gage is bringing back will probably need time to heat up, anyway.”

He nodded and then headed for the hallway. The bathroom door clicked shut a moment later, leaving me to my own thoughts for the time being. Stumbling over to the couch, I threw myself back on it and let my body sink into the soft cushions.

Who fucking knew divulging my relationship to my teenaged son would have me feeling like I’d just walked out of an intense therapy session?

Though, I guess in a way, it kind of was.

Purging myself from all of the secrets I’d been keeping from him about Gage—all PG, of course—had felt nice. Like a weight was slowly being lifted off of me. But now that everything was out in the open, I was having to deal with the aftermath of letting myself be so vulnerable.

Dexter had taken it well, asking me questions practically after every story I’d told him. It surprised me how much of an interest he’d taken in the subject. Then again, that could be him fishing for answers for his own self.

He still hadn’t opened up to me about anything, but I felt like, in due time, he would. Coming home today, I felt a lot closer to him, and like he understood me better than he had when we’d first stepped off of that plane.

The front door opened up, coupled with the sound of a key ring full of keys jingling. I slid my eyes closed in time with the door, the familiar sounds of Gage setting his stuff down by the door filling my ears.

I heard him chuckle when he came into the living room, his soft footsteps wandering over to me. A weight was then settled on top of my chest, his warm body laying on me while his leg hooked over mine.

“Long day?” he teased.

I popped my eyes open. “You don’t know the half of it.”

He kissed me sweetly, his lips lingering on mine for a moment. “You guys didn’t get into an argument, did you?”

“No, nothing like that.”

He relaxed visibly. “Okay, good.”

He’s a good man.

Those words were going to haunt me forever in the best of ways. Honestly, I should’ve picked up on it then what Dexter was trying to tell me. His approval meant a hell of a lot.

“He knows about us,” I said.

Gage’s eyes widened. “You told him?”

“Nope.”

His mouth opened and closed a few times, a wince pinching his face. “Were we... that obvious?”

“According to him we were. I thought we were being good.”

“Me too!”

I laughed. “Maybe he’s got exceptional gaydar.”

Gage groaned, burying his face in my chest. “I swear, I was only making goo-goo eyes at you when he wasn’t looking...”

I ran my fingers through his hair, curling them around the soft locks that had grown longer since the last time we’d seen each other. I liked his hair a little on the longer side. It framed his face perfectly and gave him more of a softer side.

“You want to know what he told me?” When Gage nodded, I said, “He told me that he knew the second you met us in the airport. Apparently, he’d had his suspicions before that and confirmed it then.”

He groaned again, turning his face to the side. “It was that damn sign, wasn’t it? I knew I should’ve made it smaller.”

He preened when I scratched his scalp gently with my nails. “I think it was more than the sign, babe.”

“Was he upset?”

“No, surprisingly. The entire campus tour we talked about it.”

“No shit?” When he lifted his head from my chest, he was grinning. “Does that mean we got the gold star of approval?”

“I hope so. He was pretty upset that I didn’t tell him about it. He even gave me a lecture about how at the one year mark, I should think about proposing.” I laughed.

Thinking that he’d laugh along with me, he surprised me when all he said to that was a soft, “Oh.”

That sobered me right up. “Have you thought about getting married?”

“To you?”

“Who else?” Trying to tease him again to lighten up the rapidly declining mood, I said, “You got someone else I don’t know about?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.”

What the hell was going on?

“Gage.”

The sound of the bathroom door popping open had him springing off my chest and back onto his feet. His uniform was wrinkled from the way he was laying on me, a deep line formed right across his chest, over his heart.

“I should get lunch started,” was all he said, before spinning on his heel and heading into the kitchen.

Sitting up slowly, I stared after him.

What the hell was that ?