Chapter Ten
Slade
Andrew has disappeared upstairs to get dressed and clean himself up, and the mere thought of how thoroughly I’d wrecked him… how messy I’d left him, leaking and flushed and marked… sends a slow, possessive shiver racing down my spine.
I lean against the kitchen counter, arms braced on the cool granite, waiting for the kettle to finish its low, rumbling boil so I can make a much-needed coffee.
What a fucking strange morning. One minute I’m buried deep inside him, the next we’re dealing with Lorna showing up like a ghost from the past. My head is still spinning.
I’ve thrown my robe back on over a clean pair of boxers; I’ll get dressed later… maybe . Right now, the soft fabric feels like the only thing grounding me.
I’m glad Andrew listened when I told him to stay in the living room while the police were here.
He didn’t need to hear the details or see the woman who’s supposed to be his mother in that state.
God, what the hell had she gotten herself into these past five years?
All I know is she left because I finally figured out she was cheating on me with some guy who’d been passing through the city a couple of hours away for work.
He must have painted her some picture of an exciting new life, because she packed her bags and moved two states away without so much as a real goodbye to either of us.
I still don’t understand it. We were happy… or at least I believed we were. Andrew was a good kid back then, polite and bright, full of potential. What was there to complain about? Was the town too small for her? Was the marriage too boring? Was she trying to chase her youth again? God knows.
I try to shake the thought of her away, but it lingers like a bad taste in the back of my throat.
I feel guilty even thinking about her. I’d told the police, in a voice harder than I meant it to be, that I wanted my name removed from her emergency contacts, if I was still listed anywhere.
I didn’t want the hospital calling me with updates, didn’t want to know how she was doing, didn’t want anything to do with her.
I said it harshly, but I meant every word: I don’t care for her anymore.
She isn’t my problem. I don’t want to see her again.
We’re only connected by a piece of paper and a marriage certificate, and I plan on fixing that as soon as possible.
The kettle clicks off sharply. I turn, scoop coffee grounds into a mug, and pour the steaming water over them, stirring in a single spoon of sugar.
I carry the mug through to the living room, grinning to myself because I’d had to wipe Andrew’s come off my armchair only minutes ago.
I sink into it, put my feet up, and flick the TV on to some mindless rerun .
My phone rings. I sigh, but when I see Todd’s name on the screen I relax and answer with a grin. “T, I hope you’ve got a good reason for ruining a man’s peace this early on a Saturday.”
Todd’s familiar laugh crackles through the speaker. “Listen… I found one…”
I take a slow sip of coffee. “You’ll have to be more specific, T. Found what?”
Just then Andrew walks into the room, grinning down at something on his phone.
His hair is still scruffed up from earlier, he’s wearing clean sleep shorts and that ridiculous oversized Oodie with the fluffy hood.
Something shifts hard in my chest. I notice the lean muscle in his calves, the dark hairs on his legs, the sharp line of his jaw, and the cocky little tilt at the corner of his mouth.
It hits different now… deeper, warmer, and more dangerous.
Andrew throws himself lengthwise onto the couch, long limbs sprawling.
Todd’s voice picks up again, enthusiastically.
“So, I was talking to my father-in-law, Paul, about the new Benz project, right? And Paul goes, ‘Oh, I know a guy who’s got a ’73 Benz that’s been sitting in his garage for decades.
I can give you his address if you want. He’s big into auctions and flipping parts too. ’”
I grin, setting the mug on the armrest. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope. Anyway, I’m heading over there this afternoon. Already cleared it with Larry. You coming or what? ”
I swallow hard. I don’t want to leave Andrew right now. Not after everything that’s happened today. “You two go on and have fun without me today, T.”
In my peripheral vision I catch Andrew’s head flick toward me.
“No worries,” Todd says easily. “But hey, I’ll probably ring you again later. Keep an eye out for messages… pictures will be coming your way!”
I laugh. “I’d be mad otherwise.”
“I’ll find a way to walk away with the parts we need.”
“Remember our budgets, T. Call me if you bag the engine too.”
“You got it.”
“Have a good day, T.”
“You too, man. Talk soon.”
We hang up. I smile to myself, the project finally feeling like it’s moving forward nicely. Starting Monday, we’ll be able to get stuck into the project, hands on.
Andrew looks over at me from where he’s sprawled, adorably rumpled. “Who’s going where?”
“The guys are just off to see a guy who might have some parts we need.”
“Oh. You didn’t want to go look?”
I shrug, taking another sip of coffee and keeping my eyes on the TV. “Nah, it’s Saturday.”
Andrew laughs softly. “ Sure …”
I grin, enjoying that cheeky little edge in his voice in a brand-new way I’ve never noticed before .
He goes quiet for a moment, then says, “So… what um…”
I glance over, waiting for him to find the words.
“What do we do now?”
I frown, assuming he’s asking about today’s plans. “You can go do…”
“No,” he cuts in quickly, covering his face with both hands. “That’s not what I mean, Slade.”
I pause, the realization sinking in slow and warm. He’s asking what we are now, what this is. I set my mug on the coffee table, stand, and move over to the couch. Then I sink down to my knees right in front of it, right in front of where Andrew’s lying with his hands still hiding his face.
I grin, slow and warm, as I kneel here in front of the couch. “Well…”
Andrew stays exactly where he is, hands still firmly covering his face like he can hide from whatever this conversation is about to become. I slide one hand under the hem of his Oodie, palm gliding over the smooth curve of his ass, fingers squeezing possessively.
“I want to be able to touch you like this,” I murmur, voice low.
He doesn’t pull away. I nudge my nose through his fingers until they part, then lean in close enough that my breath fans across his lips. “And stare at your lips… and kiss you like this…”
I press a gentle, deliberate kiss to his soft, surprised mouth.
His face floods bright red under my touch, the flush spreading all the way to his ears.
When I pull back just enough to look at him, he’s smiling, shy but real, and his fingers slide up into my hair, playing with the strands at the back of my neck.
“But… I get to sleep in my own bed, right?” he asks cheekily, that familiar spark of attitude flickering back to life.
I growl low in my throat, climb over him, and settle my weight between his parted thighs, nipping sharply at the side of his neck. “You can try .”
Andrew huffs out a pleased little laugh and opens his legs wider, tugging me down so I can lay fully over his smaller frame. He sighs, content and soft, as his arms loop around my shoulders. “Guess it’s a good thing I got arrested one more time.”
I lean down and suck a brutal mark into the skin just below his ear, the kind that will darken by tonight, and feel his back arch hard beneath me. “Don’t push it.”
He laughs again, breathless and ragged. “ Fuck … you know what I meant.”
I grin against his chest, sliding both hands under the Oodie until my palms rest flat against his bare ribs, skin to skin, thumbs stroking slow circles.
Andrew goes quiet for a second, then asks shyly, “So… am I… single?”
I lift my head, displeased at the word. “If you tell people that, I will give you the silent treatment. No attention from me at all . ”
Andrew laughs at how serious I sound, and how ridiculous the threat probably is, and nods quickly. “Okay, okay.”
I mumble against his collarbone, almost too quiet for him to hear, “But never say the word boyfriend . I’m too old for that shit.”
He goes still beneath me, the reality of what we’re doing settling in a little deeper. I keep rubbing slow, grounding circles against his ribs with my thumb, letting him feel me there.
Andrew whispers, “You’re not old, Slade.”
“No… but I’m old compared to you.”
He hums, understanding but clearly disagreeing, though he doesn’t argue. After a moment he asks, “Do you wanna look through the college website with me?”
I smile, lifting my head so I can see his face properly. “Yeah, baby. I’d like that.” Then I narrow my eyes, unable to resist. “Still can’t believe you went without me.”
Andrew rolls his eyes, shoves at my chest so he can sit up, and says, “God forbid I take responsibility.”
I grin, watching him with something warm and new twisting in my chest. “Uh huh… go get your laptop.”