Chapter 5 All Hallmark Movies are a Little Gay
ARLO
“Hey, sexy.”
“Hi, baby,” Arlo said, warmth pooling in his belly at his boyfriend’s low crooning voice. The one he saved just for him. Well…and sometimes Beans. But mostly Arlo.
He propped his phone up beside the sink, noting the sound of Dimitri’s car running and the road noise that told him he was driving. He must have his phone mounted on the dashboard.
Arlo stuck his gloved hands back into the now lukewarm water, timidly running the sponge around the mixing bowl.
At the sound of Dimitri’s voice, Beans hopped up onto the counter, poking his nose against the screen and yowling pitifully.
Dimitri made silly kissy noises to the cat, earning another desperate wail, the beast almost knocking the phone over as he flopped onto his back, his large body oozing over the counter like proofing dough.
Arlo scoffed at the orange and white cat, now monopolizing a large portion of the countertop, giving his fiancé a face so pathetic he half expected Sarah McGlochlan to start singing about angels any moment.
Their cat was shameless. He truly thought he could trick Dimitri into disbelieving his own eyes; that he was wasting away despite tipping the scales at a whopping twenty-two pounds.
“He’s lying to you,” Arlo told his fiancé, nudging the enormous cat off the counter onto the wooden floor. The cat narrowed his feline gaze at him, then turned and waddled away, tail flickering in agitation. “He ate and Java did, too.”
The dog perked up at the sound of her name, yawning, then standing to walk in a circle three times before settling back into her bed once more. It was warm in the kitchen, but Java didn’t care. She was never more than three feet from Arlo.
“I told you not to feed her until I got home. You know I don’t like you going out to walk her after dark all alone,” Dimitri chided.
“We don’t live in a bad neighborhood anymore,” Arlo reminded him. “And Lake walked her for me on his break.”
Dimitri’s brows went up. “Oh. He did?”
Arlo nodded. Lake was currently working part-time doing security in their building to earn extra money for Christmas.
He was also hoping to get a better place himself soon.
Like all of Jericho’s boys, he babied Arlo.
Once they’d met and realized they all pretty much went to school together, they’d grown closer.
Though they were all pursuing different career paths they had one thing in common. A secret they couldn’t tell civilians.
And that was the problem. They all knew Arlo’s past. They knew about his PTSD and his past abuse.
Like Dimitri, they all tended to baby him.
They were always overly considerate of his feelings, they never hovered too close, never came over if Dimitri wasn’t home.
It was a little silly, but they meant well.
Noah, Zane and Felix had said he’d adjust to it eventually.
That it was just how certain types of people showed their affection, even if it bordered on crazy.
Once Ever and Shiloh came along and he saw how the others treated them just as gently, he realized it was just who they were as people.
They just wanted to make sure he never felt uncomfortable or pressured or afraid.
It was very sweet. They were all unbearably sweet to him.
More than he deserved.
Nobody was sweeter to him than Dimitri though. But that didn’t mean he was getting off totally free.
“Besides, someone said he’d be home an hour ago…” he reminded, trailing off with intention.
“And I would have been, but I had to drop something at Mom and Lola’s.
And I got sucked into a conversation about what you wanted for Christmas.
And nothing I said was good enough for their baby.
You’d think they were your parents, not mine.
They always look so bummed when I’m the one who shows up and not you. ”
Arlo bit back a smile. He’d lucked out so much in the future in-law department.
Calliope was determined to somehow make up for Arlo’s shitty parents no matter how much he protested.
Now with Lola there, he had two women trying to mom him to death.
And he loved it. He loved them. But he didn’t like taking things from them.
He wasn’t worthy of all the fuss they made.
But Arlo would never say any of that. He would never be ungrateful like that.
“That’s because you’re always in a rush to leave,” Arlo said. “I hope you told them I don’t need anything for Christmas.”
Dimitri scoffed. “As if they’d ever let me get away with saying that. They love spoiling you.”
Arlo leaned in with a sigh, getting close enough that only the left half of his face appeared on the screen. “That’s the problem. They spoil me way too much. It’s not necessary. I have everything I need.”
Dimitri gave him a goofy smile, then poked his screen. “And some you don’t.”
Arlo frowned. “Huh?”
“You’ve got suds on your nose.”
Arlo brushed at the offensive bubbles with the back of his gloved wrist. “When are you coming home?” he asked, hating the whine that crept into his voice. “You’re already so late.”
His dopey smile morphed into a cocky grin that had him twitching. “Why? You miss me?”
“Duh,” Arlo pouted, gesturing with his gloved hand.
His eyes went wide, gasping as the glass slipped from his grasp, splashing back into the soapy water. His heart pounded as he stared down at his bright yellow gloves, panic thudding in his veins.
“You okay?” Dimitri asked, sharply.
It’s fine. You’re fine. It didn’t break. Calm down.
Something inside him died a little as his pulse rabbeted hard and heavy in his throat like he was some kind of prey animal.
Nothing was even happening. He wasn’t in any danger.
He was so fucking stupid. He fought the urge to slink off into their bedroom and just hide under the covers until the disgusting, dirty feeling went away.
Java whined, inching closer to Arlo.
“I’m okay, boy,” he whispered.
Was he though? Every time he thought he was doing better—that maybe he wouldn’t need weekly therapy sessions for the rest of his life—something happened and bam, he was right back in it.
Dimitri never made him feel bad about it. If anything, he was always the first to praise how much progress he’d made, even if it was just because his mother told him that was what good boyfriends did.
“Hey.” Arlo’s gaze jerked back to his phone screen forcing himself to meet Dimitri’s piercing gaze. “Don’t make that face. You look so tense. I told you I’d take care of everything when I got home. Just let me do the dishes.”
That pit in his belly became a black hole, frustration spilling out at the tears threatening to form. “I’m an adult,” he said tightly. “I should be able to do the dishes without curling into the fetal position over a broken glass.”
Dimitri shook his head. “You’re more than capable of doing just about anything you want. Nobody doubts that. But after yesterday, maybe just let me handle it for a few days. Just until you get your bearings back.”
Arlo could feel his skin turning red, already shaking his head before he even finished speaking. “It’s-It’s not a big deal. My therapist says that I can’t avoid things just because they’re hard.”
Arlo sucked his bottom lip between his teeth as a scowl formed on Dimitri’s beautiful face, square jaw tightening. “You had a panic attack. You haven’t had one of those in years. You got so scared that you hurt yourself.”
God, he was still so pathetic after all this time.
He tried to force a smile but it didn’t work.
It didn’t matter, Dimitri was a master at reading him.
Maybe it was because they’d known each other since they were five.
Maybe it was getting away with murder together.
Maybe it was living together and working together and going to school together.
Or maybe it was because they were soulmates.
Arlo forced a laugh that sounded borderline manic even to his own ears. “I just stepped on a small piece of glass. It didn’t even require stitches. I’ve hurt myself worse at the coffee shop.”
“Yeah, and they made you take a couple days off to regroup then too,” Dimitri said quietly.
“I-I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Arlo said, voice shaking as he held the plate in his hand just a little tighter.
“Baby…”
“I said I’m fine,” Arlo promised, squaring his shoulders and putting a smile on his face.
And he was fine. He was. He really was. He loved his life…there life. He had everything he’d ever wanted. Even though they’d moved to a much nicer apartment than the one they’d lived in as undergrads, it was still small, intimate, no hidden corners for someone to lie in wait.
Arlo could stand at the front door and see the kitchen, the living room and the balcony. Two steps inside and he could see the bathroom and bedroom. The doors always stayed open whenever they weren’t home so Arlo could see what he was walking into.
Their new apartment had excellent security.
There was a doorman and two men who sat at the front desk 24/7.
There were cameras everywhere. Even their doorbell was a camera.
The guards knew him by name, especially now that Lake was one of them.
Java was supposed to be a k-9 pup, but she’d failed out of school as a puppy because she didn’t want to bite anyone.
She was now a registered therapy dog and went with Arlo almost everywhere. Despite her flunking out on her police training, Dimitri had trained her himself and she would guard Arlo with her life if need be. He had no reason to be having panic attacks over dropped glasses. His life was great.