Chapter 28
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Enzo
We win our final game, then fly back to Boston overnight. I can’t wait.
I haven’t seen Luca in over a week. I miss him. I think he’s okay, but I’ll feel better when I can see him.
Toddlers should be with their families.
“It will be fine,” Axel assures me, when we head to Evan’s parents’ place with Evan and Vinnie. I nod, because he’s probably right, but nervousness still thrums through me.
I’m still nervous when we ring the doorbell, and I’m still nervous when we’re buzzed inside.
What if Luca forgot me? What if we never should have left?
Finally, we’re led inside the apartment.
“Unc-unc!” Luca runs to greet me. He hugs my legs tightly, then I lift him into my arms.
“Did you have a good time?” I ask.
He nods, his eyes bright.
My breath catches.
Axel’s hand finds mine.
Evan stifles a laugh. “You two hold hands a lot.”
“Hello!” Patricia greets us.
Evan’s parents chat with us about our wins.
Later, back at the apartment, Luca is playing on the floor while Axel and I collapse on the couch.
A ping sounds on Axel’s phone, and he sighs.
“What’s wrong?”
He gives me a sheepish look. “Someone already put an offer on the apartment downstairs. It was accepted. I’m sorry. I-I should have done it before we left for California.”
“It’s okay.”
“I know. It was just really perfect for her.”
I nudge his shoulder. “I bought the apartment downstairs. For Patricia.”
Axel blinks. “I was going to—”
“I know. But I live here too. I want to contribute. I’m not—” I pause. “I’m not the scholarship kid anymore, Axel. Let me be your partner. Not just your... beneficiary.”
Axel stares at me in wonder. “But I have money.”
“And so do I. We’re a team.”
“I-I like that.” His voice is rough, and his eyes go dewy.
I squeeze his hand as Luca babbles happily on the floor beneath us, on a medieval play mat Axel has had custom made. He’s had five done, and Luca is testing them all. Apparently, he was serious about the play mat side-business.
Luca is building some sort of tower on it, the dinosaur on one end looking as threatening as a dragon. Axel has already mentioned creating a stuffy where if you press a button, a red cloth comes out of its mouth for fire, and in our free time he’s been researching suppliers and possible designers.
The blocks click together, and every few seconds one topples, and Luca says “uh-oh” and starts again.
“Family movie night!” Axel exclaims, and he hurries into the kitchen.
The blender screams. Something thuds.
“I’m fine!” he shouts.
He returns with three small bowls of something that looks like soft-serve chocolate ice cream.
“Ice cream,” Luca says, reaching.
“Avocado chocolate mousse,” Axel whispers to me. “It’s healthy. There’s cocoa powder and honey. Evan’s mom gave me the recipe.”
I take a cautious bite. It’s... good.
Axel puts on a new episode of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Luca has already finished his bowl and is licking the spoon.
“See?” Axel grins. “Healthy parenting. Nailed it.”
You’re my piglet,” Axel tells me when the credits are rolling.
“I’m not pink.”
“You are when you blush.”
I shove him. He shoves back. I pull him off the couch, and we’re wrestling on the carpet like we’re eighteen again, and Luca is giggling so hard he falls over.
“Again!” Luca shouts. “Do it again!”
Axel pins me. His face is flushed, his eyes bright.
“I win,” he says.
“You cheated.”
“How do you cheat at wrestling?”
“By being... bigger.”
He laughs and kisses my cheek, right there, in front of Luca, like it’s nothing.
Axel
Enzo checks his watch. “Guess what, Luca? It’s bedtime.”
Enzo helps Luca get ready, and then it’s story time.
Enzo’s eyes sparkle. I know he’s excited to show Luca what he brought from Los Angeles.
Enzo flourishes the picture books like a magician revealing a trick, and Luca gasps.
Oh.
Oh.
I’m in love with Enzo.
I’m in love—the kind where watching him read bedtime stories makes my throat tight, where the thought of him leaving again makes me want to barricade the doors.
I’m such an idiot.
I’ve been in love with him this whole time.
Luca chooses a book, choosing between them with the intensity that his uncle gives to all tasks. Finally, he selects one, and Enzo beams.
I put Luca on Enzo’s lap so Luca can look at the pictures with him. Then I sit beside Enzo. Our legs touch, our shoulders touch, and I let his warmth sweep over me.
We met so long ago. I never thought we’d be here—a family, reading bedtime stories.
It’s cozy and nice, and oh God, I definitely love this man.
I want this to be my life forever and always.
Enzo wasn’t in my room every night when we traveled, and I hated it.
Luca’s eyes drift closed before the last page. Enzo keeps reading anyway, his voice soft, until Luca’s breathing evens out.
We sit there for a moment, watching him sleep. I carry Luca into bed, then put his dinosaur into his arms.
“He’s okay,” Enzo whispers, tucking Luca in.
“He’s better than okay.” I take Enzo’s hand. “Come on.”
We tiptoe out and close the door gently.
In the hallway, I pull Enzo toward me.
I want to tell him I love him. The words are right there, pressing against my teeth.
But I don’t want Enzo to decide this is too much. I don’t want anything to hamper this happiness we have together. I don’t want to add pressure when everything already feels perfect.
Enzo did leave me before. He did decide he didn’t want me in his life.
What if he decides we’re becoming too serious? What if saying I love you sends him running?
So I take him to our bedroom—God, our bedroom, and I kiss him, memorizing how his lips feel against mine.
Enzo twirls his tongue against mine, sucks on my bottom lip, and I lose all sense of time.
Our cocks grind together until finally we release. I clean us both up, then pull Enzo toward me. He flings his bare legs and arms around me.
Should I tell him now?
But Enzo’s breath evens. His body goes soft against mine.
He’s asleep.
I hold him tighter and bury my face against his neck.