13. Fox
”I don”t wanna hear it,”I say, holding my hand up in Jonesy”s face.
The giggles coming from this 6”4” beast of a man sound so ridiculous. But I can”t help my smile. Grey just defended us, defended what we have. And it makes me feel so damn good.
I rented a car instead of worrying with Ubers, and I thank the universe when I realize there”s absolutely no way to keep Jones from asking me a shit ton of questions about Grey and me.
”How long has this been going on?” he asks.
”Since February. You know how I go to Kenna”s every year on the way to Arizona?”
He nods silently, so I continue.
”He”s from the same town where Kenna and Jack live, and we ran into each other.”
”Repeatedly from the sound of it,” Jonesy says with a snicker.
”Shut the fuck up,” I say, laughing at his ribbing. ”He was in an old park on an overgrown rec league field, just tossing a ball up in the air, when Jack ran off from me and ran into him.”
I shrug and keep driving towards the hotel we grabbed for the night before our early-ass flight in the morning.
”I asked him to get a drink. That”s pretty much the long and short of it.”
”Hey, all joking aside, I”m really fucking happy for you, Fox.” He claps his monstrous hand on my shoulder and squeezes. ”I know you don”t date much, and I know how hard it is to worry about what people say and report on, but I imagine it”s worse for you.”
”I don”t really give a shit about what they say about me for being gay. I came out years ago, and I”ve worked through all that. My baseball career stands on its own, so let them say what they want.”
”Attaway,” he says just as we pull up in front of the hotel. ”Just drop me at the door and go get your man.”
”Thanks,” I say, laughing at him. ”I”ll probably come in really late... or early, depending on how you look at it. We haven”t seen each other in six weeks, and probably won”t see each other again until after the break.”
”I get it. Just make sure you”re back in time to get to the airport.”
”I will be.”
He lifts a hand in a wave as he pushes through the doors, and I drive away with a big ass smile on my face.
Twenty minutes later, I pull up in front of Grey”s building, thanking the valet with a massive tip. The doorman remembers me and sends me on up. Probably doesn”t hurt that my face gets plastered across televisions nationwide on a nightly basis.
When I knock, the door swings open by itself, and I realize he must have left it open. ”Grey?” I call.
”In here,” he answers from what I think is the kitchen.
Rounding the corner, I smile when I see him standing at the stove.
”Aw honey, you cooked?”
”I would hardly call tomato soup and grilled cheese cooking, but yeah. I guess I did.”
I wrap my arms around him from behind, pulling him back into me and dropping a kiss on the side of his neck. ”Whatever you want to call it, I appreciate it. Thank you.”
”It”s not–” he starts, but I turn him after making sure he doesn”t have anything hot in his hands, cutting him off.
”I appreciate it, Grey. Say you”re welcome, and let”s eat.”
”You”re welcome and let”s eat.”
I swat his gorgeous ass. ”Smartass.”
We sit at his kitchen counter and eat in silence, but I can tell he wants to say something and doesn”t know how. Terrified I made the wrong move by coming out here on my night off, I polish off my sandwich and push my bowl away and turn to look at him.
”Spit it out, Grey.”
He shrugs and tips his mug back, drinking the last dregs of the soup from the bottom. ”I don”t know how.”
”Well, at least you didn”t lie and tell me nothing”s wrong.” I stand and grab our dishes, rinsing them and loading them into the dishwasher.
”Nothing”s wrong, per se. Just... I don”t know how to do this.”
”Do what?” I lean against the counter, watching him, willing him to look up at me while he talks.
”Be in a relationship with you and never get to see you.”
Goddamn it, I can”t help it. I smile at him and walk around the island, fitting myself between him and the counter.
”Quit smirking,” he fusses.
”You miss me.”
He throws up his hands and rolls his eyes. ”Seriously? Is that supposed to be some sort of secret? Yes, Jonathan, I miss you. Texts and phone calls and mutual masturbation sessions on video chat are great, but one day, you”re gonna meet somebody else in a bar, and he”s gonna actually be there, and then where does that leave me?”
My mouth hangs wide open at his outburst, not because I have a problem with it. Mainly because it shocked the hell out of me.
”Baby,” I say, reaching out to run my fingers through his hair but grabbing air because he stands up and paces back and forth in front of me.
”And what the hell? I”ve never liked a man calling me pet names before. It always felt too...”
He trails off and shivers like it grosses him out, but then he lifts his head and looks at me.
”Too what?” I ask.
”Too stifling. Too relationship-py. Too... much.”
”Does it feel that way when I do it?”
His eyes soften, his stance sags just a bit, and the warmth returns to his face as he smiles at me. ”No. And that”s the part that”s throwing me for a loop.”
I walk towards him slowly, not wanting to spook him and actually needing to get my hands on him sooner rather than later. ”I get it. To quote my nephew, I got all ‘schmoopy’ over you that very first day in the park, and it feels like I can”t get you out of my system. Like maybe... maybe I never will?”
He reaches out and pulls me into his body, burying his nose in the hollow of my throat. ”Yeah. I get that.”
”I have a five-thirty flight in the morning. It”s nearly eleven. I need to feel you next to me tonight. Can we go to bed?”
He nods and turns to walk away, but I catch his hand in mine before he can get out of reach. ”But first,” I say with a smirk. ”I”m gonna need you to take this dick.”