Graham
I washed Avery gently and made sure his ass was okay. I’d been slow and careful as I’d opened him up, but I needed to know I hadn’t hurt him. Now he was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, lying on his side on the balcony sofa as I grilled our dinner. He’d clearly loved what we’d done, but something serious was on his mind, and I wanted it out in the open before we ate.
“Avery?”
He looked up and smiled. “Yeah?”
“What’s bothering you? Did it hurt more than you expected?”
He frowned. “Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. It was so good, though. Totally worth it.”
That made me smile. “I’m glad I could give you that. But you’re… I don’t know… off somehow.”
“I’m just thinking.” He fiddled with the edge of his shirt. “And I’m tired and…”
“Boy, tell me what’s wrong.”
He glanced up at me. “Are you going to make me?”
I took the zucchini off the grill, but I didn’t put the steaks on. Instead, I walked over and knelt in front of him. “I’m not going to make you, Avery. I’m never going to make you do anything. I ask or tell you what I want, and you decide to give it to me.”
He licked his lips and swallowed. Then he laid his hand on top of mine. “I know that, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, boy.” I kissed his temple. “Please talk to me.”
“When you said… um… that you loved me, was that real or part of the… you know… role play?”
“Avery, I would never say something like that as part of a game. I love you. I think I’ve loved you since our first night together. But I know for sure I do now.”
“So it’s real?”
I nodded. “It’s very, very real.”
His face lit up then. “It’s real for me too. I just wanted to be sure.”
“The only things I say as a game are about tormenting you or punishing you. Everything I’ve said about loving and caring for you is real.”
He reached for me, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight. “I love you so much. I should’ve told you sooner.”
“No, it’s okay. I knew. I just… I wasn’t ready to talk about it.”
“And now?”
He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Now, I’m ready.”
“And you’re ready for me to move here.”
He nodded. “So ready. There’s even… well, there’s a house I want to show you that I’ve loved forever. It’s for sale now, and…”
I cupped the side of his face. “Does that mean you’d consider living there with me?”
“I… yeah.”
Oh wow. I hadn’t expected him to agree to move in with me so quickly. It was everything I wanted, no matter how crazy it seemed. “Let’s go see it after dinner.”
He frowned. “I’m not sure I can sit in the car.”
“I’ll find a way to make you comfortable, baby. Because if this house means that much to you, I want to see it before anyone else snaps it up.”
I insisted on feeding Avery while he lay on his side. Watching him take bites of steak as I offered them on my fork, seeing how easily he accepted me taking care of him, made my chest ache. I loved this man so much. I would do anything for him. It was going to be an adjustment for us to be together, but I believed we could handle a relationship that was more grounded in reality.
When we pulled up in front of a blue American foursquare-style home with a wrap-around porch, I knew it was the one.
“What do you think?” Avery asked, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip as he waited for my answer.
“I think I want to put up a porch swing and spend every summer evening cuddling my boy in it.”
“Oh my God, really? You like it?”
“I do.” I pulled out my phone and dialed the number of the real estate agent on the sign in the front yard. Despite the late hour, a woman with a cheerful voice and strong North Carolina accent answered.
“I’m interested in your listing at 158 Channing Street. I’m only in town for a few days, and I’d really like to tour it tonight.”
“Oh. Yes, sir. How soon can you be there?” she asked.
“I’m actually sitting in front of it now.”
“Well, then. If you can give me about fifteen minutes, I’ll be right there to show it to you.”
“That sounds perfect. Thank you.”
Avery was staring at me. “We’re going to go inside? Tonight.”
“We are, and unless there are major structural problems, we’re going to put in an offer.”
“But you haven’t seen any other houses.”
“You want this one.”
“But that—”
I laid a finger over his lips. “I love this house, Avery. I know it’s right the same way I knew we were right for each other.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” I cupped his face. “What does your instinct tell you?”
“That I want to be on that porch swing with you.”
“Then just like you did when you found me in the garden the night of Carter’s wedding, forget about rules and what you should or shouldn’t do, and follow your heart.”
He smiled and I could see the love in his expression. “My heart told me you were the one I needed.”
“Was it right?”
“So very right.”
I kissed him then, a slow, soft reminder of the love between us. “I want to live in this house with you, Avery. I want to take care of you. I want to be the daddy you need and the man you want to share your life with.”
“You’re already all of that.”
Those words warmed me all the way to my toes. “Then let’s see about buying a house.”
“Yes, Daddy.”