Twenty

 

 

Aleksy cradled the little girl on his lap while Trent drove and Kendry took care of Liam in the far back of the SUV they’d commandeered.  It meant letting one of Trent’s team members drive his department issued undercover car back to Trent’s headquarters, which was a big no-no, but at least his car would be protected and there when this whole thing was over.  Trent had already handed over the keys to his own vehicle to Ten and it was long gone.

Morgan had gotten a ride with Trent’s teammate back to their headquarters, where he’d left his car.

Aleksy knew holding the little girl wasn’t the safest option but she was still sound asleep, and he had his seatbelt around both of them.

Trent made eye contact with Aleksy in his rearview mirror. 

God, there was something about this man who was a virtual stranger.  Something in his eyes that told Aleksy that this man meant something, that he was important.  Aleksy didn’t know how he knew, but his gut instinct hadn’t let him down yet, he refused to think it would start now.

Aleksy couldn’t help the small smile as he turned away, “Eyes on the road, Dragon.”

He could hear the smile in Trent’s voice as he said, “Anything you say, Detective.”

Aleksy’s eyes squeezed shut.  It had been a long time since he’d felt like this.  Actually, that wasn’t exactly true.  He’d never met anyone who affected him the way Trent Dragon did. The way every word that fell from his lips felt like a caress on every part of Aleksy, his body, his mind, his heart, his soul. No.  He’d never felt anything like this and it had been a really long time since he’d felt anything close to it.  He’d deleted his Grindr profile almost a year ago when he realized that these random hookups just weren’t doing it for him anymore.  He wanted more but he didn’t know how to go about getting that anymore.  The last relationship he’d had ended almost five years ago.  He and Holt had parted amicably after they’d realized they’d become more like friends who fucked sometimes rather than two men who were still in love with each other. 

It’s a good thing they parted as friends, since they were both part of the same detective squad.  Anything other than friends would’ve been awkward.

But after that, Aleksy tried to convince himself that he didn’t want a relationship.  He was too busy, work called him away at odd hours, his life was unpredictable, his family ties made things difficult – he came up with every excuse in the book.  But after four years of anonymous or random hookups, he realized that he wasn’t suited for emotionless sex either.  So, he’d resigned himself to spending his life alone.

But then he met Trent Dragon.

A man he barely knew but he had Aleksy thinking things – things that he shouldn’t be thinking about yet, hopeful things.

They hadn’t even kissed yet.

They might not ever kiss.

God, Aleksy hoped that they’d at least kiss.

He sighed out a breath.

“You okay?” Trent said from the driver’s seat.

“Huh?  Oh yeah, just…..thinking.”

Trent dipped his chin, “Uh-huh.  Me too.”

Aleksy stared at the back of Trent’s head.

Was he thinking the same things?

Was he thinking about the future?

And if he was, was that a good thing or could it be an epic failure?

Aleksy had no idea.

And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out either.