Cody — 9
What was I going to do? I somehow managed to get through having dinner with Adrian, even though my first inclination had been to up and leave. I didn’t care to be tricked, and Emme now realized just how cold of a shoulder I could give. But ultimately, I knew it wasn’t completely her fault, and it was somewhat unfair I was still not talking to her a week later. Especially since I was more than willing to continue to text back and forth with Adrian.
What the fuck was wrong with me? I glanced at my phone as it vibrated from its spot on the coffee table. I could almost guarantee that it was Adrian. He’d had to go to Cheyenne for work, and he was bored out of his mind. So what did he do? He texted me like crazy.
Adrian: Okay, you should be home. Does that mean I can call?
I laughed. He always asked before calling, which made no sense. Why would you ask someone if you can call? Was I in the mood to talk to Adrian Fisher? I discovered that the more I learned about him, the more I liked him. So far, he was nothing like I’d expected, and that was refreshing. He wasn’t pushy or demanding, and that was a good thing.
Me: I’m home. But why do you ask? Why not just call?
I only had to wait seconds before I saw the typing bubbles start dancing. But they kept dancing, and that meant I was either getting a long reply, or he didn’t know what to say. My vote was on the latter.
Adrian: I’m not sure. I don’t want to irritate you, but I don’t want to appear like a teenager who doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. Even if it’s somewhat true. I haven’t dated in a long time, and I’m a little lost as to what exactly to do.
Hmm…well, he proved me somewhat wrong that time. I decided to make the decision for him and hit the green talk button after I’d found his contact in my phone. He answered before the phone even fully rang once. I couldn’t help it—I was laughing when he answered.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You should at least let the phone finish ringing once before you answer.”
“It did. But noted. How have you been?”
“Busy, but things are supposed to slow down. I’m sure you already know that though.”
“Yeah. Emme and I talk every day, and she told me about the restaurant. Did they decide when it’ll open?”
“Last I heard, the beginning of next month.”
“Wait, that’s a little over a week away.” Adrian sounded as shocked as I was when I heard the news. And I was. I expected it to take longer, but I guess when Denver was convinced to do something, he went ahead and did it.
“Yeah, it is. But I guess your sister is very convincing, and Denver placed help-wanted ads. There are over two dozen new employees for the kitchen and waitstaff, and I’m going crazy. You’ll have to swing by and check out the restaurant when you get back from Cheyenne.”
“I plan on it. Speaking of getting back, can we have dinner again when I do? I’d like to see you again.”
“Yeah, we can have dinner. When are you getting back?”
“Now.” There was a knock on my door, and if I said I wasn’t excited about the prospect of Adrian being on the other side, I’d be lying. But when I answered, there he was, smiling at me while leaning against the doorframe.
“You know, you could have given me a heads-up. I haven’t even showered yet.”
“I don’t mind. So…dinner? And can I come in?”
I took a step back so Adrian could enter my tiny all-in-one-room cabin. It was fine for what I needed it for, but with him there, now I was feeling a bit self-conscious about it. Thank fuck I had a separate bedroom, though, because that room was a mess.
“Your place is cute,” my unexpected guest said as he looked around before his dark gaze landed back on me.
“Thanks. I’m looking for a different place, but there aren’t a whole lot of rentals around. At least not ones that are affordable for someone who doesn’t make a whole lot.”
“You want to move? I thought you said you were happy here?”
“I am, but I feel bad. Denver charges almost no rent at all, and that’s not fair to him.”
“I don’t know. If you think about it, wasn’t the place empty before you moved in?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Well, he has someone in it now, so that’s one less worry. And anything he makes in rent is more than he would have made if the place was still empty.”
“Hmm, yeah, I guess.”
Adrian shook his head but smiled at me. “So…dinner?”
“Yeah. Where do you want to go?”
“How about my place and we swing by and pick up some pizzas on the way? I promise, no misbehaving of any kind. I’d really like to relax a bit after the week I’ve had.”
“Yeah, we can do that. Just let me grab a quick shower first. I spent all morning in a hot kitchen. Give me ten and I’ll be ready.” I dashed into my room and stripped quicker than I had since spending time in a high school locker room. I was through the shower and dressed in clean, fresh-smelling clothes with two minutes to spare. When I exited my room, I found Adrian sitting on my new futon, looking at his phone.
I walked over to the tiny kitchen counter and grabbed the things I’d need before returning to Adrian’s side, ready to head out. The fact that I was going to see where he lived was an added bonus. You tended to learn a lot about a person simply by seeing where they lived.
“Ready?”
“Yep. Lead the way because I have no idea where you live.”
“I live on the south side of Sulfur Springs.”
“Okay. Still don’t know where you live, so you’ll have to direct me. Are we getting pizzas from the Italian Place or somewhere else?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure about the Italian Place. I figured we would go to Frankie’s Pizza in Jackson, but if you want to go to Crooked Bend, we can.”
“No, Frankie’s is probably closer to your place, so that works. You lead, I’ll follow.”
“That works. What do you like on your pizza? I’ll call in the order before we get there so we won’t have to wait.”
“I eat just about anything on my pizza except anchovies and pineapple.”
“Got it.” Adrian nodded and walked out of my cabin, me following close behind. After locking the door, I turned and walked over to my own truck and climbed in. I followed Adrian to Jackson where we stopped at Frankie’s and picked up the pizzas before heading back to Sulfur Springs. And really, Sulfur Springs needed its own pizza joint. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have one.
When we pulled into a neighborhood that looked to be nothing but woods, I didn’t know what to expect. But when we turned onto the driveway and a small stone-and-log home came into view, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Lots of the houses out here were log style. Adrian’s happened to be one of them.
I needed to remind myself that Adrian was older than me and he was settled in life. He had a good job with excellent pay, maybe, and he’d been working almost as long as I’d been alive. Fuck. What the hell was I doing here?
I parked behind where Adrian’s SUV had disappeared inside the garage, but I sat there, realizing what a mistake this was. There was absolutely nothing I could offer him, so why bother? The tap on my window was what brought me out of my stupor, and when I looked up into those smiling brown eyes, I worried just a bit more.
But when the smile fell from his face, I felt bad. He’d been nothing but friendly all week, and for whatever reason, he wanted to spend time with me. I couldn’t deny the fact that I felt the same way, because I did.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied as I got out of the truck. I could tell Adrian knew I wasn’t telling the truth, but he let it slide. At least for now, and I was thankful he did. I followed him into his house, and like so many, he had a wall of windows on one side. “Wow,” I said as I slowly walked over to the wall and looked out at the mountains that were peeking through the woods.
“Would you like to eat on the porch? It’s fully screened, so the bugs won’t bother us too much. Although, those bastards still find a way in on occasion. Really, the screen is more for the wildlife than anything.”
“Sure,” I said as I turned away from the view and followed Adrian. Once again, I was subjected to the man’s backside, and I had to admit, it was a nice backside.
“Have a seat and I’ll go get drinks. You want anything in particular?”
“Not picky. Do you want any help?”
“Nope. Relax and I’ll be back shortly.”
I nodded and took the opportunity to watch Adrian leave again. Yeah, there was no way that man ever bottomed. He screamed alpha top. Which was good, but I really preferred to switch. Which meant there wasn’t much use in continuing whatever this was. Was there? And the man had a gorgeous house, and I had…well…nothing.
I just about choked on my own saliva when Adrian came back in a pair of snug sweats and a tight T-shirt. Holy biceps, Batman.
“Everything okay? I didn’t know which type of drink you wanted. Hope water’s okay? It’s what you ordered at dinner last week.”
“Water is always good. It’s a habit I got into when I played football in high school.” I readily took the water bottle and chugged half of it before I cleared my throat. There was no way I was going to survive dinner with Adrian sitting across from me wearing that.
“Should I get you another?”
“No, I’m good. Aren’t you going to be too hot in sweats?”
Adrian looked down at himself and smirked. “You know, that’s the perfect opening for something sexual, but I’m going to be good because I promised I would. But they’re not sweats, just jersey pants.”
Shit. I was in trouble. My jeans were already getting tighter by the moment, but maybe if I focused on eating instead of how thin Adrian’s pants were, or how thick his upper body was, my dick would behave. Hopeful, but doubtful.
“So why were you in Cheyenne? You never did say.”
“Mostly routine stuff, but Bishop and I helped out with a case that my former partner was dealing with.” I nodded in understanding as I took a few slices of pizza from the box Adrian had opened.
“Sounds…interesting.”
“Not really. Mostly my days are spent doing paperwork or babysitting.”
“Was it always that way?” I asked, genuinely curious because anything I’d ever heard about US Marshals didn’t involve mostly paperwork.
“No. I cut back on some of the assignments after Adelaide was born six years ago. I know it might seem odd, but I wanted them to know their uncle Adrian.”
There had to be more to it, but for now, I found myself again nodding at Adrian. “That’s understandable. “But do you miss it?”
“Sometimes. And that’s why Marc got a new partner. He’s still out there in the field, working case after case, loving life.”
“And you or Bishop don’t want that?”
“We still go out in the field, but we’re not gone for weeks at a time like I used to be. I’m not old by any stretch, but I do like to be home in my own bed most nights.”
That made sense, and I couldn’t blame him. Once I’d moved out, I hated spending nights at my parents’ place. It just wasn’t the same. Again, after the hardware store and our apartment burned down, it was odd staying at Knotty Springs with Denver. He’d been great when we were kids and growing up, still was, but it was just different and at times felt uncomfortable. Especially with Hawke in the hospital at first.
“Where’d you go?”
I met Adrian’s gaze but had to blink a few times before I could really focus on him. “Sorry. I was just thinking.”
“Everything okay? You seem distracted.”
I absolutely wasn’t going to tell Adrian Fisher that he himself was distracting. Nor was I going to tell him that he’d been the reason I’d come more in the past week than I had the previous month. Nope, not going to share that information with the man. He wasn’t for me. I needed to tell my brain that.
“Fine. Just thinking.”
“You said that. You know, if you didn’t want to come for dinner, you could have said no. I would have understood.”
“We both need to eat, right?” I asked as I chowed down on another slice of pizza. Adrian had ordered sausage and black olives, and the combination was incredibly good. I’d never had Frankie’s, but I was definitely going to add it to my contacts after this.
“Eating is good. I had a hell of a flight home today from Cheyenne, and I didn’t feel like cooking.”
“What made it bad?”
“No one thing, just everything combined. The plane was late, then it had turbulence issues, then it had to circle around again for landing, then they lost my luggage. If it could go wrong today, it did. I’m thankful we made it home in one piece though.”
“Wow. That’s really a lot to have to deal with.”
“It is. I asked Bishop if he wanted to grab dinner before we left Jackson, and he said nope, he was headed to the Blue Diamond and he was guaranteed to have a better night than me.”
Well, good to know I was second choice. But as far as I could tell, Adrian and Bishop didn’t have any kind of sexual relationship at all.
“That sounded wrong. I was already planning on asking you to dinner. Bishop was going to be the third wheel.”
“It’s all good, don’t worry about it.” I wiped my hands and mouth with the napkin Adrian had brought out before I picked up my water bottle and finished it.
“Cody…I honestly didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” I looked up at the man sitting across from me, and I could feel his concern.
“It’s okay. Really.” And it was. I wasn’t upset, but I didn’t know exactly how to let him know that.
“I’m trying, Cody. I’m in unknown territory here, and I’m not sure what to do. I know I’ve told you this before, but I honestly don’t know, which bothers me.”
“I don’t really understand. I’ll admit, I’m attracted to you. Always have been, but I just don’t see how we have anything in common and how things between us could work. Not in the long run.” I looked out through the screens and into the woods. Adrian had a beautiful property, but it was more than I could ever hope to have, which was another strike against me. Against our pairing that could never be.
“What are you thinking? Right this moment? You have a look…”
I turned my head and looked right at Adrian and told him.