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I wanted to pull him against me and kiss him, but I wasn’t sure where our boundaries were. Moving a few steps closer to him, I raised an eyebrow. I hoped he understood my silent request, then reached for him. He came to me willingly, and I kissed him. “It’s wonderful. Thank you for cooking for us.”

He took a moment to kiss me back, then turned back to cooking. “It’s my pleasure.”

“What can I do to help you?”

“You can get plates and silverware. Dinner will be ready soon.”

This whole thing had turned incredibly domestic quickly, and I loved it. I smiled happily while I got the stuff we needed for dinner. In the living room, we sat side by side, our thighs and hips touching, and the warmth of his body grounded me. Dinner was wonderful, and we sat quietly while we ate, finally having the opportunity to relax after a long day.

Both of us put our bowls on the coffee table. Earl had gotten his beef and chicken as promised and returned to Charlie, where the little dragon curled up in the bed with him. Apparently, the kitten had two dads and a dragon brother looking over him. I leaned against Tyler’s shoulder. “That was amazing. Thank you.” I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.

Tyler slouched down, I got comfortable in the corner of the couch, then put my feet up. Without looking, I knew he had closed his eyes too, and sighed as he got comfortable, his head against mine. It had been a long, emotional day, thinking I was getting up early because Tyler was on my mind. Now I was a cat dad with the guy I had been crushing on and chasing for the last few weeks sitting next to me, and got to be intimate with him in a way I had never experienced. This would go in the books as a top ten day for sure.

“Mew.” The sound wasn’t even a full-on meow like an adult cat, but it was enough to get attention. I had no idea how long we had been there. Disoriented Tyler stirred next to me and was adorably rumpled.

“Looks like Charlie is ready for more food.” I took care of their needs, then gathered the supplies for the night. Tyler had purchased a couple of cat beds, so I grabbed the one we hadn’t placed and bundled everything together. Tyler still sat on the sofa, half awake. Carefully, I picked up Charlie from under Earl's wing, which he kept unfurled when he was with the kitten. Leaning down, I kissed Tyler gently and handed him the tiny kitten. ”First door at the top of the stairs, make yourself at home, I’ll be there shortly.”

He looked at me. ”We are both tired, the spare room has no bedding, and this sofa isn’t great to sleep on. I promise to keep my hands to myself if that’s what you want.”

He took the kitten and walked up the stairs. We would discuss the rules when I got up there. Around the house, I turned off the lights that were still on and checked that the doors were locked. As tired as I was, I was thankful I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow. Not going on our date sucked but I still wanted to do something special for Tyler, especially since he had given up his work day to help me with Charlie. I made sure I hadn’t forgotten anything before heading upstairs. While I surveyed the quiet house, I felt something inside me shift, like there had been a piece missing and it had suddenly slotted into place. There was no way that was possible. I hardly knew the guy, but this right here is what I wanted, and tonight I had it all.

Tyler sat on the floor in the bedroom, holding the kitten and talking to it quietly. He looked up when I entered the room and looked guilty. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing you need to know about.” He smiled.

Tyler walked on his knees to the cat bed, which I had moved to the corner, putting Charlie down. It was only seconds before Earl landed next to them, then carefully settled behind the kitten, wrapping his tail around Charlie's body. It was one of the sweetest things I’d ever seen.

“I am tired, and if you want, we can sleep on different levels of the blankets. Like I said, I will keep my hands to myself if that’s what you want.”

“We can share the blankets. I am exhausted, and we have to be up to feed in four hours, so we can do this in shifts if you want. I’ll go first.” We sat on the bed and set up alarms with different sounds for each of us. “Do you have an extra toothbrush?” I gave him one of the new ones from the drawer, and while he was in the en suite bathroom, I went down the hall to brush my teeth and wash my face.

When I returned, Tyler was already in bed, lying on his side. “You don’t have to keep your hands to yourself, but I am beat.”

“How do you feel about cuddles?” I turned off the lamp and saw him smiling in the dark when I turned back.

“I like cuddles. How about tonight, I’ll be the little spoon?”

He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “Yes.”

He rolled away from me, and I slid up against his back while pulling him by his waist toward me. This felt good, really good. I kissed the side of his head. “Good night, Tyler.”

“Mmmm.. Good night, West.”

It took me only a few minutes before I was asleep.

Chapter twelve

TYLER

It took me a minute to figure out where I was when I woke up. Being wrapped up in West’s arms last night allowed me to sleep feeling safe and protected for the first time in a long time. It was something I could easily get used to. West wasn’t in bed, Charlie was also gone, and Earl was asleep on the pillow beside me. I guessed West had gotten up and left me to sleep—that was sweet.

Excited about our day together, I took a quick shower. We had initially planned to attend the Art Festival, but I had no idea what we would do instead. Honestly, though, hanging out with West, Charlie, and Earl would be great. On the chair, my clothes from yesterday were washed and folded. This guy was unbelievable. How could he possibly be so nice? I looked forward to getting to know him more if this was real. Already, he offered so much as a partner, and I hoped I could give him as much. I had started to trust him, which wasn’t something I did easily.

My jeans and T-shirt smelled nice, a little bit like West. Immediately, negative thoughts started, because it had to be a trick. It took effort, but I pushed the thoughts away because I needed to trust him, since I had invited him into my life. I reminded myself only to distrust him if he did something that warranted it—my therapist would be proud. When I went down the short hall, I could hear the TV in the living room area where we had enjoyed each other last night, but instead of going to find West, I went in search of coffee, like any normal person would. It didn’t matter that it was nearly noon. I needed coffee to get my body started.

In the kitchen, West was cutting up fruit, his back mostly to me. At this angle, something about his jawline seemed different. There was a scar I hadn’t seen? I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. His hands held me tight to his body. I kissed the side of his head. “Good Afternoon,” I whispered in his ear.

“Mmmhmmm.”

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