Page 40 of The Barn: Frost and Q
“So how do you get to be afraid if I don’t get to?” Quentin asked.
“I never said you couldn’t be afraid, babe. I just said you couldn’t let fear keep you from doing the things that you love.” Frost held up his hands in front of his chest. “Which I know means that you don’t want me to keep fear from me doing what I love, but I just need a little more time. I’m not putting it off.”
“Sure, but if you don’t get out there and do it this season, then it’ll be a year before you do. The application period is almost over.”
Frost raised an eyebrow at Quentin. “Really? Do you think if I didn’t just pick up the phone and call, a half a dozen guys wouldn’t pick me up for their crew for the summer? You know they would.”
“I do know that. I just worry about you.” Quentin sat back and glared at him, arms crossed over his chest. “You do all this stuff for me. I want to do this for you.”
“I’ll tell you what. How about I call Brian Delano and tell him I want to be an alternate for the first couple of weeks of the season? Maybe for the first month or so? That way when they need somebody, I can sub in. I can be on the job and do the work, but I can also be home with you a good bit of the time. We’ll go from there.”
Q stared at him. “That might work. Seriously.”
“I think it could, too. I swear, babe, I’ve been doing my PT, I’ve been doing my flight certifications, and everything is up to date. It’s not like I’ve been slacking.”
Now Q’s lips quirked in that way that meant he was fixing to start mocking Frost. “I never said you were a slacker. Not ever. I just know that you’re going to start to resent me if I keep you from doing this.”
“Who’s the Dom here?” He raised an eyebrow again, staring his boy down.
Quentin’s lips parted. “You are.” Now that was more like it. The expression in those eyes was suddenly seriously admiring, and Q was looking at him in a totally different way. The way Frost much preferred to the worry and the guilt.
If it had felt like that for Q this whole time, he understood why Q had hated it so much.
“Right. I’m the Dom, and I say that you’re not keeping me from anything except maybe from having a scene.”
“What?” Both of Q’s eyebrows went up, and his face went a little slack. “I’m not keeping you from having a scene. You could do that anytime you want. All you have to do is tell me.”
“How about tonight then?” Frost asked.
“I—I… Sure.”
“Good.” He fought his grin with everything he had. “I want you to be ready for me when I come back.”
“Back? Where are you going?”
“I have some preparations to make before tonight. I need a shower. I want to arrange some food for us, and I want you to make sure that you’re done with all your work.”
“Do I need to make any preparations?” Quentin asked.
“Yep, you do. Make sure you’re good and clean, inside and out. If you need some help, you can call in another sub.” The very thought gave him a bit of wood.
Q’s cheeks went bright pink. “I can do that.”
“I kind of thought you could.”
“You’ll call Brian this afternoon?” Q asked.
“I will. I’ll tell you what he says when I come back.” That much he could do. He wasn’t going to lie about it to Q. If he said he was going to call Brian, then he was going to call Brian, and he would get an alternate spot on the team someplace, maybe in Washington or Oregon where he wasn’t that far away.
“Cool cool cool. Thanks. I don’t mean to be a bitch about it. I just… I want to know that you’re doing what’s best for you.”
“And I want you to know that I’m going to do what’s best for us. Together as a team. You’re my husband, babe. I don’t want to leave you behind.”
Quentin licked his lips. “I don’t want you to leave me behind either. I just want to go back to a more normal for us life.”
“And you think this is a step in the right direction?” He reached out to touch Q’s cheek, somehow needing the contact to feel the truth of it all.
“I really do, Frost. It’s super important to me.”
