Page 18 of A Beary Nice View
Nervesnipatmybelly as Dell walks through the yard between our houses, coming into my backyard. Since he quit his job a few days ago, he’s been coming over for lunch every day. One day we went for a walk into town and sat down somewhere. The rest of the days I’ve been cooking something simple for us to share. Everything is vegetarian so that he can enjoy it. I’m finding it an exciting challenge to cook for him. It’s nice that I’m finding a variety in my diet instead of always sticking to the same thing every time.
He’s got a soft smile on his face as he walks over, joining me at the picnic table in my backyard. He leans across the table, offering me his lips. Gods, I don’t think I could have found a more perfect omega even if I had paid someone to try to find one. Dell is everything.
I lean up and give him a quick peck on the lips. “Hi,” I say softly as we part. Dell’s co-worker might have called me Dell’s boyfriend but I’m still not even sure if that’s what we are. We haven’t really talked about it.
Instead of talking about the specifics, we’ve just started having a routine. We text all day, have lunch together in the middle of the day, and then talk throughout the rest of the night. There hasn’t been a sexy redo of our fence adventures but that’s okay. It feels like now that we’re on the same page about our feelings, it’s time to slow things down.
Like I always try telling my brother ‘once you know, you know’.
“What’s for lunch today?”
I gesture at the table between us. “Today we’re having an assortment of finger foods. What is the name of it? Right, a charcuterie board.”
“Oh, this is lovely, Alaric. Thank you so much for putting this together.”
“Anything for you,” I tell him with a wink.
Dell looks down at his plate with a small smile, shaking his head at me. I love it when he does that. He always looks so cute with how amused with me he is over my antics. He doesn’t just put up with me, he enjoys the silly things I put him through and say.
Dell starts piling things onto his plate. Breads and crackers and cheeses and fruit and veggies. There’s also a few types of dips. On my own plate, I have some thinly sliced salami along with everything else.
“How’s your day been so far?”
I take a bite of my food, quickly chewing and swallowing so I can answer. “Today has been wonderful. I just finished up a project on the house and then I pretty much just lounged around.”
Dell’s eyes light up. “You’ve finished that super secret project you’ve been working on?”
I feel my cheeks fill with heat. It’s true that I’ve been keeping this little project a secret from Dell. Mainly because this project isforhim. It’s what has my stomach souring with worry. There’s a chance I’ve gone too far too quickly.
“It’s all done,” I say with a nod.
“That’s amazing, Alaric. I still think you shouldn’t be doing big house projects while you’re supposed to be on vacation but doing nothing is probably driving you a little crazy, isn’t it?”
“A little bit,” I admit. “I’m so used to going, going, going. It feels like a waste of time to just sit at home doing nothing.”
“It’s important to rest from time to time.”
“I know, I know,” I say as Dell chuckles. “In the past, it was so easy to lose myself to my work. It wasn’t like I had a mate or kids to come home to, so why not just take on all the extra hours myself. Sure, I’m the boss, but I would never ask my team to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself.”
“That’s what makes you a good boss,” Dell says, taking a bite of his food. “Oh, this cheese is amazing!”
“I got it from the deli. They said it was their fanciest kind and I wanted you to try it.”
Dell gives me a soft look. “You really like spoiling me, don’t you?”
“I really, really do. It makes me all warm and fuzzy anytime I get to give you some sort of treat or take care of you. It’s just part of me. I like taking care of those closest to me.”
He bites his bottom lip. “I worry that you’re doing too much for me. I hope you don’t think I’m trying to take advantage or anything like that. Even if you never spent a penny on me, I would still be having lunch with you because I like spending time with you.”
His words send a surge of affection through my heart. I never, for a second, thought he was trying to take advantage but his words are achingly sweet nonetheless. He wanted me to know he enjoys me just for being me. That means more to me than he could ever know.
“I understand why you’re saying this but I never thought that,” I tell him gently. “And if anything I do makes you uncomfortable, I would like for you to tell me, okay?”
“I’ve loved everything so far,” he says. “I really hope that you don’t stop. I’m really enjoying our time together, Alaric.”
“Me too,” I tell him with a smile. “Speaking of that, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yeah?”
