Page 35 of Composed at Randy's
“What?” Wren scrambles backward and nearly falls off my lap. I manage to catch him at the last second, and now I have one hand on each tiny, perfect hip. It’s lovely until Wren sours the experience by saying, “I can’t leave, Kai. He’d kill me!”
“He’d what?” The world goes red and hazy around the edges, and suddenly I’m on my feet. I’m not horny anymore. I’m enraged. “No, he fucking will not.”
I realize Wren is dangling from the football hold I now have him in.
“Shelly would be super pissed off too, and don’t even get me started on Marty. He’d kill me twice.” Wren barely seems to notice that I’m carrying him.
It’s almost like he’s used to being toted around. Does Kai carry Wren around? And who are Marty and Shelly?
I have an irrational urge to carry Wren to my bathroom and lock the door behind us to put another layer of protection between Wren and all the people who have suddenly popped up that I didn’t know about.
What if Wren was telling the truth earlier and he has a decent life waiting for him? What if Wren doesn’t need me at all?
No. If Wren is scared of the people in his life, they aren’t good people. They don’t deserve to have him.
“What are you doing?” Wren asks, finally cluing into the fact that I’m wandering restlessly around the room while carrying him like a bug-out bag.
“I’m not going to let anyone kill you, Wren,” I say firmly. “I have plenty of security, so no one is getting in here who could hurt you.”
“I didn’t mean literally, Bael. None of my people would physically hurt me; they’re just incredibly protective of me.”
“Not from where I’m standing.” Being protective means caring, and letting someone you are supposed to protect collapse from neglect isn’t caring.
“What happened to me was an accident and entirely my fault, I promise. Kai usually takes great care of me.”
What the hell is up with this Kai guy? I don’t know him, and I already hate him.
“Kai is an idiot. You should dump him and date me instead.”
And move in with me, and let me fuck you, and let me take care of you forever.That’s an inside thought and no one’s business but mine.
“Instead?” Wren laughs. “Put me down, please.”
I don’t.
“No, seriously put me down.” He flails and wiggles to make sure I know he means business.
I scowl and go back to the couch where we’d been doing wonderful things until everything went straight to shit mere moments ago. I sit back down and hold him in my lap when he tries to leave.
Eventually he stops trying to get away and says, “Okay… compromise. Compromise is good. I can work with this.” Then he relaxes and sits on my lap facing me with his legs criss cross-applesauce.
I’m not kidding. He really is small enough to do that, and I hold extra still so he’ll keep doing it.
“Hmph,” I say sullenly because compromise is all well and good unless he’s about to tell me that he’s in love with Kai and wants to date both of us. I’m not sharing. Kai can go and find himself a new Wren. This one is mine now.
Finders keepers.
Wren puts his little hands on my cheeks and makes me look at him. “I’m not dating Kai. He’s bossy and makes me put away my socks. That’s like, the opposite of hot.”
And that isn’t enough of a reason not to want to date a person if you like them, so I say, “Why do you live with him then?”
Wren taps his index fingers together and looks away. “Well…” I wait patiently, aging months instead of minutes before he finally whispers, “Because I can’t take care of myself.”
I take his anxious fingers and kiss them gently. “I can take care of you, Wren. I really, really can. I want to do it. Please let me take care of you.”
I just need him to give me a chance. I’ll give him a place to live, let him buy anything he wants, and feed him until he gets fat. I’m already making a mental list of things to talk to Harvey about, like finding ways to let Wren take college courses while we’re on tour—if he wants something like that. Hell, if he wants to join the band and play the tambourine, I’m willing to make it happen.
It might need to be a broken one, though, because our sound isn't going to mix well with a tambourine.
