Page 31 of Disciplinary Action
For a second, Cal wasn’t sure Gideon would answer. But then he said, “No…but also yes. When you’re with somebody that long, there are bound to be some…resentments. Frustrations. Regrets. It’s complicated.”
Cal let it go. It wasn’t right for him to try to strip Gideon bare when he clearly didn’t want to talk about his past. “Will you show me how to cook for myself?”
Gideon grinned. “Sure.”
“And do laundry?” Cal asked.
Gideon nodded. “Yes, that too.”
“Do people still use checkbooks?” Cal asked.
Gideon laughed. “You are just full of questions.”
Cal blushed. “Sorry.”
“No, I’m happy you’re feeling well enough to pester me with questions.” A shadow crossed his face, his brow furrowing. “You really scared me. You were so pale. So confused. I hate to think what might have happened if Alexa and that officer hadn’t found you.”
“How is she?”
“Alexa? She’s a menace. She chases the ducks around the pond. She snores like an overweight rhino, and she refuses to sleep in her dog bed.”
“You…kept her?” Cal asked, finding it hard to believe.
“Well, once I realized she wasn’t going to try to eat me, I also realized the likelihood of her getting adopted at her age, with those scars, was likely slim to none. But she’s not my dog; she’s yours. Your responsibility. You’ll walk her and feed her. Understand?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Cal said without thought.
Suddenly, Gideon was in his space, a low growl escaping before he captured the boy’s lips in a rough kiss that was more teeth than tongue. “Careful, baby boy, or you’ll get me kicked out of here. It’s been too long since I’ve been inside you, and we’ll have to take things slowly until you’re feeling better.”
Cal sucked in a breath, searching Gideon’s face for the lie, but there was only a heated gaze that made Cal bite the inside of his cheek to keep from getting a hard-on in a hospital gown. Cal sat forward enough to kiss Gideon once more, slowly this time, savoring the taste of coffee on his tongue and the way his scruff scratched at his skin. “How slow?” Cal whispered.
“Let’s see how you feel tomorrow,” Gideon said, sweeping his palm over Cal’s forehead, brushing his hair away to place a chaste kiss just above his brow. “I should get going, to let you rest.”
Cal reached out and snagged his shirt, keeping him from standing up. “Thank you…for my presents. I don’t know how to properly thank you.”
“Don’t worry. I have a very long, very dirty list of all the ways you can thank me.”
“Daddy,” Cal whined, shifting as his cock started to take interest in the conversation. “Don’t be a tease.”
Gideon gripped Cal’s chin gently. “I’ll do as I please. Now, give me one more kiss before I go.”
Cal did as Gideon commanded, kissing him once, then twice, before Gideon pulled away, lifting Cal’s hand and brushing his lips across his knuckles like they were in a Victorian novel. “Goodnight, baby boy.”
“Night, Daddy,” Cal whispered.
The hospital had phoned Gideon at eleven to say Cal would be released following an educational session with their educator at noon. Gideon had asked if Cal was able to stay until he left work to come get him. The woman on the phone had said that would be fine. Gideon had left at lunchtime anyway. As eager as Cal was to leave that place, Gideon was twice as eager to never have to go back. While the place was no longer giving him nightmares, the scents and sounds still triggered a panic that was hard to shake.
“Dr. McManus released you on the insulin pens, but I really think the pump would work the best for your lifestyle, Callum,” a woman said from behind the cracked hospital door.
There was a confusion in the woman’s tone that made Gideon hesitate to push the door open. He stayed in the hall, feeling not the least bit guilty for eavesdropping.
“No offense, ma’am, but you don’t know anything about my…lifestyle. You only know what you see on that paper,” Cal said, frustration leaching into his tone. “I don’t want the pump.”
“That’s your right, of course. I-I’m afraid I don’t understand the problem. I have your records from your previous doctor. You wore an insulin pump for most of your high school years, and your glucose levels were well maintained. It was only after you stopped using the pump that your numbers became erratic. Can you tell me your concerns about the pump and perhaps we can find a solution together?”
Gideon wanted to know as well. He pushed the door open without knocking. Cal looked both relieved and worried to see Gideon standing there. The boy was sitting on the side of his hospital bed dressed in a pair of joggers and had his hands buried in the pockets of his Ravens lacrosse team hoodie. The woman sat in the ugly green hospital chair in her navy scrubs and white jacket, a clipboard in her hands. Cal wouldn’t look at her, would only stare down at his brand new bright white sneakers. The ones Gideon had sent over that morning when he realized Cal would be discharged in his dirty uniform if he didn’t send him something to wear.
Gideon turned to the woman, extending his hand. “Leopold Gideon.”
