“Were you here for this fight we just had?” I asked.
“I don’t have cold cases now.”
“Fine. But come sit first.” I pulled him around the side of the couch. “Don’t get angry, but—I told Pop.”
“About what?” Calvin asked hesitantly.
“About you. And this,” I said, waving a hand absently.
“Sebastian, are you serious?”
“Just listen,” I said, holding on to his shoulders and staring at him. Calvin was not happy. “He knows a woman who runs a group. They supply trained dogs to people with PTSD, anxiety, all that sort of stuff, and he said they help a lot of vets.And—” I continued when he opened his mouth to speak. “They’re not part of any government organization. We don’t have to go to a VA hospital or anything like that.”
“Why do you want me to have a dog?” Calvin looked frustrated, but managing to even ask one question that kept the conversation going was a plus.
“Pop says that dogs are good for people who need a little help. Look at it this way… a dog isn’t going to judge you. And you can talk to them.”
“Talk to a dog,” he stated, not amused.
“Yeah. If you wanted to get something off your chest but you couldn’t say it to me, a dog will listen and not say anything that you don’t want to hear.”
“Talking to a dog isn’t going to make me feel better.”
“How do you know?”
Calvin shook his head and let out a heavy sigh.
I took his hands into mine and squeezed them. “Pop said these dogs are even trained to wake people from bad dreams, Calvin. That would help you. If they could stop the dream before it becomes too much and interrupts what little sleep you get….”
Calvin rubbed my knuckles with his thumb while staring at the floor. “When I work,” he whispered, “there isn’t time for anything else.”
“I know.”
“But since I met you, Seb…. All I think about is you. And it’s like you’re not a safe topic for my brain. I focus on you more and more, and it just brings everything to the surface. I don’t know why,” Calvin said with a shaky breath. He let go and put a hand over his mouth.
I knew why.
Because he was finally happy. Calvin was terrified of losing that. And loss was what haunted him, even before me.
“I need to keep working,” he said after clearing his throat and taking the reins of his emotions under control again.
I shook my head. “We have to find a healthy medium. And we will, I swear.” I reached out and turned his face to me. “Would you mind if I at least met this woman tomorrow?”
Calvin hesitated but eventually shook his head. “I don’t mind,” he finally answered.
“Good God, look at the progress we’re making.”
Calvin smiled.
“I love your smile. It brightens your whole face up.”
“Does it? I feel like I’ve been run over by a semi.”
I kissed Calvin again.
This was a turning point for us.
He ran his fingers through my hair, gripping a handful as he deepened the kiss. Calvin’s tongue touched mine and sent waves of pleasure down my spine. Our rough jaws scraped, and the added texture had chills of excitement going straight to my cock.
