“No, I think I have everything.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get home.”
Cody hung up and TJ sucked his lips in. He didn’t want to have to do it, but Cody needed to move out. He wouldn’t be able to live with Cody and stay away from him. Not now that he was aware of his attraction to him. Add in the fact he’d seen him naked, and he wanted to lick every inch of his creamy skin, and there he went again.
TJ had to ask Cody to leave when he went home. That was the only thing he could do. Decision made, TJ got stuck in the paperwork and managed to spend a good couple of hours clearing a huge mound before he had to leave to go to a domestic, which turned out not to be what the caller had thought.
Back in his office, he finished the work, then left the station. Sitting in his truck, he knew he couldn’t delay the inevitable. Telling Cody he had to leave and go back home. Which home that was, TJ didn’t know. Here with his parents or the family he preferred, and if Cody left Robinson, how would TJ feel about it?
Chapter Thirteen
Cody
Cody stood frozen as TJ ran down the stairs and, from the sound of it, out of the house. The front door slammed shut, then less than a minute later, the truck started and drove away. Staring down at his now wilting dick, Cody shook his head and went to his bedroom to dress.
When he finished, his concern for TJ and the way he left got to him, so he picked up his phone to call. “Hello?”
“TJ. You need to come back so we can talk.”
“No can do!”
Cody checked the caller ID on the phone because it sounded nothing like TJ at all. “That sounded so… preppy. Come home. We need to talk.”
“I have to go to work.” TJ hung up and Cody sighed before dropping his phone on the bed. “I should cook him a nice meal, then woo him into bed.” First, he had to complete a few online forms for college, then he would go shopping. He needed a few more items for what he had planned.
Once he’d finished the forms and emailed them back, Cody checked the time, then called TJ. He wasn’t certain the other man would answer after the way he’d ended the call earlier but was surprised to hear him say, “Hey.”
“I need to grab a few things from the grocery store. Do you want me to pick anything up?” When TJ didn’t respond, Cody said, “TJ?”
“No, I think I have everything.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get home.” Hanging up, he pursed his lips. TJ sounded hesitant, unsure, and Cody didn’t like hearing him that way, but he wanted something from TJ, something long-lasting, and he was determined to get it. He knew TJ would have concerns, had anticipated them. He would lie awake at night, making a list of all the reasons TJ would attempt to turn them down. At the end of the day, TJ had to accept he wasn’t a child and could make his own decisions.
Grabbing his coat and wallet, Cody left their home and walked into town. Yes, their home because he lived there, and he had no plans to move anywhere else. He hadn’t lied when he’d told TJ he’d come back for him. He may have mentioned it more than once, but TJ had a block where Cody was concerned.
Understandable, but Cody had plans to move past those blocks by using whatever he could. He hadn’t survived hell to not succeed with the one person who had helped him pull through, even if TJ didn’t know about it.
So, sex. He was going to use sex. Good plan and one they would both enjoy as well. And TJ would be the first person he’d be intimate with after everything he’d been through. When Cody had recovered, he’d made the decision to wait until he was ready and with TJ.
At no point had he ever thought he didn’t have a chance with TJ, not after he’d gotten his life back together. Before that he hadn’t cared about anyone or anything, and with time Cody hadcome to accept that he’d done everything he could to destroy himself and his life, and he’d almost succeeded.
Life at home had been abysmal. Cass and Emily barely tolerated him, and it had worsened when he’d told them he thought he might be gay. That night with that man. A mistake he’d made in some stupid attempt to prove he wasn’t what he was. All it had done was solidify the fact he was gay.
The drinking and drugs followed, sleeping around, not caring about how he looked or when he ate. Growing his hair and dying it ridiculous colors. Some would say it was a foolish teenage rebellion, but Cody knew the truth. He hated what he was and the family he’d been born into.
Almost dying changed that. Working on himself had changed that. He’d worked hard to be the man he was, and he liked that man. Liked the man he was still becoming, because he was a work in progress. He only needed to make TJ see he wasn’t that kid anymore. Cody knew TJ struggled. That had been evident when TJ had practically run out of the house. Four years had passed though, and Cody had changed everything about himself.
Seeing the grocery store ahead, he sped up, and as he entered, grabbed a basket. They only needed a few items and once he had them, he paid and left. That was when he noticed Toni struggling to put her shopping away, her blonde hair pulled back from her face. Her prominent belly made it a little awkward, and Cody watched while deciding what to do. If he went to help, then she would know he had returned and would tell Carter, and Carter would tell Cass…
Shaking his head, Cody jogged over and picked up one of the bags, placing it in the trunk. “Let me help.”
“Oh, thanks. You didn’t need to do…” Cody saw Toni’s hazel eyes widen, saw her head shake slightly, her hand reached to touch him, then pulled back. “Cody?” A soft whisper. “Is that really you?”
“Hey Toni. How’re the kids?”
“How are the kids?” Toni dropped her bag and hauled Cody close, hugging him tightly. “Oh Cody. I’ve been so worried. So scared something had happened to you and I’d never see you again.” She leaned back and palmed his face, her eyes taking him in. “You’ve grown so much. Look at how tall and big you are! Where have you been? Are you back for good? Shit! I have to call Carter and—”
“Toni. Stop.” Toni stared at him, open-mouthed. “Why don’t we go and have a drink? We can talk there, and Toni? I don’t want Cass to know I’m back.”
