Page 14 of Brock’s Lost Lunchbox

Chapter Ten

Zeph

I wasn’t sure how soon the gift would get to Brock, but every day that passed dragged while I waited. Will and Sammy wouldn’t let me down, but that didn’t mean they would see Brock right away. Or that he might not want to hear from me again. Will thought he was interested, but he could be mistaken. Maybe it would be best if I just put it out of my mind for now. My application for membership to Chained ought to come through any time now, and once it did, I’d have to decide how to handle the situation. It might make things awkward in the little room.

Then, late one night, as I worked at home on an audit that held more layers than any honest set of books should contain, my phone buzzed with a notification. Since I’d made my decision not to think about the little day and night, I assumed it was a work call I’d been waiting for and absentmindedly reached for the phone. Halfway through scanning a column of figures, I glanced at the screen and back at the spreadsheet. Only a…what?

Abandoning my work, I grabbed the phone. The call came from a number I didn’t recognize, but the text read, I like being a Glitter Monster. Rawr!

My heart!

You got the gift, then.

Thank you, I love it. My lunchbox loves it too. It looks so cute. He sent an image of his newly decorated lunchbox. It did look cute.

Well, then, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the card, too.

You’re welcome.

We chatted a little longer that night. I told him I’d been on a guest pass the night we played together, but that I’d liked it enough to apply for membership. He told me a bit about his work and how busy it kept him. Nothing too heavy, first-date stuff, really, via text. And it was the longest personal conversation I’d ever had in type. Finally, I noticed the time. We’d been at this for over three hours, my work project forgotten in favor of our chat.

I’d gladly have kept talking all night, but Brock had mentioned an early start to his workday, and if I didn’t end things now, he’d be tired and not at his best. I couldn’t let that be on my conscience. It’s getting late, so we’d better sign off, I think.

Really? But I’m not tired.

Yes, really, but maybe we can talk on the phone tomorrow night?

He agreed and said good night, leaving me thinking. Saying good night when I just wanted more of Brock was the most daddy thing I’d done so far in my life. We had both been big in our conversation, but I had made the call to end things for the night. Even though I absolutely didn’t want to.

Yet, I felt good. Like I’d made the best decision for Brock’s benefit. Little or big, he needed his rest. And, actually, so did I.

I saved his number in contacts and went to bed.

The next evening, it was all I could do to wait until after dinner to call Brock. He picked up on the second ring, and said, “Hi. I was hoping you’d call.”

Since we had made plans to talk tonight, that sounded a little odd. “I pr-said I would.” Promises had gotten me in trouble before, and I wanted to be very careful before making any more. “Is this a bad time?”

“No,” he said. “I’m glad to talk to you. How was your day?”

“Pretty good. I finished up an audit and started a new one. This time, it is in the company involved’s offices instead of at home, which is nice for a change. How was your day?”

Our conversation was so pleasant, as if we had been speaking every night, and I loved that. I could see us talking every night like this. But unfortunately, the next night, I got a text saying he was still working and didn’t know what time he’d be free, and this happened a couple of times more before we had another chance to talk. When we did, I was so glad, I immediately asked him out on a date.

He said yes.

Chapter Eleven

Brock

It was finally a date night. It had taken us far too long to align our schedules. And, by us, I meant me. Work was hectic, and I was allowing it to be. I half believed it was time to look for a new job, even within the same company. But until I made a firm decision, I didn’t feel safe letting my foot off the gas. That meant I had a lot of time to think about our date.

What I would wear? How I would fix my hair? What shoes would work best? Every little detail, which should’ve meant that I was ready to go well before Zeph picked me up. But I wasn’t. I couldn’t find the shirt I wanted. I only found one shoe.

The busier I was, the worse the clutter in my place had grown. In the end, I looked fine, but nowhere near as magnificent as I had intended. And then there was the realization that Zeph was coming to my place to pick me up, the same one that had eaten my shoe.

It was romantic and sweet and just what everybody longed for in a first date, except there was nothing company-ready about my place. My initial thought was to clean, but I quickly gave up on that. There wasn’t time. Instead, I grabbed my keys and went outside to wait for him.

I could tell he was slightly taken aback when he saw me standing there on the sidewalk, but I quickly explained I was done getting ready early and excited for the date. Both of which were technically true. I thought that would feel better than me being uncomfortable sharing my space with him just yet.