Page 20 of Warm and Dry

He was in the kitchen in sweatpants and a compression shirt, hovering over a pan of something that smelled incredible.

"Good morning, Daddy." I sidled up behind him and kissed the center of his back. “That smells good.”

“Mmm.” He stepped back from the stove and turned so he could give me a kiss. "Morning, baby. You sleep okay?"

"The sleep was good. My dreams were even better." I peeked around him to look into the pan. "What’s cookin’?"

"French toast." He nudged me toward a stool. "Sit down with your hand up on the towel so you don't bang it on the counter again."

“That was a freak accident.” I rolled my eyes but did as he said.

He turned back to the pan and scooped out the French toast onto a plate. “Twice?”

I’d actually done it about ten times, but he didn’t need to know that. “I’m using a towel. Geesh!”

When he looked over his shoulder, I winked to let him know I was just teasing. As much as I liked to assert my independence with Scott, some part of me genuinely craved his dominance. When he got all Daddy-like and bossy, my dick got hard even if the urge to push back hit just as hard. But as he’d been slowly taking care of small things for me and making decisions that used to give me a headache, one thing became abundantly clear.

I was in love with Scott. Not just Scott the man, but also the Daddy. My Daddy.

He slid a plate in front of me and then sat down. Even in just a few days, sharing meals together was quickly becoming one of my favorite times a day. Not the favorite…but definitely a favorite.

After a few minutes of silently enjoying our food, he took a drink of coffee and leaned back. "Did you talk to your landlord yet?" He waited for me to meet his gaze before continuing. "About the lease."

We were actually considering living together after just a few weeks. It was fast and crazy, and yet it felt like exactly the right thing for us. "Yeah, actually." I cleared my throat and put down my fork. "It's month to month, so whenever I’m ready to move out, I just need to give thirty-days’ notice."

A glint of hope sparked in his eyes and he nodded. "Good to know."

"Yep." I smiled briefly and then refocused on my breakfast. I was getting better about not being so shy about nursing from him at night or letting him eat out my ass in the shower, but I still blushed like a schoolboy with a crush whenever we talked about Scott taking care of me for real. Not just on the weekends or sometimes, but all the time. Physically, emotionally, and financially. Because he’d made it clear that Daddies provided for all their boys’ needs…

After breakfast, Scott insisted on changing my bandage. It was just another one of our little rituals that I loved. Watching him with the first-aid supplies and a focused look on his face like he was performing brain surgery was so sweet. He was so sweet.

The breaks were healing, but I liked watching his face while he worked, using the same level of care and concentration that he always did with anything related to me. "You're getting good at this."

"I have a feeling I’m gonna get a lot of practice with you." He smoothed the new wrap into place and then bent forward to kiss my wrist. "How's it feel?"

"Getting better every day." I flexed my fingers carefully inside the splint. "Doc said I only have to wear this for two more weeks and then we can just buddy tape the fingers."

"Two more weeks." He nodded like he was filing that information away. "I can work with that."

We spent the afternoon doing nothing in particular, which was another one of my favorite things about being with Scott. He worked downstairs for a couple hours while I sat with him and checked my work emails. A couple of the regulars recognized me, so we chatted for a bit.

An older woman named Pearl asked if I was "the boyfriend," and Scott laughed. “Yes, Pearl. This is my boyfriend, Forest.”

They said other stuff but my brain stopped hearing anything after the word boyfriend. I’d never been someone’s boyfriend before. I’d been a fuck buddy or a booty call, but never anything meaningful.

Never a title that announced to the world that someone wanted to keep me.

Later that evening, we had Thai food delivered and ate it on the couch. A movie was on, but I wasn’t paying much attention to it. I was mostly watching Scott from the corner of my eye. He was so hot, and anytime we were quietly relaxing, I just wanted to climb onto his lap and ride him into the sunset.

He caught me staring and smiled. "Forest."

I grinned, expecting to be teased about not watching the movie. "Yeah."

He cupped the side of my cheek with his soft hand and looked right at me. "I need to tell you something, and I don't want you to feel like you have to say it back right now…but I need to say it to you."

My breath caught and my heart started racing. "Okay."

"I love you." There wasn’t the slightest bit of hesitation or remorse as he said everything I’d felt from him…and everything I felt for him. "I've known for a while, but I wanted to wait until I felt like you were ready to hear it.” He rubbed his thumb along my jaw and smiled. “Tonight felt like the right time."