Page 93 of Full Body Hit, Part 1

Minutes passed. When Charlie was ready, he told Auston he’d ordered some food, a bulgogi bowl, and got his water.

He left the plugs to soak in a tub by the sink, cleaned up his room, and then returned to clean the plugs, all while chatting happily, obviously waking up.

“Okay, but the start of the dating show is so nice, though! They talk through the walls and can’t even scent each other and they’re falling in love.”

Auston had never watched the show, although he felt like that would change soon, with how insistent Charlie was being about it. “Wait, they date without scenting each other? How the hell does that work? When do they meet?”

“Well, they get, like, a few weeks of just talking to each other, so it’s nice, you know? They’re away from their normal lives. They don’t have to worry about how they look or their scents. They just get to fall in love with who they are.”

Auston wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but—” he stopped short. He’d been about to argue that it was silly to date someone without knowing their scent, to know if they’d truly be compatible.

But…wasn’t that what they were doing? The wildest part of Auston was sure that Charlie would smell perfect, but he didn’t actually know that.

What if they met, and their scents weren’t compatible? As things stood now, he couldn’t imagine that getting in the way. He’d fight against his own fucking biology to keep Charlie.

His own fucking issues with scent, too.

This wasn’t the same as with Hunter, though. Not connecting with a scent was completely different than resenting someone wilfully controlling it to manipulate people.

And wasn’t that a goddamn clue to how deeply he was falling for the man on the other end of the line?

“But what?” Charlie prompted.

Auston shook himself. “But nothing. You’re right—scent and looks shouldn’t matter if you’re in love.”

There was a long pause.

Auston could hear his pulse. He could hear his baby breathe, too, a little shaky.

“Really? Because…I know what I said before, but a lot of the couples break up because they don’t like how the other person smells after they meet up.”

“Then they weren’t really in love. Not the way love can really be.”

Another silence, softer this time. “I knew it,” Charlie claimed.

Auston’s eyebrows bunched. “Knew what?”

“That you’re a total romantic.”

Auston barked out a laugh. “Hmm. Maybe for the right person.”

“Well, that’s how a true romantic would work.”

“Then I guess I’m a true romantic,” Auston allowed.

Auston prompted Charlie into a hot shower, the food arriving not long after Charlie got out.

He listened to Charlie eat—something which would have sounded absurd and vaguely gross a few weeks ago but now filled him with a deep, animal satisfaction. They turned on the dating show Charlie had been talking about after so they could watch it together, settling on their respective couches.

In a way, they spent the whole day together. Auston made absolutely sure that Charlie didn’t feel lonely or overwhelmed after such an intense experience with the plugs. They continued the call through dinner, and getting ready for sleep and getting into bed.

He set the phone on the pillow next to him, wishing with every inch of him that it was Charlie right there, close enough to touch.

“Daddy,” Charlie mumbled sleepily.

“Yes, baby?”

“Today was…I think it was the best day I’ve ever had.”