AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did we do something wrong?” I couldn’t help glancing around the lounge as I did my best not to look depressed.
Miss Tabitha and her companion had disappeared like Cinderella at midnight. They must’ve had some kind of preplanned time to leave or maybe it was the way she’d started to yawn because one second she’d been giggling and trying to make Gaylen drink tea he’d declared too weak to stomach and the next she’d been escorted away with a smile and a wave.
We’d gotten cheek kisses and a smile but no phone number or last name.
Gaylen looked just as confused as I felt but his first reaction was to grumble. “I’d have rather been hit again, honestly.”
That almost made me laugh as I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head, reaching out to take my hand as he made us get up off the couch. “You didn’t do anything you need to apologize for… and I’m pretty sure neither did I. She just might not have been looking for anything serious.”
That just seemed…
“That can’t be it.” Why wouldn’t they have told us that? “The whole point of the party was to facilitate connecting new lifestyle relationships.”
That got a snort from Gaylen. “Come on, professor, let’s not drag this into the classroom. This was about meeting new people and having fun.”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes as he started weaving us through the room toward the front door. “That’s what I said.”
He snickered, looking lighter as he nodded goodbye toward a few people we knew casually. “Sure it was.”
He was so dramatic… but he was also just as disappointed as I was, so I tugged him closer and kissed his cheek. “How about I promise not to ask for any kind of pet for the next week and I won’t even tell you about the great idea one of my students had. Would that get me a smile?”
Gaylen snorted, but his eyes started to twinkle and he stopped us long enough by the front door to give me a quick peck. “Only if I get ice cream and you bottom tonight.”
And he said I was the ridiculous Dom in this relationship.
“Deal. But I get to pick the ice cream.” Because all we had at the house was some sugar-free nonsense he’d brought home last week. It was horrifying and I wasn’t going to torture either of us like that. It’d already been a rough night.
He scoffed, playing up theI’m the real grown-upenergy as we headed out toward the car. “We’ve already got ice cream.”
That didn’t even deserve a reaction.
What we had was not ice cream.
“I think we should stop at that little boutique grocery store. They were advertising a new cheesecake bites flavor. I’m pretty sure it had strawberries too, not just that flavored syrupy stuff.” It should not be that hard to make good ice cream but somehow companies made it feel like getting to space was easier.
But I was going to keep pushing forward and searching for the perfect flavors, and lucky for me, cheesecake and strawberries were two of Gaylen’s weaknesses, either together or apart.
He gave me a look that said he knew he was being played but he didn’t call me out on it. “Fine. But just one carton. You’re not going to talk me into a thousand flavors or containers just because it’s on sale.”
Of course I was.
That was why our relationship worked so well. As long as it wasn’t about a pet or something that could be classified as mischief, I got my way.
“Just a little bit, baby.” The silly pet name had him rolling his eyes as we got to the car, but he let me pull him into my arms without a second thought. “They might have one with brownie pieces and you know how good that is.”
Wrapping my arms around him, I gave him a kiss before he could try to talk me out of it or explain how bad it was for us. The way he groaned into my mouth said he knew what I was doing, but he gave in, gripping the front of my shirt and pulling me tighter as he poured every overwhelming emotion into me.
When he finally pulled back, he gave me one last peck and growled out a huff. “You are a terrible influence but I love you.”
He liked to pretend he was a stern Dom but he was just as mushy as I was… even more so when he saw someone as family… which made the night all the more frustrating.
“I love you too.” And I just hoped I hadn’t made things worse by insisting he come out tonight.
He’d been starting to let his guard down and somehow everything had still gone all cockeyed. The most logical decision would’ve been to walk away and just try again another time, but for some reason, I wasn’t feeling particularly logical about anything at the moment… and I wasn’t sure time would change that.
Chapter 3
