AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’d done a metric fuckton of reading since deciding that Bodhi was the person he could see himself growing old with, and while he knew he’d never be perfect, the one thing he wanted to be for Bodhi was safe.
He cooked dinner Saturday and Sunday while Bodhi paced and stimmed, and every now and again he’d catch a glimpse of him walking past the kitchen door, his hands moving like he was doing an interpretive dance. He had a single, wild thought that Bodhi would be perfect for a Deaf dance troupe, but he kept it to himself.
That felt a little too close to asking Bodhi to perform—like his autism traits were for public consumption. But all the things that made Bodhi who he was were absolutely fucking beautiful, and he knew he’d never get enough of him.
He was head over heels in love—and he was starting to realize he had never felt that way before.
Bodhi was feeling better by Sunday evening, so Caleb ran him a bath and left him to his own devices as he cleaned his kitchen and texted with Jori for a bit. Bodhi appeared looking soft in his flannel sleep pants, and exhausted with the dark circles under his eyes.
Caleb had half a mind to put him on the couch with a blanket, but instead, he took Bodhi’s hand and led him to the bedroom. They moved under the covers, and Bodhi curled his body into Caleb’s, his dick definitely hard and his hips rocking once they made contact with Caleb’s thigh.
“Do you want me to make you come?” he asked.
Bodhi’s cheeks darkened that delicious color that Caleb wanted to taste with a press of his lips and touch of his tongue. “I’m tired but horny. I don’t think I can have sex.”
Caleb didn’t laugh, but it was a near thing. “That’s okay. I’m not hard, sweetheart. This weekend was long and stressful for me. But I love touching you and making you come.”
Bodhi looked torn, but there was a moment Caleb could see when Bodhi realized he was being honest, and he nodded shyly before tracing a touch over Caleb’s lips. “This? I like when you suck me.”
Caleb shivered all over and his dick twitched like it was reconsidering how stressful the weekend actually had been. He ignored it in favor of crawling beneath the blankets, pulling Bodhi’s pants to his thighs, then taking his cock down in a single swallow.
Under the blankets, he lost the ability to read Bodhi’s face, so he pressed a hand against the side of his throat. Bodhi was so damn responsive with his movements and his voice, so Caleb read those as he used his other hand to trace his hole and play with his balls until Bodhi’s dick gave a firm twitch, then spilled over his tongue.
Caleb swallowed it all down, letting the cock slip from his parted lips. He kissed the tip—a hard, firm pressure because Bodhi hated light touches, then he made his way back up to his lover’s face where he took his mouth with powerful sweeps of his tongue.
Bodhi groaned against him, wrapping Caleb tight, and immediately passed out octopussed around him.
It should have been the best night of sleep he’d ever gotten.
But he couldn’t get some of Bodhi’s words out of his head from when he’d almost broken down on campus Friday afternoon, and he wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much more than everything else Bodhi had confessed. Maybe because some of it—all the expectations about Bodhi’s signing and Deaf identity were things he was already working on. Things he was well aware he’d done and had already started changing before Bodhi brought them up.
But his worry about Anthony? Thinking Caleb had beenflirtingwith Anthony?
He had no idea if he’d done more than just had a friendly conversation. He thought his interaction had been normal, but he was overwhelmed with a sudden fear that maybe he’d picked up bad habits from his ex. Maybe Cameron’s shitty behavior had rubbed off on him in ways he hadn’t considered, and those things could potentially hurt the one lover he actually cared about.
He never, ever wanted to put Bodhi through the pain he felt when he realized Cameron was stepping out on him.
Caleb had never been a particularly insecure person. He was trusting and not usually jealous. At least, not until Cameron had given him a damn good reason to be. But he remembered feeling an ugly weight in his chest whenever they’d go out and Cameron would go on and on about how hot the guys were in the club—almost like he was reminding Caleb that he could have someone better.
He always went home with Caleb, but he’d sit with knowing that Cameron’s gaze would always stray. That Caleb would never be as young, and fun, and attractive as all the people around them.
And then he’d found the Instagram photo, and Cameron had admitted to cheating, proving all of Caleb’s insecurities had been right the whole time.
That would never be him, but he never, ever wanted Bodhi to worry about that sort of thing. And there was only one way to alleviate Bodhi’s fears. He needed Bodhi to have no doubts—at all—about how deep he was in it.
He had to tell him that he loved him. That he wasinlove with him. That Bodhi was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he’d do everything in his power to make sure Bodhi knew that every single second of every single day.
Rolling away from his lover, Caleb stopped in the bathroom to take care of his quick morning routine, then headed into the kitchen to see what he had for breakfast. All of Caleb’s cooking skills had come from his attempt to not be a total college stereotype when he moved into his little shared apartment.
Most of his roommates went the way of cheap cheeseburger take out, but they’d also come from families who had embraced them and taught them basic life skills. All the things his brother had learned because his CIs hadn’t failed, and his parents didn’t fear communicating with him.
So he was self-taught and maybe not the best, but he could whip up a few things, like crêpes, or a breakfast burrito that was plain enough to satisfy Bodhi’s food aversions while also tasting good.
He found the routine of whipping eggs until they were slightly foamy almost meditative. It allowed him to reflect on everything he’d decided since he woke up, and he felt an even stronger resolve to make sure that Bodhi knew exactly how he felt. No hesitation. No reservations. And the thought was oddly calming as he finished cooking their meal.
He was just plating one of the burritos with the plan to wake Bodhi with breakfast in bed when he felt a vibration under his feet, and he turned his head to see Bodhi propped against the kitchen door, looking freshly showered, sleepy, and soft all over. He was wearing soft clothes, and with his hair tied back, Caleb could see he was wearing his hearing aids again.
“Good morning,” he signed as Bodhi started to cross the kitchen toward him.
