AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh my gosh! Your face!” Adam roared with laughter. The young man, who was most definitely not hiding behind a barrel like Rueben had thought, then doubled over with the laughter that rolled from his chest.
His laughter was joined by Alisha’s adorable giggle. “We got you!” she cried out in joy.
Rueben looked toward the blue overall he had been sneaking toward to find that it wasn’t in fact the one Adam had been wearing. Seems one of his brats had snuck to the office to get another spare set to trick him.
“Brats!” he grunted at them, looking down at his paint-splattered outfit. He would definitely be feeling the bruises later. “I will make you pay for it,” he mock growled at them, renewing their laughter.
“Well, sure... or you could just take your loss like the good loser we know you are,” Alisha joked as she walked toward him.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her even closer so he could wrap his arms around her. “I could do that,” he said looking down at her. “Or you could kiss me and make it all better.”
She smiled at him, cocking an eyebrow. “A kiss from me will make it better?”
Rueben shook his head, earning him a shocked expression. “Nope. But a kiss from my favorite girlandboy would work wonders.”
Adam chuckled and stepped up to them. “As much as I’d enjoy loving on both of you right now, I’m not sure we want to give that kid in reception a free show.” He indicated the cameras in the corners of the room which enabled the staff to keep an eye on the patrons without being in the line of fire.
“True.” Rueben nodded in response. “Let’s get changed and then I’ll take the two of you to the next stop in our day’s plans.”
“Are you going to tell us what it is yet?” Alisha asked, pulling out of his embrace and leading the way to the exit. “Don’t you think, as the victors of our match we deserve to be let in on the big secret?”
Rueben shook his head in answer but smirked at both of his babies. “Not a chance. Now get going before I send you both to bed without supper tonight.” His teasing had both of them laughing at him which is exactly how he wanted the whole day to go.
“Or,” Alisha whispered to Adam. “Even worse… he’ll make us eat his supper.”
Chapter 19
Adam let out a huge sigh as he threw himself back on his bed. This day just wouldn’t end. Well... the entire week wouldn’t end. Since last weekend, where he’d spent all of his time with Rueben and Alisha, he had become addicted to their presence. After their paintball date, Rueben had taken them to a build-a-bear shop where he’d given Alisha free rein. Their girl had lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and after a quick nod from Rueben she ran into the shop eagerly, darting from one station to the next.
What surprised Adam the most though, was that Rueben had expected him to get one too. He hadn’t realized how much he wanted one until Rueben had cleared his throat and lifted an eyebrow in question. After that it was surprisingly easy to get into it and he had too much fun picking just the right stuffie and outfit for Mr. McHotpants.
The large red bear in a traditional British guard uniform got a guffaw out of Rueben and an honest peal of giggles from Alisha. It also made Adam smile every time he looked at it.
But since then, they’ve not seen each other except through video calls. Something kept coming up either with Adam’s work or with his two cops’ schedules. There had been a rush of burglaries in the area and–as Alisha was trying to work her way up to detective in the robberies and homicide unit–they’d put some extra time in on the cases.
But it was almost the weekend, and Rueben had promised Adam they would take some time off to spend together.
Adam’s phone rang and he jumped on it with an eagerness that would have embarrassed him if it wasn’t for the fact that the ringtone was one he’d set up for Rueben specifically.
“Yo, Daddy-O.” Adam cringed at himself, but he couldn’t help but play it cool. He’d kind of gone all in the last couple of times they’d seen each other and he was worried he was showing all his cards way too soon.
“Addy,” Rueben started, a fondness in his tone that made Adam feel especially stupid for his lame greeting. “How are you doing, darling boy?”
“Much better now,” he responded, deciding to just go for it. “I’m missing you and Alisha something fierce.”
Adam’s statement was followed by a quiet line and he immediately regretted what he said. Wishing he could pull the words back, he kicked at the pair of shoes in front of him, watching them sail across the room. They thunked against the closet door but Adam couldn’t care about the scuff marks they left behind.
His Daddy and their girl didn’t miss him.
His life sucked. He should probably just pack up his shit and head home and pretend like none of this ever happened and… wait. What the hell was going on with him?
Rueben cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence. “So… we wanted to talk to you about that.”
Adam felt his lower lip wobble. He couldn’t believe it, but it definitely seemed like he was about to burst into tears because they didn’t want to be with him anymore.Him!
He was already halfway through making plans on how to win them back and show them how perfect he was for them when Rueben called out to him.
“Adam, you there, baby?”
