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He grunted his response, refusing to acknowledge Rueben with a verbal answer. No way was he going to make this easy for him.
“Addy. What’s wrong?”
The younger man huffed out his annoyance. He couldn’t believe Rueben was going to make him say it.
“Adam.” Rueben’s tone brooked no argument.
“You’re about to break up with me.”
“Adam!” This time his Daddy—well, soon-to-be ex-Daddy—sounded beyond exasperated. “Where the hell is this coming from, boy?”
“You phoned me to break up with me. Obviously. Why else wouldn’t you tell me you miss me too?” Adam was rather proud of the fact that his voice remained steady, but when Rueben said his name again… this time in that soft indulgent tone that got to him every time, he felt the tears building up.
“Oh, my sweet, sweet boy. I’ve been a terrible Daddy haven’t I?” The rustle of movement filled the line and Adam’s phone beeped in his ear. He looked at it and saw a request for the call to be turned to a video call.
He toyed with rejecting the request. There was no need for Rueben to see the state he was heading toward, but his Daddy’s last statement had him pushing the accept-call button.
“Baby…” Rueben’s voice was gruff and deeper than usual, and the emotion in his eyes took Adam’s breath away. “I’m so very, very sorry. I did you a disservice.”
He looked at his Daddy, unable to convey his confusion in any way other than with his expression.
“I have been so focused on everything else, that I didn’t take the time to reassure you, did I? How long have you been feeling like this?”
Adam looked down at his lap before turning his eyes back up at his Daddy. Biting down on his lip he gave the question some real thought. Honestly? This all kind of came out of nowhere. He was feeling pretty secure up until this morning when he woke up alone again.
Things had been going really well.
“I don’t know. I hadn’t realized I had these feelings in me until now.”
“Promise?” Rueben ordered.
He nodded his earnest response to Rueben. “Promise. Scout’s honor.”
“Good. I’d have had to spank you if you didn’t tell me you were feeling this way. I care for you, Adam. So much. And I refuse to speak for Alisha, but I’m pretty sure she does too.”
The lump in Adam’s throat only became bigger the more Rueben spoke. He was saying everything Adam had been worried about. A worry that had climbed into his head all sneaky-like and taken over residence without him even knowing it was there.
“I care about you too.” He couldn’t say the L-word yet. It was way too soon. But he could admit to himself he was getting very close to feeling it.
“Now, the reason I was phoning now instead of our usual bedtime call. I was wondering if you’d like to come over tonight. I’ll get Alisha to make us dinner, so it won’t be takeout again.”
“Yes!” Adam blurted out before Rueben had even finished his question. “Wait… aren’t you guys working again tonight?”
“Nope. The case is at a dead end for now. No fresh leads for us to follow up on. The detective on the case told us to take the night and recharge our batteries. I have a sneaking suspicion he knows we’re dating, but didn’t seem too bothered by it.”
“Won’t that cause trouble for you guys?”
Adam knew that Alisha had been worried about how a relationship between her and Rueben would reflect on her in the department. She had to work extra hard to get half the recognition that other officers took for granted because they were large men.
“With this particular detective? I don’t think so. But I’ve already started working on a few things to make sure that there will be minimal blow back when we go to our CO to declare our relationship.”
That wasn’t the first time Rueben had hinted at having a magical cure-all for all of Alisha’s worries, but no matter how much Adam asked, he refused to say anything.
Alisha had confided in Adam that she thought Rueben might fall on his sword to ensure she got the career she’d always wanted, and she didn’t want him to do that for her.
“So, Alisha and I will head directly to my house after our shift. Meet us there?”
“I’ll be there.” He grinned into the phone and his Daddy returned the smile. “Hey, where is our pretty girl, anyway?”
