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I gave a little wave and closed the door behind me. I took a cleansing breath before hustling inside the restaurant, hoping the next eight hours went by quickly.
Chapter Three
Amir
My knee bounced quickly as I sat outside of Perry’s in my cruiser, waiting for Henley to finish his shift. Ordinarily, I was a very patient man. Through years of police work, I’d learned to keep a level head and to tame my emotions. All of that went out the window when it came to Henley.
I couldn’t hide my excitement when it came to seeing the beautiful man again. I wanted to walk inside the restaurant to meet him, but I didn’t want to put too much pressure on Henley, or make him nervous. He was a little skittish (which I found adorable), and I didn’t want to make him uneasy in any way.
All throughout my shift, I daydreamed of seeing him again. I loved having him in the cruiser with me, watching his eyes light up as he asked me about the equipment it held. I loved how inquisitive he was, and that he took an interest in my work.
And I damn near had a heart attack when he described how he felt about his own work, and admitted that he loved to play games. Somehow I just knew in my heart that Henley was everything I’d been looking for.
But did he know it? Did he want it? Did he even know what a little was? How could I bring up these questions without scaring him? My mind was a mess with possibilities until the moment I saw Henley walking out of the restaurant’s front door.
When my eyes landed on him, my mind broke free from the cloud surrounding it. If Henley was interested in me, and the type of relationship I hoped to share, he’d want me at my best. Resolve settled over me; I needed to show him the confident, dependable Daddy I could be.
I stepped out of the cruiser and sauntered up to Henley, who did a double take at me before stopping in his tracks. “You changed clothes.”
“I keep a street outfit in my locker at the station,” I explained. I was hoping to spend a little time with Henley, and didn’t want to be in my uniform all night. I was now dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a cream sweater. I still wore my gun and badge on my belt, though they were concealed by my shirt.
“You look different.”
I was puzzled by his flat statement and couldn't help asking, “Is that a good or bad thing?”
“It’s good!” he answered quickly, and his cheeks flushed red. “I mean, you look good. Not that you didn’t look good before! I love your uniform, but you look great out of it, too.” The red blush on his face spread down his neck. “Not out of it, out of it - I don’t know what you look like out of your clothes, but I bet that looks great too. Oh…oh no…I mean…”
He trailed off as his fingers sank into his hair, and his gaze dropped to the ground. The knuckles of his free hand were white with how tightly they gripped his lunchbox.
I pursed my lips to keep from laughing; I didn’t want sweet Henley to misunderstand. I was just so damn happy; his precious rambling answered at least a couple of my questions.
I wanted to put him at ease, so I cupped his cheek in my hand, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my palm, and pressed up gently, until he looked worriedly up into my eyes.
“Thank you . And just for the record, I think you look great, too." My palm tingled from the warmth beneath it.
"Even in my work clothes?" Henley asked, looking down at his jeans and gray t-shirt, which read Perry's across the front in red block letters. He sighed and wiped at a spot on his shoulder. "I think I got some pizza sauce on me."
"You would look amazing in anything," I replied, and added with a smirk, "Even just pizza sauce." Now that I'd gotten a glimpse of Henley's interest in me, I wanted to make my own interest crystal clear.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed firmly. "Oh my."
I finally allowed myself to chuckle, but I stopped after just a moment to add in some seriousness. "But you shouldn't be out here in just a t-shirt." The autumn sunshine felt nice earlier in the day, but it got dark early in the evening. "Now that the sun has gone down, it's really chilly out."
Henley nodded as he rubbed his hands over his arms. "I meant to grab a jacket this morning, but I forgot."
"Just promise me you'll remember one next time?" Maybe it wasn't my place to make the request, but I couldn't help it; I wanted to make sure he was taken care of and warm.
