AllFreeNovel
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His breathing and the shuffling of his hands are the only sounds to fill the car while I’m gazing out the window. They are surprisingly comforting and soothing, making me glad I decided not to drive out of town alone after all.
Five
Finn
I beat Theo to the front of the restaurant and open the door so he can walk in first. He thinks I’m doing it out of respect or to be well-mannered when I’m doing it for selfish reasons. Every time I do something involving me taking care of him, I buzz on the inside and a part of me is sated until it’s time to give him what he needs again. The pleasure I receive from making him smile and happy is too fulfilling to walk away from.
“Two please,” I tell the hostess when she greets us.
She nods and grabs menus before guiding us to a table in the back. Theo’s arm bumps mine as we walk too close together. He sits down first and I move my chair beside his. The hostess stares at me dumbfounded after she had placed the menus across from one another. Clearing her throat, she writes our drink orders down and I pull my menu in front of me.
“What are you getting?” I ask a very focused Theo. He is skimming the menu, thinking he’s being subtle by slowly moving his chair away from mine.
“I think I’m going for the fajita plate, you?” His brown eyes blink in my direction, round and mesmerizing. They nearly cause me to lose my train of thought.
“The shrimp tacos. They were really good the first time I came here.” I scoot my chair closer to his, pretending to be as sly as he assumed he was being a few minutes ago.
He closes his menu and presses his hands on top. “Don’t you want to try something different this time?”
“Why would I do that when I already know what I want?” I eye him up and down.
He perches himself at the edge of the chair, showing me a little of his bird side. I can tell when it wants to come out and play. He tries his best to repress it and I wish he didn’t. I want him to be who he needs to be when he needs to be it.
“Because you never know when you’re missing out on something else.”
“Trust me. I’m not.” My eyes stay on him and a possessiveness overcomes me. I’m no longer talking about food but he doesn’t have to know that.
Our drinks are set on the table, shifting our attention to the waitress. “You guys ready to order?”
“Yes,” Theo says a little too quickly.
The waitress touches her pen to her pad to let us know she’s ready whenever we are. We take turns telling her what we want to eat, Theo going first. She takes our menus and Theo shoves a straw in his drink, pecking at it before wrapping his lips around the plastic.
I can tell it’s been too long since he’s let his bird free. He occasionally lets it slip around me subconsciously and it warms my heart to know I make him feel comfortable enough to show such a special part of himself. Even if it’s only for a little bit at a time.
“Show me all of you,” I want to beg.
Our food comes in between us talking about the shops we want to visit and we both fall quiet as we eat. Our feet occasionally knock under the table and Theo seems unbothered by me sliding my ankle over his, eyes staying on his plate. Maybe I need to lick him again to grab his attention the way I did last night. He assumes I act this way with everyone when I don’t.
Sure I hug my friends and sit a little too close to them sometimes but I never randomly grab their arm while we walk or try and touch them every chance I get.
“Why have you never told me about this place before?” His big brown eyes round and he licks the sauce from his bottom lip. I can’t stop following each stroke of his tongue with my eyes.
“Because it’s better to show you.”And you shouldn’t come here with anyone else but me.
Have I always been this damn possessive and greedy? I’ve never noticed before if so. I think back to the time I had a favorite toy I didn’t want to share. I snapped at anyone who so much as glanced in its direction or asked about it. I feel the exact same way about the man sitting in front of me.
“What if we never came out here together?”
“But we did, didn’t we?” I tilt my head, smirking.
He rolls his eyes and shoves his plate away. “So you can tell the future now?”
“No, but I can plan it. If we didn’t come here today, we would have another time.”
The waitress sets down the check and rushes off toward the back. Theo reaches in his back pocket for his wallet. Wiping my mouth with the napkin while swallowing my last bit of food, I shake my head and reach out my other hand to stop him.
He stares up at me with wide eyes as I push his hand away. “I got it,Tio. I was serious about paying for everything.”
