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7
TONY
Leaving Jason alone in his apartment was the hardest thing I’d ever done. The next hardest thing was to ignore the raging boner in my pants until I got home.
I had no idea if I was making the right decision with him, but I knew taking him to bed after one real date was not what he needed. I was no psychologist, but it was clear that he used flirtation and humor to hide his own insecurities.
And if I gave into my more primal needs, I would only be doing that for myself, not because it was the right thing for him.
What Jason needed to know was that I saw the real him, and I liked it. I wasn’t just looking for a cute boy to warm my bed. I was looking for a spirited boy to warm my heart. Long term.
Hopefully, very long term.
I’d been alone for too long, and that had given me a lot of opportunity to figure out what I was looking for. Someone who had a spine and wasn’t afraid to be themselves. Someone who was kind and cared for others. And someone who needed to be taken care of. Not in the literal sense that they were physically or financially dependent on me. But someone who appreciated my care-taking side. Someone who wanted me to make decisions now and then and to step in when things were overwhelming.
Someone who needed a Daddy.
And Jason was looking more and more like he could be the boy I needed too.
As I said goodbye to my patient, I considered calling Jason just to check in with him. I didn’t want to hover or take too many liberties before he’d given me permission to do so, but I wanted him to know I was thinking of him. Always. Even if I wasn’t going to let him know that quite yet.
Instead of overthinking it, I grabbed my phone and thumbed out a message.How is your day going? Interested in lunch? I’m free until 3.
Great! Stressful. Um, I’m having lunch with Jesse but I can swing by after and say hi.
I’d love that. See you later.Stressful and great? Now I was curious to know what was going on with him. I hoped it wasn’t anything serious…at least not serious in a bad way. And more than that, I hoped he was open to letting me help him through it.
With some time on my hands, I decided to go for a walk to pick up a sandwich at a deli I liked off Tenth Street.
I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t being nosy and checking out the old nursery Harris mentioned as the potential spot for Jason and Jesse‘s new business. The deli was pretty good. But the fact that it was directly across the street from the nursery was somewhat convenient for some low-key stalking. And the fact that I couldn’t help but roam around the building and take a picture of the For Sale or Lease sign in the window, was also just convenient for my stalking tendencies.
I needed to tread carefully because Jason and I had barely been on a single date together. It wasn’t reasonable for me to be butting into his personal or professional life. That would come with time. And when the time came for him to let me in, I wanted to be prepared.
I ate my sandwich at my desk and caught up on billing paperwork while I waited for him to arrive. He showed up just before two o’clock, which gave me a full hour before my next appointment.
Instinctively, I walked around my desk and gave him a firm hug before inviting him to have a seat on the small sofa in my office. I sat down beside him with my arm across the back, leaving my fingers just inches from his shoulder. Close enough to touch if the moment felt right, but not so intrusive that I was breaking my own rules about going slow.
“So tell me about your day.” I twisted my body so he had my full attention. “Sounds like it was eventful.”
He had an envelope in his hand that looked like it had been opened and gripped a thousand times. “Well, Jesse and I went to check out a building that we’re interested in for the doggy daycare and grooming business. It’s the one I told you about…on Tenth Street. The old nursery that closed down.”
“I know that place well. In fact, I just picked up lunch from the deli across the street.” I didn’t want to withhold information from him, so I offered as much truthful background as I could in the moment.
“Oh my god, you were just there? Jesse and I were at the Italian place a few doors down from there. I can’t believe we just missed each other.”
I smiled and nodded, encouraging him to go on.
“Anyway, it’s perfect. There’s the fenced yard that we’re going to turn into the play area and potty spot, and the inside has plumbing running along the back wall so we can make three or four individual grooming stations. Initially, we thought we would do all the grooming ourselves, but I found some information about self-service stations that could also work.”
I furrowed my brows, not sure what he meant. “Self-service? For grooming a dog?”
“Yeah, like if people don’t have a big bathtub or an area that they can wash their dog at home, they can use our enclosed tub area that has warm water and various products for them to bathe with. Anyway, they’re trying to sell it first, but the realtor said the current owners might be willing to just lease it to us.”
“That sounds great, sweetheart.” I held his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. “Are you ready to sign a lease?”
He inhaled deeply and sighed. “I think so. My uncle, the one who owns the dog walking service, said he would be willing to invest. And Harris said he’s willing to invest. So I think Jesse and I will each be able to put in 50% from our respective sides of the family. If that works out, we could do it. We have enough dog walking clients that we can transition to the doggy daycare immediately, and by adding the retail and grooming services, we should be able to cover rent and the rest of our overhead expenses pretty easily.”
“I’m so proud of you, Jason. It’s not easy to put together a plan and actually get to the point of executing it, so you should be very proud of yourself too.”
