by Cara Dee
He nodded.
My pulse kicked up a notch, and the hope of seeing him masturbating for me in the window surged through me. I was willing to beg for it right now.
I sat down on the bed again once I was in only boxer briefs, and I set the call on speaker.
Adam went bolder and stripped off every item of clothing right there in the window.
“Fuck, you’re sexy.” I clasped my hands in my lap, suppressing the urge to go get my sketchbook.
“So are you, baby.” He stood there, unashamed in all his masculine swimmer body’s glory, and gave his cock a few languid strokes. “I’ve watched you, you know. A few times. You sit on your bed with your sketchbook sometimes, and I’ve watched you in the dark.”
A flush bled across my cheeks and chest, and the pinch of embarrassment was a bit too sharp for me to let this go. If I didn’t confess to him what I’d done, I would eventually look back—as would he—and we’d fully believe this would have been the moment to spill the beans.
“I’ve watched you too.” I cleared my throat and fidgeted with the sheet. It was highly interesting to stare at.
“You have?” He seemed surprised by that. “When?”
Lord. Did he want the damn dates? “Many times.”
“Ev. Look at me.”
Fuck. I dragged my gaze upward and got trapped by his narrowed-eyed look.
“What exactly have you seen?” he asked.
When he was unreadable like that, I didn’t know what to think. It made me nervous as hell, and I prayed I hadn’t fucked up too badly. Even though I knew I’d certainly gone too far. I’d invaded his privacy.
“Everything,” I admitted. “I’ve watched you masturbate.”
Oh God, there it was.
Adam took a step back and lifted his brows. “Are you for real? I’ve made sure your place was dark before I’ve done anything, so you must’ve been waiting.”
I managed to look away as the worry spiked within me. He was going to be understandably upset. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t look away from you—and that’s a lame excuse. It’s how I discovered my attraction to you. And then… I just didn’t stop. I couldn’t get enough.” I might as well go for broke and tell him the rest. “I’ve drawn you too.”
“You fucking pervert,” he blurted out. “I didn’t say you could look away from me.”
With my heart in my throat, I glanced back across the alleyway, and the rush of shame and arousal nearly did me in. Adam rubbed his cock distractedly, the action enough to send me into a bout of overwhelming relief. If he were genuinely pissed off, he wouldn’t be touching himself. Right?
“You’ve been spying on me,” he accused.
“I’m so sorry, Adam.”
He shook his head slowly, and my gaze dropped to his cock. Like the hopeless slut I was for him.
“You’re gonna show me what you’ve drawn tomorrow,” he ordered. “Bring it to work.”
“Okay.” I wet my lips and placed a hand over my crotch. My cock was waking up too fast. “Can…can I make things up to you somehow?”
He chuckled huskily. “Whore. Yes, you can. Quit tryin’a be subtle—I can see that you’re touching yourself. Get rid of your boxers.”
“All right,” I replied warily, hurriedly squirming out of my underwear. “But are we okay? I know I crossed a big line, love. I’m very sorry.”
He nodded once. “We’re okay as long as you don’t regret it.”
Oh, thank fuck. I love you.
I wanted to say it out loud, the urge hitting strongly, but I felt the timing was off for a second revelation today.
“I could never regret watching you,” I said.
“Good.” His mouth twisted into the smirk of a hell-raiser. “One more thing. You’ll come over for dinner tomorrow and clean my window.”
I frowned, bewildered by the request—or demand, rather.
He chuckled and stroked his cock. “You’re not gonna get off, but I am. You’re gonna lie down and show me your pretty little asshole and play with yourself, and I’m gonna blow my load right here on the window.”
I felt the familiar rush of humiliation wash over me. My cock throbbed in my hand, and I forced myself to nod.
“Is that a yes, unc?”
“Yes,” I rasped.
“That’s my good slut.”
I received a reward for being his good slut the next day when Adam visited me at the office.
Him, bent over my desk, letting me fuck him hard and fast from behind…
“Jesus fuck,” he mewled.
“Shh, love.” I bit down on his neck to stifle my own sounds. “I can’t stop.”
“It’s okay,” he moaned under his breath. “Wait—I don’t wanna ruin the drawings.”
I slowed down briefly while he moved the sketches from my desk, and I stared at where we were connected. I parted my lips with a shaky exhale right as the head of my cock popped out, and I replaced it with my thumb, spreading around the messy mix of lube, spit from when I’d rimmed him, and my pre-come.
“My sweet little nephew is a whore too,” I muttered, fucking him slowly with my thumb.
Adam let out a pleading noise and stuck out his ass even more for me. “Is he? Why?”
I couldn’t help it. I gave one of his ass cheeks a quick, sharp smack.
He gasped and muffled a groan with his hand.
“Letting your old uncle fuck you like this.” I shook my head and guided my cock inside again, and the relief was too immense. I set a fast pace and caused the desk to rattle.
This was it. I needed a lifetime of Adam’s filthy-sweet heart.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” he chanted breathlessly. “I’m gonna come, baby.”
So was I.
I filled his ass with my come the second I smelled his release on the carpet under the desk.
I’d probably clean that up too. Preferably on my hands and knees while he watched.
When we’d made ourselves presentable and righted our clothes a couple minutes later, we sat down at my conference table to eat lunch. I always got a little smug when he sat down with a wince, and he seemed to be amused by it.
“I still can’t believe you were my private peeping tom for so long without my noticing.” He handed me the containers he’d heated in the lounge before coming in here, and I took a whiff of the delicious-looking casserole.
“Can’t you?” I mused. “It’s called an obsession for a reason, and I can’t promise I won’t do it again.”
“Creep.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “I love it.”
I smiled.
“You make everything about life better,” he said and stuck a forkful of food into his mouth. “I used to feel so fucking guilty, and it’s nice to be rid of that.”
“What on earth would you feel guilty—oh Jesus Christ, this is amazing, Adam.” I chewed slowly, wanting to taste every ingredient. There were fried potato bits, turkey, gravy, melted cheese, green beans, peas, more gravy, cranberries, bacon, and asparagus. This was what heaven tasted like. “This is officially my favorite meal ever,” I told him.
Adam grinned. “Leftovers are my jam. I’ll be happy to make it for you anytime.”
“You spoil me, love.” I took another forkful and gestured at him. “You were going to say something about guilt.”
He shrugged and scratched his nose. “Yeah. I used to feel guilty about a lot. Mostly pressure from my parents for not doing everything exactly the way they’d envisioned. That whole family’s good at making you feel ungrateful.”
I nodded, knowing very well.
“And, I don’t know,” he went on, “once you have that mind-set, that it’s your fault, it’s easy to apply that to anything in life. How I’m raising Bella, how my ex-partners would react to my fetishes, what clients will think of my work… But you don’t seem to do that at all. Once you know you’re into something, you embrace it. I mean, I knew I felt guilty too easily, and I’ve come a long way. I do my best not to make any excuse
s for who I am, but getting to know you gave me another push, I guess. I feel more confident and unapologetic.”
It was like hearing a foreign language. Adam had always come across as assertive and unapologetic to me, and to hear I’d played even the slightest part in helping him achieve that was nothing short of bizarre. And yet, so heartwarming.
There was no question for me. No hesitation.
I put down my fork as Ev left his seat and leaned over me, both his hands on the armrests.
He kissed me softly.
“Um, hi.” I kissed him back and grinned curiously.
“Hi yourself.” He grazed my nose with his. “Just wanted to say I love you. It’s okay if you’re not there yet—”
“I-I love you too,” I blurted out. Fuck! My face felt hot all of a sudden, and my heart started hammering. That was forever gonna be our first I-love-you, him being all sweet and shit, and me stuttering like a moron. “That wasn’t smooth of me.”
He wore the sexiest smile, regardless. “I don’t want you smooth.”
Why the fuck was I fumbling? Was he making a dirty joke or something else? I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
He loved me. This amazing, charismatic, hot-as-sin, sweet, caring, clueless, intelligent man loved me.
We had to fucking celebrate.
I exhaled a laugh. “I’m so in love with you.”
His smile widened, and he kissed me again. “I’ll be spending the rest of my life thanking my lucky stars you wanted to contact your estranged uncle.”
Oh yeah, my dirty bastard. “That’s good. I’ll do the same, about the fact that you saw me naked in the window and thought, huh, that nephew of mine is pretty hot. I wonder what being gay is like.”
His eyes lit up with amusement as he returned to his seat. “Finish your meal, punk. I’ll walk you out later.”
“Why?” I knew my way around this building by now.
He gathered some food on his fork. “I’m going to kiss you by the elevators and then tell the interns in the bullpen to stop gossiping and get back to work.”
I laughed.
Twelve
Everett
Two weeks before Christmas, I knew it was a miracle Grace hadn’t found out about Adam and me yet. Especially after last night when I’d posted my first picture of Adam, Bella, and me. Granted, we’d had Bella with a big bowl of popcorn between us, but my arm had rested along the back of the couch, and my hand had been on Adam’s neck.
Melinda had made an offhanded remark after we’d left what I hoped was our last mediation the other day. I’d mentioned going home for dinner with Adam and Bella, and Melinda had muttered something along the lines of, “You’re acting like they’re the family you go home to every night. Try to go out and meet some new people instead.”
She would find out the truth on her own, presumably when Grace told her. I didn’t care. Everyone at the firm knew, my buddies knew, Adam and I hid nothing, and once again, Grace was my only missing piece.
Grace and I were steadily becoming more integral parts in each other’s lives again; we texted more, we’d sent a couple art challenges, and she’d even tagged me in a funny picture on Facebook. I didn’t want her to fall by the wayside—or, much worse, feel like she was the last person to know everything. I needed Berkeley to be closer, goddammit.
I couldn’t concentrate. Leaving my drafting board behind, I walked over to the windows behind my desk and looked out over the city.
Snow was falling down heavily, and there were warnings about a whiteout.
Grace and her friends had gone to San Francisco last weekend. She’d worn a light jacket and smiled into the sunshine in one photo.
I folded my arms over my chest and pinched my bottom lip, torn between rights and wrongs, what my conscience was telling me, selfish preferences, and how everything had changed this year.
Fuck it, I had to arrange a meeting with my partners and discuss my future here.
“Ev! I save you a seat here!” Bella hollered as soon as I entered the bar.
I grinned and scraped the snow off my shoes before walking over to her. The bar was filling up with the regular after-work crowd, and Adam was working the bar with Kell’s son, Trace.
“How’s my princess today? How was preschool?” I slid onto the stool next to her and removed my scarf and gloves.
“Good! Petey made cheese curds. Want some?” She picked up a small ball of fried deliciousness from a bowl on the counter for me.
“Like I can resist fried cheese,” I said dramatically.
She giggled as I ate it straight from her hand, making sure I nibbled a bit on her fingers too.
“Mmm, those are good,” I said, shrugging out of my coat. “How long is it gonna take to get service around here?”
I said it loud it enough for Adam to hear, and I caught him chuckling to himself at the register.
The place was pretty busy, so I swallowed my nerves about the proposals I had for Adam and Bella, and I helped her with her very important homework while I waited to order.
Bella loved her teacher, and she was in a great school. One major point for not uprooting her the way Melinda and I had uprooted our daughter after third grade.
This week, Bella’s homework entailed writing a wish list for Santa. There had to be three items on the list, and the children were encouraged to be creative with how they either wrote or drew the items.
“Uncle Ev, can you see this is Santa’s bag with presents?” She held up her drawing.
“Of course,” I said. It was only half a lie. I would’ve guessed either a grocery bag or a raindrop. “Doesn’t Santa have a big rope around the bag so the presents won’t fall out?”
Bella tapped a crayon against her cheek. “I think so. Can you show me?”
“Sure.” I snatched up a napkin from one of the holders and borrowed a crayon from her. “You do it just like you drew yours—see here, it’s pulled together at the top. That’s very good.” I shifted the napkin closer to her so she could see better. “I’m gonna show you a trick. You can’t see the rope going behind the bag, right? Because the bag is in the way. You just see the rope on the front. Like this.” I sketched a couple simple lines for her.
She concentrated hard as she studied the napkin and compared it to her own drawing.
Adam chose that time to walk over with two glasses of pop for us. “You studying hard, baby?”
She held up a hand, never lifting her gaze from the napkin. “I’m busy now, Daddy.”
“All right, I’ll leave a message,” he chuckled.
“Beeep!” she answered automatically.
I grinned and shook my head at my two goofballs, then leaned over the counter, and Adam met me halfway in a chaste kiss.
“I wish I could eat with yous,” he said. “One of the servers isn’t here yet, so I can’t take my break until she arrives.”
That worked for me. I’d rather have this talk when we were at home anyway. “Anything I can do?” I asked. “You look tired, love.”
“Long day,” he replied, stifling a yawn. “There is actually one thing.” He hesitated. “Do you mind taking Bella home after you’ve eaten? She has a field trip tomorrow, and she needs to go to bed early. I don’t think I’m getting outta here before eight.”
“I don’t mind at all,” I assured. “She has everything she needs at my place.”
“You also have the keys to mine.”
“I’m kidnapping her, end of discussion.” I took a sip of my Coke and side-eyed Bella’s progress. She was carefully drawing the rope along the front of the bag like I’d done. “Bella, don’t you think it’s been forever since you and Daddy had a sleepover at my place?”
“Duh.” Clever girl, that one.
Besides, I had a Christmas tree she could help me decorate.
Adam laughed under his breath and planted his forearms along the bar. “C’mere, my baby snatcher.”
I smiled and leaned forward again, and I got a kiss that lasted a few
seconds longer this time.
“All right,” he sighed and eased away, appearing as reluctant as I felt. “What can I get you?”
“The double trouble combo, please,” I said. “Is she getting the special menu today?”
When Adam spent the day working from home and then picked up Bella from school before a shift here, it was easiest to let her eat dinner here at the bar. But it came with some downsides, such as all the food options being unhealthy. So Adam had put together a menu only for her, and he picked up groceries for it once a week. It was just one of those things I loved about him.
“Yeah, I am,” Bella grumbled in response.
“I feel your pain, princess.” I patted her on the shoulder and faced Adam again. “I guess I’ll have a salad instead of fries, then.”
She and I could suffer together, though I still got my delectable burger.
“Comin’ up.” Adam smirked. “And you, double trouble?”
Bella pursed her lips in thought. “Can I have the chicken fingers if Petey makes them?”
“You can have the chicken fingers that Petey makes with my instructions,” Adam replied with a wry smile. “Ain’t a thing he won’t throw in the deep fryer, and you know it.”
That was why I liked Petey.
“Fine,” Bella groaned. “Chicken fingers and mac, please.”
“And a side salad—wonderful choice, baby.” Adam reached across the counter and gave an affronted Bella a smooch on the forehead before he walked off toward the kitchen.
“Veggies are boring,” she told me.
“I agree.” I nodded. “It’s a good thing we have Daddy to make sure we eat all the boring stuff that’s good for us.”
She scrunched her nose and shrugged, then returned to her homework.
“Holy shit, am I exhausted.” Adam threw himself on my couch and yawned. He glanced at the tree in the corner. “I love you both, but that shit ain’t right.”
I chuckled and lifted his legs before I sat down, then gathered them on my lap. “You’re lucky she’s asleep. We worked very hard, I’ll have you know.”
