Caged In

by Luna, David

  He’d mentioned hiring a replacement for the assistant manager position to Ben, who suggested several internal candidates. Reed always preferred to hire within, so he told Ben to put out an announcement and take care of preliminary interviews. He heard the front door being unlocked and Ben saying, “Hey there. Wasn’t your last day yesterday?”

  Reed looked up, and the sight of Camden stepping inside the doors made Reed’s heart nearly beat out of his chest. One day apart and he felt like it had been a week. Camden’s cheeks were rosy with embarrassment, his hands were shoved in his pockets, and he seemed unable to come up with a good explanation for being there, if his open mouth and panicked gaze were anything to go by. Reed wasn’t going to allow that to be the case and had no idea why he was even still behind the bar.

  He quickly shut the till and stalked across the room before Camden could suffer any more. He wrapped his arms around Camden, lifted him off the ground, and kissed him like they’d been separated for months. Everything around them disappeared. It was just him and Camden there in that moment. Passion overtook them. Camden’s arms wrapped around him, his lips pressed against Reed’s, their tongues moving against each other. The tiny, soft little whimpers Camden couldn’t hold back nearly brought Reed to his knees.

  Soon enough, they came back to earth when they heard clapping, whistling, and voices ringing out with, “Finally,” and, “It’s about time.” He set Camden on the ground again and Camden burrowed into Reed’s chest, covering his face with his hands and turning an alarming shade of lobster red that had Reed feeling very protective.

  Reed raised his hands to quiet everyone and responded, “Thanks, guys. As soon as he gave his notice, I knew I could finally make my move.” The small group laughed and got back to work. He wrapped his arms back around Camden, kissed his head, and leaned down to whisper, “It’s all right, Cam. They’re just happy for us. Come on, let’s go to my office.”

  He loosened his hold but kept his arm wrapped around Camden’s shoulder and led them from the room to his office. Camden’s face, now a slightly lighter shade of red, held a look of surprise. “I can’t believe you did that!”

  “I shouldn’t have without talking to you about it first, but you were in panic mode, and I wasn’t about to let you handle it alone. That, and I’m not about to hide you. I’m proud that you’re mine and I want everyone to know it. So, I figured why wait?”

  Camden moved in for another hug, stood up on his tiptoes, and pulled Reed down to meet him for another kiss. When Camden pulled away his eyes glistened. He went to pull Camden back in to soothe him, but Camden reached up to cup his cheek. “I’m proud you’re mine too. It’s been kind of a whirlwind. A week ago, we were nothing but employer/employee and now we’re committed to each other.”

  Reed lowered his forehead to Camden’s. “It’s intense. But I don’t want to slow us down. I don’t want to waste any more time by taking things at a snail’s pace just because it’s what we think we should do by someone else’s standards. I see you in my life for the long term, baby. I’m taking you, this, us very seriously. I mean, I don’t want to pressure you. I—”

  Camden leaned in and kissed Reed’s lips to quiet him. “You’re not pressuring me. I don’t want to slow down either. This feels like the right pace. And I don’t think I’ll ever want to let you go. I’m here with you, and we’ll move at whatever pace is comfortable for us.”

  Reed sighed, relieved. He gave Camden a quick kiss and gazed down at him “Now, enough serious stuff. What are you doing here? You completely made my day. I was missing you so much.”

  Camden’s grin made Reed’s stomach flip with butterflies. “I came because I missed you too. I didn’t really stop to think about the fact you had just closed. I just headed over kind of on autopilot because I wanted to see you. I didn’t realize it was closing time until I was getting out of my car, and by then Jenny had seen me and waved, so I had to come in.”

  They both laughed and Reed replied, “Listen, let me wrap things up now instead of later, so we can—”

  “Oh, no. I just wanted to say hi. I didn’t mean to pull you away from work. Your sad texts all day about how many things were going wrong just made me want to come in and hug on you for a bit. I can get out of your way and head home. I’m just glad we got to chat for a few. I needed my Daddy fix.”

  Reed growled and tugged Camden close again. “Baby, you’re not going anywhere except home with me.”

  Reed loved that Camden’s reaction was immediate. His cheeks flushed and his eyes dilated with arousal at Reed’s dominant words. “I have half a mind to pick you up, toss you over my shoulder, and drive you home to ravish your beautiful body. But my neck and shoulders are too sore from the stress of the day, and I’m afraid once I get to my house, the adrenaline that has carried me through will leave me passed out on the bed fully clothed.”

  Camden reached up again and caressed his face. “You should just leave now and go home and sleep. We can see each other tomorrow.”

  Reed shook his head. “Hmm mmm, I may not have the energy tonight for anything else—I need to be one hundred percent when that day comes—but believe me when I say I want to take you home and just hold you in my arms all night. That is, if you’re willing to indulge an old man. Plus, I have tomorrow off, so if you don’t have plans, we could spend the day together.”

  “Pfft. First of all, you’re thirty-five. You’re in your prime. Second of all, I’d love nothing more than to sleep in your arms again tonight. All I have planned tomorrow is to get ready for my first day of work on Monday. So probably some laundry and ironing or something.”

  “It’s settled then. Let me shut things down here and we can get going.”

  Less than ten minutes later, they were in Reed’s truck and headed to his house, leaving Camden’s car in the lot again because Reed didn’t want to be separated from his boy any longer than was necessary, regardless of how ridiculous that sounded in his head. Reed shrugged it off, giving it a mental fuck-it. They’d just gotten done saying they were going to move at their own pace, so this was him moving at his own pace.

  They got to Reed’s home quickly and pulled into his garage. He’d been right, as soon as they walked in the door of his safe haven, his stress began to leave him, and his body let him know it had taken the brunt of his shit day with achiness to show for it. He couldn’t help but grin when Hendrix came running, tail wagging, tongue lolling, paws dancing on the hardwoods once he was in front of them, as if he couldn’t hold back his excitement at him being home and bringing someone else Hendrix could adopt as another of his hoomans.

  Reed leaned down to pet his big, goofy dog but Hendrix merely gave him a little snuffle to greet him and then hopped from his front paws to his back paws in front of Camden, as if just waiting and begging for scritches which he knew would be forthcoming. When Camden laughed and obliged, Hendrix sat down in near bliss, tail wagging back and forth on the floor, a ridiculous doggy smile on his face, already worshiping Camden—Reed didn’t blame Hendrix because he could totally relate.

  Getting more tired by the second, Reed fed and watered the pup and then held out his hand. Camden got up from the spot he’d taken on his knees in front of Hendrix to lavish more pets and attention on the dog that already idolized him, and clasped Reed’s hand, leaning down to kiss Hendrix on his furry head. He was glad his dog was half in love with Camden too. In fact, the dog had never taken to any of his partners quite so quickly or easily. Dogs were smart.

  Pulling Camden along to his bedroom—as the doggo scarfed down his evening meal and would eventually let himself out of his dog door to relieve himself—he began to strip. Camden did the same, and when they were both in only their underwear, they crawled into bed together. Reed moved to tug Camden into his side, but Camden leaned up on an elbow. “Lay down on your stomach.”

  Reed’s brow furrowed and Camden smiled. “Come on. I’m going to give you a massage. You told me your neck and shoulders hurt. I’ll work out the kn
ots.”

  All he could do was moan at the mere mention of a massage. He immediately did as he was told and moved to his stomach. “There’s massage lotion in the drawer.”

  Next thing Reed knew, he was waking up alone in his bed and light was filtering through his curtains. Looking at the clock, he saw it was ten forty-seven in the morning. He dragged himself out of bed, worried Camden had felt the need to call for a ride home. He pulled on his favorite pair of joggers.

  He made his way downstairs and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Camden stretched out on the chaise lounge portion of his leather sectional, coffee on the side table, a huge bowl of cereal on one thigh, Hendrix’s head on the other, looking back and forth from the bowl of cereal back up to Camden. “I know it’s kind of scary, and it’ll be really sad when Iron Man dies, but the good guys win in the end, I promise.”

  He approached quietly, not wanting to bring attention to himself. His heart melted as Camden picked a Cheerio out of the bowl and fed it to Hendrix, who took it gently from Camden’s fingers. As Reed’s enormous dog ate the single Cheerio as if he’d been given a feast and would be forever grateful, Camden continued to pet him from his head to his back, over and over as he talked about Avengers: Endgame.

  The jig was up when Hendrix raised his big head off Camden’s thigh and looked at Reed, prompting Camden to turn towards him and grin happily at seeing him. “I think I could get used to waking up and having my two favorite boys here with me.”

  Hendrix wagged his tail but didn’t move to greet him like he normally would. Hell, Reed wouldn’t have left his spot by Camden either. As Reed approached, Camden tilted his head back and Reed went behind the couch to kiss him. “Hey, baby. Sorry I slept so late. I’m glad you’re still here though. I was worried you gave up and went home.”

  Camden clasped his head, holding him in place, his sweet face upside down and still so damn beautiful. “No way. My new best friend and I are watching Avengers and discussing our favorite characters.”

  Utterly charmed, Reed moved in, nudging Camden’s head to the side with his own and kissing his sweet neck. Hendrix didn’t like that at all as he raised his paw and placed it square on the side of Reed’s head. He chuckled and pulled away, talking to Hendrix. “You’re just as bad as me, pup. Territorial and protective of him. If you think you’re taking my place, you’ve got another think coming. He’s mine.”

  Hendrix had words with him, his mouth opening and closing as he grumbled and talked to Reed, not liking what his owner had to say at all. “Mmhmm. I hear you, but I gotta say, it’s going to be a hard sell if you want to share him with me.”

  Camden grabbed Hendrix’s face in his hands, smushing it and gently tilting it back and forth as Camden’s moved in the same direction. “You tell Daddy there’s enough of me to go around. Yes, there is. Oh yes there is! Isn’t there, big guy? Huh? Yeah. That’s right.”

  The baby voice Camden was using for a dog that was nearly bigger than he was—and if Reed had to guess, weighed about the same—slayed him, and he found himself chuckling and shaking his head. “He’s good for us, isn’t he, pup?”

  When Hendrix answered in what Reed knew was the affirmative, Reed leaned forward, grabbed the spoon in the Cheerios and brought it to his mouth, realizing that Camden had liberally added sugar, making the milk taste sweet. No wonder the pup liked it so much. “You’re taking a perfectly healthy cereal and making it into a diabetic-coma-inducing bowl of sugar.”

  Camden gasped in outrage which only served to make Reed chuckle and shake his head. “It’s still healthy. I just like it a teeny tiny bit sweet.”

  “Baby, there are at least two heaping spoonfuls of sugar in there.”

  When Camden mumbled something, Reed leaned in to nibble on his neck. “What was that?”

  “I said, more like three.”

  “Am I going to have to hide the sugar in the house or remove it altogether?”

  That was apparently the last straw. Camden moved the bowl to the table, gently extricated his thigh from under the dog’s huge head, turned on the couch. He stood up, hopping off the back of the couch and into Reed’s arms, and kissed him. “Don’t”—kiss—“you”—kiss—“dare”—kiss. “It’s my one indulgence when I remember or feel well enough to eat breakfast.”

  “Mmhmm. About that. There will be rules about eating proper meals, baby. Do you often feel sick in the mornings?”

  Camden sighed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to obey those rules. Sometimes I just feel too nauseous to eat when I’m stressing.”

  Reed narrowed his eyes. “Which is quite often.”

  Another sigh. “Which is quite often. So, anyway, let’s change the subject. How are your shoulders and your neck?” Camden scrunched up his face. “I probably shouldn’t be jumping on you like this.”

  When Camden moved to slide down to the floor Reed kissed his lips, his nose, his forehead, and his cheeks. “Don’t you dare move. You’ve got miracle hands. I don’t even feel a twinge of pain. Thank you.”

  Camden brightened at that. “Good. So, what should we do today?”

  “You want to take the dog for a jog?”

  Camden made a face as if he’d bitten into a rotten piece of fruit. “Eww. Why would we do that?”

  He smacked Camden’s ass and chuckled. “Okay, how about a leisurely walk?”

  Camden shrugged, nose still wrinkled, and said, “I mean, I guess, if I have to.”

  “You do. It’s good for you. We’ll be doing a lot of things that are good for you.”

  Camden glanced at Hendrix who was watching them both. “Is he always this mean? I don’t know if I can handle this. Maybe you and I will just run away together and live in sugary bliss on a tropical island.”

  When Reed tickled Camden, he let out a shriek. “Stop! Oh my god. Okay, I won’t leave, I promise.”

  “That’s a good boy.” Reed turned, facing the couch. “Stand on the back of the couch again.”

  When Camden did, Reed turned around. “Hop on my back, let’s go see if we can rummage up some real breakfast. One that will keep you out of the hospital from a sucrose overdose.”

  “I changed my mind. Maybe you are an old man.”

  “You’re going to regret that, ya know.”

  “Pfft, I’ll just climb on my other trusty steed and gallop away.”

  “If you’re talking about my giant, mountain of a dog, Hendrix doesn’t gallop anywhere. You’ll be lucky if he even jogs.”

  He bent down and let Camden’s legs go so he could stand in the kitchen. “Wait a minute. You just asked if I wanted to take the dog jogging.”

  “I know, but I knew you wouldn’t, so the exaggeration of my dog’s abilities was okay.” Camden started grumbling again as he walked around him to the counter. “What was that?”

  Camden’s pleasant smile had Reed narrowing his eyes, but his boy’s chirpy response of, “Nothing. Would you like coffee?” momentarily distracted Reed enough not to call Camden on it because he wanted, no needed, that coffee.

  They spent the day relaxing, chatting, and having a good time, but as midafternoon hit, Reed could tell Camden was beginning to feel some anxiety about the following day. He’d avoided eating much of anything for lunch, claiming his stomach hurt. From the way he was acting, Reed didn’t doubt him in the least, so he didn’t push it.

  Reed saw things going downhill when he noticed Camden’s inability to focus on their conversation at times, then it manifested itself into fidgeting and being unable to keep his hands still—hands that were shaking. That’s when Reed suggested they take the dog on a leisurely walk, which Camden seemed to enjoy, and Reed thought it had helped him feel better. But as soon as they got home again, the anxious behavior resumed.

  Reed wanted to take control. To take Camden in hand and make his worries go away, but he worried it would be too soon and Camden would balk. He worried if he changed their dynamic while Camden was anxious and stressed, it could backfire on him. He was afraid to set
them back in some way, scared it would be irreversible, and that was the last thing he wanted. But when Camden started breathing a bit heavier and rubbing his temples, Reed had to do something.

  And while it went against everything he felt was the right thing to do for Camden, he had to give him a choice. They were too new for Reed to take his choice away. “Camden, I know you’re starting to feel stressed about tomorrow. Would you rather go home and be alone? I don’t—”

  “No!” Camden’s shout surprised him, and it must have surprised Camden, as well, because he flinched and then quietly repeated, “No, Reed. Please. This is just how I get. I know I’m acting twitchy. I sometimes feel like I can’t control my impulses when I get this worked up. Who the hell gets this stressed about the first day of a new job? I’m sorry.”

  “I have a feeling more people get this stressed about a lot of things than you can even imagine, baby.”

  Camden scoffed; a self-deprecating sound Reed hated hearing from him. “When I get this way, I feel like a freak. Listen, maybe it’s better if… I can go home if you want me to. This is the side of me I sometimes hate. My friends are used to it, but I forget you haven’t really seen me at my worst. Maybe you’ll want to rethink us.”

  “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. We are past the point of rethinking anything. I’m yours, you’re mine. The very last thing I want is to be away from you when you need me. But we haven’t dealt with this together before, and I’m worried that if I go with my instincts, it may backfire. I don’t want to set us back. You haven’t given control over to me because we haven’t discussed our boundaries.”