Senses 03 - Love Comes Home (DA) (MM) (23 page)

Greg had slept alone for years, but the bed now seemed big, empty, and lonely. He knew that was a ridiculous notion—he’d only spent a single night with Tom—but they’d been together a lot, and only now was Greg really starting to understand just how much Tom had burrowed into his heart.

“Dad,” he heard as he lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He got up and slipped on a robe before walking to Davey’s room.

“What is it?”

“I can’t sleep,” Davey said.

“Okay, roll over,” he whispered and sat on the edge of the bed. He slipped his hand under Davey’s pajama top and slowly rubbed his back. “Is that better?”

“Uh-huh,” Davey said. And then the room went quiet before Davey said, “Do you love Tom?”

He skirted the question. “Would that be okay with you if I did?”

“Uh-huh,” Davey said, obviously becoming sleepier. “Would he move in here with us?”

“Let’s talk about that when the time comes, okay?” Greg asked, but he got no answer. Davey was asleep. Greg paused and then pulled his hand away, adjusted Davey’s pajamas and then pulled up the covers. He carefully stood and left the room as quietly as he could.

Greg got back in bed and once again stared at the ceiling. Unable to sleep, he looked at the clock and sighed just before his phone vibrated. He jumped and answered it without seeing who it was, instantly wondering what was wrong. “Hello,” he said breathlessly.

“Did I wake you?” Tom asked. “I couldn’t sleep and hoped you were still up.”

“No, I’m awake. I have been for a while. I just got Davey to sleep and I was getting to know all the intricacies of my ceiling. How about you?”

“Same,” Tom said. “I really wish….”

“I know. Me too,” he whispered. “I really wanted to thank you for everything today.”

“That’s what you do when….” Tom stopped.

Greg stilled. “When what, Tom?” He heard a sigh and nothing more.

“I really don’t want the first time I tell you this to be over the phone. I want it to be face to face where I can kiss and hold you for hours afterwards.”

Greg warmed and pushed off the covers.

“What are you doing?” Tom asked in a deep, rich tone.

“Well… I’m….” Greg could feel himself blushing. “I was about to… you know.”

“I’d rather you… you know… when I was there to watch you.”

Greg groaned and placed his hand on the mattress.

“I wish I could be there tonight, but I’ll see you tomorrow, and I promise to make it worth waiting for.” Tom hung up.

Greg placed the phone back on the nightstand. He sighed and smiled before rolling onto his side. When he closed his eyes, he found sleep came easily.

T
HE
HOUSE
was too damned quiet. Greg had spent the morning and most of the afternoon trying to keep his mind on his work. He’d only been moderately successful. Thankfully the design he’d been focusing on was nearly done. He had others he needed to start, but that wasn’t going to happen today. Shifting at his computer, he pushed away thoughts of Tom and what he looked like naked before the house he was designing ended up with an obscenely shaped chimney. He worked for another hour and managed to finish the design, save the file, and back it up. Then he left and went to pick up Davey from his classes.

When he arrived, Greg went inside. He was met by Davey and his teacher coming down the hall toward him.

“I learned to read,” Davey pronounced, beaming.

“I think he’s had some help,” Davey’s teacher said.

“Yes, I think he has too.”

“Davey is doing remarkably well, and I think with some assistance, he should be able to attend school with the other kids. He will still need special class time as well as classes centered around Braille instruction, but we’ll try to make Davey’s school experience as normal as possible for him.”

“That’s great,” Greg said. “I really appreciate it.”

“Both of you need to know there will be challenges, but we’ll meet them head-on. Right?”

“Right,” Davey said, to Greg’s delight.

“Have a good long weekend, and I’ll see you next week,” she said. Greg thanked her again and let Davey show him how he could navigate the building and go outside to the edge of the sidewalk. Greg then vocally guided Davey to the car.

“You’re doing great,” Greg said.

“I’m gonna be okay, Dad,” Davey said before pulling open the door on the passenger side. Greg stood stock-still as tears ran down his cheeks. Sometimes Davey came across as much older than his years. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Greg got in the car and pulled the door shut. “You’re my son, my only son, and as your dad, I’ll worry about you forever. No matter how old you get or when you become the world’s most famous beep ball player, I’ll still worry about you. It’s what dads do.”

“Okay,” Davey said with a shrug. “Can we get ice cream on the way home?”

“Not today,” Greg said. “Tom is coming over, and I need to get home so I can start making dinner. You have things you have to do for class, I’m sure.”

“Nope. I got it all done and I’m learning to read really good. Can I call Uncle Howard and see if he has any books or stuff I can read?”

Greg chuckled. When Davey got into something, he did it all the way. “I doubt Uncle Howard has things for kids, but I think we can find some talking books and things for you if you like. I can also look into getting you some books through the library. They have access to a lot of material for the blind.”

“Really?” Davey asked, like the kid he was.

“Sure. We can do that tomorrow,” Greg said and pulled out into traffic. The drive home didn’t take too long. Greg was surprised to see Tom’s red sports car parked in the drive. When he stopped and got out, he looked around, but didn’t see Tom anywhere. He figured Tom must have taken a walk or something, so he waited for Davey to make his way to the door and handed him the keys to unlock the house. He’d been trying more and more to have Davey do normal things around the house in order to get used to them.

Inside, the house was just as they left it, and Greg wondered again where Tom was, until he saw movement outside the sliding patio door. “What are you doing out there?” Greg asked.

“Just waiting for you. I got here about fifteen minutes ago and was just sitting.” Tom lifted a huge bunch of red roses from the table and handed them to him. “I wanted to get you something special and I hope no one has given you flowers before, because I wanted to be the first.”

Greg grinned and leaned for a kiss, which he got along with a crushing hug that left him breathless. “No, I’ve never gotten flowers,” Greg whispered, knowing Davey was probably listening to every word. “Let me put these in water.”

“Hey,” Tom began, stopping him. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Greg said with a warm smile he couldn’t help. “I need to take care of these and get dinner ready or we won’t eat until later.” Tom appeared disappointed, and Greg leaned close. “The sooner we eat, the sooner Davey will be ready for bed, and then we can be alone for the evening.”

Tom kissed him again and then released him. Greg got a vase and put the flowers in it, added water, and then set the huge bouquet on the table. The room quickly filled with the sweet scent of the flowers, and Davey walked over, inhaling deeply. Greg was inordinately happy with the gift, and that kept a smile on his face all through prep and well into dinner.

“When are we playing beep ball again?” Davey asked while they
ate.

“In a few days. It’s supposed to rain for a while, so we’ll play again when it dries out. I’ve called the parents of the other players, and we’ve set up a regular schedule to play each Monday and Thursday. We also have two more kids who want to play, so with Hanna and Sophia, we have a full team. To keep with the rules, we need to find a sighted pitcher and catcher who are the kids’ age, but I think Peter can help with that, so it looks like we’re officially off and running. We only have enough for one team, but I think that will change in time. Once word gets out, we’ll have more kids and even some adults who might want to play, so it’s all good.”

Tom ruffled Davey’s hair. “Did you have a good day in school? What did you learn?”

“I learned that he needs reading material,” Greg said. “We’re going to the library to find out what we can get tomorrow.” He could not believe how things had changed in just a few short months. Davey was thriving, their lives were settling into a routine, and he felt more settled than he could remember. All of that was because of Tom; he could see that now.

Greg stopped eating and took a few minutes to listen as Davey told Tom all about his day and everything he’d done. Tom listened to all of it between bites with a smile on his lips. And Greg felt he really was one of the luckiest people anywhere.

He had a wonderful son, and a boyfriend who cared for them both. Greg hated to admit to himself as he sat watching them that he’d actually thought Tom would run for the hills once he realized what it would require to be a part of their lives. What amazed him every day was that Tom didn’t only care for him and Davey, but demonstrated how he cared. Tom could be just as quiet and reticent about his feelings as Greg, but he’d already been showing both of them how much he cared. He’d pulled together this beep baseball team, buying the equipment because he wanted Davey to be able to have something back that Greg had thought Davey had lost forever. And he’d stood by him when Joyce was causing him grief over the awful treatment option.

“What are you staring at?” Tom asked softly and followed his gaze to the wall. “I like the paint color too, but I don’t think it’s that interesting.”

“Dad always stares at stuff when he’s thinking,” Davey said.

“What are you thinking about?” Tom asked.

“I’m done. Can I go read?” Davey asked. Tom looked at him, and Greg nodded. “Dad said he’d see what kinds of bumpy books he could get for me at the library tomorrow.”

“Bumpy books,” Tom said with amusement, and Davey got up and slowly walked through the house, lightly touching his markers so he’d know where he was. “I cannot believe how far he’s come. He can find his way around the house, and he’s learning to read.”

“He was always super smart, but this just blows me away. I know there’s still more to come. There will be setbacks and frustration—I believe that’s inevitable—but I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Greg said.

“Be sure to tell him,” Tom said.

“I will, and you have to tell Skip that Davey is ready for him to visit again anytime. Somehow I think he helped him,” Greg said. “He was someone who treated Davey like a person rather than a blind person. When you talk to him again, tell him thank you for both of us.”

“Skip is just a big kid,” Tom said before finishing the last bite of his meal.

Greg began clearing the dishes, then carried them to the kitchen. He put things away, watching Tom as he watched him. “It’s always nice having people visit….”

Tom stood and walked over to him. “But it’s nice when they go home too,” Tom said, completing Greg’s thought, and then moved closer.

Greg had dishes in both hands, and he somehow managed to get them onto the counter as Tom kissed him nearly hard enough to bruise. Greg could hardly think, and once he let go of the plates and didn’t hear a crash, he forgot about everything except Tom’s lips on his and the way Tom held him tight. Greg’s brain shut off and he hugged Tom back, returning the kiss with everything he had.

“Does it make me a slut that after only being together once, I want you all the time?”

“No. What it makes you is mine, and it makes me damned lucky.” Tom kissed him again.

“Dad, I can’t get this to work,” Davey called.

Greg groaned softly and stepped away.

“Were you kissing?” Davey asked mischievously as he continued toward them.

“Let me check it,” Greg said. He took the tablet from Davey and turned on the speech-recognition software Howard had installed. “It should work now. When we see Uncle Howard, we’ll have him make it so it starts up right away.”

“Thanks,” Davey said. “You can now return to sucking face.” He giggled, and Greg tried his best to keep from laughing and failed.

“You’re going to like sucking face yourself eventually,” Tom said around his own smile. Davey shrugged and picked up his tablet, already searching for what he wanted. “I thought you were going to read.”

“They only gave me the one book, and I only had a few pages left,” Davey answered, and within seconds he’d settled on the sofa, engrossed in his story, foot bouncing. Greg shook his head and went back to cleaning up.

“It’s almost bedtime,” Greg said, and Davey huffed. But he turned off his story and worked his way over to where Greg stood.

“Is Tom sleeping over?” he stage-whispered.

“Yes,” Greg answered and waited for Davey’s reaction, but there was none. Davey hugged him good night and then did the same with Tom before heading down to his room. “I’ll be in to say good night in a few minutes.”

Greg listened as Davey cleaned up. “I’ll be right back,” he told Tom.

He found Davey in bed, waiting for him. Greg sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m so proud of you,” he said. “You’ve done amazing things.”

“For a blind kid, right?” Davey asked.

“No, for any kid. I couldn’t be more proud of you if you had X-ray vision.” Greg scooped Davey into his arms. “I love you more than I can say, and I’m so proud of you I could bust.” He rocked Davey back and forth, tickling him lightly. Giggles filled the room, and then Greg settled Davey back on the bed. He was about to get up when Davey shifted and sat up.

“If you marry Tom, will you love me less?”

“Sometimes you ask the craziest questions. I could never love you less, no matter what I do or you do. It’s the funny thing about hearts. The more people you love, the bigger they get.” Greg hugged Davey and settled him in bed before leaving the room and closing the door most of the way. Then he quietly walked back to the living room.

The lights had been turned down, soft music played, and Tom waited for him on the sofa. Tom stood and met Greg, taking him in his arms.

“I’m not a very good dancer,” Greg whispered once he understood what Tom had in mind.