Page 14 of Daddy's Little Drummer Boy
We cuddled up together for a while, and I was just enjoying his company, his warmth, and the kisses we kept exchanging. “You can stay over, can’t you?” I asked finally. “We can wake up early enough for me to take you home to get dressed for work.”
“I wish I could,” he said, yawning. “But…”
“But?” I encouraged. “You can tell me. If you just like your bed better, that’s fine.”
“No, this bed is so much nicer, but I-I always sleep with my raccoon stuffie.”
“Oh, in that case we’d better go get him.” I rolled out of bed and to my feet. “We don’t want him to be all alone all night. He might worry about you.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
I reached down and pulled him up. “Get dressed and we’ll be back in bed together in no time. I miss you already.” Which was silly since we were kissing again on the way out the door. And when we got to his apartment, we ended up right back in bed again. Rooney had to wait a while before he could join us.
Chapter Eleven
Bobby
I woke in Nicks’s arms, my own wrapped around Rooney, a smile lifting my lips at the memory of the night before. It had been so perfect, so beautiful, so…hot. And then, as I fell asleep, he handed me Rooney. I was happy he didn’t judge me for my stuffie. It was one thing for daddies to like little things when they were playing; it was another to accept that some little things were more than just for little space. Some were for every day, and that was how it was for me with Rooney.
Nick had been so sweet on our date, it wasn’t surprising that he’d been sweet about my stuffie. Still…it meant far more to me than he could know. I’d try and tell him, but not now with him still quietly snoring away.
I wanted to roll over to look at his sleeping face. But more than that, I didn’t want to wake him up because that would mean our time was over. As much as I loved our night together, it was a workday and that meant, the two of us had places to go that weren’t out to brunch or a walk or another round in bed. We both had work, and it sucked.
The sun was starting to rise and I was already dreading my alarm going off, and it would go off soon despite my wish for time to stop for just a little while. And when it went off, I had to get up. There was nothing I could do about it because, as wonderful as it was to be in Nick’s warm embrace, feeling his body pressed against mine, I needed to go to work. He did too.
Instead of risking waking him, I stayed where I was and listened to him breathe, trying to recapture sleep.
I was just about there when the stupid alarm went off. I grabbed my phone and turned it off then tried to sneak out without waking him.
It didn’t work.
He pulled me close. “Are you a snooze kind of guy?” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder.
“No.” I rolled over this time, no longer worried about waking him. I wished I was because it would mean we had more time together, awake time anyway.
“You’re the kind of guy who sets his alarm exactly on time to avoid stealing sleep from yourself?”
“Yeah.” I still had Rooney in my hands and was surprised when Nick reached over and gave him a scratch on the head, like he was a kitten or a puppy.
“Well, then, you need to get up,” he said.
Why did he have to be right?
It felt like he wanted to say more, but what more was there to say? It was time to go to work. Nothing was going to change that unless I won the lottery last night, which was pretty hard to do when you didn’t play.
“I know.” I kissed his cheek, padded into the bathroom, and took my shower, wishing it was significantly larger. If I couldn’t even wash my hair without bumping my elbows, there was no way the two of us would fit in there together. But gods, how great it would be to stand under the warm water with him, grabbing a few extra moments together.
When I came out, he was already dressed. I hated that. I hadn’t wanted him to rush, but that was the way of it. It wasn’t like he didn’t have places to be too. He was just finishing putting on his shoes, and as I stepped out, he went into the restroom.
I grabbed my clothes and got dressed, noticing Rooney sitting in the same spot on the bed I always kept him when I wasn’t there. Nick—remembered. Too sweet.
After putting on a pot of coffee, I threw on my clothes, made a cheese sandwich for breakfast, and tossed a frozen meal intomy lunch sack. I poured coffee into my travel mug and was ready to go.
“You didn’t have to rush,” I said, pulling my coat off the hook and buttoning it. “You could have stayed here.”
He shook his head. “Actually, I need to get to work too. Can I drive you to yours?”
I thought about saying no, telling him the bus was fine and not to go out of his way. But as I was forming the words, he reminded me that my job was actually on the way to his house. I gratefully accepted. It meant more time with him. There was no turning that down.
