Page 17 of His for Hanukkah

Tate was getting Judaism 101 at warp speed, and it didn’t seem like he’d even scratched the surface. When he compared it to the practices of his youth, Christian traditions seemed simplistic, washed of color and nuance.

Tate had already moved a package of bacon from his fridge to the freezer, knowing he wouldn’t be using it any time soon. While he’d cooked, he’d made a mental list of meals that he could prepare without mixing dairy products and specific meats. It was a lot to think about, but he loved having a prepared set of instructions for taking care of his little star.

They’d spent an easy morning together, getting to know each other. It was alluring watching Adam switch seamlessly from business professional talking about his work, to adorable nerd geeking out about dozens of eclectic topics, to lighthearted, flirtatious boy who just wanted all of Tate’s attention.

Tate was more than happy to give it to him.

He was also blown away by Adam’s ability to talk honestly and openly about his insecurities and his past. He imagined he wasn’t hearing quite everything, and Adam loved to obfuscate when he could get away with it. But when he asked about something directly, Adam always tried his hardest to answer.

Sometimes Adam paused to think. And sometimes he was clearly embarrassed or anxious, but he always spit it out anyway. He was strong in ways that would be a model for anyone. Tate only hoped he could be worthy of that trust.

He’d decided that morning to either take time off or work from home as much as possible this week, but today he needed to go into the office for a couple hours to make that happen.

When Tate couldn’t put off his responsibilities any longer, he bundled his boy up and walked him to his car. With a final kiss, he clicked the seatbelt over his lap and closed his door. Watching him drive away was harder than he’d expected.

Since he hadn’t planned on taking any time off, there was a bit more to juggle than he would have liked. He figured that he could take most of the afternoon off, work from home tomorrow, go into the office for half the day Thursday… Ugh. He had Friday off for Christmas, but he’d scheduled himself for several unavoidable meetings on Monday.

His boss would be fine with it as long as he got his work done, but he still had responsibilities.

Not to mention, he was new to his job, so he didn’t have very many vacation days accrued. He hated spending even the shortest amount of time away from the fascinating man who he was already thinking of as his boy.

But since he had to go into the office, he’d given Adam instructions to get a specific list of clothes for the rest of the week and return to his apartment. He’d also given Adam the key. He loved the idea of his boy at home waiting for him.

It was a wonder that he got any work done at all, as distracted as he’d been. He’d probably texted Adam thirty times.

He’d also spent at least half an hour looking up Hanukkah traditions. He was looking forward to learning everything that Adam wanted to teach him, but he wanted to throw in some surprises, too.

Which was what he was about to do right now.

Grinning, he placed the call and put it on speakerphone before heading out into traffic.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Little Star.” He made his voice sound seductive.

“Hey, Tate!” He loved the enthusiasm in Adam’s voice.

“Did you have any trouble getting back into the apartment?” He already knew this from the texts, but he still wanted to hear it.

“No.”

“And you got everything you need for the week?” He knew he was being a bit overbearing, but he wanted to take care of his boy. He hoped Adam was on the same page.

“Yep.”

“Good boy.”

“Thank you,” he said sweetly. Yeah, it sounded like they were on the same page.

“Did you eat a good lunch?”

There was a pause. “Um… I ate a sandwich?”

“Why are you asking that like a question?”

Adam blew out a heavy breath into the phone. Adorable. “Because I only had one piece of bread left. But I melted some cheese on it, so that’s totally a sandwich!” The last bit was said a little too brightly, like he was trying to convince both of them.

What a sweet little brat he was. Tate didn’t know why that wheedling tone made him go weak in the knees, but it totally did it for him. That tone of voice was just begging for Tate to take him in hand.