Page 69 of The Best Bad Decision

Boy.

I was his boy.

And possibly his boyfriend depending on what he’d meant before.

We both ignored all of that and my parents sputtering as we headed toward the house. I had no intention of giving them any more attention but when I heard footsteps moving closer, I turned my head around. “If you follow us, I can guarantee one of the neighbors will call the police. They’re wonderfully attentive when it comes to problems.”

That had both of them going still and finally heading back to their car as we climbed up on the porch.

I managed to look frustrated but calm as Casimir dropped my arm and let us into the house, but once I heard the door lock behind me, my hands started to shake. I didn’t bother trying to hide it, partly because I wasn’t sure I could and partly because I wanted to see what he’d do.

Testing him made me an asshole, but I had to see what would happen.

I’d missed every red flag before and I wasn’t going to start a new relationship the same way.

Instead of rolling his eyes or telling me to grow a pair, he mimed taking a deep breath and wrapped his arms around me. When I was awkwardly curled around him, he kissed the side of my head. “You did so good, baby. You looked calm and confident. You made it clear you thought they were idiots who weren’t worth our time.”

Letting out a shaky breath, I closed my eyes as relief rushed through me. “I’ll do better in just a second. I just need a second.”

“No, baby.” Holding me tighter, he shook his head against me. “You’ll take as long as you need and I’ll be right here with you. That would take a lot out of anyone and you were fucking amazing.”

“I…I couldn’t let them see…” Anything. “They’re just…”

Before I could try again to find the words to explain, he made a low sound and nuzzled against me. “We don’t have to show emotions to people who don’t deserve them. You’re allowed physical and emotional privacy. You share what you’re feeling with people you trust.”

Emotional privacy.

I’d never heard anyone say that before.

I’d gotten lectures and helpful advice about being more open and not hiding what I was thinking, but that’d never felt right.

Emotional privacy.

That felt right.

“I trust you.”

I wasn’t sure what else to say, but in that moment, it felt like the simplest, steadiest place to start.

Chapter 21

Casimir

Every peek I got into his past answered more questions but also gave me new ones and helped me understand how he saw relationships too. My sweet man had never had anyone on his team and I just don’t know how long he could’ve lasted like that.

A divorce or breakdown had been incoming even if he hadn’t realized it.

Luckily, he’d found me and I was an expert at boundaries and calling people assholes…as long as I wasn’t dating them. I didn’t have that problem with Atlee, though. No, our issues would be him not calling out my questionable behavior and putting up with too much.

Mentally vowing to be careful and to push him to find a therapist by about our six-month point, I kissed the side of his head again. “Thank you, baby, but you get privacy from me if you need it. Remember that and your safewords.”

His soft chuckle made me think he’d been expecting that from me, but it also said he wasn’t doing as bad as I’d worried. “You won’t let me forget that.”

“Fuck no. You’re important to me.” I just couldn’t understand how he wasn’t important to his parents. “You’re cute and fun to play with…and I take good care of my toys.”

My ridiculously confident and definitely sassy tone got another snicker out of him and I could feel the muscles in his body starting to relax. “Especially toys where there are so many fun ways to play with them.”

As he relaxed even more, Atlee let out a quiet sound that wasn’t quite a moan, but let me know where I could start shifting our evening. “I need to get my toy ready for playtime first.”