by Kelex
“Oh,” his father said, his face growing a bit red.
Anson chuckled a little, enjoying seeing his father a bit flustered.
His father rose from his chair. “Talk to Chaz. I know you think I’m interfering… but he’s a good attorney, and I trust him. He keeps his mouth closed.”
Anson nodded. “Maybe.” He scanned his desk, the amount of work on it mind-boggling. “If I needed to take some time off… to get some things squared away in my private life… is it possible to move some things off my desk?”
His father turned and nodded. “Between the junior attorneys, motions to delay, and your brother and I, I’m sure we can get some time freed up for you. How much do you need?”
“A week or two?” He almost never took vacations. Even his jaunt to Vegas the year before had been a long weekend with only a single day off.
“I think you’ve more than earned some time off. Get your files and notes to my secretary and your brother and I will review them and distribute.”
“Thanks,” Anson said. “For everything.”
His father smiled. “Sorry we didn’t have this conversation sooner. It might’ve saved us both some headaches.”
Anson returned his father’s smile and then watched him go. He sat down to review his pending case files…
He had someone he needed to go check on. As soon as humanly possible.
* * * *
“Jereme!”
Awakening with a jerk, Jereme nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked up and saw Professor Irons glaring down at him. Glancing to the side, he saw his classmates staring and laughing at him. He sat up a little straighter in his seat and wiped his mouth.
And felt a little drool on his cheek.
Lovely.
“While I typically don’t awaken my students… your snoring was too disruptive,” Professor Irons said as he stared down his nose.
“Sorry,” Jereme whispered. He hadn’t slept well all week. His car wasn’t exactly the best place for snoozing. But then, sitting up in a desk wasn’t either.
“See me after class, Mr. Oliver.”
“Yes, sir.”
Professor Irons walked back to the front of the class, continuing his lecture on Ancient Greece. Jereme took notes and tried not to fall back to sleep. By the end of class, he was thankful to get up and move around. But that meant another lecture. He sidled up to the professor and waited at the back of a short line to speak with the man.
Once they were alone, Professor Irons took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “You look terrible, Mr. Oliver.”
“Sorry.”
Irons replaced his glasses. “I got two emails early this morning. One from Housing stating your roommate had been expelled and kicked out of your shared dorm room, but that they hadn’t been able to find you to notify you of that fact. The other was from Campus Security. They’re aware you’ve been sleeping in your car and wanted your advisor to step in. What… is going on?”
“I went away last weekend, and I came back to utter destruction in our room. My RA wasn’t willing to intervene and help find me somewhere else to stay. So… I’ve been sleeping in my car.”
“Sleeping in your car? Really, Jereme?”
“I spent most of my time in the community center or library, studying… and showered in the Sports Complex. I only spent a few hours a night in my car.”
“I can see the sleep did you so well.” The professor shook his head. “Who am I?”
Jereme frowned. “Professor Irons?”
“I’m your advisor. When you have major issues that can affect your performance in class, you come to me so I can assist in getting them fixed. I would call this a major issue. I saw the report on this guy you were living with. No wonder you were having so much trouble focusing this semester.”
“And now I can go back? To my room, that is?”
“If you don’t return, they might end up giving the space to someone else. So I would advise returning as soon as possible and reclaiming your room.”
Jereme smiled. “I’m done for the day.”
“Good. Go. Sleep in a bed tonight.”
“On my way!”
A smile spread on Jereme’s lips as he climbed the stairs out of the classroom. At least he had a safe space to go back to. After a quick trek to his car to grab his bag, he carried that and his backpack to his dorm. As soon as he arrived in the building, he felt relief. But then he reached his hallway and the tension only resumed.
Anson leaned against the wall just outside his door.
His stepfather glanced down the hall, spotting him, so there was no avoiding the guy. He was too tired to run, even if he wanted to. Slowly walking down the hall, he trained his gaze on Anson. He stopped just before the door, silent.
“Do you really live like that? It looks like a bomb went off in there.”
“No,” Jereme said. “That’s my roommate’s mess. Well, my ex-roommate. He’s gone now, and I guess I get to clean up his mess.”
“How about I help?” Anson asked.
“You don’t need to do that. I can handle it.” His mother’s words whispered through his mind. Had Anson really asked her to come back? “I should go in and get started.”
He opened the door and immediately wanted to turn and run. It was worse than when he’d seen it last. Where do I even begin?
“I drove three hours to see you… and you won’t even talk to me?”
“My life is a bit of a mess right now, Anson.”
“I called you. Multiple times. To make sure you got home safe. I was worried when I never heard back.”
“I turned my phone off after an argument with Mom. Then it seemed to die on me. I couldn’t find my charger. Either I left it at home or it’s somewhere in this chaos.” He eyed Anson. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“What the hell happened in there?”
“My roommate enjoyed some partying while I was away.”
“Where have you been sleeping?”
Jereme’s face reddened. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Who did you sleep with?” Anson asked, one eyebrow rising.
“No one. I slept in my car.”
“Your car? Why didn’t you call me?”
Jereme stared at his stepfather. “Honestly? Because Mom told me you asked her to come back. After we…” He almost couldn’t bring himself to speak it. It still felt like some distant fantasy he’d dreamed and not a reality. “After last weekend.”
Anson’s eyes grew large. “No. She asked to come home, and I said hell no. Do you really think I would want her back after what we shared?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t know what to believe.”
Anson walked a little closer and cupped Jereme’s cheek. “Baby… I wouldn’t ask her back. I think you know that. What we did… it changed me. My life with her feels like a lifetime ago. There’s no way I’m going back to that. Not after you.”
Jereme stared up in his stepfather’s eyes, feeling safe and cared for again. From the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking closer and he took a step away from Anson. Tilting his head, he saw his RA walking closer.
“Hey, man, glad you’re back. I was worried.” Cary eyed them both, an odd look in his eyes. “This guy said he was your stepdad… so I told him which room was yours. I hope that’s okay?”
Jereme nodded, sensing Cary was curious about what he’d just seen. “Yeah. It’s okay.”
“I can have Maintenance come in and clean this room out completely—but I saw that some of your stuff was still in here. I didn’t want them coming in and potentially throwing something valuable away until you’d had a chance to take whatever you wanted. Problem is… I probably can’t get them here until Monday morning now. I tried calling you a few times this week.”
“Phone issues,” Jereme said.
“No worries… he has somewhere he can stay until the room’s ready,” Anson said. He turned to Jereme. “Do you want to go in now and see what we can salvage?”
“Just be super careful in there. I saw uncapped needles,” Cary said. “It’s a hazmat situation at this point.”
“No shit,” Jereme said. “I’ve only been warning you about him since September.”
“Look, I know you made complaints before, but he never crossed the line enough for us to do anything. He finally did… and now he’s gone.” Cary nodded to Anson. “I’ll let you guys get whatever you need out and go call Maintenance to see if it’s not too late to get something scheduled for first thing Monday.”
“Thanks,” Jereme said to Cary.
Cary departed with a wave, leaving them alone. Jereme eyed Anson before entering the wreck of a room. The smell was terrible… and he wondered if there was anything even worth saving. As long as he had some clothes, his laptop, and his books—that’s all that really mattered. He walked over to his desk, sensing his stepfather behind him.
“What do you need me to do?”
He turned to face Anson. “I thought we decided we didn’t move past last weekend? That this would be too hard.”
“I know. But when you didn’t call me back… I worried about you. A lot. It made me realize that I wasn’t ready to let go. Not yet.”
Jereme tried to keep his hopes from rising. Wanting another fuck didn’t mean Anson was offering happily ever after. But the fact he suddenly realized that’s exactly what he wanted was enough to suck the air from his lungs. We often want what we shouldn’t. “Between school, work, distance… my mother… we agreed. I walked away and closed the door, just like we decided to do.”
“Is that really what you wanted? Really?”
Jereme shook his head. “No. But we both know it’s the right choice to make.”
“You’re right,” Anson said. “But I can’t walk away. I won’t. I won’t leave you in a situation where you’re sleeping in your car because you have nowhere else to turn. I want to be the one you call when shit’s going wrong.” He walked closer, closing the gap. Lifting a hand, he captured Jereme’s chin. “I want to protect you. Isn’t that what a daddy does?”
Jereme’s shoulders dropped. He was just so fucking tired. What Anson offered felt like a life raft in the chaos of his life. “There’s just so much in the way,” Jereme argued. “How do we do th—”
Anson interrupted him with a kiss that rocketed through his body. Starved for the affection, Jereme melted into his daddy. The warmth and affection in that embrace was a balm to his tattered soul. When they were both breathless, Anson stepped back and gazed down at Jereme. “Let’s pick through this mess and find the things you need. If there’s something destroyed or lost, we’ll get it taken care of. I’ll get us a hotel room for the week where we can crash until your room is ready.”
“What about your work?”
“I took some time off,” Anson said. “I needed to see you.”
Jereme smiled, unused to the concern. “I’m glad that you’re here.”
Anson caressed his cheek. “Me, too.” He gazed around at the mess. “Let’s get this done quickly… and then get you something to eat and a nice, comfy bed to sleep in.”
Jereme nodded before turning back to his desk. “I guess I should’ve gotten some boxes to pack this stuff up.”
“I’ll go find us something. You look through your things. Watch out for those needles.”
For the next hour, Jereme sorted through the remnants of his belongings. Anson helped him box everything up—not that there was much left. Much of his clothing was ruined or gone. His personal items were few—he’d long ago learned to be able to travel quickly growing up as he did. But what he’d had were mainly destroyed. He did have a few things he was able to save. Some favorite books, a few more pieces of clothing that might be salvaged by a wash or two, and some shoes.
“That’s not much,” Anson said, gazing at the two small boxes they were able to walk out with at the end.
“I usually travel pretty light.”
“You didn’t have much at the house, either,” his stepfather said. “Your bedroom always looked so bare.”
“I moved so much growing up. I learned there wasn’t any point to holding on to much. It started being too hard to cart around.”
Anson eyed him, concern on his face.
“It’s okay. I don’t need much,” Jereme said. “I’m not materialistic like Gloria.”
“We can go shopping this weekend and pick up some more clothes. You’ve only got enough here for a few days, at best. And that’s if they wash up.”
“I’ve got some more in my bag from last weekend.”
“Still,” Anson said, walking from the dorm room and into the hall. “It’s not enough. But we can tackle that tomorrow. You look exhausted. Dinner and a bed.”
“That sounds amazing.” Especially after a week of sleeping in a car’s seat.
They headed out of the building—with a quick pause at the RA’s room so Jereme could let Cary know they were headed out and had everything they could find. Soon, they were packed and in Anson’s Audi, tooling around the city in search of a hotel.
Anson headed toward the downtown area, away from campus. He pulled up in front of an expensive-looking hotel before parking. “Stay here. I’ll get us a room.”
“I can’t come in?” Was Anson trying to hide his presence?
“You can come in… but you look tired. I thought you might want to relax here. But do whatever you want.”
Jereme chuckled to himself. “I’ll stay here.”
“Okay,” Anson said before leaning in for a brief kiss.
In view of anyone looking.
Inwardly gasping, Jereme looked around to see if anyone had seen them. After so many years of hiding who he was, he wasn’t accustomed to being who he really was. No one seemed to be around… but then, would it really have been so terrible if they had? He knew it was going to take time to accept himself and be willing to let others see who he was.
Having a man at his side that was so accepting helped in that regard.
Jereme let a slow smile cross his lips… Anson had just kissed him without worrying who was watching. He needed to learn to be a little more like Anson.
“I’ll be right back.”
Before long, they headed up to a suite. It was huge—as big as an apartment he’d once lived in with his mom years ago. The place even had a tiny kitchen with a fridge, stove, and small dishwasher. Inside the cabinets were plates, pots, and glasses. It felt just as much like a home as anywhere else. “Wow.”
“Hey, this is technically a vacation for me. We might as well enjoy it, hmm?”
Jereme eyed the big bed in the second space. “Yeah.”
“So… do you want to go out? Or get room service?” Anson asked, looking over the menu left in the room.
“Room service sounds amazing.”
Anson walked closer, stopping when they were inches apart. “Pick what you want. Then go take a nice hot shower and relax while I order… I’ve got a pair of clean sweats in my bag, if you need something to wear for tonight.”
“Sounds great.” He took the menu and picked out a few things before handing it back to Anson. “A burger. Well done. Extra fries and a strawberry milkshake. I’ve barely eaten this week… my nerves were shot.”
“You got it.” Anson gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. “Shower. Now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sir? I thought I already had a title?”
“Yes… Daddy.”
Anson smiled before turning toward the hotel phone. He was lifting it as Jereme went to check out the bathroom. It was nicer than any bathroom he was accustomed to. There was a huge soaking tub that looked super inviting, but he was famished and knew he’d end up falling asleep without having eaten if he got in. Peeling off his clothes, he opted for the shower—which much to his delight had a waterfall showerhead. He climbed in once the water was nice and warm—then began to wash his body.
All the while, hoping Anson would join him.
That had been the
plan, hadn’t it?
By the time he was fully clean, he’d seen no sign of his daddy. He waited a bit longer, letting the warmth wash over him… but when it was clear he’d shower alone, he turned the faucet off and strode out. Once dry, he walked out into the bedroom and saw a pair of soft, black sweatpants laid over the bed. He pulled them on and was thankful for the drawstring, as Anson was taller and thicker than he was. The legs were a bit too long, but he didn’t care. He already felt better than he had in weeks.
When he walked out into the living space, he saw the table set. Anson had already changed into a similar pair of pants and sat shirtless at the dining room table, showing off his incredible, slightly furred chest. Jereme suddenly wanted to go find a shirt. He was all skin and bones compared to his daddy.
“There you are,” Anson said, lifting his stare.
There was a warmth there that filled him. “Dinner’s already here?”
“Yeah… you better come eat your fries before I steal another one.”
He sat across from his stepfather and eyed the spread. Everything looked and smelled amazing. He moaned after the first bite. “Damn, that’s good.”
Lifting a stare, he saw Anson watching him carefully… with heat in his eyes. “I assumed you’d join me in the shower.”
Anson grinned wryly. “You need rest. Tomorrow we can have some fun.”
Tomorrow? He’d spend a night in bed with Anson and not have sex? That seemed like a waste. “I’m fine.”
“You spent a week sleeping in your car. You need a decent night’s sleep. It’s hands off tonight. Period.”
“Sounds like someone’s taking this daddy business to heart,” Jereme said before taking another bite.
“Sounds like someone has to,” Anson said before offering a wink.
That wink sent tingles down his spine, but in that moment, Jereme was too interested in dinner. In short order, he devoured the burger, decimated the fries (as well as the extra ones his daddy had thankfully ordered him), and drained the milkshake. He sat back, feeling pleased with himself. “Damn, that was good.”
“Still hungry? There’s snacks in the minibar.”
“I’ve never been allowed to touch the minibar,” Jereme said. He and his mother had spent many a night in a hotel, but it was rare it was one nice enough to have a minibar. They even lived in one for a spell. “Right now I’m stuffed. But I might have to eat or drink something later, just because.”