Page 12 of Battered & Broken
“Well, you’re definitely my type.” He grinned shyly as he picked at his toast. “You’re the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in my life.”
I liked what I was hearing so far, so I went back to my chair. "Why do I hear a but in there..."
“But…you’re just too nice. I’m a mess, and I figured you were just a good Samaritan or something, so it’s hard for me to believe you’re actually interested in me.”
“I’m definitely interested in you.” As long as we were talking about it, I laid it all out there. "But I don’t share, Cedric. If you want to see where this goes, I need to know you’re all in. Just me and you."
He nodded, and his eyes got glassy with emotion. “Just me and you sounds good.”
“Okay then.” I scooped the last of my eggs on my toast and ate it. “So we’re…exclusive.”
"Yep." He pointed the fork at me again, but he was smiling now. "Because I will absolutely lose my shit if you’re sharing your milk with anyone else."
I laughed, grateful we could joke about something that was such a huge part of my life. “You’re the one and only. I promise.”
Cedric looked so pleased with himself that I wanted to pull him into my arms and never let him go.
I was about to clean up the dishes when Cedric’s phone buzzed. He grabbed it and frowned. "Detective Ramos."
I stayed quiet while he answered it. I could only hear his side of the conversation, and his face didn't give much away while he listened to the detective. After a few minutes, he thanked the man and disconnected the call.
After a minute of waiting, I couldn’t hide my impatience. “Well, what did he say?”
"Mitch is being held without bail while they wait on the transfer paperwork." His voice was even while he processed the conversation. "Missouri has him as a person of interest in a homicide, and there are two more investigations in other states, one for a homicide and one for trafficking. Ramos said he's looking at a life sentence, even before last night.” He looked up at me and smiled through his shock. “They probably won't even need us to testify because they've got much bigger charges to deal with."
“Damn.” I was relieved that Mitch was off the streets and serving his time, but the fact that he’d been so close to Cedric so many times was terrifying. Anything could have happened.
"So." Cedric pushed the phone out of the way and got up. "Can we get started on us now?"
"Yeah." I pulled him into my arms and held him against me. "It’s just us now."
He nodded once and then pulled back. "If I can get into the clinic today, I’ll get a panel done.”
"Me too."
He looked up, seemingly surprised by my offer. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I cupped the side of his cheek and stared into his eyes. “It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone, but if we’re all in, and you’re planning to…” I didn’t know how to say it politely, so I just went for it, “ingest any of my fluids, I want to make sure you’re safe.”
He laughed at that and pressed his forehead into my neck. “I’m definitely gonna ingest your fluids.”
Fucking hell, this boy was gonna be the death of me.
7
CEDRIC
I was just finishing a Zoom call with my boss when Ozzie texted.Date night at 7? Dress nice.
I grinned as I stared at it.You’ve seen my closet, right? I don’t own anything fancy.I had a decent button-down that wasn't wrinkled and a pair of slacks I’d bought for my job and never worn again.What are you wearing?
He responded immediately, and I could just imagine him grinning.I’m wearing a pullover sweater and dark jeans. It’s not fancy. Just…no novelty tees.
Novelty tees were my uniform, but I was excited to go on a real date with my man, so I’d wear anything he wanted. Or nothing at all. Especially since I had the results of my test back. I was blessedly clean, so we had the green light to get dirty.In other words, boring? You’ll be here at 7?
Yup. Reservation @ 7:30 but we can walk through downtown.
I responded with a heart emoji and quickly finished the purchase orders I needed to approve so I could sign off for the day.
