Page 37 of Boy Toy Not Included

Diesel nodded but kept his gaze on his task. Kuba couldn’t stop staring at him. Diesel’s cheek curved into a smile. “You’re staring at me.”

“I’m afraid you’ll disappear if I look away.”

Diesel’s gaze flickered his way. “I’m not going anywhere.”

With a nod, Kuba moved to the table and sat. He didn’t want to make Diesel uncomfortable.

Diesel talked while he got the kettle going. “Thank you for the cruise thing. Mom was over the moon excited to tell Tory. Just let me know how much my half is and I’ll send it to you.”

“It’s all good. I’ve got you covered.” Even to his ears, the response sounded absent. “Has she been honest about Tory yet?”

A sexy chuckle rumbled from Diesel and ran down Kuba’s spine. Everything about Diesel got to Kuba. “Believe it or not, yeah. I still don’t think she’s ready to introduce us yet, but that has nothing to do with me. I get it. She has her reasons, and she’s entitled to them.”

Kuba couldn’t tear his eyes away from the way Diesel’s t-shirt stretched across his wide shoulders. “Yeah. After raising you alone, I imagine she’s scared to let anyone back into her life fully again.” Kuba stood and got two mugs from the cabinet.

“Yeah. I can’t blame her. My concern is Tory. How does all this make her feel? Maybe she won’t stick around if Mom can’t get past this.”

Kuba nodded. “That’s a tough one.”

They were so normal, but cautious. It was like neither of them knew where to start. Kuba ended up being the one who couldn’t take the suspense.

“I love you. I’ve missed you a lot.”

Diesel poured the steaming water over the tea bags. “I love you too. What do you plan to do about it?” Diesel carried his cup to the table and sat. He glanced at the clock. “Give that two minutes to steep.”

“And cool down,” Kuba added, joining him at the table.

Diesel’s gorgeous smile made an appearance. “That too.”

Kuba nodded, unsure what to do with his head. “I plan to beg you to come back home and give me another chance.”

“What does that look like to you?”

Kuba furrowed his brow. “Begging?”

Another blinding smile exploded across Diesel’s lips. “No. What does our life together look like to you when I move home?” Diesel blew on his tea as he openly waited for Kuba’s response.

Kuba gave the question some real thought before answering. “I don’t know. Truth be told, my entire life has been so focused on humiliating Dread that I don’t know what my future looks like without that hatred to keep me going. Since I’m done with that, I have no clue what life looks like. But I know I see you there and I don’t know how to fix what I’ve done.”

“You apologized.”

“That doesn’t feel like enough.” Kuba couldn’t stop the desperate note in his voice.

“Did you mean your apology?”

Kuba didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

Diesel remained serious. “Do you intend a repeat performance?”

“Fuck, no.”

A sweet smile touched Diesel’s lips. “Then I accept your apology.”

Despite the happiness that poured through Kuba’s veins, he couldn’t stop. “Why would you do that? I’m a terrible person.”

Diesel took a sip of his tea and then set it aside. He put his hand on the table, face up, for Kuba to take. Kuba didn’t hesitate. The moment Diesel held his hand, he brought it to his mouth and kissed it. Then he made a point of holding Kuba’s stare. “You are not a terrible person. We had a fight, and we definitely need to learn to communicate better. In my heart, I knew you were deliberately keeping me a secret. I just didn’t realize how much that secret would destroy your life. Even though I knew you likely wouldn’t come out, I stayed. The moment you saw that clip and shut down, I could’ve left. I could’ve called Saint or Steel and had another guy here in under ten minutes. It didn’t really feel like we were over until after your fight. You’ve been under a level of stress that I can’t even imagine. If my dad, wherever he is,was so publicly taunting my mom with his existence, I can’t say I wouldn’t have felt the same way.”

That was it. That was their saving grace. If Diesel wasn’t as close to his mom as Kuba had been with his, he might not get it. But it was Diesel, and Diesel got it.