Kept Man: Firsts and Forever Stories

I sat down in the swiveling office chair beside the table and tried to take it all in.

It wasn’t that he’d spent a lot of money, though he obviously had. I was blown away because this was overwhelmingly thoughtful, and it drove home what I already knew—that Micah Mazari was the kindest, most considerate person I’d ever met. He was a million other good things, too. In fact, he was everything. Absolutely everything.

There was no way I was willing to say goodbye to him when January rolled around. But right now, his entire plan for the future involved leaving San Francisco far behind.

What the hell was I going to do about that?

Chapter 8

The next morning, I awoke wrapped up in Micah’s arms. That was new. Even though we’d always slept in the same bed, it usually wasn’t this intimate. Instead of trying to analyze what had changed, I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy it.

A few minutes later, Micah stirred, then nuzzled my hair and mumbled, “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Hi, handsome.”

“This feels so good. Can we please spend all day in bed?”

“We can tomorrow for sure.”

“Oh shit, that’s right. It’s Wednesday.”

“It is,” I said, “and I have a surprise planned for you this afternoon.”

“Really? What is it?”

I chuckled at that. “Did you hear the part where it’s a surprise?”

He pushed his hair out of his eyes and grinned at me. “If you tell me now, I’ll be surprised.”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I put on my glasses and checked the clock on the nightstand. “I’d better get going. I don’t want to keep Ash waiting.”

“Okay.” He kissed my neck before letting go of me and burrowing under the covers. “Come back and say goodbye before you leave.”

“I will.”

I went up to my room and got ready, and when I returned Micah was sitting up in bed with his iPad. I asked, “What are you up to today?”

“I’ve been assigned the homework of figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, so I’m getting to work.” He looked amused as he waved his tablet.

“I’m pretty sure I just asked you to try to think of something to do that’ll make you happy.”

“Same thing.”

“Good luck.” I kissed his cheek, then smiled at him on the way out the door and said, “I’ll check in with you in a few hours.”

As I slid into the booth across from Ash at our usual diner, I said, “I’m sorry about walking in on you and your boyfriend in the middle of things yesterday.”

“No, don’t apologize! You tried to text me, but I didn’t answer my phone.”

“You were busy.”

He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“So, why was Doc McHottie playing hooky on a weekday?”

“He took the day off so we could sign the papers for the house.”

“So, it’s finally one hundred percent official—the adorable Victorian is yours!”

“It is! I was afraid to believe it until the papers were signed,” he said. “But it actually happened, Jasper. We got our dream home.”

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“I don’t even recognize my life right now. Finding Wes and falling in love was already a miracle. Now this.”

Just then, the waitress swung by to fill our coffee mugs and ask if we wanted our usual. Apparently we were regulars now. We said we did, and once she left to place our order, Ash asked me, “So, is everything alright?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because you were out on your own yesterday, instead of babysitting the rock star.”

“He just needed a little time to himself.”

“But things are good between the two of you?”

I grinned and told him, “Things are great, and I really want you and Wesley to meet him now that your background checks are done. When can we make that happen?”

“How about tonight?”

“Actually, I can’t tonight…I think. That reminds me, I need to message Skye. Hold on.”

As I took the phone from the pocket of my white button-down shirt and composed a quick text, Ash said, “Oh right, you’re doing that art class with him. How’d it go last week?”

“I chickened out, so now I need to find out if I can start a week late.” I hit send and put the phone on the table, then said, “I went to the upscale gallery where the class is being held, and it totally intimidated me so I bolted. I felt like I had no business there, but Micah really encouraged me to try again. He also made me the most amazing art studio at his house, so I can work on my dioramas.”

“Aw. I like him.”

I grinned at that. “Same.” When my phone beeped, I glanced at the screen, then said, “Skye says it’s fine that I missed the first class, so I’ll be going to the one tonight. I know you’re DJing at the club through the weekend, so can you come for dinner on Monday?”