Yeah, no, as much as I loved being near Elise, staying with Ryan and Angel was out of the question. There was virtually no privacy to be had. The living room was small, the kitchen was miniscule. But I bet the price tag was gigantic. Ryan had scored a place right in the middle of the gay district in San Francisco.

“Where did Angel go?” I asked, stepping outside onto the fire escape. It faced the private parking lot in the back, so the view wasn’t great, but I couldn’t care less. Ryan was half sprawled out across the steps, so I sat down in the single chair—nothing else would fit here—and I was offered a cold beer and a smoke. It was too much for me to resist.

“She’s downstairs. She’s opening today.” He took a pull from his cigarette and dug out a bag of chips from under his legs where he sat. “As you can see, I’m a fantastic host and prepare the most elaborate meals when we have guests.”

I grinned, letting my smoke dangle at the corner of my mouth, and opened the bag of chips. “Man, this was exactly everything I needed.”

“Good.” He smiled and leaned back, resting his elbows on one of the steps. “Good to see you again, buddy. It’s been a while.”

It had. Though, that was usually the case for us. “Yeah. I don’t suppose you’re ever moving back home.”

He tipped his head, weighing his response. “You never know.”

“Really?” That was a surprise.

“Not anytime soon.” He was quick to say. “I love living here. This is where we’re gonna raise our kids. But down the road—who knows? I wouldn’t turn down running a bar for old grunts next to Darius’s restaurant or something.”

I liked that vision.

I exhaled some smoke and saw a quick glimpse of the future. Kids grown up, gray hair, bullshitting about our younger years…

“So, what’s next on your itinerary?” he asked. “You’re heading inland, yeah?”

I inclined my head. “I thought I’d see if we can make it to Colorado before we start turning back. Maybe drop down into New Mexico—we’ll see. I gotta pick up some material at the school in Oakland before we go.” That way, I could start compiling a curriculum for the next semester while I was still on the road. I didn’t want to rush anything.

Ryan nodded slowly and picked up his beer. “I’m glad you’re doing this trip. I think it’s good for you.”

Yes, me too—

“Ryan? Avery?” That was Elise. She was here already. And it was insane how quickly my heart reacted to hearing her voice.

Ryan chuckled and shook his head. “Why am I not surprised that she came home early?”

I peered into the living room just as she appeared from the hallway, and our stupid grins followed. She darted through the living room and joined us, and before I could stand up to hug her, she planted her sweet ass on my lap.

“Welcome to San Francisco!” She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me hard.

“Thank you, baby,” I laughed under my breath and squeezed her to me. “It’s good to see you.”

“So good.” She pecked me once more, then inched back and wrinkled her nose. “I prefer to kiss you when you haven’t smoked, though.”

Yeah, shit. “I’m sorry. I thought I had time—”

“That’s not what I meant!” She batted away Ryan’s hand when he extended the ashtray to me. “Goodness. It was just a statement. You enjoy your beer and your stinky cigarette. I will only hound you if it becomes a habit.” With that said, she stood up again. “We can kiss more later. I want to see my girl. She asleep in my room?”

I nodded dumbly and watched her disappear again.

Christ, I loved that woman.

“I’m so glad her crush on you wasn’t reciprocated,” Ryan drawled.

I let out a laugh and scrubbed a hand over my mouth. “Don’t get me started. Fuck. She owns me.”

He merely smiled and tipped his beer to me in a silent toast.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Please, go and enjoy your walk,” Angel insisted. “Grace will be fine with us, and I’ll get her ready for bed before you come back.” She turned to my girl, who was in her arms, and bumped their noses together. Grace grinned and did it again in return.

“Ryan mentioned you barely get any time off work.” That was the only reason I hesitated.

Dinner had been great, as had the walk back to their building, but I hadn’t missed the dozen times Angel had yawned.

“Let her practice, man,” Ryan chuckled. “Can’t hurt to log some babysitting hours before I knock her up.”

“And when is that exactly?” Elise prodded. “How long are you going to make us wait?”

“There’s no fucking fire,” Ryan retorted. “It’d be nice if Angel could legally order a beer before she became a mother.”

Tags: Cara Dee Erotic
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