Lark (First & Forever 5)

I stepped back from Lark abruptly, and he asked, “What’s wrong?”

For a long moment, I just stood there speechless as I stared at Travis’s parents. I couldn’t quite process what was happening, because they looked stunned and furious, especially his mother.

As a huge wave of guilt crashed into me, Lark asked, “Are you okay?” I heard the worry in his voice, and my gaze shifted from my in-laws to him. By the time I looked back a second or two later, they’d turned and were quickly walking away.

Lark touched my chest, and I focused on him again and gently brushed his hair from his face as I muttered, “I’m fine.”

“What just happened?”

“I saw Travis’s parents, and…I don’t know. I guess I caught them by surprise or something.”

He looked over his shoulder as he said, “They left without saying hi?”

“They looked really angry.”

“Because of me? Why? Did they think you’d never date again?”

“I honestly don’t know what they thought, or why they’d react like that.” Lark seemed upset, so I took his hand and said, “Come on, baby boy. Let’s go home.”

“Do you still want me to spend the night?”

I had to get it together. There was vulnerability in his voice, and the last thing I wanted was to make him feel insecure. “Of course I do,” I said, as I guided him toward my truck. Fortunately, it was in the opposite direction than my in-laws had gone.

When we got back to the loft, I gave Lark one of my T-shirts to sleep in and found him a new toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet, since he hadn’t planned to spend the night. After I put on a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt, we cuddled up on the couch under a warm blanket, and Lark said, “This has been a great couple of days.”

It was rare that my two days off fell on a weekend, so I’d decided to take full advantage of it. That meant I hadn’t taken the time I usually did to decompress after I got off work on Saturday morning. The odd encounter with Travis’s parents didn’t help either, and I was feeling pretty rattled. I’d have to reach out to them, but not yet. I wasn’t ready to face whatever was going on with them.

I took a deep breath as Lark curled up in my arms, and then I exhaled slowly. He was definitely soothing, but I should’ve taken some time for self-care this weekend. It was just that I’d felt so good lately, and I’d tried to convince myself my anxiety was no longer an issue.

I really should have known better.

I got up early the next morning and made breakfast for us before driving Lark back to his house. When I pulled to the curb and put the truck in park, he unfastened his seatbelt, climbed onto my lap, and wrapped his arms around me. “I know you need to get to work,” he said, “but this is important.”

We hugged for a long moment, and I whispered, “This feels good.”

He sat back so he could look into my eyes, and as he ran his fingertips along my freshly shaved jaw, he said, “Text me when you get the chance. I hope your shift goes well.” I nodded, and he kissed me before climbing off my lap.

We said goodbye and made plans for the following evening before he got out of the truck. When I told him, “I miss you already,” he probably thought I was kidding, but it really was hard to drive away and leave him there.

I managed to get to work with fifteen minutes to spare and went straight to the kitchen. Heath and Malone were already there, and we exchanged greetings as I poured myself a cup of coffee. When I joined them at the table, I asked, “How was your time off?”

“Great,” Malone said. “I’d almost forgotten how nice it was to have the same days off as everyone else. My wife and I decided to make the most of it, so we took the kids to Six Flags. I’m proud to say I failed to puke on the rollercoasters.”

I grinned and said, “Good job. What about you, Heath?”

“I picked up a hot guy Friday night and didn’t say goodbye until Sunday morning.” Even though he was bisexual, it’d been a while since he’d hooked up with a man—at least according to what he shared with us.

“Are you going to see him again?”

“Probably not.” Heath said that with a shrug.

“Oh yeah, careful there,” Malone quipped. “God forbid one of your hookups might accidentally turn into a relationship.”

Heath deflected that effortlessly by saying, “Speaking of relationships, are we allowed to call Lark your boyfriend yet, Dylan?”

I muttered, “I’m not sure,” before taking a sip of coffee.

Malone asked, “What exactly are you waiting for?”