Sweet Taboo

“Right. Have a nice day, Pax.” Then the call ended and I realized I had been holding my breath.

When I let out a breath, DeSean called to me. “Come on in here, Tegyn.”

I wandered through the French doors, which stood partially open. “Hi. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to listen in.”

“Girl, if I had anything to hide, it wouldn’t have been on speaker.” He leaned back in his chair, folded his hands on his chest. “I said that wrong. I can’t imagine having anything to hide from you.” His brow furrowed. “You better?”

“Yeah. I’m good.” I sank down on the couch against the back wall. “Nice office.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He chuckled. “It’s ours.”

“Ours?” My brows rose.

“Yes, I’m sharing the office with you. You’ll need a place to work and you’re welcome to this room any time you want it. I barely worked in here. I mostly hid.” He smirked. “Nothing to hide from anymore.”

I nodded and noticed some movement in the entryway. When I looked, Keyon was peering in. He took one look at his father behind the desk, found me curled up on the sofa, and rushed over to climb into my arms. “Hi!”

“Hi, Keyon.” I smiled as he settled on my lap. “Did you sleep well?”

“Uh huh. We hide now?” He bounced excitedly.

“Hide?” I frowned and glanced at D.

“Yes, he saw something on a show and now he wants to hide all the time. We play hide and seek a lot to pass the time during the day.” He leaned forward in his seat. “You want all of us to play?” he asked his son.

“Uh huh.” He clapped his hands, then slid off my lap. “I hide with her.”

I tilted my head. “Do you know my name, Keyon?”

The little boy frowned. “No,” he whispered.

“My name is Tegyn. Can you say Tegyn?” I smiled at him.

Keyon took a deep breath, like he was incredibly focused and trying so very hard. “Teenan,” he said proudly.

“Close, buddy. Tee-gun,” DeSean corrected as he stood up from his desk and wandered over to sit beside us on the couch.

The boy looked at me and sighed. “I call you T.”

I grinned. “I can live with that.”

D snorted.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Looks like someone does call you ’T’ afterall.” He wore a half smile.

Suddenly, I recalled one of our first conversations. “Things change.”

He reached out and laid his hand on mine. “My feelings don’t.”

Reveling in the possibility DeSean meant he still loved me was nice, but I couldn’t think about that right now. “So, hide and seek?”

With a sigh, he nodded. “Sure. Let’s play.”

“Count!” Keyon yelled at his father while sliding off my lap.

“Of course, little man.” D laughed.