Dirty Laundry: A Tucker Springs Novel #3

didn’t say anything for a minute, just stared back at him. Finally he shook his head. “ Waldemar . Wow.”
    Denver rolled his eyes, then leveled Adam with a look that was probably supposed to be threatening but mostly looked like a plea. “Don’t tell anyone. Especially El. He’s been dying to know, and I won’t say.”
    Adam’s chest swelled with pride at being trusted with such a secret, one Denver kept even from his best friend. He was so overwhelmed he had to lean over and kiss Denver on the cheek. “I wouldn’t,” he promised.
    Denver brushed a rough kiss back, then nodded at Adam’s plate. “Your eggs are going to turn to rubber.”
    Smiling at the bossy tone, Adam dutifully ate.

    It took some arguing to get Denver to allow him to go in to school once dishes were put away, and in the end the only way Adam talked him into it was by promising to let Denver come along, at least to escort him to the lab and put the fear of God into Brad.
    “You can’t hit him,” Adam insisted.
    “Not with witnesses, no,” Denver agreed. Before Adam could protest, he glanced at his phone’s time display, looking impatient. “Only thing is, we gotta hurry, because I’m starting to worry Louisa’s going to get to him first. I texted her I was going in with you, and she’s going to meet us at the lab.”
    Jesus, he had bodyguards now? “It’s Brad . Not the Russian mafia.”
    Denver looked thunderous. “Yeah. It’s Brad, the asshole who sent you to the hospital. You ready to roll, boy, or what?”
    Adam crossed his arms over his chest, hugging himself as he realized a problem. “Actually, no. I need to go to my apartment. I need to change and get a few things from my desk.” He couldn’t wear old underwear. Not even for Denver.
    Denver rubbed his chin, considering, then nodded. “Okay. We’ll swing by on the way. I’ll wait in the car, but don’t be long. I won’t hit Brad in public, but I can’t make promises about Louisa.”
    Adam took a deep breath, sat with his anxiety a moment, then said, “Actually, I’d like it if you came in.”
    Denver stared at him a long time. Adam hugged himself so tight he began to lose nerve sensation at his elbows. Finally, Denver nodded. “Let’s go, then,” he said.
    But on the way out the door, Denver caught Adam’s elbow, and there wasn’t any question that it was a loving, affectionate touch.
    It was hard, admitting Denver into his space. He had to focus on his breathing all the way over, and the wild horses were back, ready to go crazy. He kept mentally shushing the beasts, alternately being stern and sweet with them. It’s Denver . He belongs here as much as I do.
    It’s not right , the horses told him, and tried to rear.
    Adam kept his grip on his mental reins. We’ll find a way to make it right , he promised them, and for the first time in a long, long time, he felt victorious in an argument with his mental illness.
    He vowed it wouldn’t be the last, especially not on this topic.
    Inside the apartment itself, he was twitchy. He was hyperaware of where Denver was at all times, though he also had to concede Denver was extraordinarily respectful of his psychosis over people in his space. He asked permission for everything: to enter a room, to sit down, to open the curtains. He checked Adam frequently in a gentle way that was reassuring, not pushy, making sure Adam was okay, that he didn’t need anything, including Denver to step outside for a few minutes and have some space on his own. As Adam pulled a new T-shirt over his head, he realized Denver was playing the scene the same as he did when they were playing BDSM ones, or how he did when they were doing punishments for mistakes Adam had felt he’d made during his day. Always asking permission, always making sure Adam was okay, domming the hell out of him to make sure Adam was safe.
    The knowledge so overwhelmed Adam that he went back out into the living room in only his shirt and his Green Lantern underwear. He stood in the doorway to the room, stared at Denver in awe and love for a moment, then said, “I want to move in with you.”
    Though Denver gave a flicker of approval and longing away, mostly he kept up the same facade of control and watchfulness he’d adopted since Adam had said he wanted Denver to come over. “I want that too. But I think we should take it smart and slow so we do it right.” He studied Adam a moment. “To start, would it be your place or mine?”
    “Neither.”