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CODY
I got home before Robert, as I usually did these days. He texted me a couple of times to check in, but I was okay. My work hadn't been particularly dreadful today.
I didn't feel like cooking, so I made plans where to get food. I texted Robert once to ask what he was hungry for, and he said I should decide, as he wasn't particular. I picked one of my favorite restaurants, since I wasn't feeling adventurous. I was working on the order when he got home.
We'd been working at the same place now for almost three months. At first I'd felt a little funny about it, like they were secretly trying to trick us into being partners, but the truth was we didn't work together most of the time, and I still worked as a consultant while Robert was full-time. He did cop stuff, and he was good at it, an honorable man who didn't shirk his duty or look the other way or sweep things under the rug. I'd known that about him, but now I saw it in action.
It wasn't winter anymore, but it was still cold after dark. He took off his heavy jacket, hung it up, and turned to greet me. I hugged and kissed him, as usual. He smelled like the precinct, and coffee, and himself. He had a nice smell.
"Everything okay?" he asked me.
I nodded. "How was work?"
"Normal," he said.
I knew that meant it had been good. Normal was good. He was starting to love having a routine he could get used to. Coworkers. Work. A schedule that let him come home at around the same time every night. Normal stuff.
I'd thought Robert was sturdy and strong and confident before, but lately, he seemed even more so. Having regular, steady days at work, and a home to come back to was settling something deep inside him. He certainly didn't seem unhappy anymore. Although I suspected there would always be a serious, self-contained side to Robert, I liked that about him. I didn't want to change him.
It was nice having him on the job. If I needed him, he was there. The rest of the time, we each did our own work, not seeing much of each other during the workday. But he was always ready to tag along and be my backup, my shadow, or my comforter. I'd thought maybe he'd feel funny about that, but he didn't seem to. Nobody else acted like it was strange, either. I guess they were used to Tomas and Riley by now, and having their other shifter need his partner sometimes was no big deal.
It helped that it was an informal work thing, though. Nowhere in his job description did it say he was responsible for me, or that he'd lose his job if I lost mine. That helped me, on the days I felt insecure and uncertain.
But the truth was, I still hadn't left my job, and I still wasn't sure if I was going to. Having Robert there was a help, and Justin had been making a real effort to make sure I had what I needed to do my job without distress. More breaks, fewer crime scenes drilled into my brain in graphic detail—after all, I needed to smell things, but not necessarily see everything—these things helped.
"I haven't ordered dinner yet," I told him, showing him the menu. "So if you have input, now's the time."
He glanced over the order I was working on. "Looks good to me. You're the gourmet, sweetheart." He gave me another quick kiss. "I've got to shower. It was a long day. By the way, Riley and Justin want us to come over for their first barbeque of the year—in another week or so, I think. I didn't get the details, just the general invite."
"Really?" I thought about it. They had a lot of kids, most of them wolves. But Justin and Riley were great parents and would keep their kids in line. I wasn't afraid of well-behaved wolves.
The invitation also showed that Justin was continuing to make an effort to befriend me, and that Riley was getting more comfortable around me. These were good things.
"I think we should go," I told Robert. "I'll check the details with Tomas. He'll know when it'll be." He'd also probably be there, and Auden as well. It would feel nice to be included in the gathering, like we belonged.
Robert nodded, starting to undo his shirtsleeves. I stopped talking to watch him baring that beautiful body of his. Mesmerizing. "Maybe I could help you shower," I suggested, reaching out to touch his wrist, then sliding my fingers higher on his arm.
He laughed, heat rising on his cheeks. I didn't know how I could still make this man blush. "Fine by me," he said, and gave me another kiss.
#
Later that day, after sex and supper and the evening chores, we were relaxing on the couch watching a movie. I was snuggled up next to him, because it turns out even when I'm not horny, I can't get enough of my man.
"Can I ask you something?" said Robert.
"Sure." I drew my eyes from the screen, looking at his face, perplexed by the hesitancy in his voice. "You know you can ask me anything." We had a pretty good relationship when it came to discussing things openly. There should be no need for him to sound nervous.
He hesitated. "You haven't brought it up for a while. About whether I'm your mate or not. Does that mean it's not, well, tormenting you anymore?"
"Oh." I thought about it. I hadn't talked about it much lately, because I hadn't thought about it much lately, either. "I guess I've stopped freaking out about it, yeah." I studied his beautiful face, and reached up wistfully to pushed hair off his forehead, stroking it gently. "You're so perfect, Robert. If I have to know—if it has to be up to me to know—then it's fucked. I'll never get the right answer, or if I do, I'll mess it up somehow. But it's not up to me. It's both of us. You like me and I like you, and we want to be together. I guess maybe that's enough for me. Because I trust you even when I don't quite trust my own instincts."
"Oh, Cody..." He embraced me in his arms, holding me close.
I grinned at his reaction. "You like that? You like that I trust you?"
"Yes," he said. "That, and everything else."
Maybe I still had a little horny left in me. "You want to pause the movie?" I suggested, waggling my eyebrows at him.
He laughed at me as he copped a friendly feel and waggled his eyebrows back. The man could flirt, even if he thought he was joking. "Yes, I want to pause the movie, sweetheart."
Good enough for me!
<the end>
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