Page 95 of Needed You

Dare shrugs like he couldn’t care less, but I can almost sense the fact that he’s trying to hold back tears.

“Have a safe trip, Dad,” Dare says in a clipped tone before he turns to head upstairs.

All I can think to do is give Mr. Richardson an awkward wave and hurry after Dare.

“Nice to see you again, Lev,” Mr. Richardson says as I jog up the stairs.

Dare is just trudging through the door to his bedroom when I reach the top of the stairs, his shoulders slumped and full of tension. I realize then that this is what Dare has been going through and handling for the last few years, and my stomach sinks as I close and lock the door to his bedroom behind us.

Ahead of me, Dare flops down on his bed. I follow, sitting on the edge and looking at him. I try to steady his breath by putting my hand on his chest.

“That was fucking weird,” I say after a moment, and we both start to laugh, some of the tension lessening. I’m about to tell him that I really want him to come to my parents’ house and have Thanksgiving with us—no way am I letting him be here alone—but then he reaches for my hand and looks up at me.

“Did you miss dear ol’ dad?” His voice is dripping with sarcasm, but he continues to giggle.

“What?” I ask, pushing him on the shoulder lightly.

“I just . . . the thought of my dad walking in on some guy, shirtless, using his coffee pot. I wish I had been there to see his face.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I think I was just as shocked.”

“That would have been just as funny to see.”

“Jerk,” I tell him. I push him back down on the bed, lean over, and kiss him.

When we pull back a few minutes later, I’m holding Dare against my chest, and he sighs and rests his head on me.

“It’s fine, really,” Dare says. “We haven’t had a proper Thanksgiving—hell, a proper holiday—since Nate died. I usually eat frozen pizza. One year I made a pretend Thanksgiving meal with chicken nuggets, boxed stuffing, and instant mashed potatoes. I ate it while I watched The Departed. I got drunk and passed out by 7 pm.”

“I’ll let my mom know that you’re coming for Thanksgiving,” I state, leaving him no room to argue.

He gives me a crooked smile and nods, but I see the tears in his eyes. It breaks my heart, and I lean down and kiss him softly, running my hand through his hair.

“I’m really fucking gone for you, lycan.”

He reaches around and hugs me to him, kissing me back in a way that tells me he feels exactly the same.

Chapter 47

Darian

Now that Lev and I are together again, a lightness that I haven’t felt in years has come back to me, and it’s like I’m able to breathe.

I didn’t do much work over the whole week that I was trying to figure things out, so I have some things to catch up on. I take some time to answer emails, bid on a few contracts, and work on some things that were past due for some clients. I feel really good by the time evening rolls around the next day.

My dad left later that same day he ran into Lev in the kitchen, and we didn’t really have much to say to one another. It did help to push me toward something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately—buying the house.

Now that Lev has stayed the night here, I wonder what his thoughts would be on this. I can’t believe that I’m thinking about pulling Lev into this decision. We’ve just started seeing each other, but after the other night, I know he feels the things that I feel, too. This is real. This relationship that we have, these feelings, they’re real. It’s more than just sex and some petty crush. He makes me feel cared for, cherished, and alive. I want more.

I start doing some research on what it would take to buy my parents out of the house, and once I get everything in order, I’ll bring it up to Lev first. Given his reaction, I’ll talk to my parents after that. We have some time, since my mom said they aren’t going to sell before the new year rolls around.

I’d like nothing more than to keep this house and all its memories and add Lev to it. I’m not naïve, and I realize this could be a big ask of him, especially since he said he wasn’t really comfortable coming over. But after he spent the night, he seemed more at ease here. Maybe he’ll consider it.

Thinking about Lev makes me want to see him. I know he should be home from the shop by now, so I send him a text.

Me: Hey.

It only takes a minute or two before I get a response.