Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love - Kim Fielding Page 0,71
the first time since he was a toddler. It was glorious, and he vowed to do it more often. Then he binge-watched Schitt’s Creek.
Teddy didn’t exercise at all. Didn’t step foot outside his apartment, not even to fetch the mail from downstairs. Didn’t think about his failures in Seattle. Well, not more than two or three hundred times.
And all day, Teddy and Romeo sent each other texts. Nothing fancy or complicated. Sometimes they were funny memes about Chicago or office work, and sometimes they were simply quick little notes.
I’ve decided my scooter needs accessorizing. Haven’t decided how yet.
Or Younger niece just accidentally but maybe on purpose broke older niece’s favorite drinking glass. Did you hear the screaming?
Or I really think you should wear more green. Emerald, not hunter or olive.
Or Mama wants me to teach her to play Red Dead Redemption because, and I quote, “Cowboys are sexy.” Save me.
Or I think if we had the time, I’d like to take a cooking class with you. Would you be up for it?
A little after ten, Teddy found himself slumped in the loveseat, longing for Romeo’s voice. Well, longing for a lot more than that, but a FaceTime call would have to suffice. Romeo picked up at once, smiling into the phone. He was propped up in bed, with pillows and a somewhat battered wooden headboard behind him. “What’s up?” he asked.
“I missed you.” That sounded a little pathetic—or at least Teddy thought, until he saw Romeo’s pleased reaction.
“Yeah? Me too.”
“I don’t mean to be clingy. But we were together, like, almost every minute, and now you’re there and I’m here and that’s...not the same.” Oh, good one, Teddy. Such a way with words. He should have stuck to texting.
But Romeo only nodded. “Definitely not the same. It was your idea to stay apart today, remember.”
“I know. And I still think it was the wisest thing. But that doesn’t mean it makes me happy.”
“Mama likes to say—You up for another of her pearls of wisdom?”
Teddy settled even more deeply into the cushions. “Always.”
“Mama says sometimes you gotta do the right thing, not the easy thing. I’m fairly sure she didn’t invent that, but it’s one of her favorites.”
The right thing. Not too long ago, Teddy had been positive that keeping his nose to the grindstone while remaining steadfastly single was the right thing to do, but now his world had been turned upside down and his course was no longer clear.
Except there was one thing he did know—one thing that was definitely right. “I need to tell you something.”
“Uh-oh.” Romeo seemed to be trying for a joking tone, but his eyes were worried.
“This is on me, not you, okay? I’m not telling you what you have to do or even asking you to make any decisions. But you need to know that as long as we’re...doing whatever it is we’re doing, I won’t be seeing anyone else. No hookups, no dates, no nothing. Not that I was leaping from bed to bed anyway, but now...it’s only you.”
Romeo looked at him solemnly for a moment before nodding and giving one of his soft, sweet smiles. “It’s only you, Teddy.”
After ending the call, they sent goodnight GIFs and sleepy emojis. Teddy crawled into bed with a healthy dose of optimism about his personal future—his future with Romeo—despite his dread over what would happen in the morning.
* * *
Light sleet was falling when Teddy woke up, and no matter how much he tried to psych himself up, he couldn’t face taking his scooter. He called a Lyft instead. Might as well go out in relative style.
He arrived at the office building when Romeo did, well before normal business hours. If that had happened only a week ago, Teddy would have assumed Romeo was sucking up to Lauren. Or maybe wanting to sneak in and mess around with the project before anyone else got there. But now he knew better, especially when he caught sight of Romeo’s poor chewed lips.
“You need some ChapStick,” Teddy said as Romeo held the front door for him.
Romeo came in behind him, and before Teddy could trudge to the stairs, Romeo grabbed him and dragged him to a little nook behind the sandwich place. “Missed you,” he breathed into Teddy’s cheek.
Teddy wanted to collapse against him in a sobbing mess but confined himself to a sniff—which could have been attributed to the weather. “Me too. There’s probably a security camera pointed at us right now, though.”