tied off in a huge garbage bag. I took a deep breath—a bit of exaggeration since it didn’t really stink—then grabbed the bag and pushed my way out the back.
I walked the short distance to the huge iron dumpster and almost squicked out at having to even approach it. Another deep breath and I tossed the bag. Which slammed into the dumpster, burst open, and showered me with used cups and other stuff.
I yelled and tried to dodge it all, but I was too late. I ran away from the garbage rain, brushing at my hair like it was suddenly infested with rats.
“Ash?” Callum’s footsteps hurried toward me. “What happened?”
I glanced from the ground scattered with garbage to Callum. Then I grimaced at the mess I’d made of my clothes. I needed to get out of these clothes ASAP. I needed a steamy shower to rid myself of whatever germs might have upended on me.
“I took out the garbage,” I replied. “It’s harder than it looks.”
“You’ve never taken out the garbage before.” Callum shook his head at me as he surveyed the ground. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“I’m sorry I made a mess of everything.”
“It’s okay, I’ll clean it up.”
It was my mess. He shouldn’t be the one to clean up after. Even though I was covered in filth and desperately needed a shower, I swallowed my disgust and raised my eyes to his.
“No, I’ll clean it up.”
“Have you ever picked up garbage before?” Callum asked me.
“No, but how hard can it be?” I picked up a used cup and aimed it at the bin. This time it landed inside.
“We need gloves,” he said. “You sure you don’t want to go up and take a shower while I handle things?”
I did, but…
“I want to at least help…please.” I bit my tongue at almost calling him Daddy. It kind of went with the territory of the pout I gave him, but I’d promised him I would earn that right. It wasn’t up to me to decide when I’d earned it.
“All right, you can help, and then we can go up and shower.”
Together? The question got stuck in my head. Hopeful. I’d pick up garbage all night if it meant showering with him later. I’d never thought I’d be that happy picking up garbage, but I was in full spirits by the time we were finished.
“That’s all of it.” He reached out for my hands to remove my disposable gloves, and I hid my smile. He didn’t even realize what he was doing. Being a Daddy in the gentlest of ways. Didn’t he know that him being a caregiver was a part of him? “Just let me double-check the place is secured for the night, then we can go up.”
As grossed out as I was, by the time Callum and I marched up the stairs and he let us inside the apartment, memories of our intimacy within these walls made me hyperaware of how turned on I was by this man. I wanted Callum in the worst way, and being apart had done nothing but make my heart grow fonder of him.
It wasn’t my fault for wanting him to fuck me against the door. I had good intentions in coming here tonight. To talk. The sexual chemistry pinged back and forth between us in the small hall as we accidentally bumped into each other.
Completely accidental. It had nothing at all to do with how close I stood to him. Or how he reached for the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, baring those delicious abs I liked to lick.
Oh god, I wanted to lick him so bad.
“You can have the bathroom first,” he said. “Don’t take all night.”
I tried not to show how disappointed I was that we wouldn’t take a shower together. With a nod, I scampered off to the bathroom and didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. Everything was exactly like I’d left it. My favorite shampoos, conditioner, shower gel, the towels, my wash rag. He hadn’t moved a single thing.
Surely if he meant to end our relationship, he would haven’t kept all my things around him. Way more confident in us that I had been when I arrived, I undressed, dropping my clothes to the floor at first before I backtracked, scooped them up, and tucked them away in his clothes hamper. I’d left dirty clothes inside, but they were gone.
Had he laundered them and folded them away in the space of his