Hawk’s mom cheated at Boggle.
Helene was a really neat lady. She had gorgeous eyes that lit up with sweet laughter, the lines around them showing that she did it all the time. Her voice was low and melodious and filled with French that Caleb only half understood. She clearly loved Hawk and her husband, and she was incredibly kind to Caleb.
But she cheated at Boggle.
“That is not an English word,” Caleb complained.
Helene went for innocent, her eyebrows up, her eyes wide. “Really? Sometimes I get confused. We Quebecois having trouble with staying in English sometimes.”
“Mom,” Hawk warned, “Behave yourself.”
Hawk’s dad, David, just shook his head, his expression sorrowful. “She doesn’t know how. She never has. How many years has it been? She doesn’t behave.”
“Well-behaved women don’t make history,” Helene said. “I think I won that round.”
Caleb shook his head, going for a sorrowful expression. “You cheated, Helene.”
Helene stared at David. “Are you going to let him talk to me like that?”
David’s lips curved in a fond smile. “Absolutely.”
God, these people were nice. And funny, and Caleb felt guilty for liking them more than he did his own parents.
Hawk seemed kind of unhinged with happiness actually. His face was constantly split in a smile, and he kept ordering food and cooking food and coming up with games for them to play together and just essentially acting as if he were the happiest man in the world.
Caleb felt cool with that. He figured this was like their trial run from being public together. If they could just be casual and on the record with Hawk’s parents, then they could start doing it with acquaintances and strangers. Randomly touching each other in public and shit.
The warm glow that caused in his chest should panic him, but it didn’t. Caleb wanted Hawk to be his. All the time, in all ways. It was probably way too deep for a guy like him, but he thought maybe he’d fallen for Hawk that first day in Korea, and now he was getting his chance to lean into that.
“Anybody need anything while I’m up?” Hawk rose from where he was sprawled on the floor by the coffee table. “I’m gonna grab a drink.”
Caleb admired the long length of Hawk’s body and the flex and pull of muscles under his tight performance tee. “I would take a drink, like a Sprite or something.”
“You got it, baby.” The casual use ofbabyin front of Hawk’s parents made Caleb’s cheeks heat. With pleasure though, not with anything weird.
They waited for Hawk to come back before they reset the Boggle board and turned the timer again.
Hawk’s mom still cheated.
By dinner his cheeks hurt from smiling so much andHawk was humming as he moved around the kitchen, creating some sort of stir fry, he thought.
The guy worked out like he was still a hockey player, and for the most part he ate like he was one too, despite their forays into pizza and the occasional fast food. Caleb appreciated it because he knew he would prefer to keep his own body in good shape. It would help with the RA, if nothing else.
“How’s your foot babe?” Hawk glanced at him when he sat on a bar stool at the pass through to the kitchen, his foot propped up on another stool.
“Good. It feels really good. I think I’ll totally be able to get out of this little boot next week and wear slippers and stuff and only have to wear the post-out bootie when I go out in public.” The X-rays looked great, and he thought he’d healed well considering he had been controlling his inflammation and everything seemed to be working out.
“Good deal.” Hawk glanced out to where his mom and dad were sitting on the couch, leaning on each other, talking quietly. “They really like you. So do I. In fact, I more than like you, Caleb.”
That silvery gaze locked with his, and there was a whole wealth of information there, an entire realm of emotion that Caleb could barely fathom. It made his heart beat faster.
“I more than like you. Like I said before, I’m falling for you. Actually, I think I’ve fallen pretty hard. I’m just not sure?—”
“We don’t have to say words or make promises or anything, Caleb, but I’m glad.”
Hawk reached over and put a hand over his for a second, squeezing before going to the stove where the wok was heating up and tossing in a bunch of veg.
Caleb sat with that feeling for a long moment because he wasn’t certain what to do with it but in his heart he knew what to call this.