Where We Left Off - Romeo Alexander Page 0,2

with.”

“More than a few,” Clay muttered under his breath.

“I’m suddenly wondering if having you guys as family is going to hurt my chances of getting into the academy,” Tyler said, squinting at them.

“Still going to work for the enemy, huh?” Clay asked.

Tyler frowned. “I still don’t know why you put it like that.”

“None of your business, that’s why,” Clay said casually.

Elliot hooked an arm around Clay’s neck and pulled him close. “Plus, some of those ‘toys’ are yours, babe.”

“How could I forget?” Clay asked, pulling away from Elliot without much effort.

Elliot kissed the man’s temple, murmuring something gently that Tyler couldn’t catch. The effect was immediate, and Clay stopped trying to pull away, letting himself fold against Elliot’s side. They’d been together for practically the entire time Tyler had known them, and while they weren’t exactly horny and desperate teenagers, their love and affection for one another had been a constant in Tyler’s life. That Tyler also knew that extended to their sex life was something he really wished he hadn’t learned.

“Good thing I did some grocery shopping recently,” Clay said, looking Tyler over.

Elliot hummed. “I’m so glad we discovered you can cook.”

“Otherwise, we would have starved,” Clay snorted.

Elliot blinked. “Oh, right, shit, forgot. We should probably ask if you’re going to be home for dinner before we make any plans.”

“He’s staying,” Clay said, watching Tyler closely.

Elliot frowned at him. “Clay…”

“Look at him.”

Tyler shifted uneasily under both of their stares. It was at that moment he realized Clay had already figured out there was more at work than just simply wanting to come home. Tyler shrugged, trying in a vain attempt to throw them off the trail.

“I’m not going anywhere tonight,” Tyler told them.

Elliot kissed Clay messily, earning a cry of disgust from the man. “Good! Then I’m going to get cleaned up, and you two can deal with fighting with dinner.”

“Jesus,” Clay muttered, wiping at his face.

Tyler had a moment to grin before he too got a messy kiss. This one was on his cheek, and the sound was loud enough to make his ear start ringing. Tyler flailed, batting at Elliot, who only laughed and trotted into the house.

“There’s something wrong with him,” Tyler grunted, wiping at his face hastily.

“Preaching to the choir,” Clay said easily, walking into the house.

“You’re the one who married him,” Tyler pointed out.

Clay sighed, though it sounded more wistful than exasperated. “That I did.”

Then again, they weren’t technically married. Tyler still had no idea why they hadn’t gone about getting it done. It was legal, after all. Whenever he’d asked, though, he earned himself a light shrug from Clay and a small smile from Elliot. It was the same reaction he got whenever he asked about what was going on when he’d first met them and certain questions about their past. It was Clay, more than anyone, who Tyler knew the least about, save that he was a mystery, enjoyed gardening, cooking, and fiddling with gadgets that may or may not be legal depending on the jurisdiction.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Clay asked as he opened the fridge to frown thoughtfully at its contents.

“Just remembering the day I first met you,” Tyler said.

Clay snorted. “Ah right, the badass fifteen-year-old wannabe mugger who tried to rob me at knifepoint.”

Tyler still cringed at the thought. “Not my finest moment.”

Clay hummed, pulling containers from the fridge. “I know a thing or two about that. More importantly, you didn’t stay on that road.”

The road that had him so desperate for cash that he’d tried to rob the first person he’d seen. Turned out that person was more than capable of defending themselves. For all his appearance of banality, Clay was more than he appeared. Without effort, he had disarmed Tyler and laid him out so quickly that it hurt Tyler’s head to remember.

“Helps when some sense was almost literally knocked into me,” Tyler said fondly.

Clay chuckled. “It wasn’t the most subtle of my gestures. But you know, seeing how you’ve turned out, I’m going to go out on a limb and say subtle isn’t always good.”

“I ever tell you I told my mom about that?” Tyler asked.

Clay hesitated before pulling a thick stalk of celery out of a bag. “You did and said she had your ass over it.”

Tyler chuckled, tapping the counter nervously. “She was so mad. After my dad got himself locked up robbing a corner store, all for his next fix, she was pissed that I was risking the same. Told me I was lucky