Finding Home (7 page)

Adam had been pleased with the visible reaction his touch caused Dillon, but he was also surprised with himself. He wasn’t normally the touchy-feely type of person that he’d been for most of the day, but he found himself okay with it because of the way Dillon made him feel.

He decided to just let Dillon sleep on his couch, because he didn’t want to wake him when he looked so peaceful, so he got up and turned the television off. Then he dug up an extra blanket from the spare bedroom and covered him up. Parker jumped up on the blanket and settled himself between Dillon’s legs.

“Come on, Parker,” Adam whispered forcefully. “It’s time for bed.”

Parker just stared at Adam like he was crazy. He wasn’t about to get down, and Adam knew he was fighting a battle he wasn’t going to win. Plus, he couldn’t blame the dog, could he?  He wasn’t sure he’d be able to get up if he could sleep that close to Dillon. Adam had no idea what exactly came over him, but he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Dillon’s temple. “Good night, sweet boy,” he whispered before heading to his own room.

He hopped in the shower quickly before retiring to his bed. It’d been a long day, but Adam had had a blast showing Dillon around and basically pampering him. He found that he liked taking care of Dillon and was going to make it his mission to make sure that Dillon succeeded in staying in Omaha. He wasn’t through with this one.
Not by a long shot.

The next morning, Dillon slowly opened his eyes and peered around at the unfamiliar place he was in. Panic set in when he didn
’t recognize it, and he bolted straight up into a sitting position, the air rushing in and out of his lungs so fast he was wheezing, which made him feel light headed. His skin broke out in a cold sweat and tears were threatening to spill down his cheeks. It took him back to his younger days when he would wake up in strange places, with unknown people passed out pretty much everywhere, and, yet, he’d have no idea where to find his parents. It was terrifying to relive that, but Dillon felt something wet nudging his hand and an unfamiliar whining sound was piercing his thoughts, forcing its way through the fog to bring him back to the present. He looked down at the brown fuzzball whining in his lap trying to get his attention, as though he could sense Dillon’s panic.

Realization finally hit him, he was still on the couch at Adam’s house, but it was light outside and he was covered up with a blanket. Parker was the wiggly fuzzball in his lap. When he was finally alert enough to calm his breathing and slow his heart down, Dillon carefully moved his feet to the floor. Parker jumped down and sat at attention. He was staring at Dillon anxiously, but Dillon really had to pee so he got up to walk toward the bathroom. Parker followed him, except he kept going toward the kitchen and stopped at the back door. He barked and pranced around excitedly, and Dillon didn’t want to wake Adam up. He quickly took Parker outside and put him on his chain so that he could do whatever he had to do, then tip-toed down the hallway to the bathroom to do the same.

Dillon was trying to decide whether or not to chance a shower because he didn’t have any clean clothes, and he didn’t want to wake Adam up. However, he felt disgusting after the emotional wake-up call he’d gotten. Before Dillon could make up his mind, a light tap on the door startled him. “Dillon?” Adam’s voice was muffled through the door.

Dillon cracked the door open. “Yeah.”

“I have a clean shirt and a pair of sweats that might fit you if you want to shower. You fell asleep during the movie and you were zonked, so I didn’t bother to try and wake you to take you back. I hope that’s okay.” Dillon thought back to the near panic he’d woke up in and realized that if he and Adam were going to be friends, he’d have to divulge some of his past. Of course, he couldn’t hold it against Adam because he hadn’t known himself that he was going to react that way to the unfamiliar surroundings.

“That would be great,” Dillon replied gratefully. “I really need a shower.” Adam handed Dillon a stack of clothes that smelled like fresh laundry soap. “Oh, I let Parker outside on his chain; I hope that’s okay.”

“That was really nice of you, Dillon. I’m sure he appreciates it!” Adam’s look of tenderness as he shut the door to give Dillon his privacy nearly melted his heart. Dillon was seriously tempted to just invite Adam into the bathroom and ask him to maybe wash his back or something. He hopped in the shower quickly before he had the chance to do something so stupid.

After a quick shower and change, Dillon felt human again. He folded his dirty clothes and sat them on top of his hoodie in the hallway before finding Adam in the kitchen. Parker was devouring his food in the corner, and Adam was pulling a box of cereal down from one of the cupboards. “I hope cereal is okay this morning. I haven’t gone grocery shopping yet.” He shook a box of
Cap’n Crunch
in Dillon’s general direction.

“Yeah, cereal’s fine,” he assured him. “You don’t have to keep feeding me though. I can get something when I get back to the motel.”

Adam shot Dillon a look that said he had a secret that he was about to let him in on. “Ah, Dillon, that’s the problem. You see, if Grams were to find out that you’d been with me and I didn’t feed you, and then let you go back to the motel to eat breakfast out of a vending machine, she’d kick my ass from here until next week. I’d never hear the end of it! So this is as much for my own protection as it is for your nourishment.” He poured two bowls, filled them with milk, and slid one to Dillon. “Eat up, buttercup.”

Dillon almost choked on his first bite. “Buttercup? Really? When did you turn into a teenage girl?”

“Shut up and eat,” he scolded playfully as he shook his head. “Kids these days… ungrateful little bastards, I tell ya.” He pretended to mumble that last comment under his breath but made sure that Dillon could hear it, then dodged quickly as Dillon tried to smack him for his smartass comments.

The kitchen was quiet except for the sound of the cereal crunching. Dillon was transfixed by the way Adam wrapped his lips around the spoon as he took each bite. There was no way that he wasn’t doing that on purpose just to tease Dillon, and it was working. Popping a boner in the middle of the kitchen, Dillon was incredibly grateful to be hidden on the other side of the counter from Adam. How fucking embarrassing would it be to have to explain the tent in his pants over Adam eating cereal?

Adam could barely contain the smirk on his face. He knew he was being a dick, but he couldn’t help it. The looks that Dillon was giving him were priceless, and so a little teasing was harmless, right? His body didn’t think so, as it was responding to the sexual tension that was quickly building in the room.

He’s eighteen.
Adam had to keep reminding himself of that, because in some ways he seemed so much older, but then there were moments when his youth would shine through and remind Adam that he should keep his hands off, no matter how much he wanted to be hands on.

Dillon dragged his eyes away from Adam’s lips so that he could concentrate on deflating the problem in his pants. He ate slowly, and when he glanced up, chancing a look at Adam, he noticed Adam looking back at him with a strange look on his face.

“What?” Dillon didn’t mean to sound so short with him, and Adam found that he didn’t like it when Dillon’s voice held that tone. He hated feeling like he’d done something to irritate him.

“Nothing.” Adam shrugged off the bad feeling. “So what’s on your agenda for today?”

“Um… I was thinking that I should probably try to find a job around here somewhere. Do you know any places out by the motel that might be hiring? I need it to be within walking distance.” Dillon finished his breakfast and took the bowl to the sink, rinsing it out.

“What sort of work experience do you have?” Adam asked, rinsing his bowl also.

Dillon turned around and leaned back against the counter. “I worked in a grocery store back in Chicago. Started off as a bag-boy-slash-stocker and moved up to cashier when I started working there full-time.”

Adam was facing Dillon sideways. His face screwed up in confusion. “How were you working full-time and going to school?”

“I quit school so I could work full-time,” he mumbled in response, hanging his head in shame. It wasn’t something he was proud of, because he’d been a good student, but he had to do whatever it took to survive and get out of there.

“So you didn’t graduate?” The thought hadn’t crossed Adam’s mind that if Dillon was only eighteen and it was April, that he shouldn’t be graduating until May or June depending.

Dillon just shook his head slightly. Adam felt an overwhelming need to comfort him, so he slid closer to Dillon and pulled him close, wrapping his arms tightly around him. He could tell the moment that Dillon decided to let go of the shame because his body went slack against Adam. “I’m not proud of it,” Dillon murmured against Adam’s chest.

“It’s okay, Dillon; I know you had your reasons.” Adam rubbed soothing circles on Dillon’s shoulder blade with his thumb. “You don’t have to defend yourself or explain anything to me. I’m your friend, okay?”

Dillon was touched by the sentiment, but he’d never really had a friend before. He’d been friendly to kids at school, but he’d always been a loner. No way was he asking anyone to come to his house to play or to sleepover, and no one ever invited him along to those sorts of things at their houses. He didn’t think it was the right time to admit that to Adam though. He already felt like a loser.

“Thanks.” He pulled away from Adam and looked up at him. Adam had at least five inches on Dillon in height. “So, do you know anywhere out by the motel that might be hiring?”

“How long are you planning to stay out at the motel?” Adam asked him suddenly.

“I’m not sure,” Dillon answered honestly. “I need to save up enough to rent somewhere which probably isn’t likely unless I can find someone to room with. So I might just be working so I can keep staying at the motel, as long as your grams doesn’t kick me out for being there too long.”

“Grams would never kick you out, but I hate to see you working just to keep living at the motel.” Adam’s face twisted into a grimace, and Dillon didn’t like that look on him.

“So, back to my question…” Dillon hedged, trying to change the subject.

“Ugh, there’s a gas station a couple blocks up from the motel and there’s a Super Target maybe a mile away. There’s not a whole lot of options out that way, unfortunately. There are definitely more options in the more populated areas. You could always try somewhere a little farther away and take the bus.” Adam was just throwing out suggestions but they didn’t really seem promising.

“I guess I’ll have to try the Target. Right now any job would be better than no job. I have some savings but it’s not going to last long. Would you be able to take me back to the motel so I can change into my clothes? I can walk from there,” Dillon asked shyly, afraid of being too much of a bother.

“You know you can apply online right? Then you don’t have to go to the actual store,” Adam informed him.

“Really?” Dillon was surprised at all the new shit he was learning.

Adam chuckled. “Yeah, really.”

Dillon thought about it for a moment but decided against it. “Nah. I think I should go and talk to them personally. Make sure they are actually looking for help, so I’m not waiting on nothing.”

Adam brought Parker inside, then asked Dillon if he was ready to go. Dillon gathered his stuff and followed Adam toward his car.

*****

Once they arrived back at the motel, Dillon turned to face Adam in the car. “Thank you so much for everything. You didn’t have to do anything that you’ve done for me so far, yet you’ve been so wonderful. I appreciate it a lot.”

Adam took Dillon’s hand in his. “There’s no need for thanks, Dillon. I enjoyed my time with you yesterday. I have to work tonight until late, but you can call me after ten and we can talk some more if you like.” He pulled out a business card with his cell number on it and handed it to Dillon.

Dillon’s heart sank. “I already told you I don’t have a telephone.”

Adam chuckled at Dillon’s innocence. “Dillon, your room has a phone, and my number is local. We can talk as much as you want.”

“Really?” Dillon’s face lit up at the thought of Adam trying to convince him to call him. It made him feel wanted, and that was a new feeling for him. Adam nodded. “Cool! Okay, yeah. I can call you tonight.”

“Alright, great!” Adam said to him. “I’m going to run in and say hello to Grams. You going to your room then?”

“Yeah, I need to get ready and head up to that Target. Can you tell me how to get there?” Dillon asked, and Adam gave him easy directions.

When they got out of the car, Adam walked over to Dillon and hugged him quickly. He didn’t want to leave without touching him at least one more time. Dillon was happy to let him and returned the hug easily.

“So you’ll call me later then?” Adam confirmed.

“Yeah, I’ll call you.”

“Cool. Good luck with the job,” Adam said, feeling a little sad about that but not quite sure why.

“Thanks.”

Dillon headed toward his room while Adam turned to head inside. “Hey Grams!” Adam greeted her cheerfully.
 

“Adam! What a nice surprise, dear! What in the world are you doing out here this early on a Friday?”

Adam blushed because he knew what was coming after his admission. “I was dropping Dillon off. We spent the day together yesterday.”