Curious (mxm)

Co-Parents

Axel's POV

Thanks to Erik's chronically responsible tendencies, my alarm was set at the perfect time to get up for work.

He was already gone. As a photographer, Erik was always working odd times for random functions.

Through the painful haze of my hangover, the thought of Erik's job made me smirk. The man loved photography ... in every aspect of his life. He'd revealed that to me in a few late-night, drunken, kink-sharing conversations.

I flopped out of bed and was met with insane anxiety.

Alyssa. Our child. Erik's smile. Fuck.

Definitely time to bury myself in my work.

I slipped into my uniform and left our nice, little apartment for the dingier side of town. I worked in a small car repair shop. The physical labor helped me forget the problems I was having with my ex ... and with my sexuality.

James busted up laughing when he saw me. He was handsome and around my age. He looked a lot like Erik— light brown hair, teasing honey-colored eyes, and dark-rimmed glasses.

But he acted nothing like Erik.

"You look fuckin' terrible, man," he snorted, looking like my pain brought him endless amusement. "Late night out?"

My boss, Leo, stopped in his tracks when he saw me. He was also my age, possibly a few years older, with a giant form. His ginger hair and facial hair reminded me of a lion, sort of. "Holy shit."

I tried to find a reflective surface, to no avail. "Do I really look bad?"

Leo stepped forward, concern written all over his face. He wasted no time in pressing his hand to my forehead. "You feel fine, but you look sick."

James was definitely snickering. Leo was known for his capability to sneak within the personal bubble of any single man around him, and his employees were unfortunately no exception. I held my breath until Leo's fingers slipped out of my hair and he dropped his hand.

Leo's green eyes caught me in in their intimidating stare. "You reek of booze."

Yeah, I probably should've showered.

I swallowed and determinedly met his eyes. "Rough night."

Leo's hand made it's way to my chin, which ... holy fuck. Was this turning into some kind of goddamn porno?

"Why don't you and I have a chat alone in my office?" he asked, no room for argument in his voice.

Holy fuck. It was a porno.

"Sure," I managed to say, trying not to let my boss intimidate me. I was half-worried he was going to make a move, which was always a valid fear where Leo was concerned, and half-worried that he was pissed at me for reeking of booze at work.

I followed behind him until we were alone. Leo's office was a pretty sweet place, with a television and nice leather chairs and couches.

Holy fuck, leather couches. My brain was going to some horribly inappropriate places with this entire scenario.

My reality was my boss looking at me with a raised eyebrow and slight concern. "You wanna head home, Axe?"

"Huh?"

He snorted, which was good. Leo was usually joking around and smiling. I preferred him doing that then looking at me like I was about to break down into tears. "Axel, no offense to your pretty face, but you look like shit."

I really must've, to make everyone get all concerned. "I'm okay. I just had a rough night."

Leo leaned back in his chair, one ankle propped on his other knee. It did lovely things to his jeans around the crotch area. Shit, I really was into men. "You can talk about it."