Out of Nowhere (Balls and Brawn Bodyguard #4)

42. Chapter Forty-two Dex

Chapter Forty-two: Dex

I n the following few months, the realtor Seo-jun and Dex found showed them dozens of houses, some nice and some not so nice. But all of them had at least one flaw large enough to eliminate them from consideration. During that time, Dex realized something: people were weird. At one house they went to see, rather than leaving like they were supposed to, the owners locked themselves in a bedroom with their dog. Dex and Seo-jun could hear them shushing each other the entire time they were touring the house, and, as they walked out to leave, the dog—a mix of several large breeds—stood in the bedroom window barking at them. Another time, Dex and Seo-jun were viewing a split-level and, when they entered a dimly lit room behind the kitchen, they were startled by what, at first glance in the dark, looked like a coffin. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust enough for them to realize it was a tanning bed, but it had given Dex the heebie-jeebies. He had to wonder why anyone living near the beach needed a tanning bed in their home.

A few days before Christmas, Dex and Seo-jun flew back to Colorado to spend Christmas with Dex’s family. Bea roped them into helping at her church’s annual Christmas Bazaar, which lasted three days and culminated on Christmas Eve with a children’s pageant and the live nativity outside the church. Bea had been able to convince a man to play Joseph, although he was about thirty years too old for the part, but it was Baby Jesus who drew the most attention from visitors. Dex kept noticing people passing by the manger scene giggling or making disapproving faces as they looked into the cradle.

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Dex turned to Seo-jun, who was helping to sell homemade bread to a middle-aged couple, and told him he’d be right back.

Crossing the church lawn, he walked up to the live nativity and looked down into the cradle, where the woman playing Mary side-eyed him but remained demure and silent.

“Well. That explains it.” Picking his way through the crowd to his mother, who was supervising the kids in line to sit on Santa’s lap (Santa being Garfield in an old fashioned Father Christmas suit), Dex hissed into her ear, “Mom, that’s a Chucky doll you’ve got playing Baby Jesus.”

“Did you expect me to use a real baby? It’s cold out here, Dex!”

“No, I mean the doll—it’s not right for the part.”

“I know it’s not very cute, but the pastor’s son gave it to me to use,” she said.

“How old is the pastor’s son?”

“Thirteen.”

That made sense. “It’s from a famous horror film . Your Baby Jesus is a killer doll wrapped in a blanket.”

“WHAT?”

Dex nodded. “I swear.”

Casting a horrified look toward the manger, Bea said, “You and Seo-jun need to go right now and buy another doll.” She nudged him toward the baked goods booth. “I’ll get someone to take over for you here. Hurry, it’ll be dark soon, and a lot of people come after work.”

Unsurprisingly, nothing was open on the holiday except for an all-night pharmacy.

“Deranged serial killer or shrunken troll?” Seo-jun queried, holding up a troll doll with bright green hair that stuck straight up. It couldn’t have been more than five inches long, including the hair.

“God, no. There are no other dolls here?” Dex asked, sifting through a pile of toys.

“None. It’ll have to be Chucky.” Seo-jun chucked the troll back on the shelf.

As they were leaving the store, they happened upon three workers wearing Toys for Tots shirts buying the last of the store’s supply of candy canes and managed to persuade them to trade a baby doll from the gifts in their truck for a donation of five hundred dollars.

“Five hundred dollars for a doll,” Dex groused as he pulled his mother’s SUV out of the pharmacy parking lot.

“It’s for a good cause,” Seo-jun said.

Dex couldn’t argue with that.

Anna was even less interested in Sky than she had been at Thanksgiving. The baby was more alert, and so cute, Dex wanted to hold him all the time. He seemed to have charmed Seo-jun, too, who helped Dex bathe Sky and change his diaper on several occasions. It hurt Dex to have to lave his nephew when the visit was over.

“We can visit often,” Seo-jun promised him. “Here or at Tom’s.”

Dex believed him, but it really hurt to leave Sky with Anna and Bea.

After New Year’s, the house-hunting started up again, but then Dex and Seo-jun were put on a case that ate up all of their time, and they told the real estate agent they needed to postpone the search.

The first Sunday in April, Dex was on the couch of their apartment, half-dozing, half catching up on a show on Hulu while Seo-jun chatted on the phone with Dex’s mother. Dex’s conversation with her had only lasted fifteen minutes—long enough for pleasantries and for Dex to ask after Anna, who, his mom had said, was not bonding with Sky and had started hooking up with guys she met on a dating app.

“I invited your mom, Anna, and the baby to visit the week after Easter,” Seo-jun announced, tossing his phone on the coffee table and slipping under Dex’s legs on the couch.

“How are we going to manage that?” Dex asked. The apartment only had one bedroom.

“I thought we could stay at the mansion while they’re here,” Seo-jun said.

Dex had to admit that was a good idea. “Not that I mind, but why did you invite them? Don’t tell me you’re missing my mother.”

Seo-jun chuckled. “I invited her because she’s shown interest in our house hunt, and I thought she might be helpful. It will probably do Anna some good to get away for a while, and I miss Sky.”

Dex was touched at Seo-jun’s thoughtfulness.

“You’re really sweet,” he said, leaning forward to kiss Seo-jun’s mouth. “It’s no wonder you won over my mother.” Their kisses turned into Dex on his knees between Seo-jun’s legs, followed by Seo-jun fucking Dex over the arm of the couch. In Dex’s opinion, the perfect Sunday at home.

“There’s a house for sale in Mountain Shadows,” Jase said over breakfast a week and a half later. “You could get your realtor to take you there. It’s a nice neighborhood.”

“I’ll just bet it is, at the prices those houses are going for,” Dex said as he buttered his toast. Seo-jun had gone to pick up his mother and sister at their apartment, and he was bringing them to the mansion, where Kasey was going to hang out with Anna and the baby while Dex, Seo-jun, and Bea went to look at houses. “Remember, not everyone earned a pile of money being a top model like you did,” he teased his boss.

“Our little Dex and Seo-jun are moving in together, “ Andi said. “Before we know it, they’ll be tying the knot.”

“We’ve been living together for months,” Dex reminded her.

“Yeah, but you’re buying a house together. That’s serious. Next thing you know, it’ll be the pitter patter of little feet.” She stood up from the table and took her empty plate to the kitchen.

Dex met Seo-jun’s eyes. They both knew what the other was thinking. The subject had gone unsaid, but the time was coming where they would have to have a conversation. Were they crazy to be thinking it? How could they make it work?

“Don’t let her scare you off,” Kasey said. “You and Seo-jun are adorable together.”

“I can’t be scared off,” Dex assured her. “I know what I want, and that’s a life with Seo-jun.”

“Aww,” Kasey said, playfully poking Dex in the side.

Minutes later, the sound of the front door closing made Dex look up from the files he was going over with Jase in time to see his family entering the room.

Dex made introductions and was pleased that Kasey and Anna seemed to get on well. Scooping his nephew out of his sister’s arm, he cradled him in his arms and made faces at him.

“He’s so cute!” Kasey gushed. “Look at all that black hair.”

Sky had eyes a similar color to Dex’s, which he was proud of.

“He’s gotten so big since I saw him last,” he said.

“Let me hold him,” Seo-jun said, and Dex passed Sky over to him.

“Oh, my God, why does he look so hot holding a baby?” Kasey whispered to Dex.

“Right?” he whispered back.

Seo-jun’s biceps bulged beneath the sleeves of his black t-shirt as he adjusted Sky in his arms. Looking down into the baby’s face, he spoke to him like Sky was a tiny adult.

“My ovaries just exploded,” Kasey murmured.

“We’re going to be late,” Bea said. “Seo-jun told me we’re meeting the realtor at the first house at ten. That leaves us fifteen minutes to get there.”

“All right, all right,” Dex said. “Let’s go.”

Anna took Sky from Seo-jun, and they went out to Seo-jun’s car.