Twelve
He was a bit nervous moving into Roman's bedroom.
After all, this was where Xavier and him had slept together. Roman must have anticipated that because on their way home, they had gone to Carlisle Giant Mart to buy a black and white comforter set and a navy blue and white one as well.
Roman also got new pillows and comforter as well.
It moved Dean that his boyfriend wanted him to feel at home, putting his needs first.
Roman even placed the Home Scents Caramel Latte Candle he had bought for the auburn haired man on his side of the bed.
That night, Dean slept well, snuggled up comfortably in his boyfriend's arms, feeling loved.
Roman was all dressed up for work in a pale blue shirt with three quarter sleeves and dark blue denim jeans, his beautiful raven locks held up in a man bun the next day.
He greeted Dean with a quick kiss when he walked into the kitchen. "Good morning," he said happily as he poured coffee from the French Press into a mug. "Slept well?"
"Yeah," Dean replied. "I had a good sleep." His boyfriend returned his attention to the toast he had been buttering.
Roman grabbed him, making him drop the bread and knife before placing him on the island counter before pulling his face down to his to kiss him.
Dean smiled against his lips. "Roman?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever done it on an island counter before?"
"No."
"Do you want to?"
Roman did not hesitate. "Yes."
He pushed the auburn haired man down gently and climbed over him. After some heavy make out, Roman started to unbutton his shirt.
Dean's lust filled baby blue eyes were admiring his naked upper body and it made him feel gratified.
Dean then pulled him closer and kissed him tenderly.
Sex with Dean was anything but boring.
Roman wouldn't be surprised if his boyfriend dragged him to a dumpster and started banging him there.
Not that he would object to it.
As Dean slowly keyed in figures for money spent in May into the Excel sheet in the gym's office, Roman discreetly observed him from the corner of his eye.
He was concentrating on the task on hand, double checking his figures.
Seth was still on medical leave; Roman wasn't sure why. He had refused to return any calls despite the dozens of messages the former champion had left.
"Dean," he informed as he stood up. "I'm heading out to deposit some checks. I'll be back in an hour."
Dean's eyes were now on him. "Okay."
"Would you like a hot Salted Butterscotch?"
"Yes!"
Roman chuckled and took the folder with the checks inside. He had to fight off the urge to kiss him; he didn't want anyone accusing him of favoritism.
"See you later," he said as he grabbed his car keys.
Dean was pouting. "No kiss?"
"I can't have people accusing me-"
"I understand."
Roman smiled. "Besides we already kissed a lot this morning."
"That wasn't enough," Dean mumbled.
The grey eyed man gave up and pressed his lips softly against his boyfriend's briefly. But Dean seemed happy so he guessed he did good.
"Now can I go?"
Dean grinned cheekily. "Yes. You may."
He had to laugh at that. "Thank you. How thoughtful of you."
"I know."
As he was walking out, he spotted Bobby Roode walking in. "Hey, Bobby," he greeted the business man.
"Hey, Roman," Bobby replied. "Not staying?"
"Only for a while. Rhyno's here though."
"Right. So how about that dinner?"
"I'm flattered, Bobby but I have a boyfriend now."
"Wow. Okay. I'm disappointed that it's not me but congratulations, Roman. He's a lucky guy."
Roman shook his head. "I'm the lucky one."
Dean was at the water fountain filling up his water bottle when he heard a man he had seen the day he met Roman - Bobby something - chatting with a blond. "It's a pity Roman's taken," he was saying. "He's gorgeous. Sex on legs. I wonder who the hell the lucky guy is."
It felt weird to hear someone talking about his boyfriend that way.
"Hey, Dean," Rhyno greeted him, coming up from behind him, holding his own water bottle.
"Hey," he replied, smiling.
"So I was wondering if Roman and you would like to go on a double date with Heath and me tonight." Heath was Rhyno's boyfriend of two years.
"I'll have to ask Roman."
"You do that."
Dean grinned. He'd never gone on a double date before. His ex boyfriends always hid the fact that they were in a relationship with him.
Roman was different. He seemed proud to show the world he was with Dean. He headed back to the office and continued with his work.
The auburn haired man wondered how he was going to help Roman out with his goal list without telling him.
For a moment, Dean's mind wandered back to the last item: fall in love.
But that was ridiculous. How can you force yourself to love someone? There was no way Roman was faking it. The looks he had been sending Dean's way told him so.
"Here you go, Dean." Roman announced walking in. He placed the styrofoam cup on Dean's table. "One hot Salted Butterscotch and… I got you a caramel muffin."
"You spoil me, Roman," Dean beamed. "But I won't complain."
"Of course you shouldn't. I love taking care of you."
"Rhyno asked me if we're interested in going on a double date with Heath and him tonight."
"I don't see why not. We have no plans this evening."
"Great. I'll let him know!"
Dean was so ecstatic that he kissed Roman squarely on his mouth. Just as his mind was registering that he was at work, Roman started kissing him back.
"Roman," he panted as his boyfriend peppered kisses on his neck. "We're… we're at work."
"But you smell so nice…" came Roman's reply.
Their lips met again. Roman's hands were now under his t-shirt as their kissing intensified. Dean pushed him away gently before it escalated.
"You know the song Fire?" Roman asked.
"I'm not too sure…"
"There's a line in the song where the singer says that when she kisses her partner, it's like fire. Wait! I'll play it for you." Roman was excited, taking out his cellphone and scrolling for the song before playing it.
I'm ridin' in your car
You turn on the radio
You're pullin' me close
I just say no
I say I don't like it
But you know I'm a liar
'Cause when we kiss, oh
Fire
"See?" Roman said. "Oh I specifically love the part when she said that her partner had a hold on her right from the start with a grip so tight she couldn't tear it apart. It reminds me of us."
Dean smiled fondly at him.
His dork.
Roman laughed as Rhyno was relating a funny story of how Heath tricked the personal trainer's parents into thinking he was a clown who escaped from the circus.
Beside him, Dean was laughing at something Heath had said.
The four had gone to St Patrick's, an Irish restaurant a block away from the gym.
"So has he met your folks formally yet?" Rhyno asked.
"He spoke to them at my birthday party," Roman recalled. "They hit it off. Mum and Dad sent me messages on WhatsApp later that night telling me "This one's a keeper.""
"That's pretty cool of your folks."
"Yeah. They're the best."
He reached for Dean's hand underneath the table and squeezed it. His boyfriend laced his fingers through his.
"June's already here," Rhyno said. "Where are you planning to go for your vacation?"
Roman shrugged. "I haven't decided yet." He turned to look at Dean. "Baby boy, any country you wish to visit?"
But his boyfriend was not paying attention to him. His eyes were staring in horror at a man with tattoos at a table across them.
Maybe he knew the guy.
"Dean."
Dean turned to look at him. "Huh? You were saying something?"
"I asked if there was any country you wished to visit?"
"Yeah. I always wanted to go on a British Author tour."
"England it is."
Dean's jaw dropped. "Roman-"
"Not a word more, baby boy. And you're coming with me, obviously."
Rhyno smiled. "I'll be sure to take care of the gym. Well if Seth is back, then I'll leave it to him."
"I'm kind of worried," Roman admitted. "Seth's not answering my messages or returning my calls. I think I'll drop by his place tomorrow."
"That would be best."
Roman hoped so. Seth and him hadn't spoken since their conversation after checking out at the hotel.
He noticed Dean's eyes were back on the tattooed guy. He'd have to ask him about it when they were alone in the car.
"Baby boy? You were staring at a guy in the restaurant."
Dean knew Roman would ask him such a question. He didn't want to lie to him though. "He used to be the leader of this gang I used to be in," he confessed. "He's also my ex boyfriend."
He was shaken to the bone when he saw Corey in the same restaurant. What was he doing there? St Patrick's was not his usual kind of restaurant.
"Oh. Ummm… why did you guys break up if you don't mind me asking?" Roman asked, his grey eyes on the road ahead.
His boyfriend was not going to like the reason. "I cheated on him with another guy," he admitted.
"Oh."
Dean drummed his fingers against his denim clad lap. Roman must have been wondering if he would do the same to him. "Roman-"
"What did he do to you to make you want to run to another guy?"
That took him by surprise. How did he know? "He refused to acknowledge who I was to people… only a handful knew. So this guy from a rival gang and I had been flirting back and forth and one day I just gave in to his advances." He paused. "I would never do that to you, Roman. You've treated me so good."
"I know."
"It hurt to cheat on him. I mean I loved him but he seemed to be ashamed of me."
"I'm not." Roman squeezed his hand. "I'm proud to say you're mine."
Dean's heart melted right there and then. "I'm proud that you're mine too." He scratched his chin. "Babe, you weren't serious about the author tour thing, right?"
"Of course I was. I'll book it first thing when we get home."
"You know that song Amazed?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well the singer said that he's amazed by every little thing his partner does. It reminds me of you."
He glanced at Roman; he had the widest smile on his face.
The British Author tour incorporates the famous authors of each region, from Jane Austen, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns in Scotland. This tour begins in London and travels northwards to Scotland, visiting sites associated with authors such as Dickens, Conan Doyle, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.
Roman read through the itinerary on his laptop in bed with Dean beside him. "Is five days okay with you?"
"Three is better," his boyfriend replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"But three is really short."
"Not to me."
He gave in to the auburn haired man's request and made a booking for the Monday ahead.
Dean was biting his lip when Roman closed the laptop. "I love you," his boyfriend said quietly.
"I love you too," Roman replied, pulling him down to so that they could lie in one another's arms.
His boyfriend was unusually quiet, most likely thinking of his confession earlier in the car. Roman wanted to cheer him up. "So will you ever do it with me in a dumpster?"
"What?" Dean laughed.
"I'm just curious. I mean I won't object to it."
"A person like you should be made love to on a bed like this. Not in a dumpster."
His words got to the former champion who positioned himself on top of him and looked into his baby blue eyes. "You wanna make love?"
Dean was staring at him, as if he was trying to read the raven haired man's thoughts. He slowly nodded, his eyes still locked.
Roman claimed his lips tenderly, his right hand on a cheek and left on his waist.
Dean was assigned by Roman the next morning to deposit money into the bank. The raven haired man had handed him a brown bag with wads of cash.
After spending what seemed like hours in the queue, he finished his task and decided to get some hot vanilla along the way back.
The Cafe At The Corner served the best beverages and sweet treats. Dean ordered a chocolate chip cookie dough glazed doughnut and a hot vanilla.
He stepped out of their shop with their signature red and white striped bag and had been contemplating calling a taxi or taking a bus back when someone called his name.
"Dean Ambrose."
He stiffened.
Corey Graves stood in front of him, smirking. "Long time no see."
"What do you want?" Dean immediately asked.
"Nothing. Just came here to say hi."
"Hi. Bye."
His ex boyfriend blocked his path. "Where are you off to in a hurry? We have a lot to catch up on."
"No, we don't."
"The guys and I were just talking about you the other day. We used to have fun times, Dean. You know that."
He sighed. "Corey, I don't do that anymore. I've given up on that kind of life."
"For now. You know deep down you're still that bad boy. Don't tell you've become a pushover. That's not the Dean Ambrose I know." When Dean remained stubbornly silent, he added, "You have my number. You know where I live. Come find us. It'd be nice to catch up."
Nice wasn't exactly what it was.
When he returned back to the gym, Seth was there. They exchanged looks when Dean headed towards the office.
"Got something to say to me, Ambrose?"
Unbelievable. Did he ever shut up whenever he saw Dean? Probably not.
"Back so soon, Rollins?" he countered. "We were just thinking of hiring a replacement for you."
"You'd wish you could get rid of me so easily. If anyone's leaving this place, it's you, with the countless errors you'll be making due to your lack of experience."
"I'm ice cold. I don't make mistakes."
"Oh you will."
"Kiss my ass, Rollins. Oh wait. That's not your thing."
They glared at one another. Dean could feel the hostility between them. He clenched his fists. One punch. That was all he needed to shut him up.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Rhyno intervened. "That's enough. Break it up you two. You want Roman walking in, catching sight of this?"
Dean turned to the brunette. "Where is he?"
"He didn't say where he was going. Just that he'll be back in a few hours."
"If you're lucky," Seth blabbered, "maybe he met someone better than you and wants to settle down with him instead."
"Get your head out from your ass, Rollins. Roman and I are in love. There's nothing you can do about it."
Seth's face was one of disgust; disgust at Dean. "You can't replace Xavier."
"I already have," Dean sneered.
He hadn't meant that, of course. But Seth had made him so furious.
"You won't get away with that remark, Ambrose," Seth warned him.
"Watch me," Dean taunted cockily.
Rhyno steered Seth towards the treadmill section. "Seth, stay there." He looked at Dean. "Dean, you head back to the office."
The auburn haired man gave the personal trainer a disgruntled look and he stalked off to the office.
"He's a criminal… a trash," he heard Seth whining to someone. "A drug paddling, stealing ex convict slash gangster."
Dean closed the door behind him. He was still being judged for his past. Why couldn't Seth see beyond that the way others had? His prejudice was disturbing.
His knowledge of Dean's past was even more disturbing. How had he known all those stuff?
The blue eyed man sat down on his chair. His hand reached for the office phone. Criminal? He'd show Seth how much of a criminal he could be.
A/N I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thank you for your well wishes. Asthma does suck. I appreciate your kind words, favorites and follows. More than I can ever say.
