Chapter 3 - 3

When Adam woke up on the day he was meant to leave, he felt far more disappointed than he wanted to admit.

He was reluctant to admit how close he had grown to Ryan, but the man had only grown more affectionate as the days passed. They had kissed again, three times, and each time Ryan always seemed to be holding something back. He exercised infuriating restraint-- never giving Adam quite as much as he wanted.

Adam didn't know what their kisses meant. Ryan said nothing of them, and Adam was far too afraid of scaring him off to ask directly.

He just knew that this was very nice, much nicer than anything he had felt before, and he certainly didn't want it to stop.

Adam had rarely worn his issued android uniform since the day he arrived. Ryan had insisted that he wear comfortable clothes around the house, so he spent most of his time in the former CEO's old t-shirts. Many of them featured the names and logos of what he supposed were tech startups, and he analyzed the pile of neatly folded shirts his housekeeper had left in his guest room: failed in 2027, failed in 2019, bought by Ryan's company in 2025, failed in 2021, bought out in 2028 .

These were conquests, then, Adam thought darkly. There was no need to assume the worst, though, he reasoned a moment afterwards. Perhaps the executives of these companies had been friends of Ryan's when he was CEO.
Maybe the softness of these t-shirts would be another thing he'd miss. (He would not admit that he'd probably miss the smell of them even more; even freshly washed, they smelled just vaguely of Ryan: new money and coffee and vetiver.)

He struggled slightly more than he had remembered to pull his jeans on over his thighs, and once he managed to fit them over his hips and up to his waist, he realized they wouldn't button.

It had only been a few days since he wore them last. They had buttoned the night he and Ryan had kissed for the first time, and though they hadn't fit easily , surely he couldn't have gained this much of a belly since then...

Perhaps the housekeeper had shrunk them in the wash by accident?

No, that was denial, Adam chided himself, an artificial blush creeping up his cheeks. He had just put on a few pounds. He would lose it soon after moving back to Jack's.

(He pushed aside the flicker of disappointment he still felt at the thought of leaving Ryan's.)
He decided this would have to be good enough for now, and put on his white button-down, jacket, and tie. He left with only a half-glance at himself in the mirror, deciding he'd rather put off seeing the extent of the changes.

When he made his way to the kitchen, Ryan noticed the unzipped jeans immediately, the little pooch in Adam's belly pulling at the bottom few buttons of his shirt.

Ryan failed to catch himself before he licked his lips.

"Ice cream finally catching up to you?" Ryan teased, looking Adam up and down appraisingly.
Adam's cheeks flushed pinker, despite his choice to ignore Ryan's teasing.

"Since I'm returning-- since the police lieutenant will be picking me up today," he started uncomfortably, "can I borrow more appropriate clothing-- clothing to wear to the precinct?"

Ryan could tell it wasn't easy to ask, and he savored the way his presence pulled the nervous words from Adam's mouth.

"It's unlikely I have something, but I'll have the housekeeper check," Ryan said simply.

"I'll return it as soon as I'm able to buy new clothes," Adam promised, still looking deeply embarrassed.

"Perhaps you should stay a bit longer, to give us time to go shopping," Ryan offered. "Take advantage of my generosity, Adam. You haven't been doing so nearly enough."

"I'm grateful for the offer, but I have to return to the office; I've been on leave for two weeks."

"Is that what you want, Adam?"

Adam said nothing. Ryan watched the android expectantly as he hesitated.

"Or is it what you've been told to want?"