“Hey. Is this alright? I just… Thought maybe we could chat until bedtime?”
His soft laugh made my guts twist themselves into knots. “Um. Sure, that’s cool. Anything in particular you wanted to talk about?”
I smiled and flopped back into my chair. “Doesn’t matter. This is kind of corny, but I just wanted to hear your voice. Is that cool?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s cool. You wanna hear about what happened at work today? We had a glitter-splosion…” He continued to chatter and for once in a long time, my heart fell full.
This could turn into something nice, I just had a feeling.
Friday evening couldn’t get here fast enough. I dragged myself through the mindless monotony of work, sending off textmessages to Brinden when no one was paying attention, and honestly, it was the only thing keeping me going.
By the time I picked him up, my excitement had fizzled into nerves. Brinden looked adorable in a pair of maroon corduroy jeans and a ivory sweater that looked like it’d be soft as hell. Of course, I had to reach out and brush my fingers over the material. Our eyes met and we both smiled.
“Ready?” I asked, and he blushed.
“Ready.”
As we sat down at the table for two, I could tell Brinden was nervous, but then again, so was I. We made small-talk while waiting for someone to take our orders.
“Do you know what you want?” I asked, idly flipping through the menu.
“Mmm, steak. I love steak.” He wiggled in his seat. “I guess I was kind of spoiled as a kid. My father loved to grill. Didn’t matter what it was, he could turn any cut of meat into something amazing.” His smile faltered, though.
“You and your dad…”
He shrugged. “Both he and my stepmom disowned me when I came out. They didn’t really want an Omega son to begin with, let alone a gay one, so I moved out the day I turned eighteen and I haven’t seen them since.”
“Wow. I’m sorry. That’s rough.”
“It is what it is,” he said. “Coming here was kind of cathartic, in a way, knowing I’ll never run into them on the streets or anything. It really does feel like a brand new beginning.”
“I get it. My dad wasn’t too happy when I came out, either. We had a rough couple of years, but when I stopped coming home for the holidays, I guess he realized he needed to pull his head out from up his ass, or else he’d lose the only family he had left. We reconciled things, and now he’s constantly nagging me about grandbabies.” I rolled my eyes.
Brin’s gaze darted to mine. “Do you want kids?”
“Up until recently, that answer would’ve been a resounding no, but… After Kennedy was born, things changed. I’ll admit, I fell head over heels for that little girl and I’d give her the entire world, if she simply just asked. I love her.” I swallowed. “And I’ll love her little brother just as much. Maybe even more so.”
He looked at me quizzically. “Why’s that?”
“Mac is sterile. He can’t have children of his own, so… I offered to be their donor.” I hesitated, waiting for the shock to register on Brinden’s handsome face. He only smiled, his eyes going soft.
“That is such a wholesome thing to do.”
“Yeah, and I don’t think Nathaniel plans on stopping at two.” I chuckled. “That boy is baby-crazy, but I’m happy to help. They’re amazing parents, if you couldn’t already tell from miss Kennedy.”
“She’s wonderful,” he agreed. “So maybe someday, on the kids.”
I grinned. “Depends on what my Omega wants. If he wants kids, then we’ll have kids.” And just as I expected, Brinden flushed pink and busied himself with the menu.
As it turned out, talking to this Omega was so easy, by the end of the night, it felt almost like I’d known him forever—and I wanted more.
“Would you like some dessert?” asked the waiter, handing me a small, glossy-paged menu that showcased their finest delectables. Molten brownies oozing with fudge. Apple pie a la mode. Some sort of key lime custard topped with whipped cream. It all looked delicious.
I glanced up to see Brinden gazing longingly at the picture of the raspberry-swirled cheesecake.Bingo.I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning.
“Cheesecake?”
“Oh, I… I don’t know,” he mumbled, blushing. “I’m pretty full.”
