Becoming a dad is my proudest moment to date. I’m a different man to who I was twelve months ago.
I drink my coffee and wake Ellis, dressing him and packing up his things. It’s only eight thirty, so we lie on my bed for a while. I let him babble, absorbing his every sound and committing them to memory.
I know little moments like these are special.
“Yeah… then what happened?” I ask him.
He continues to chatter, grabbing my stubble and pulling my head down to his.
“Well, I’d have to agree.”
He grins up at me and I smooth my thumb over his dimple before placing a kiss there.
“We have to go home soon, buddy,” I tell him. “You’ll be good for Mummy, won’t you? She needs extra cuddles today.”
“Da Da Da Da.”
“I’ll miss you, little dude. Wednesday will be here before we know it.”
I make sure we get to Nina’s by ten o’clock on the dot. She throws open the door and smiles wide when she sees Ellis.
“Hey, baby!” Leaning in, she takes him from my arms. He clings to her, bouncing in excitement. “Mummy has missed you.”
My eyes drop down her body, taking in her yoga pants and baggy tee. It’s not sexy, or it’s not supposed to be. But Nina, natural and in her comfy clothes, it does something to me. My mind goes back to the night before and the way she touched herself.
“Was he okay? Sleep okay?” she asks, looking up at me.
“Yeah, he was great. We took him to the park yesterday.” I shake off my wayward thoughts. “Me and the guys.”
“You went to the park?” she asks Ellis playfully. She looks back up at me again, biting on her full bottom lip as she openly stares.
“Did you want to come in, Mason?” she eventually asks, uncertainty lacing her voice.
I pause for absolutely no reason. I already know what I’m going to say. “No?—”
“Nina!” I turn to find Joey walking up the steps behindme, making his way towards the door. “You left your bag.” He waves it in the air. “I worried until I saw you had your keys.”
Nina looks to me and then back to Joey. Ellis sits watching us on her hip. “Oh, yeah. Thanks, Joe.”
Is she for fucking real?
“Mason.” Joey holds his hand out for me to shake.
I place a foot in front of him, leaning across and kissing Ellis. I don’t say anything else. I don’t tell her I’ll be back Wednesday, because I can’t promise that I will be.
I leave and don’t look back.
“Mase?”
Nina
“And then he just left?” Ashley asks, licking her finger as she pries the paper apart.
“It was so awkward, Ash. I think he hates me. He definitely thinks something is going on between me and Joey. He’s asked Lucy in the past.”
She pops a brow at me. “Sounds like you care.”
I close my eyes, completely confused with the way I feel. “Of course, I care. He is Ellis’s dad.”
