Aiden seemed eager to meet the kids, and that solidified to Quinn that he was doing the right thing. It was another step towards them progressing in their relationship.
* * *
After Quinn fedthe kids their lunch, he told them he wanted to meet up with a friend at the park. He was a little nervous to introduce the kids to Aiden, but only because this would be the first time any man had been around them since Barry, at least any man who was kissing daddy. However, he was immediately put at ease.
Aiden was sitting on a bench in the park when Quinn and the kids arrived. Quinn ushered the kids up to Aiden and took a breath before he had to make the introductions.
“Aiden, I’d like you to meet my children. This is Haley, obviously. Keith is on the end,” He had his hand on Haley and Keith’s shoulder. “Leo is in the middle.” Looking down at his children who looked up at him at the same time, he said, “Guys, this is Aiden. Why don’t you all say hello to him.”
“Hey,” Aiden said, waving to the three of them. He seemed nervous, but Quinn expected that.
“Hi,” the triplets responded almost in unison.
“Are you dad’s boyfriend?” Keith asked.
“Uh…” Aiden shot Quinn a look, and he snickered.
He should have warned the alpha that questions were bound to fly, but it would be interesting to see Aiden’s response to them, and also a test to how he would handle the children if they ganged up on him.
“Aiden is a friend.” Quinn decided to help Aiden out, though it was mostly because he wasn’t even certain what he was to Aiden. Maybe they should have talked about that before the introductions. “Besides… what do you know about boyfriends?”
Keith lifted his shoulders in a half shrug, and Leo started to laugh. Then Haley said in a sing-song voice, “Keith has a boyfriend.”
Quinn chuckled. “Is that so? Well, Keith, you’re going to have to tell me about this secret boyfriend you have.”
Keith giggled and spun around in a circle. “Paaapa!”
“Where’d you come from?” Haley asked, ignoring her brothers and focusing intently on Aiden.
Aiden’s brow furrowed. “Where’d I come from?”
Quinn crossed his arms and waited for Aiden’s response.
“I’m not sure I understand the question.” Aiden looked up at him, confusion was written all over his face.
He came around and sat next to Aiden in time to see Haley roll her eyes, which had him chuckling. His kids were in rare form this afternoon. “Were you born here?”
“Oh… yes. I was.” Aiden shot Quinn a look, and he smiled. Those were his kids, and they were an inquisitive bunch.
“Do you have any kids?” Leo asked.
Aiden paused for a moment, then shook his head. Quinn caught the hesitation and wondered why there was any, but he wrote it off as nerves.
“Do you want kids?” Haley asked.
Aiden shifted nervously, and Quinn knew he had to bail him out. He didn’t want his kids to give Aiden a nervous breakdown on the first day. “I think you’ve asked enough questions for now.”
Aiden looked in Quinn’s direction. “Are you nervous about my answers?” Aiden asked.
Quinn shook his head. “No. I just don’t want them to wear you out in the first fifteen minutes.”
“I don’t mind.” Aiden turned back to Haley. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do want kids,” he said.
Quinn smiled at his answer and felt a little loosening of the knot that had taken residence in his stomach.
“Do you wanna play ball?” Leo asked.
That was a question that Quinn didn’t mind being asked. Aiden nodded, and they went out to the open, grassy area. As the five of them tossed the ball around, Quinn started to think maybe they could be something real… a family. In that moment, he realized how much he wished that there was a two-parent team when it came to the triplets. It would have been nice to have someone to co-parent with… sometimes it was hard and at others… virtually impossible.
