“Of course I am. We’re going to get her fed and burped and then we’re going to be happy so that she can relax and we sing her to sleep.”
“You really ain’t playing.”
“Why would I be? We’re trying to develop healthy brain growth and attachments with this little one. She needs extra snuggles and cuddles because of her time in the NICU. So come on Daddy, let’s get it going.”
I knew I’d misspoken when I called him Daddy. The way his eyes flickered up and down my frame and back again before coming back to my eyes had the heat in the room increasing. I didn’t understand what any of this was about but I was going to pretend like I didn’t notice any of it and stay in my place of professionalism.
LIAR! The pulse in my pussy was definitely beating out like an 808 but we were going to ignore that and focus on the external beat.
“What do you need me to do?” I ignored the huskier sound to his voice and chose instead to take this opportunity to have him bond with his daughter. She was always going to be the most important thing.
“Would you like to feed her?”
“The hell…like the bottle? She's doing well on her own.”
“Unless your worthless nipples have lactated through some advanced evolutionary accomplishment then yes, a bottle.”
“Did you just call my nipples worthless?” When Aldrich looked down at his chest like he was offended I had to hold in my laugh so I didn’t startle Ami.
“What purpose do they serve on a man?”
“I…they…” He was grasping and wouldn’t come up with anything.
“Right. They’re basically the knobs on a false door or something. They’re just there for decoration. Symmetry even. But they don’t serve a purpose.”
“You’re really talking shit about my nipples?” He was chuckling like I was being funny but he couldn’t deny I was factual.
I shrugged and saw that Ami was almost done with her bottle since we’d been bantering for so long. “Highly inappropriate of me but the point had to be made.”
“But that’s like saying a woman who doesn’t breastfeed has worthless nipples.”
“That, Aldrich, is what we call a false equivalency. A woman has the choice to allow her nipples to do the work they were designed for or not. That doesn’t mean they aren’t capable. Some need additional coaxing to make breastfeeding successful. Yours are a faucet with no plumbing. See the difference?”
“You’re telling me I’m biologically incomplete.” He was smiling but he’d folded his arms like his nipples not working now bothered him.
I slow-blinked because that seemed to be the most accurate way to describe a man’s nipples. “If you want to be technical…yes.”
“I feel like I need to prove myself somehow but I can’t fathom how that would work.”
“Start by burping your daughter.” I motioned with my head toward the sling. She’d calmed down but rooted around my chest once I took the bottle from her. It was the sweetest feeling of a little head bobbing around trying to figure out where her food was but it was also a little awkward. Aldrich watched her behavior and I could see the hesitation written all over him.
“She’s so—”
“Little. Right. And you’re big and brawny and—”
“You think I’m brawny? Real shit?” He was grinning like I’d flattered him on purpose but I hadn’t. Not consciously. He even had the nerve to flex his biceps and I swore this man was trying to kill me. And not even softly.
“Sir—”
“Who says brawn anyway? Must be that northern shit again.”
“Okay, Cali.”
His response was a smirk before he motioned to her. “But for real. She weights like six pounds. You already warned me about holding her like the rock so I’m supposed to what? Cradle her and shit?”
“Yeah. Just put her up on your shoulder and rub. It’s not that hard.”
He shook his head and the curls he’d passed on to his daughter shook freely. “Cap. But I’ll listen to your ass for now.”
