“She told him to call her that,” Brenden said to him reading the question on Stephen’s face. “And before you ask, I called her, and she spoke to him over the phone.”
What the hell happened while I was asleep?
“You make a lousy date, by the way,” Brenden told him with a very sexy smirk.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Stephen answered.
“You better.” He winked.
They stared at each other. He certainly loved the comfortable atmosphere between them until Stephen’s stomach growled angrily reminding him he was hungry.
“I see someone is hungry,” Brenden said with a smile.
“Hey, bud, how about we let Dad have some of that delicious soup your nonna made for you?”
“Yeah!” Nicholas cheered and got off the couch and ran around taking his arm, pulling him toward the kitchen. “Come on, Daddy, let’s go feed you and the baby in your tummy.” Stephen went completely still, and Nicholas noticed he’d stopped. “What’s wrong, Daddy?” He couldn’t answer, he hadn’t explained everything to Nicholas yet, and Stephen was confident that Brenden nor Julian would say something to the child without talking to him first.
“How do you know there’s a baby in your dad’s belly, bud?” Brenden asked.
“I don’t know, I just do,” Nicholas said as if it explained everything and walked off into the kitchen still leaving Stephen stumped.
Brenden chuckled. “My avo could always tell when someone in the family was pregnant. She calls it her gift. No one dares dispute her, she hasn’t been wrong yet. Don’t be surprised when she tells you the sex of the baby.”
“Have I ever told you that your family sounds like a bunch of nuts? One who can predict the weather…”
“That would be my uncle Vito,” Brenden added.
“And another who can predict the sex of babies. What else am I forgetting? Oh, that’s right, the dream interpreter.”
“That would be my cousin Sara.”
“Add a fortune teller, and you can open your own circus. Like I said, a bunch of nuts.”
That made Brenden smile wider. “They're now your family, too.” And walked away chuckling, not seeing the shocked expression on Stephen’s face.
** ** ** ** **
Later that night Brenden and Stephen sat on the couch watching one of those kung fu movies Stephen loved. Nicholas was already in bed, and he didn’t see any reason why they couldn’t watch one of the movies he’d brought. That was three movies ago. Since they could not make it to the park where Brenden originally wanted to take Stephen on their date. Brenden got in touch with one of his many cousins who had a friend that liked to collect old movies. Little did he know; the same movies could be found online.
It was worth it to see Stephen get excited about something. But Brenden was getting tired of watching the movies, and his mind was on something else entirely. He moved closer to Stephen on the couch, then slouched deeper, placing his arms on the back of the sofa. His fingers were close to Stephen’s neck, and he took the opportunity while his lover was distracted to rub the back of his neck. When Stephen did not pull away, Brenden got a little bolder with his touch and leaned in close, kissing the side of Stephen’s neck gently.
“What took you so long?” Brenden pulled back and stared at Stephen, who had a cheeky smile on his face. “I’ve been waiting for you to make your move two movies ago.”
Not giving him an answer, Brenden reached for the remote and paused the movie, turning his attention to his man. Stephen was still smiling. He brought one of his hands to Stephen’s cheek and caressed it for a few seconds before leaning down and connecting their lips in a soft and unhurried kiss. Stephen moaned on contact and brought his hand up to Brenden’s cheek, deepening their kiss. Brenden smiled, their relationship always seemed to flow smoothly, not like what he’d had with his ex-wife.
Stephen stopped their kiss and looked up at his face. “Would you be upset if I told you I’m not ready to go any further than kissing tonight?”
“No,” Brenden answered, smiling. “I won’t lie to you and tell you I don’t want to make love to you again and again. But at the same time, I don’t think we need to rush anything.”
“Thank you,” Stephen said with a smile.
Brenden leaned forward and pulled them back into their kiss, his hands roamed over Stephen’s body. He had no idea how long they were kissing and frankly he did not care. He was simply happy they were moving in any direction. They pulled back and stared at each other. Stephen smiled and pushed Brenden backward on the couch. He reached for the remote and started the movie again and lay on Brenden’s chest. He reached down and rubbed on Stephen’s baby bump. He smiled to himself.I don’t mind moving in this direction at all.
** ** ** ** **
A few weeks later Stephen was in the conference room, looking over paperwork for a new case. Word was spreading around the office about him and Brenden; they hadn’t confirmed or denied it, but keeping things professional. Things have progressed since their talk over dinner that night. They were talking more and went out on a couple more dates alone and with Nicholas. His dad was working again and after talking it over with Brenden, they decided to enroll Nicholas in pre-K and Brenden was there when they dropped Nicholas off on his first day.
Stephen was nervous but tried to hide just how much. He was expecting Nicholas to throw a fit since it was his first time attending school other than being taught the basics at home. It helped that a few of the kids that Nicholas played sports with were also in the same class with him. Brenden had told him the night before that his mother was nagging him about wanting to meet Stephen and Nicholas. He was already nervous about the prospect of being hated by Brenden’s family.
