Goodness, what a sweet man, thinking that his water-blotted note was the greatest of the things we had to talk about.
“Okay.”
I walked around the place with hope in my heart the positive atmosphere would turn my little man around. Caught up in the community events calendar, when George put his hand on my shoulder, I jumped, clutching my hand over my heart.
“Sorry. Let’s go.”
“Let’s?” I said, turning around.
“Yeah, all the things you need to do. I’m taking you. And each time we get something done, I get to ask you a question about...something.”
I felt my cheeks rise in a smile. “Sounds like a good deal.”
“Let’s go. My car.”
I wondered if he remembered how much I loved being told what to do—especially by him.
We walked together to the car, and he opened his passenger door for me and then strolled around to the other side.
“First the school then utilities then the water company then the post office. But...I think I should get a question simply for the gesture.” His bass voice rolled over me.
“Fine. One question.”
He bit down on his lip and took a few turns. The town was small, but I noticed a myriad of boutiques. I noticed a park and almost broke my neck looking at it. I would have to bring Parker there. Get him off the tablet and the phone.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
At least his first question had a simple answer.
“I turned over the next morning, and, in my wild flailing to see where you were, I tipped a glass of water onto your note. The only thing legible was the G. I’m...I’m sorry. I asked the front desk if you’d left another note and even tried to wait. I stayed in town another week, waiting to see if you’d come back.”
He had come to a halt at the next stop sign as I spoke and then never pressed the gas again.
“You waited for me?”
I nodded, and he swiped at his face and looked at me. We stared at each other and time went away.
Whoever was in the car behind us honked, pulling us from the moment. I’d never admitted that to anyone.
“Why didn’t you ever get married? How old is Parker?”
I smiled and patted his thigh. “That’s another question—two actually. You haven’t earned it.”
Chapter Four
George
I would have known Parker’s age had I read the forms Bennett filled out instead of just glancing to make sure every line and box was completed. But at that point, the question of the hour hadn’t occurred to me yet. And now he wasn’t answering me. I did need to know one thing, though, in order to actually get him to our first stop.
“Okay...I’ll wait to get an exact age, but unless you were already a dad when we met, I’m assuming we are going to the elementary school?”
“Oh yeah.” He chuckled. “He isn’t a teenager yet, although he’s starting to act like one. The elementary, please.”
He’d been young that night together, old enough to drink, but not much more than that. And the body I recalled had zero stretch marks, no signs of ever having been subjected to the trials of childbearing or feeding a baby. As I steered toward the school, I could see him in my mind, back then and in my car now. He had filled out some, in all the best ways, as he’d matured. Still trim waisted and narrow hipped, but his shoulders were broader and from the way his thighs filled out his jeans, I thought he must work out. All these thoughts combined with his clean scent of castile soap and a hint of woodsy aftershave had me wanting to pull the car over and strip off his clothes to get a better look at what lay beneath.
Wouldn’t that create a scandal if any of the parents who brought their kids to the center, which lay less than a mile away, happened to drive by. The bumper sticker proudly adorning my vehicle read: My Brother, My Sister, Center for Our Future School. Ugh. Yeah, my fogged-up windows would be the talk of the town in about ten minutes.
“Hey, isn’t that the school there?” Bennett laid his hand on my arm, and I nearly jumped out of my skin as electricity shot through me. All my focus went to the point of contact.
“Huh?” He lifted his hand, and my brain came back. “Oh, yeah. The school.” The kids were gone for the day, as evidenced by the crowd already involved with their activities at the center, but quite a few cars remained in the parking lot. “Hopefully the office will still be open.”
“I hope he can get started right away. I have his records on a thumb drive in my pocket, but they may need a more official copy.”
I parked in an empty spot between a Volvo and an SUV and turned off the engine. “I don’t know. All we can do is ask.” Together we strolled up to the front door where a man in his late thirties in a tailored suit and polished loafers was exiting. For a moment I wondered about damage to the shoes in the snow, but the path to the parking lot was well cleared.
He paused and looked over his half glasses at us. I thought he looked familiar, but in this town I’d probably seen him in the grocery store, the post office, or Sugar. “Can I help you?”
“Hi.” Bennett grinned. His whole face lit up when he smiled. “I’m here to register my son for school. We just moved to the area, and I don’t want him to miss any time.”
He nodded, faint lines in his face deepening with his smile. “If only all dads were as responsible as you two.” I opened my mouth to deny what he assumed then let it go. “I was just leaving, but I have a few moments and I always like to meet the parents and give them my little welcome speech.” He held the door open and waved us in. “I’m Principal Armison, and my office is right down the hall there on the left. After you, gentlemen.”
It felt remarkably like the time I was sent to the office for clowning around and making the whole class laugh, but I bravely strode down the hall. It wouldn’t do for an alpha to be a coward even under these circumstances. A glance to my left found Bennett looking equally ill at ease.
“Here we are.” Principal Armison moved past me to the door with Principal on a brass plate and slipped a keycard through the slot. The door clicked open. “My secretary has already left, and she will have to finish up the admission in the morning, but we’ll do enough that your son can begin right away. Right through here.” He led us past a reception area and into the inner sanctum. “Have a seat and I will bring my computer back up. Five minutes earlier and you’d have saved me some trouble.” Again, the look over the glasses. I could imagine students trembling in their seats when he turned it on them. He passed over a sheaf of forms and a pen. “They will all end up in the computer, but I’ll just do the basics and let my secretary do the rest of the data entry. She’ll do in five minutes what would take me a half hour.”
“We appreciate your taking the time to help us, sir,” Bennett said. “Parker is a good student but a bit of a class clown, so if you have a teacher adept at handling that…” He was scribbling as he spoke, filling in forms and I was trying to read over his shoulder.
I flicked a glance at him. Hmmm.
“Oh, our staff is very good at discipline, but how old did you say your son was?”
I couldn’t breathe.
“He’s nine, but a bit precocious. Always gotten good grades and been a really sweet kid, but lately I don’t know…”
For the first time, I saw a smile from the man across the table and realized he was more than distinguished, he was hot, with an air of command that probably set all the omegas atwitter if he turned it on them. “All children go through phases where they are more or less biddable. And as they grow, they are becoming their own people and sometimes that works better than others. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” He winked, and even I–who had no interest in another alpha—felt a twinge. I hoped Bennett was immune.
The omega sighed. “I hope you’re right. He suddenly won’t eat his vegetables, wants to spend all his time with screens, and even tried calling me by my first name.”
He sounded a lot like someone I once remembered at about that
age…
“I’m sure you both have your hands full, but just hang in there. Before he hits full-on teenager, you should have some good times, too. I’m going to put him in Mr. Keating’s class. He is especially good with the boys who are, shall we say, testing their limits. Not too strict, mind you, just adept. He knows how to hold their attention, which is more than half the battle.”
The words “the two of you” hung in the air, and I waited for Bennett to correct him.
But he didn’t. He finished filling out the forms and handed them over, we listened to a speech about homework taking no more than an hour and a half a night, about kids who came in late being allowed to sign up for clubs and sports, and other things that went over my head while I wondered what it meant that he didn’t say anything. Then we were standing and shaking hands with the principal.
“Mr. Ames, Mr. Cameron, I look forward to seeing you at the parent-teacher meetings. We like our parents to be very involved in our activities, so don’t be strangers.”
And we were out the door before I thought to ask, “How did he know my name?”
“From the forms.”
Chapter Five
Bennett
George smiled and opened the door for me. “Oh, I guess so. I mean, you don’t know anyone else in town. I’m fine with being on the emergency list.”
I breathed out slowly and tried like hell not to grab him by the collar and tell him the truth before it bored a hole right through me. “You know what? I haven’t had breakfast. Can we get some coffee or something?”
I had to tell George the truth before I burst at the seams. I’d been waiting for this moment for years, hoping and praying for it, and now that it was here, all I wanted was for it to be over with.
“Sure. There’s a place right down the street.”
We drove in silence, and I thought at any second he would jerk the car over to park and ream me for what he’d figured out. Yet, it never happened. We pulled in at a quaint diner with turquoise and yellow curtains in the windows.
“Best pancakes in town,” he said, and then came to open my door for me while I attempted not to hyperventilate.
Telling someone they were the father of your child was a big deal, and I had enough big deals happening already.
We sat and ordered immediately. After all, when in a diner, what else do you get besides pancakes? Coffee—that’s it.
“George, there’s something I need to tell you.”
He leaned forward and stared into my eyes. He did the same thing that night so long ago. I remembered thinking he was so sincere, always looking me directly in the eyes.
“What is it?”
“That night. That night with you and me—I got pregnant. Parker is the baby. Damn it. I’m not getting this right.” I ran my thumb in circles over the water glass. “Parker is your son.”
The whole place seemed to quiet just as I spoke the words. The only other sound was the squeak of my thumb on the wet glass and my swallowing.
Swallowing all the guilt and regret from spilling the water onto his number and name.
And for keeping George’s son from him, even if it wasn’t on purpose.
He’d missed so much.
I watched on as the color drained from his face and his gaze darted around the diner, maybe looking for an exit or a way to slit my throat.
“He’s...he’s mine. We...had a…”
The waiter brought the coffee, and I forced myself to concentrate on putting in sugar and cream to give George time to think.
He would need more time than I would use stirring, but such were the circumstances.
“George, he’s yours. I hadn’t been with anyone else and haven’t really since.”
He picked up a spoon and lazily stirred but added nothing to the black liquid. “Can I meet him?”
I breathed out. “Of course. I’d love that.”
He nodded. “And you?”
I blurted out the first smart-ass thing that came to mind. “You’ve already met me.”
He chuckled, but it was curt and unnatural. “What I mean is...what does this mean for me and you?” His hand covered mine, and my vision became fuzzy.
“It means we are his parents. Do you want something else?”
The pancakes arrived, and though we were deep in a complicated situation, we ate like we hadn’t had food in weeks. We exchanged glances and smiles throughout but said no words.
He put his knife and fork down along the rim of the plate. “I waited for you to call me after that night. Days went by and then weeks. Still, I kept hoping. So, to answer your question, I want something more than just a parental partnership with you. I want more. I want...I want you—always have.”
I took the napkin from the table and tried to mop up tears as they came out. “I didn’t do this on purpose, George. I wanted you in my life and for more than a one-night stand.”
He got out of the booth and scooted in next to me, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me against his chest. “I don’t know, omega. Maybe it wasn’t the right time or the right situation. I don’t know why we couldn’t have a life together then. But we can start over now. Let’s get to know each other again, and I can get to know my son. Wow, my son. I can’t believe I’m a father.”
I nodded against his chest and listened to his hasty heartbeat.
“We’ll take it slow,” I almost begged, knowing that my life was in a shambles.
“As slow as you need, love. We have a long time.”
“Okay. How about dinner tonight? Come over and meet your son?”
I looked up to see George absolutely beaming. “I would love that. Now, we have other things to take care of, right? I want to help you get settled in this town. Settled close to me.”
Even back then he knew how to say all the swoony things.
“Thank you for being like this. I had nightmares about you being angry or hating me.”
He paid the check and then kissed my temple. “I could never hate you, Bennett. I figured I wasn’t good enough for you.” He shrugged, and I realized the alpha had a bit of a complex I would have to help him get over. In my eyes, he was everything.
The rest of the afternoon, George took off work. He chauffeured me around town, getting all the errands run while we flirted and talked openly about the past.
“I dream about that night sometimes,” I confessed in the car.
“I do, too. But I couldn’t hear your voice anymore. Made me sad to forget it. But we have a new chance. Speaking of, what can I bring tonight? Cake? Pie? I don’t even know what Parker likes.”
I thumped him on the shoulder, playfully. “He’s a pre-pubescent kid. He likes sugar—period.”
We stayed silent for a bit before George parked in front of a place called Sugar. I went to undo my seat belt but he put his hand over mine.
“I’ve got one question, omega.”
I tried to calm my breathing, hearing him say omega over and over as though I’d always been his. “Shoot.”
“I know we are taking this slow, but can I kiss you?”
Chapter Six
George
The sun was close to setting, the sky getting orange and red as I waited for his answer. What if he said no? I hadn’t gotten those signals, but, I’d wished for this for too long to have my expectations too high. But he didn’t refuse me. He nodded and leaned in, eyes half-closed, lips slightly parted, and I cupped his chin and brought my mouth to his. This close, I was surrounded by the scent of clean that surrounded him, and my mind flashed to the idea of taking showers together.
It wasn’t a kiss of passion so much as one of homecoming, as if we were confirming our belonging together. Sweet but firm, lips moving in a dance we’d choreographed long ago. Right before creating our child, in fact. That knowledge still rolled over me in waves as I marked my omega with a kiss so long in coming…
After a moment, he pulled back and I arched a brow in question.
“I just realized how late
it’s getting. Parker is pretty independent, but I don’t want to leave him alone once it gets dark.”
“He’s alone?” I was suddenly panicked at the idea of my son—a son whose aloneness or not for the past nine years I had no knowledge of. “You need to go.” I reached for the key but he stilled my hand. “He is alone in the house...but the lady next door is there if he needs her. Back home in New York, we had a neighbor just like that. If I had to go out for an hour or two, he could holler and she’d hear him. It’s just been this year he’s been allowed to do that, but it means a lot to him to feel so grown up.”
“If you say so,” I murmured, hard-pressed to think nine was old enough to be on his own, even in our very safe town. Much less New York. But it wasn’t as if I’d been around to take my turns. Why hadn’t I tried to find him again? My complete lack of knowledge beyond his first name and taste in music notwithstanding. Parental guilt came out of nowhere.
“I do. You’ll see. He’s a lot like you. He’ll be an alpha, I can already tell. Which means I’m very glad to have his alpha dad in the picture now. I bet you already know all the tricks he’s likely to pull on me.”
I shuddered then opened my door to get out. “I hate to even think. I should probably apologize for the genes.”
Bennett climbed out, too, and we headed for our premier candy shop where I hoped to find something that would make up for nine years of not being in my son’s life. That sounded ridiculous even in my head.
He paused outside the window and gaped. “Wow. This is amazing.” The display for January was a beach scene with pink sugar sand and chocolate shells, a cabana made of I thought some kind of nougat, and other details guaranteed to remind those passing by that summer would come again—something hard to remember around here in winter.
“It always is,” I assured him, holding the door open. “We’ll have to bring Parker here to meet everyone and have a treat one day. But first, chocolate or non-chocolate?”
The Alpha's Ginger-Kissed Omega: An M/M Non-Shifter Mpreg Romance (Alpha Kissed Book 5) Page 2