The Teddy Bear Club

by Sean Michael

  “Sorry—I was supposed to be helping.” The plate looked delicious, two banana and six blueberry pancakes, his stomach growling loudly at the sight of it.

  “You were.” God, Aiden was adorable too.

  “She’s a sweetheart. A joy.” He sat and grabbed the syrup, pouring it over his pancakes.

  “She’s my monster!” Aiden blew a raspberry on her neck, making her giggle.

  Dev chuckled and grabbed some butter to spread over his stack. “Are you going to eat, Aiden?”

  “I am. I’m next.”

  “Why don’t you have half of mine and then we can share the next batch too?” It didn’t seem fair that he and Linds were eating and Aiden wasn’t. Especially since if he’d chosen four instead of eight, Aiden would be eating at this point too.

  “Oh, I’m fine. I’m five minutes behind you.” Aiden shocked the hell out of him by kissing his cheek. “Thanks, though.”

  He blinked a few times, his cheek warm, almost tingling where Aiden had kissed him.

  “You’re welcome.” His voice was a little husky.

  Stop it. That was simply a fond kiss. That was it. He went to rub the spot and forced himself not to, forced himself to cut into his pancakes and stuff his face.

  The pancakes were a little sticky but basically wonderful, and he ate them all, licking the syrup off his fork.

  Linds looked at him suspiciously every now and then when he dragged his pancake through the syrup, but she didn’t say anything. After a few bites, she began to copy him, to follow his lead.

  He didn’t crow, but it did please him to have her emulating him, especially something she’d been so dead set against at the start.

  Aiden came to sit, eating along with them but not interfering.

  Just as he was done, U started kicking up a fuss. “Someone either wants attention, has a dirty diaper, or is already hungry again. What do you think, Linds?”

  “I think he wants cancakes too.”

  “Unfortunately he doesn’t have any teeth—so he would choke on them. Maybe when he’s older.” Dev sniffed the air to see if he could suss out the diaper situation.

  “Do you need me to make up a bottle, Dev?”

  “I think so. I might change his butt first so he can nap again when he’s finished, but yes, please.”

  He grabbed his plate and utensils, setting those in the sink before grabbing his boy up. “I’ll be right back.”

  He headed to the guest room and changed U easily. “I swear, son, I’m so glad we met these men.” He was feeling saner than he had since Terry had dropped U in his lap. U or Dylan. “What do you think? Could you live with Dylan? I think it’s way better than Unicorn, eh?” Though he’d kind of gotten used to U.

  U cooed and kicked and blew bubbles, like he was happy as a clam.

  “I think you like it. Hell, maybe it’s just the place. You sure seem at home here, happy.” He got U’s onesie snapped and picked his little boy up, high over his shoulder so his boy could see, and then he headed back to the kitchen.

  There was a bottle waiting for them and Bee was getting a bottle while Linds played at the table, singing along with some children’s show on a little TV.

  It was homey and comfortable and so much nicer than his own little kitchen on his own.

  “You have any plans for today, man?”

  “Nope. We’re going to hang. Me and my baby boy. You?”

  “The same. I have a few emails to answer, but that’s really it.”

  Awesome. “We could hang together,” he suggested. He was already here after all, right?

  “Sure.” That was fast and gratifying.

  “Awesome. Thanks.” He gave Aiden a one-handed hug.

  “The company is good.”

  “It’s better than good.” He found himself staring at Aiden, smiling.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.”

  He stood there, staring at Aiden. God knew when he would have stopped, but U spat the nipple out and whined at him, hands and feet kicking, grabbing his attention.

  “All done?” He put U over his shoulder, patting his boy’s back.

  “Should we clean up and then all go downstairs to play?”

  “Play!” Linds shouted and bounced up and down.

  “After we clean up.”

  “Do we have to clean up, Mr. Dylan Daddy?” Linds asked.

  “Yes. We have to do whatever your father says we have to do.” He knew better than to get in between there.

  “Cleaning up is easier when you do it first. If you leave it, it gets gross.” Aiden made a face as he said “gross,” screwing up his nose.

  “Come on, Linds. If you bring the dishes over to the counter, I’ll put them in the dishwasher.” Dev thought that was a fair deal.

  “Okay, Dylan Daddy!”

  God, that was adorable.

  His smile almost wide enough to hurt, he looked over at Aiden, to see if he thought so too.

  Aiden was watching them all, a look of vaguely confused happiness on his face.

  “She’s amazing,” he mouthed at Aiden before shifting U slightly so the baby was secure while he used his other hand to pack up the dishwasher.

  Aiden had Bee in this neat sling deal, the little one gurgling and cooing like mad. “Thank you.”

  “That looks handy.” Or rather it left Aiden handy as it gave him freedom to use both.

  “You don’t have one? You want to try one?”

  He pondered that for a moment. “Sure, why not?”

  “Give me two shakes and I’ll grab my spare.” In a few minutes, Aiden brought over a plaid piece of fabric. “Okay, it takes a few minutes to feel safe, but it’s so easy once you get used to it.”

  “To feel safe?” He took the material and looked it over, trying to figure it out.

  “It goes like this.” Aiden put it on his shoulder, then eased U into it, nice and easy. He grabbed his son, eyes wide as he tried to hold on. Now he got what Aiden meant about feeling safe, because this so did not. At all. What if U fell out? Hell, it wasn’t if, it was when.

  “Relax. I swear, it works. I promise.”

  “I know that—I mean I can see you using it just fine. I can’t seem to convince my body of it, though.” At least U seemed happy in it. God, if he could make this work, all those colicky evenings would be so much easier to handle.

  “Walk around a bit and it’ll get easier. I promise.” Aiden looked so confident.

  Dev walked around the kitchen, hands beneath the sling for when U fell out of it. So far so good, though.

  “We’re supposed to play now!” Linds informed them.

  “We are. Let’s go downstairs. Let’s play.” Aiden seemed so calm.

  Dev swallowed but followed them, one hand wrapped around his chest as he went down the stairs, making sure that U wasn’t going to fall.

  He had to admit that U seemed happy, relaxed, held close to him. Once he got down the stairs, he walked around with his hands to his sides. It seemed okay. He stayed vigilant, though.

  Aiden didn’t mock him, didn’t tease, and Dev appreciated it; in fact, it warmed him deep inside.

  Linds set up a tea party, then invited them to sit with her. Grinning, Dev did as he’d been told. Together they had tea and cakes and cookies. Little U seemed entirely happy lying in the sling, up against his chest. It felt good having him so close.

  After about ten minutes, Linds was ready to play on her own, and they were on the sofa, the remote in Aiden’s hand.

  “What are we watching?” Dev asked, relaxing back on the couch and looking at U’s face in wonderment. His boy was fast asleep, looking pleased all snugged up against him.

  “What’s your pleasure? Linds is cool, for the most part, with nothing scary.”

  “I’m pretty easy, really.” It wasn’t even like he had to watch all the animated stuff on a regular basis because U didn’t watch TV yet.

  “Let’s find a cooking something or a home improvement show.”

  “That so
unds fun. I like the competition cooking shows. And that home improvement show with the twin brothers. They’re adorable.”

  “Pretty too.” Aiden blushed for him, but winked.

  “Uh-huh. That’s what makes the show worth watching.” It was nice that they were on the same page. And at the same time, when had he gotten so old that watching a home improvement show for the cute guys had become the new porn?

  Once upon a time he’d been a player, at least online, right?

  Hell, he was pretty sure he couldn’t even really blame U for the change.

  He looked over at Aiden again and smiled. He couldn’t even say he was really upset about it. Life seemed pretty good right now. He had a sleeping U and a good-looking guy sitting next to him who wasn’t going to take off screaming because he had a kid. Things were looking up.

  Chapter Five

  AIDEN had had the best day. The babies were loving each other’s company, and Linds had been in a stellar mood. They’d each checked emails, played some video games, and watched TV like lazy bums.

  He was loving it.

  Dev was great company. They were into similar things, both had kids, not to mention Dev was pretty easy on the eyes.

  In fact, he wanted kisses. Dev’s kisses. Just one to try. What was more, he thought that maybe Dev wanted one of his kisses too.

  Dev smiled at him as they bathed the babies in the tub with Linds, both of them as wet as the kids.

  Yeah. He definitely wanted kisses.

  He hadn’t really had a lover since the kids, and he wasn’t sure how to seduce Dev, but he’d managed before, hadn’t he?

  U began squawking, getting Dev’s full attention once more. He supposed seduction would be best suited as a post-kiddie-bedtime activity. Still, they were almost there. Linds would need a story and the babies their bottles, but then they could be adults for the rest of the evening.

  U had taken to the sling like a duck to water, the little boy loving the constant motion, the connection. It had put a smile on Dev’s face too, that amazed, happy look reappearing every time Dev looked down at his little boy.

  If nothing else, between the white noise machine and the sling, maybe he’d helped Dev get some sleep.

  Aiden got his girls to bed while Dev put U down in the guest bedroom. He was still reading to Linds when Dev poked his head around her door. Dev nodded his head toward Linds, and he looked, discovering that she was already asleep.

  Well, then. Cool. He levered himself out of the bed and turned her bedside lamp off.

  “You sure you don’t mind us staying another night?” Dev asked.

  “I’m totally good with it. Seriously. I’m loving the company, the conversation.”

  Dev’s smile was warm, and it reached his eyes. “Me too. You’re fantastic.”

  “Flattery, flattery.” Still, he liked to hear it, didn’t he?

  Dev shook his head. “It wasn’t flattery, it was the God’s honest truth.”

  “Thank you. Do you want to come downstairs?” Kiss me?

  “Yeah. Can we grab a couple of Cokes and some chips or something in case we get munchy? I feel a full-on adult evening coming on.”

  “Sounds great. I like the thought of being an adult.” In more ways than one.

  “Yeah, me too.” Dev made a beeline for his pantry as soon as they were in the kitchen, crowing when he found a giant bag of Cheetos. “Better bring a couple of wet wipes with us—these are the messiest snack on earth.” Then Dev grabbed a big bag of Skittles from the top shelf, clearly having discovered the high shelves where Aiden kept all his gamer snacks.

  The last thing he needed was Linds downing two pounds of candy right before bedtime. He would eventually have to find a better hiding spot, when she discovered how to climb or build a makeshift stepladder out of a chair and some judicious application of toys.

  His girl was smarter than the average bear, that was for sure.

  He followed Dev’s ass down the stairs, perhaps a little fixated on it, and the last step came as a surprise, nearly making him go head over heels, tripping on absolutely nothing. Happily, Dev was ahead of him, and he managed to recover without anyone but himself witnessing it.

  Christ. He was acting like a thirteen-year-old with his first crush.

  Of course, it felt like it had been that long since he’d last been kissed, let alone anything else. It was time to rectify that.

  Dev set his goodies on the coffee table and turned to give Aiden a wicked smile, eyes all lit up from within.

  “Hey.” Want to kiss me?

  Dev didn’t sit, instead he kept grinning, staring at Aiden. “Hey.”

  Was it his imagination, or when Dev said “hey” did it actually mean “jump my bones now please?”

  “Are you going to be offended if I kiss you, man?”

  “Now that you’ve opened that can of worms, I might be offended if you don’t.” Dev took a step toward him, gaze now on Aiden’s lips.

  “No worms. Worms aren’t sexy.” He met Dev halfway.

  Dev was laughing as their lips met and slid together. The sound faded away as Dev’s eyes closed, the kiss pressing their lips harder together now. The buss was quick, light, and left him wanting another. Dev pulled back, eyes slowly opening, a smile turning his lips up at the corners and making his eyes bright. “Would you be offended if I kissed you this time?”

  “I’ll let you know.” He had to laugh. Had to. This was fun.

  Grinning, Dev pressed their lips together, tongue touching Aiden’s upper lip lightly.

  Oh, that was nice. He wrapped one hand around Dev’s hip and tugged him close. Dev was warm and felt solid, right there. A soft hum vibrated against his lips, and Dev touched the side of his face, cupped his cheek.

  God, it had been a while and he missed it.

  Dev’s touch was gentle, almost tender, the kisses staying soft but easy rather than tentative. They explored each other like they had all the time on earth, and it felt damn good.

  Stroking Aiden’s cheek, Dev tilted Aiden’s head slightly and licked at his lips again. It felt like a quiet knock, a request for more. Aiden was up for more, so he opened up, enough for Dev to know he wanted.

  Dev slipped his tongue past Aiden’s lips and into his mouth. Hot, slick, it moved slowly, touching his teeth, his tongue, and the roof of his mouth for one brief moment that tickled and sent a shiver through him before it withdrew.

  “Oh damn. That’s….” Aiden grinned. “You made my knees weak.”

  “You can’t fall, I probably won’t be able to catch you. Maybe we should sit and, uh, explore being adults a little more.”

  Looked like Aiden wasn’t the only one with weak knees.

  “I think this is a grand idea, Dev.” He drew them both to the sofa, down onto the cushions.

  Dev slid an arm around him and tugged him close before spending a long moment gazing at him. Aiden felt his cheeks heat, but he didn’t make a move to stop it.

  “Sorry. I… well, I want to enjoy the moment. Take it all in and remember it.”

  “There’s no reason to hurry. We’re both adults.”

  “Does that mean we have a patience button built in now?” Dev’s eyes twinkled. The words could have been mocking, but Aiden could clearly see that they weren’t meant that way at all.

  “Totally. Comes with the eyes in the back of the head and the bat-like hearing.”

  Dev felt around the back of his own head. “My back-of-the-head eyes haven’t come in yet.” Then Dev felt up the back of Aiden’s head. It shouldn’t have been so sexy, but it was.

  Aiden’s eyes crossed, and he let his head fall back into Dev’s touch, let himself feel the caresses. Dev took his cue and kept touching, fingers moving from feeling to digging in slightly, turning it into a massage.

  “Damn.” Aiden blinked, trying to focus, to articulate. “Damn, Dev.”

  “It’s good?” Dev asked, bringing his other hand up and rubbing Aiden’s shoulders.

  “Good is nowhere
near a good-enough word, Dev.” Nowhere near.

  Dev looked pleased. “If you wanted to really do this, we’d have to move, get you between my legs.” Dev froze for a moment, then started laughing. “God, that sounded so dirty.”

  “It did. I’m not sure what’s worse—the dirty or how much I want to do it.”

  “Let’s do it—I want to make you feel good.” Dev shifted around, moving to sit against the arm of the couch, his legs spreading to a wide V. “Plenty of room. You might take your top off first—it’s easier to massage straight on skin.”

  “Yeah?” He felt daring, like he was some virgin. It was silly but exciting at the same time.

  “Uh-huh. Plus then I get to feel you up directly,” Dev admitted with a half grin. “I don’t want you to think that I’m being all altruistic with this massage. I want to be closer to you, and this way I can do that and make you feel good at the same time.”

  “I like that about you, Dev, how honest you are.” Aiden tugged off his shirt and sat, pushing back so his butt was in the cradle of Dev’s hips.

  “And here I thought it was dorkitude. I like how you see me better.” Dev’s voice had taken on a slightly husky quality, and he shifted slightly.

  Aiden couldn’t miss the way Dev’s body was taking an interest in what they were doing, which worked because he was in the same boat.

  Dev’s hands landed on his shoulders, and the massage began anew. Or maybe for real, because damn, this was even better than what had been going on before. Now Dev had the traction to dig in and really work Aiden’s muscles.

  His head fell forward and he moaned, letting Dev have at. God, he hadn’t realized how tense he was until he relaxed.

  Dev worked his shoulders for a long time before moving to his neck and his head again. Then the touches worked their way down his back, Dev’s fingers hot now.

  “You’re making me a little crazy, man,” he warned.

  “A good crazy or a bad crazy?” Dev asked, fingers not digging in as much, more tracing circles and symbols against his skin instead.

  “Good crazy. Excellent crazy. Fantabulous crazy.” Raging hard-on crazy.

  Dev laughed and hugged him from behind. “That’s okay, then.”

  “I hope so. I genuinely do.” Don’t stop, honey. Please.