by Jena Wade
“Fuck. Tyler. Oh God, I’m coming.”
Cum shot from his dick and I swallowed it. The sweet nectar of his release tasted like heaven, like home. How had I lived my whole life without experiencing this? How would I ever go on if I didn’t get to experience it again.
I sat back and met Jayson’s eyes. His cheeks were flushed bright red.
“I’m so embarrassed,” he said.
“What? Why?”
“It’s been a long time since I been touched like that and I… well it was over rather quickly.”
I grinned. “I like to think that had more to do with my skills than anything else.”
“Yeah, let’s go with that.”
I wanted to stay with him, curl up in his bed and cuddle. I could stay up for hours and talk about his life, his class, anything. But I saw the exhaustion on his face and knew he needed his rest.
I kissed him softly. “I better go, so you can sleep.”
“I’m not—” a yawn interrupted his protest.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Tyler. I had a great time tonight. Thank you.”
I kissed his cheek one last time. “Thank you, Omega.”
Chapter Six
Jayson
A week later and I still couldn’t grasp the fact that I was dating Tyler Miller. Could it really be called dating when we’d gone on one date? Well, one date and he’d brought me lunch at work three times throughout the week. He’d also come over in the evenings and helped me finish setting up the nursery.
He’d even folded baby clothes with me.
Did those count as dates? I was so out of touch with the dating game, it wasn’t even funny.
Setting up the nursery was something I had assumed I would be doing alone, but there I was, doing it with Tyler.
When he’d invited me over for dinner at Philip and Ollie’s house, I was a little unsure. I knew it would be crazy and chaotic over there. Philip and Ollie had two kids of their own, plus Kayden and his Alpha Turner would be there with their two children.
It’d be mass chaos, for sure.
And what would they think of their kid’s kindergarten teacher dating at this stage in my pregnancy? What business did I have dating at this stage in my pregnancy?
I ignored the voice in my head and agreed to go.
Tyler would be picking me up though that wasn’t really necessary. Maybe it was an excuse for him to drop me off later in the evening so we could be alone. When he’d offered to pick me up, I hadn’t argued, I wouldn’t mind some alone time with him either. Now that the nursery was done I could finally relax. At my last checkup, when I’d mentioned that I had contractions more often the doctor said it might be a good idea to relax a little bit more, stop doing so much. I hadn’t told Tyler that. He’d probably keep his hands off me completely if he knew. As it was, we hadn’t done more than heavy petting since the first night.
When we arrived at Philip’s house, everyone was already there. They adults all sat on the back deck and the kids played in the yard on the swing set. No introductions were needed, since I knew everybody. I still just waved awkwardly at them. I should be better at this socializing thing especially since half these people I’d known my entire life, the other half I knew through the school.
“Sit down, Jayson. We saved you one of the comfy patio chairs,” Kayden said.
I smiled and did as I was told. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” I sat down and Tyler slid a foot rest over so I could put my feet up. “That really isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is,” both Omegas said.
Tyler shrugged. “They told me that a pregnant person would never say no to putting their feet up.”
I laughed. “I suppose that’s true.” I relaxed as the conversation around me switched to discussing the kids and their various antics.
The kids played while we munched on chips and other finger foods. Turner manned the grill while Ollie and Kayden brought out the side dishes.
“So,” Kayden said, turning his attention to me. “How are you doing? Are you ready for the baby?”
I laughed nervously. “Can anyone really be ready?”
He shook his head. “No. Not really. Just don’t be afraid to give us a call if you need anything, okay? Both Ollie and I were single parents at one point, we know how hard it can be.”
“Especially those first few months,” Ollie said. His face took on a shadowed look as if he was recalling a horrific experience.
“Yeah,” I said, not meeting his eyes. Fear of the unknown, of what was to come, filled me. Once this baby was born, Tyler would probably be gone, back to the city, back to his business. And I couldn’t blame him. He had a life there after all. I would be on my own, again. I’d known throughout the entire pregnancy that I’d be a single parent, but as my due date approached that reality began to sink in.
“It really helped both Ollie and I to have each other to call. I mean, you have to take care of yourself, after all. And if you’ve got a kid that doesn’t sleep, like how Jackson was, you tend to get burned out pretty fast. I remember one day, Ollie just showed up and offered to hold Jackson and I ended up falling asleep for twelve hours. I couldn’t believe it. I felt awful leaving him with two babies to care for, but somehow he managed.”
“It was only three hours, and that just gave me practice for when we opened the daycare,” Ollie said.
Kayden laughed. “Either way, you were a lifesaver.” He turned back to me. “And we’ve got a spot held for your little guy in the daycare for when you return to work.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“No problem. We do after-hours care as well. We have special hours for Derek and Cam since they work such crazy schedules being a police chief and fireman. We can do the same for you on nights you need it.”
I was thankful for their generosity. “That’s great, guys. Thank you. How many people do you have working for you now?” I asked, hoping to turn the conversation away from me.
It worked, thankfully. It helped that dinner was ready and the kids all came up to the table to fill their plates.
Throughout the meal, I got to see Tyler interact with the kids. He was an amazing uncle, not only to his actual niece and nephew, but to Jackson and Jacqueline as well. He cracked jokes and teased them playfully. After dinner, he let them climb all over him as they wrestled in the yard.
I stood watching them on the deck while everyone else cleaned up. No one would let me lift a finger, so I agreed to keep an eye on the kids. Ollie joined me at the railing and watched Tyler with the kids for a while.
“You know,” he said. “I don’t think it would take much convincing to have Tyler move back here.”
I gave him a side-eye. “It’s not like that,” I said lamely. Only, it was like that, or was starting to be for me. How could I possibly think that I could be so casual about this? I’d been in love with Tyler in high school and time hadn’t changed that.
The baby kicked just then, brining me back to reality. My love for Tyler was irrelevant. I had a child to think of first and foremost and in the past week, I hadn’t done that. What good would it do for me to be sporting a broken heart when my child was born? How could I give my undivided attention to my child, if I was pining for Tyler?
I needed to put a stop to this before it went that far.
Chapter Seven
Tyler
Driving Jayson home from dinner that night, I knew something was bothering him. He was clearly tired, as he had been pretty much every night that we’d hung out together. Ollie had assured me that was a normal third trimester symptom.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No.” His voice was quiet and distant.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“I said no.”
Alrighty then. I wasn’t sure where exactly I’d gone wrong, but something I’d done must have upset him.
He let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry,” he sa
id. “I just don’t think this is a good idea. We should—It’s not—It’s not you.”
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, not sure where this was going, but I assumed it wouldn’t end well. “It’s not me, it’s you. Is that what you’re trying to say? Are you breaking up with me?”
“No. Maybe,” Jayson said. “Can I just… I need some time to think.”
I pulled into his driveway and put the truck in park, then turned to look at him. “Think about what?”
“What the hell we’re doing.” His shoulders slumped, and I wanted desperately to pull him into my arms and promise that everything would be fine, but I doubted that he’d believe me. Whatever doubts he had, they were in his own head and I wasn’t sure what I could do to change that.
“What do you mean? We’re just exploring this thing between us.” That’s what I was doing. Though, I was sure that all exploration was done, and I had for sure decided that I loved Jayson and wanted to be with him forever, but I got the vibe that he needed more time.
“Yeah, but it’s more than that now. And hearing Ollie and Kayden talk about how hard it is the first few months as a single parent… I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I just…What are we doing?”
I shrugged. “I thought we were dating.”
“Can you really see this going any farther after I have this baby?”
“Yeah, of course.” Was he under the impression that I planned to skip town the minute he gave birth? Sure, we hadn’t talked about what came next, but that was just because I didn’t want to frighten him away.
Now Jayson faced me. “You’d raise another Alpha’s child?”
“Jayson, where is this coming from?”
“I don’t know,” he said, then rested his head in his hands.
“Jayson, please talk to me. Did I say something that would make you think I wasn’t willing to be with you because you’re having another Alpha’s child? I care about you. I care about your child. I was—” I ran a hand through my hair. Nothing had been set in stone yet, but I had started exploring my options as far as moving my business someplace else, someplace like Millerstown. It wouldn’t be difficult. Plus, in the meantime, I could get a different job so I could provide for Jayson and the baby. “I don’t have to go back to the city at the end of the month. There’s nothing keeping me there.”
He lifted his head up, eyebrows raised. “What about your business? You’d want to stay here?”
“Yeah,” I said. ‘With you. And your child.”
He shook his head. “I can’t ask that of you. It’s not fair to you.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered.”
I reached for his hand, but he pulled away. His back was against the door, as far from me as he could possibly get. “I don’t want you to settle for something you aren’t sure about.”
“Jayson. Come on. Really? Where’s this coming from? I think you’re overreacting. Perhaps it’s hor—”
He shot me a glare. “Don’t say what I think you’re going to say.”
I held up my hands in surrender. “Sorry. It’s just I feel like this is coming out of nowhere.”
“Maybe we should take a break.”
“What?” I said. “Jayson, you’re not even giving us a chance.” We were talking in circles and my frustration level was rising by the minute.
“I don’t have any business dating in my condition.”
I rolled my eyes. “It didn’t seem to bother you the other night when you were blowing your load down my throat.”
The glare was back, and I winced. It had been a cheap shot, but damn the man for making me care so much, then pulling away, dangling his affection like a carrot in front of a horse.
He opened the door and got out. “I’ll call you in the morning. We can talk more then.”
“All right. Fine,” I said. I knew then that I wasn’t going to be invited in so, I put the truck in drive and waited for him to close the door.
I watched him walk to the house, then backed out of the driveway. I was halfway home, still unsure of where the hell we had gone wrong and what the hell that whole conversation had even been about when my phone rang. I was going to ignore it since I was driving and it wasn’t safe to answer while driving, but something told me to at least look.
I was glad I did. Jayson’s name was on the screen.
“Hello?” I said, hoping to hear an apology from him.
“Can you come back?” His voice had a tinge of panic in it.
I was already looking for a turn around. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“My water broke. I need you to take me to the hospital.”
Chapter Eight
Jayson
I don’t know how exactly Tyler drove to the hospital as fast as he did, but I would be forever thankful that he had.
After we’d argued in the truck and he’d left, I’d gone inside and just as I was stretching to take off my shirt, my water broke. I immediately went into panic mode. All I could think about was that I had no plan, no idea what to do, despite the fact that I had planned for this very moment, all my preparations were forgotten. Then immediately, I wanted to call Tyler and have him at my side.
The tentative plan had been for me to call Percy since he was my closest friend. But at that moment, when it was all going down, I just wanted Tyler.
He was back at my house, helping me into the car as quickly as he possibly could be. And then the next thing I knew, we were pulling into the hospital parking lot.
He parked and I had the door open, but he was right there lifting me into his arms.
“I can walk,” I said.
“No, I’ll carry you to a wheelchair. What floor is the Paternity Ward on?”
“Three,” I said. “Where’s my phone? I’ve got a call Percy.”
Tyler set me in a wheelchair and handed me my phone.
“I’m staying with you,” he said as if he was afraid I’d send him away now that we were here. No way. I needed him near me. He was my rock at the moment.
“Okay.” I texted Percy to let him know where I was. Then the contractions started coming. I groaned and clutched at my belly. “They’re really painful,” I said when we were in the elevator, riding up to the third floor.
“We’re almost there, baby. Hold one.”
We got checked in, Tyler answering questions about me and giving the nurses the information they needed to get me admitted.
My heart beat a mile a minute as the pain ripped through my back and pelvis. “This is happening really fast,” I said. “I should have more time. First labors always take forever.”
“Not always,” the nurse said. She wheeled me into the triage room and helped me on to the bed. “Let’s get a look at you.”
Tyler held my hand the entire time they hooked me up to the monitors.
“Your contractions are coming awfully fast,” she said. “You might just have this baby before midnight.”
That made my heart rate jump even more. Tyler squeezed my hand. “Everything’s going to be fine, Jayson. I’m here for you, okay? I’m not leaving.”
“Please don’t,” I said.
“Never, Omega.”
I knew then the promise he was making. He didn’t just mean for the labor, he was in for the long haul and that’s exactly what I wanted too. Never mind the fact that right now wasn’t the best time to fall in love and start a relationship, we were doing it anyways.
“Thank you,” I said.
The doctor came in and asked a few questions. “Why don’t we get you moved to a delivery room? I don’t think it’ll be long now and this little guy will be making his appearance. Probably by the end of the night if I had to wager a guess. Congratulations you two, you’re going to be dads.”
I didn’t bother to correct him and neither did Tyler. He just looked at me, a smile on his face. “I can’t wait,” he said.
I was about to agree, then a contraction hit, and I moaned instead. “Holy hell, these really hurt.”
&n
bsp; “Can you give him something for the pain?” Tyler asked.
The doctor nodded. “Do you want to have an epidural, Jayson?”
I hadn’t given it much thought. How stupid had I been thinking I was prepared for this child, I hadn’t even put together a proper birth plan. “Yes, I think so.”
Before the anesthesiologist could I arrive, my legs were being held up my Tyler and a nurse while I pushed with all my might.
“He’s crowning.”
“You’re doing so great, Jayson. He’s almost here. One more push.”
The pain was unbearable, sweat dripped from my forehead and all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep. Another contraction held me in its grip and I screamed. “Fuck!” I wanted to clap a hand over my mouth, but I didn’t dare let go of the side rails that I had a white-knuckled grip on. “Oh God. What kind of father am I? The baby’s not even here and I’m swearing in front of him.” Tears streaked down my face and a cry filled the room.
Tyler was at my side. “He is here, Jayson. Our son is here.”
“He is?” The room spun around me, but I searched each of the nurses’ arms for my son.
Tyler held him, and he placed him in my arms. “Here he is.”
I stared down at the bundle in my arms and the tears fell faster. “Oh my. He’s perfect.”
Tyler wiped my face. “He is. Do you have a name picked out?”
“Matthew,” I said.
Tyler kissed my forehead. “It’s beautiful. You did so great, Jayson. I’m so proud of you.”
Chapter Nine
Tyler
There had been so much activity at the hospital, people visiting, nurses coming in and out checking over Jayson and Matthew. I never got a chance to talk with Jayson. I’d meant what I said though, I wasn’t leaving him ever again.
I’d already started putting in motion the process to move my business from the city to Millerstown. I inquired about an office space that would have a workshop area for me, I had even been called by a few people to schedule jobs thanks to the Millerstown grapevine. I’d told them I’d be in touch as soon as my Omega and I were settled.