by Sean Michael
“Kisses for all!” he offered as Daisy walked in.
They all came in for a group hug, except for Mel, who held out for about ten seconds before she joined them as well.
“I know you did,” she mouthed at him.
He just winked at her. She rolled her eyes but grinned.
He got the three youngest around the table with glasses of milk and cookies for all. He gave them each another kiss on the top of their heads.
“You going to see him again?” Mel asked once the girls were occupied. Trust her not to let it go or be distracted by hugs and kisses and cookies.
“Maybe. If he calls. He travels all the time, honey.”
“Well, maybe Gran knows someone else who’s gay and single,” she suggested.
“Honey, I’m happy. I have you guys.”
“But we’re gonna grow up, and then you’ll be all on your own.”
Before he could reply, his phone sounded its text message alert.
“Is it him?” Mel asked, trying to look.
“Mel,” he said quietly.
“What?”
“I love you, sweetie, but you have to back off. It was a lovely thing you tried to do; now you have to step back and let what’s going to happen, happen, okay?” He was not looking at his phone until he had an answer from Mel.
She sighed. “Okay, fine.” She grabbed a couple of cookies and went to sit with the younger girls.
He looked at his phone, a little thrill of surprise going through him that it was Alex.
had a great time last night thank you.
He sent back, same here. It was amazing.
see you again?
when?
Calm down. Calm down, Ryan told himself. Aside from not wanting to get his hopes up, he didn’t want the girls, especially Mel, to get any ideas.
aunts away come over for dinner tomorrow night?
Oh God. Tomorrow was Rosie’s party. That didn’t stop him from texting, give me a few minutes to see if my mom can watch the kids? The party was from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. There would be plenty of time before he’d have to leave.
you got it. Alex added a happy-face emoticon to his text.
xo
Ryan wasn’t sure why he’d sent that last, but it was done now. He turned his attention to what he needed to do if he was going to go on this date tomorrow night. “Mel, you got this?” He waved at the table and the kids. “I have to make a call.”
“I do. You’ll talk to me, though?” He knew she wasn’t being prurient, just curious, so he nodded. He wouldn’t leave her out of the loop.
Taking a breath, he dialed his mother’s number.
The first words out of her mouth were “Hey, honey. How was your date?”
He countered with “Can you babysit tomorrow?”
“Oh, that good, was it? I sure can, as long as it’s not during Rosie’s party. Of course, I want to hear all about last night first.”
“He didn’t know about the kids. He still wants to see me again.” How incredible was that? He was still rather dumbfounded by it.
“We decided not to tell him about the kids so there was some mystery left—you boys needed something to talk about. And of course he wants to see you again. You’re a wonderful man, honey.”
“I have four children, Mom. Four.”
“A ready-made family! How many men can offer that?” Lord, she was going to steamroller every one of his objections.
“Not a lot. So you’ll babysit?” He needed a firm yes or no on that.
“Of course I will. I tell you what, you change your sheets and I’ll even stay over.”
“Mom!”
“What? You’re a healthy young man with a libido!”
“I have four kids. In case you hadn’t noticed. Not conducive to having libidos.” In fact, there were times when he thought his years of being a sexual being were well behind him.
“Well, you can’t get another guy knocked up.”
He couldn’t believe she’d gone there. “Mother. Be nice.”
“I’m babysitting your brood so you can go out again with your boyfriend, aren’t I? Now you change your sheets, and you make sure you buy some protection, and I’ll see you tomorrow for Rosie’s party. I’ll just stay afterward instead of going home.”
“Christ. Goodbye, Mother.” His cheeks were on fire.
Her laughter was the last thing he heard before he ended the phone call. Jesus. He had too many women in his life. Still, he’d be hard-pressed to pick one to get rid of.
Instead he texted Alex back with Im in.
Alex sent him an address along with see you at eight.
I’ll be there w/bells on.
oooh bells. Alex was proving to have a good sense of humor.
Jinglejingle. He might be a dork, but he was a dork who could text.
LOL cant wait to see u.
Same here.
He looked up as Mel walked over. “Nosy girl.”
“Well, you won’t let me watch The Bachelor so I can learn how to date. I need a good example.”
He cracked up and grabbed her, shoving his phone in his pocket as he did. “I love you, Melly-belly.”
“Da-aa-aad!” Still, she hugged him back, face buried in his chest, arms tight around him. She was growing up so quickly, but at the same time she was still his little girl.
“I’m going to see him for supper tomorrow night. Your gran’s going to hang out with you hooligans.”
“Oh, can I go to Shelby’s, then?”
“I don’t see why not, honey.” He had to leave around 7:45, which meant he had time to put the girls down if they went a little early. He imagined they were going to be hard-pressed to stay awake until seven after an afternoon of party events, candy, cake, and ice cream.
Mel bounced and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Daddy. I’m going to go look in your closet and see if you have anything wearable in it for your date. If not, can we go shopping tomorrow morning?”
“I’m sure I have something.”
She shot him a look, eyebrows lifting. “Seriously? You live in sweats.”
“I have some very nice T-shirts.” There were a few he’d hardly ever worn. He had to admit, he’d worn his best one to their first date.
“I don’t know if I should even bother looking. We could go to the mall. They’re having a sale at Garage this weekend.” Ah, she had her eye on something for herself.
“Well, maybe we could go after breakfast. If we eat early.” He needed to be home for party prep, though he had everything sorted out and ready to go.
Mel wrapped him in another hug. “Love you, Daddy!” She flung the words back over her shoulder as she ran out, fingers flying on her phone.
“Good Lord.” Someone tugged on his shirt—his Daffodil. “What do you need, baby?”
“Can we go to Mrs. Tiggywinkles too?” she asked, eyes wide. The toy store was currently her favorite place on earth. Daisy loved the library and Rosie hated shopping, but he could probably jolly her with the carrot of behaving for her party.
“Chapters!” Daisy suggested. “And Sugar Mountain!”
“Oh, candies.” Rosie looked like she approved.
“I suppose we can, yes.” The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea to take the girls out so the house didn’t get messy before the party. “We’ll have an early lunch out too. Make a morning of it.”
The girls cheered and started chattering together, talking about the things they wanted to buy. Lord. He was going to have to look at the budget and see how much he could allot to each daughter. Good thing he made decent money. And that he was careful with it. He had four girls to get through college. That was not going to come cheap.
Still, they didn’t go on a shopping spree very often, and it was something to look forward to. At least that’s what he told himself. If some of the thrill about tomorrow was coming from knowing he had a date with Alex, well, he wasn’t sharing that with anyone.
“Did anyone g
et a cookie for poor old starving Daddy?” he teased.
All three of them shot over to the counter, eager to help get him a cookie. Of course, it was Daisy who could reach the cookie jar from the back of the counter, but she was good and opened it up for her younger sisters to each pull one out to bring to him. She grabbed one too before putting the container back on the counter.
At least they’d all chosen a different kind, so he might have three cookies, but none of them were the same.
“My favorites. How did you guess?” He was going to have to do extra sit-ups tonight.
“You like the same cookies as we do,” Daisy noted. “Can we do a spa day today?”
“Yes!” Daffodil shouted. “It’s my turn to do Popsy’s nails.”
“Can I paint yours, Rosie?” Daisy asked, and Rosie nodded, completely ready to go along with her big sisters in all things.
“We can do face things too,” Daffy suggested, going to the fridge. “I’ll get the dressing and the cucumbers!”
Oh Lord, he was going to smell like Ranch all day long. At least they were doing it today and not tomorrow. Still, how much longer was he going to have this? Mel was already too old to play spa day, and she was the one who made the day up, well over a decade ago.
He grabbed the towels and a bunch of facecloths and followed them to the big bathroom upstairs, ready for a great time with his girls.
Chapter Four
ALEX STARED at his phone, grinning. Well okay, then. He still wasn’t sure about dating a man with four daughters, but he’d had a really great time with Ryan, and their kisses had been amazing, especially for kisses with someone new. So he’d texted. If it was worth pursuing, Ryan would say yes, and if the family thing was going to be a hindrance, Ryan would say no.
Ryan had said yes.
Now Alex had to go out and find some groceries so he could make supper. Aunt Ada was out of town, visiting her best friend from high school in Arizona, so he had the house to himself. Now he had to figure out what he was going to make. It had to be something he knew how to do, or could easily figure out, and that said second date. So filet mignon or lobster were out—those were not second-date meals.
There was always soup, he guessed. Or was that too casual? Soup and sandwich? Would that work for supper, or was it still too casual? They had steak and a fancy fish dish the other night. Soup and sandwich seemed like a big comedown.
He went through the recipes he knew by heart first. Lasagna, spaghetti, steak, burgers…. Oh! Burgers. That would do. He could fire up the barbeque, make bacon and caramelize onions for toppings, and pick up some nice cheese and rolls to go with it. He could even dig out Aunt Ada’s deep fryer for fries. He knew she had one; he’d bought her one a couple of Christmases ago. It would just be a matter of finding it.
Burgers would be filling but wouldn’t say he was trying too hard. Because trying too hard looked desperate, right?
Right. Totally right.
He texted Ryan out of the blue. U like cheese?
It didn’t take long before he got a beep.
Love cheese.
Cool. Maybe he should go with soup and sandwiches after all. He made a mean grilled cheese sandwich. God, why was he being so indecisive? He liked Ryan, Ryan seemed to like him—it wasn’t rocket science. And it was just a second date.
He snorted. He hadn’t exactly been on a lot of second dates and never one with someone who made him as interested right off the blocks as Ryan, which, given that he had almost left the date altogether at the beginning, was saying something.
Instead of driving himself nuts any further, he texted Ryan again. cheese sandwiches or cheeseburgers?
sandwiches! I’ll bring cupcakes.
There, settled. And he didn’t have to worry about whether or not he was serving something suppery enough. Ryan had expressed an interest in sandwiches over burgers.
perfect—I love chocolate.
In fact, Alex enjoyed cupcakes no matter what the flavor, but chocolate ones would definitely be more fun.
see you tomorrow. And he really had to make that his last text or Ryan was going to think he was a stalker or something.
cul8r.
He blinked down at his phone. What the fuck? He tried to work it out. Cul 8 are? No. Cullater? No. He shook his head and gave in, typing what?
It took a second, then he got, c=see, u=you, l8r=later.
Oh God, now that he could see it he felt like a total dork. But then, he didn’t use his phone that much, and he didn’t hang out with kids who did.
of course. Cul8r 2. There, go him.
Alex got a wink emoji in reply, and it left him smiling. He held on to that as he grabbed a piece of paper and started writing out his grocery list. Then he laughed at himself and tore the paper up, grabbed his phone, and found the note app. He wasn’t going to learn if he didn’t use the modern tools at his disposal.
He’d do shopping for the whole week. Between having to make the list and going out to get the groceries, it would hopefully keep him from worrying too much about his second date. He wanted to be cool, chill.
Yeah, that was so him. He rolled his eyes and headed out, whistling.
Chapter Five
“POPSY! YOU can’t go! Elsa!” Rosie looked like the waterworks were going to start any second.
“Rosie….” Ryan didn’t want to leave with them upset.
“Go. I have this. We’re going to watch princess movies all night. Go.” Mom grinned at him, her eyes the same color as his, her smile the same as his sister’s.
“Are you sure?” He wanted to go—he did. More to this date than to the first, but if there was going to be trauma….
“Get your ass out of here, son.”
Rosie gasped, eyes going wide.
“Gramgram said a bad word!” Daffy noted, looking as shocked as her sister.
“I did. And I shouldn’t have. Do you girls have a swear jar?”
“No.” Daisy’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”
“Well,” his mother began, making a shooing motion at him.
“Dammit,” he whispered, grabbing his keys and his wallet on the way out. Just what he needed, a way for the mercenary beasts he lived with to bleed him dry.
He put Alex’s address into the GPS and followed the directions. Turned out the guy only lived about a ten-minute drive from home. Or his aunt did anyway.
Excellent. He headed over, whistling a happy tune, the scent of chocolate strong in the car. He’d left the cupcakes out in the vehicle so they weren’t devoured by his hooligans. Lord knew they’d already eaten enough goodies at Rosie’s party to keep them on a sugar high for the next week.
He pulled up in front of a nice house in a nice neighborhood, lights on the porch making it inviting.
“Okay, you can do this. You want to do this. You want another kiss.” He wanted more than another kiss.
He shoved his phone in his pocket, put his keys in his other pocket, and grabbed the cupcakes. He had to take another breath before he knocked on the door, but he managed it without dropping the cupcakes.
The door opened gratifyingly quickly, Alex looking as cute as he had the other night. His short dark hair was at least long enough to look disheveled, and his blue eyes shone with life. He wore a light blue T-shirt with a button-down left open over top of it and new-looking blue jeans. Looked like Mel had been right on the money about what he should wear as he and Alex were similarly dressed. Alex gave Ryan a once-over, smile widening, then stepped back and gestured with his arm.
“Come on in. You’re right on time.”
“Excellent. Thanks for the invitation.” Ryan held out the cupcake box. “Chocolate.”
“Ah, a man after my own heart. Thank you.” Alex took the box, closed the door, and leaned in to press their lips softly together. He smiled as he pulled back. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I said goodbye to you the other night.”
“Oh. That’s good to know. Me too. Seriously.” Ryan had been aching for
it himself, to have a little more of that connection.
“Come into the kitchen,” Alex suggested. “I don’t want to get too distracted by your kisses while I’m still holding the cupcakes.”
Ryan followed Alex, amused to watch Alex managing to get the box of goodies open without too much juggling. By the time they’d made it to the kitchen, Alex had half a cupcake eaten and a smear of chocolate icing on the corner of his mouth.
“These are great—did you make them yourself?”
“I did not. There’s a bakery in between our houses. I stop there for coffee once a week.”
“If you want to give up your secret, I’d love to know the name of it so I can indulge even if I’m not seeing you. If you want it to be a you thing, though….” Alex shrugged, that chocolate smudge screaming at Ryan to come lick it off.
“That’s not very nice, and honestly, the more customers they get, the more chance I have of them staying in business.”
“I didn’t want to be too pushy.” Alex finished the last of the cupcake he’d eaten and started sucking his fingers clean, one after the other. “Oh, I didn’t mean to be rude—help yourself if you’d like one.”
“I think I’ll wait. It’s the Black Bean and Bakery. My bakery and coffee shop. I’m there every Wednesday from noon to three.”
“Would it be creepy if I made note of that on my phone calendar?” Alex asked, that damn chocolate still on his cheek, right by his lips.
“Nope. All my kids are in school or preschool camp then. Next September I will have five days a week. Rosie starts kindergarten then.”
“Oh, nice. I’m still kind of in limbo. I’ve got to get some fundraising together. But that means I’ll be free on Wednesdays between noon and three.” Alex bumped their hips together.
“Good deal.” Ryan smiled, pleased to discover that he liked Alex still, that there was something there that… did it for him. “Can I get a drink?”
“Sure thing. I’ve got water, milk, beer, or wine. Supper is fresh pea soup and the cheese sandwiches if that makes a difference as to what you want to drink. Personally I like milk with grilled cheese, but I find it doesn’t go that well with the pea soup. I’ve got a really nice white—well, the girl at the store said it was a really nice white—if you want to try that.”
