“Rose, that
’
s a little presumptuous,
” I joked, trying
to sound stern.
“What
’
s a sumpt… sumptsons…what did you say again?” DJ asked, his hand
moving down slightly, half covering my eyes.
“Kid, I can
’
t see where I
’
m going,
we
’
re gonna walk into a tree or
something,” I stated, shaking my head, trying to move his hands from my eyes.
He laughed too. “I
’
ll be the leader and tells you where to go,” he suggested, obviously
happy about this little plan. His hand clamped over my eyes better, thankfully
he only had little hands so I could still see, mostly.
“Okay, but if I get hurt then your momma
has to play doctors and nurses with us later,”
I
suggested, grinning wickedly.
Rosie giggled. “I might have been planning
on playing that anyway, if you keep playing your cards right,” she stated.
Oh hell yeah, I love the sound of
that!
“I
’
m playing my cards right, trust me,”
I
answered, grinning in her direction.
“What cards?” DJ asked, making both me and
Rosie burst out laughing.
A little while later and we had finally
managed to find the rhinos. I
’
d
walked into a tree, a fence, and almost walked into the side of the monkey
cage, all because of DJ
’
s
‘leadership
’
. The kid was freaking
hilarious, and he was laughing so hard when he told me to walk into the glass
of one enclosure that he almost fell off my shoulders.
By the time I lifted him off my shoulders
so he could look at the rhinos, Rosie was just looking at me again with the
same look that she
’
d been shooting
me all day. I was either getting something very wrong and upsetting her, or I
was getting something very right and she was finding it hard to deal with. I
hoped it was the latter one, I really did.
She flicked her eyes to DJ who was busy
shouting, “Here little rhino, rhino, rhino. Come see your friend DJ!” at the
top of his lungs, then she stepped closer to me, pressing against me. Her eyes
bore into mine, her mouth twitching with a smile as one of her hands gripped my
T-shirt, I could feel her breath blowing across my chin and lips and it was
making my mouth water.
“Nate Peters, you are
so
in for a
good night tonight,” she purred, her voice so sexy that my dick was immediately
waking up and taking notice.
In for a good night? I swallowed my lust before
I spoke, “Oh yeah? Are we really gonna play doctors and nurses?”
“I thought maybe we could play cops and
robbers,” she replied, her eyes not leaving mine.
I couldn
’
t help the little moan that escaped my lips at those words. “Will
there be punishments involved?” I whispered, watching her eyes dance with
excitement.
She nodded. “If you deem that necessary.
Maybe there
’
ll be rewards for good
behaviour.” She smirked at me before turning back to DJ, leaving me standing
there looking like I
’
d smuggled my
gun into the zoo with me, down the front of my jeans.
Damn
tease!
“
DJ, don’
t put your fingers on the fence. See that one there? That
’
s got electricity running through it, you don
’
t want a shock do you?” she asked, crouching
down behind him and wrapping her arm around him, pointing out the electric wire
that was just inside the perimeter.
“Yeah, it
’
ll make your hair stand up, Kid,” I joked, moving to stand behind
Rosie as other people came along behind us to look too. She turned her head and
laughed, obviously realising her face was level with my crotch.
I smirked at her
. “While you
’
re down there…” I trailed off, raising one
eyebrow suggestively.
She shook her head, chuckling as she stood
up. “Later.” Was the only thing she said, and I felt like my world stopped
spinning for a second. Was that a promise or another tease? I could only hope I
guess, but I was already another step closer to falling in love with her.
After another hour of looking around
the zoo and eating ice-cream, we headed to the gift shop. I gave DJ a ten
dollar bill and watched as his eyes lit up, taking in everything in the store,
searching for something to waste his money on. Rosie smiled at me and sighed,
stepping closer to me as she wrapped her arm around my waist tightly, pressing
herself to me.
“Thank you so much for today. I never get
to do things like this with him. I
’
ve loved every single second of being here with the two of you,” she
said, her eyes locked on mine.
I brushed her hair off her face, letting my
fingers linger on her cheek for a second as I did it. I hated the fact that she
obviously struggled for money and that Josh didn
’
t really help her that much. She obviously worked hard to just get
by; things like coming to the zoo were a luxury that she probably didn
’
t indulge in very often.
“I had a great day too,” I admitted,
bending my head closer to hers, but I didn
’
t kiss her, I didn
’
t
want to push my luck too far in front of DJ. After all, he still thought we
were just friends. I
’
d had an
awesome day with the pair of them, I didn
’
t want it to end on a sour note by him being upset about his mom
’
s new boyfriend.
She either didn
’
t think about DJ, or she just decided it was time for him to know,
because she pressed her lips to mine, kissing me passionately as her arm
tightened on my waist, clamping herself to me.
My whole body was rejoicing. I cupped her
face in my hands as I kissed her back with as much passion as she was kissing
me with. When she pulled away, I couldn
’
t stop the moronic grin that stretched across my face because this
was another huge step forward that she
’
d taken, showing her son that we were more than just friends. I
loved that.
“Eww! Did you just kiss my momma?”
Ah, fuck.
My lungs constricted with panic as I looked
down, seeing DJ standing there with a slightly confused, but thoroughly
disgusted expression on his face as his eyes flicked between the two of us. I
had no clue what to say. My mouth was dry and my heart was beating ten to the
dozen.
Rosie stepped away from me and took a deep
breath. I had the strong urge to pull her back to me and use her as some kind
of human shield so I couldn
’
t see
her son
’
s reaction to me. I was
used to being in rough situations, but the way the kid was looking at me was
scaring the life out of me. I had no idea how he felt about it. It was
staggering how unprepared for this I was.
I winced and looked at Rosie. She looked so
incredibly calm and collected as she squatted down to DJ
’
s level and smiled reassuringly at him. Something squeezed my hand,
and I looked down at it, seeing that Rosie was holding my hand firmly in hers,
our fingers interlaced. She was either using me for support, or she sensed my
meltdown and was trying to reassure me. I wasn
’
t sure which it was, probably a little of both.
“Yeah, we were kissing. Nate and I, well,
we
’
re like boyfriend and
girlfriend,” she explained softly.
He frowned. “Like you and Daddy?”
Rosie stiffened and she shook her head.
“No, Baby. Daddy and I are just friends.”
DJ nodded, looking a little thoughtful, and
we both just watched him, waiting for his reaction.
Oh God, please don
’
t hate me and make her break it off with me!
After probably the longest minute of my
life, he looked at me and scrunched up his face. “You gots girl cooties now,
Nate!” he stated sadly. Rosie burst out laughing and I just stared at him in
shock as he held out a stuffed penguin toy to me. “Do I have enough monies for
this?” he asked, giving me the puppy dog face.
I didn
’
t bother looking at the price as I nodded, knowing I would pay
whatever it cost. “Yeah, Kid, you have enough money for that.” My voice was
slightly husky and thick, probably with the shock of him just accepting me that
quickly.
Rosie beamed
and stood
back up, squeezing my hand again. “On the way home we
’
ll get you some medicine to take care of those cooties, Nate, don
’
t worry,
” she teased.
I grinned and looped my arms around her
waist, pulling her to my side so she couldn
’
t get away. “Seeing as I
’
m already infected, maybe I should get some more cooties before I
get the cure,” I joked, looking down at her lips again.
She smiled and went up on tiptoes and
pressed her lips to mine. I
laughed
against her lips as DJ spoke. “Kissing girls is gross!”
I pulled away from Rosie, picking DJ up,
slinging him over my shoulder in a fireman
’
s
lift
. “Yeah, you don
’
t want to kiss girls, Kid, it gets you in all kinds of trouble. You
’
d best stay away from them for a little
while,” I teased, grabbing Rosie
’
s
hand and pulling her to the counter to pay.
I sat DJ down on the counter while the lady
rang his penguin through the register. He squealed and picked up a candy
necklace out of the pot next to him, looking at it with wide eyes. I smiled and
nodded to the lady.
“Can we get two of those necklaces, too?” I
asked politely. Rosie looked at me curiously, obviously wondering why I
’
d bought two. I took one from the pot and
stretched it out, pulling it down over her head while she laughed. “Can
’
t have you feeling left out because I bought
your son jewellery and not you, can I?”
She slipped her hand into my back pocket.
“Maybe it
’
s a little soon for you
to be buying me jewellery.”
I shook my head and bent and kissed the
side of her neck, stopping to bite one of the candy loops off the string. “I
didn
’
t really buy it for you, I
bought it for me.” I grinned, showing her the candy on my tongue.
When we left the zoo, we went straight
to Ashton and Anna’s place. DJ was practically bouncing in his seat because he
was staying there; he was raving on and on about Ashton letting him play on his
‘puter’. Rosie was telling him over and over to calm down, and that he had to
be quiet when he was there because of Cameron. I just smiled the whole time,
listening to their exchange while I drove. It was comforting somehow, nice,
natural.
When we got there, I carried his little
overnight bag. “Can I press the floor?” DJ asked, as we got into the elevator.
I nodded and lifted him up so he could
reach the button, at the same time that Rosie said, “Just Anna
’
s floor!
”
Too late. The kid ran his hand across every
single button, lighting them all up.
“Oh, DJ!”
Rosie
grumbled.
I couldn
’
t help but burst out laughing and slap the kid a high five. “You
know you
’
re supposed to do that
when you get out though, right? Not when you
’
re in it, you do it just as you
’
re getting out of the door so the next people in have to stand in
here and stop at every floor, not you,” I told him, winking.
DJ laughed to himself as we stopped at the
first floor, the doors opening and no one waiting there. Rosie just leant
against the wall with a small, frustrated frown on her face, as if he did this
all the time and it drove her crazy. On the sixth floor, a lady got in with us.
I could see her getting more and more annoyed every time we stopped on a floor
when no one was there.
The lady scowled in DJ
’
s direction, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to my side
and smiled sadly at her. “They really need to fix this elevator, huh? People
pay all this money to buy a place here and you have to stop on every floor, it
’
s a disgrace,
” I
stated, shaking my head in mock disapproval.
Rosie chuckled behind me, pressing her face
into my back as the lady
’
s scowl
deepened.
“
Mmm, quite,
” she murmured in a
haughty
voice. When the doors next opened, she got out even though she
’
d pressed to go up another five floors.
I smiled and gave her a little wave as she
looked back over her shoulder at us. “Nice to meet you, maybe we
’
ll catch you on the way down.” I burst into
laughter as Rosie playfully pinched my side, still
giggling
like a school girl. DJ just grinned at me, hugging his penguin toy
that I
’
d bought for him.
When we got to Anna
’
s floor, Rosie climbed out, DJ went to follow but I grabbed his hand
and shook my head, pointing to the buttons again. “
Now
’
s
when you do it,
Kid,” I instructed. Rosie groaned and shook her head, but smiled at the same
time, so I knew I wasn
’
t in
trouble. DJ immediately ran his hands over all of the buttons that he could
reach, while I did the top ones that he couldn
’
t get to. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, I grabbed
his hand and pulled him out.
DJ ran off laughing; Rosie sighed and raised
one eyebrow at me.
“What?” I asked innocently, taking her hand
and pulling her down the corridor after her son.
“You
’
re teaching him bad habits,” she scolded playfully.
I shook my head, faking innocence.
“Actually, I was correcting a bad habit. You
never
push all buttons
while you
’
re in there, it
’
s a rookie mistake. You should have taught him
better than that. I was just helping the kid grow up
.
”
When we got to the door, Anna opened it,
and DJ threw his arms around her legs. “
Auntie Anna!
” he practically screamed.
She
laughed
and hugged him back, kissing the top of his head. “Hey, DJ! How
’
s that arm?” she asked, nodding at his cast.
“
Cool beans,
” he stated, grinning and heading into the apartment without waiting
to be invited – yet another thing the kid had in common with me.
Anna
laughed
and mouthed ‘
Cool beans?
’
to Rosie, who just
shrugged
. “Who knows where he got that from,”
Rosie
said,
shaking her head looking a little bemused.
Anna waved us in and I pulled her into a
hug. “Hey there, best friend
’
s
wife,” I greeted,
kissing her cheek.
“Hey there, best friend
’
s boyfriend,” she answered, winking at Rosie
who just blushed and walked off, looking slightly embarrassed.
DJ ran into the lounge, and Ashton
immediately swept him up into his arms, hugging him. “Hey, squirt, long time no
see. How you been, little guy?” Ashton greeted.
DJ was clinging to him, grinning. “We went
to the zoo, and I got a toy guin and I sawed the lions getting feeded, and we
rode the train!” he gushed all in one breath. Then he leant in close to Ashton
’
s ear and looked back at me and Rosie,
obviously checking to see if we could hear him. “Guess what Momma and Nate were
doing,” he whispered to Ashton, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Ashton looked over at me, one eyebrow
raised suggestively. “What were Momma and Nate doing?” he asked, his voice
coloured with amusement.
“They were kissing!” DJ hissed.
Ashton gasped, faking horror. “Oh no! Has
Nate got the girl cooties now too?” he asked, shaking his head sadly. Rosie,
Anna and I, burst out laughing, but Ashton was keeping up the serious act as DJ
nodded with wide eyes. “Didn
’
t you
warn him that you can
’
t kiss girls
without catching their germs?”
DJ sighed
sadly and
shook his head. “It
’
s too late
now. They kissed more than one time; he
’
s definitely got the cooties.” He looked at me sadly as Ashton
clicking his tongue and shook his head. Suddenly DJ brightened and turned back
to Ashton. “Hey, if Nate has the same as you, does that mean that him and Momma
are gonna have a baby, like you and Auntie Anna did?” he asked, a smile
stretching across his face.
I literally swallowed too much air and had
a coughing fit from the shock of what he
’
d said. Rosie
’
s mouth
dropped open as both Anna and Ashton burst out laughing – probably at me and my
pathetic attempts to get my lungs to work properly.
Ashton shook his head. “I think Nate and
your momma have a long way to go before they start to think about having a baby
.
”
Rosie looked at me apologetically, so I
shrugged and coughed a couple more times, trying to act like a mature adult but
failing miserably.
Ashton put DJ down and he immediately
jumped on the sofa, looking at Ashton expectantly. “
Can we
watch TV?
”
For the next couple of minutes, Rosie spoke
to Anna about bedtime routines, while DJ, Ashton and I flicked through TV
channels until we found some cartoon that he wanted. When a hand slid down my
back, I turned back to see Rosie smiling at me. We said our goodbyes to
everyone, Rosie gave DJ one last talk about being good and being careful with
Cameron, and then we slipped out of the apartment.
As we stopped outside the elevator, she laughed.
“
Stairs?
” she suggested as the
light above the door showed it stopping on 34th then 35th floor. I grinned and nodded,
and we walked down the stairs holding hands.
“So, I thought I
’
d ask you now before you claim I
’
m too drunk to know what I
’
m saying,”
Rosie started, blushing.
I looked at her curiously, not knowing what
on earth she was talking about. “Ask me what?”
She smiled nervously. “I
’
ve got the place to myself tonight, want to
stay over and keep me company?”
I resisted the urge to throw her over my
shoulder and run to her place as fast as I could. I bit my lip and tried to
remain calm, trying desperately not to think about sleeping in a bed with her,
having her cuddle up to me in the night. I
’
d been dreaming of that for weeks.
“Sure, if you
’
re scared to be on your own
.
”
“Oh, I definitely need a big bad SWAT agent
to protect me
.
”
I grinned and kissed the top of her head. “
Then I
’
ll stay over. It
’
ll be a chore, but I
’
ll do it if it makes you feel better,” I joked. “Want to get some
dinner then a couple of drinks?”
“Sure, sounds good.” She frowned and looked
down at herself. “I think maybe I should change first, I look a mess.”
I looked her over in her cropped black
pants that hugged her
ass,
strappy
sandals and red, sleeveless, V-neck top that was just tight enough to raise my
pulse every time I looked at it. She looked pretty damn fine to me.
“You don
’
t need to change. You look incredible the way you are
.
”
She laughed disbelievingly. “Incredible?”
I faked shock. “Did I say incredible?
Sorry, that was rude of me. I meant edible.”
She pressed herself closer to me. “You look
pretty edible yourself.”
I smiled and kissed her. “
So it
’
s settled. Food,
then drinks. By the way, I
’
m gonna
get you drunk again because, damn, drunk Rosie can flirt!”
After dinner, we headed to a bar. I was
having a fantastic night. Actually, the whole of the day had been incredible
and, to use her words from earlier, I’d loved every second of it. Who knew
spending time with a girl and her kid would be so rewarding.
My face and stomach hurt from smiling and laughing
so much with her. We were playing a spot the lookalike game, finding regular
people that looked like celebrities, then we had to rate the other person
’
s find out of ten. I was currently winning
with a Nicole Richie lookalike that had scored me a very respectable eight and
a half out of ten.
Suddenly, her body stiffened and she
frowned at something behind me, her eyes narrowing accusingly. “You have got to
be fucking joking,” she growled, before stalking off after whatever had caught
her attention. I turned around, confused, wondering what she
’
d seen that had upset her.
I watched as she stalked over to a group of
four guys. She slapped one of them around the back of the head, making him
spill his drink everywhere. He turned around, his face angry, until he saw her
and
his
face dropped immediately,
look
ing
like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.
She slammed her hands on his chest
forcefully, making him stumble back a couple of steps. “You finished work
early, Josh?” she spat.
Wait, Josh? He’
s
out drinking with friends after he told her he was busy working and couldn
’
t have his son? Fucking asshole!
His mouth dropped open as she punched him
in the arm. “You inconsiderate, stupid, waste of space, good
-
for
-
nothing jackass!” she shouted angrily,
drawing a few odd looks from the people around her. “Why did you do it again?
Why do you do this to him all the time? To me?”
I immediately walked to her side. If she
asked me to, I
’
d happily beat
seven shades of shit out of him. He
smirked
at her, looking her over obviously, and I felt my back stiffen.
Holy
shit, I
’
m going to kill
him!
“You
’
re so sexy when you
’
re
angry,” he stated, taking a gulp of his drink.
“Then I must be sexy all the time, because
you always make me angry!” She hit his chest again for emphasis.