Chapter 5
Luci
“Luci?” Gabe said, the confusion in his voice obvious.
“Hey, big brother,” I greeted him, running a hand through my hair while staring at the chaos in front of me. This could either be an amazing or an amazingly stupid idea. The chances were fifty-fifty. Maybe seventy-thirty—in favor of this going over horribly.
“What’s wrong?” Gabe asked. I could almost feel his judgy stare, the raised eyebrow, and the way he was probably wringing his hands already.
“Why do you think there’s something wrong?”
“Uhm, because you’re calling me?”
“And I can’t call my brother?” I asked, even though I definitely knew what he meant.
I just hated the fact that he was right.
Granted, there was nothing wrong, but I wasn’t calling willy nilly either.
I mean, he was going to be a dad soon, right?
He’d probably read about a thousand parenting guides already.
Which basically made him an expert. Or at least it made him more qualified than I was.
“You can, sure. But I’ve known you for your whole life. You never call. You send me ridiculous memes, maybe the occasional text message. But you don’t call. So out with it, you’re giving me stress hives.”
“Fine. I’m not in trouble and there’s nothing wrong, but I do need advice.”
Gabe laughed. “Now you’re scaring me. You want advice? From me?”
“Yes?”
“This should be good,” Gabe said with a chuckle. “Okay, tell me, how can I help you?”
Taking a deep breath, I braced for… whatever his reaction might be. “As a dad, on a scale from one to ten: how bad is it if someone surprises you and your kid with a date that involves paint and glitter?”
Silence.
Then: “I feel like I’m missing critical information. Who is ‘someone?’ Am I, as a dad, aware that there’s going to be a date and I just don’t know what it’s going to be? Or don’t I know about the date at all?”
“Uhm, someone, as in the person you’re interested in? And the second option.”
“Lucian, what the hell are you doing?”
That was probably a no on the surprise date.
“Trying to plan a cute first date?”
At least, I’d thought it was a cute idea thirty minutes ago when it’d come to mind.
It involved his daughter. It was a kid-friendly activity, I’d be able to share something I loved—aka painting and art—and it was Friday, so even if it was already five p.m. I probably wouldn’t fuck up Hazel’s bedtime too badly.
Hopefully.
Then again, last week we’d been out till eight.
“Lucian?”
Oh, right, I was still on the phone with my brother. “Yes?”
“Did you say first date?”
“Uh, yes?”
“With a dad?”
“Mhmm.” I nodded, casting a quick glance at my oven clock. Damn, if I wanted to do this, I needed to get going.
“I really don’t think… no. Have you thought this through?”
“The date?” I asked, my stomach dropping.
Part of me already knew he wasn’t talking about the date anymore.
I should’ve anticipated his being on the fence about my dating a single dad.
And yeah, okay, maybe Theo wasn’t the type I usually went for, but seeing as my past relationships were nothing to write home about, this was a good thing.
“Luci.” That tone.
I swallowed. “You know what, I’ll call you later and let you know if my idea worked out. Bye.”
I ended the call without giving Gabe a chance to reply.
Knowing he didn’t think I was right for someone like Theo hurt. Because I really wanted to be right for Theo. He was… awfully cute. Patient. Kind. Reliable. So fucking innocent it was almost unbelievable.
He was basically everything I wasn’t.
And I liked that guy.
Grabbing my keys, I left my apartment—barefoot and wearing my painting jeans.
Here’s hoping that Theo liked my being spontaneous.
I ran up the stairs, trying to get to Theo’s door before doubt could creep in, and knocked loudly. Well, it was more like me tripping over my own feet and crashing into the door, but since I’d hit the door hands first, I counted it as a knock.
Theo obviously didn’t because he opened the door within seconds with a worried look on his face.
“Luci? Are you okay?” His eyes wandered up and down my body, searching for injuries while I righted myself.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” My wrists kinda hurt, but that’d fade. I was used to this stuff. Tripping over nothing or, my specialty, running into doorframes. Because apparently, not hitting stuff that never ever moved was exceptionally hard for me.
“What can I do for you?” Theo asked, smiling at me in his reserved, careful yet warm way.
“Daddy? What happened? Who’s at… oh, hi there, Mr. Elf. Are you responsible for the ruckus?”
Was I responsible for… what?
Swallowing down a snort-giggle, I grinned at Hazel.
“Yes, I tripped, but I’m okay. I actually wanted to see if you guys wanted to visit me at my apartment?”
Theo frowned at me for a moment, but Hazel immediately started jumping up and down. “Oh yes. Daddy, I want to know how elves live. Can we go see Mr. Elf’s apartment?”
His frown deepened, the smile on his lips slowly fading away.
Oops, maybe my brother was right.
“I mean, only if you don’t have plans already? I don’t want to mess anything up.”
“We don’t,” Hazel shouted. “We haven’t started making dinner yet.”
Whoops.
Note to self: dinnertime is way earlier than I’d expected.
“Why don’t you go put the ground beef back in the fridge, and I’ll talk to Luci for a moment to organize everything.”
“Who’s Luci?” Hazel furrowed her brows.
“Me.” I finger-waved at her, getting a little giggle out of her.
“Ohh… I have a doll named Lucy. But my doll is a girl. Wait, I’m gonna get her!”
And off she went, leaving me with Theo, who still wasn’t smiling at me.
Fuck.
Maybe I needed to listen to my brother more. I shuddered.
Nope, wasn’t gonna happen.
“Soo… how badly did I fuck up just now?” I asked, running a hand through my hair.
Would biting my lip help make me look more apologetic? I mean, I was apologetic, but I kinda still wanted him and Hazel to come over.
“We’ll see,” Theo said, letting out a sigh. “Why don’t you tell me why we’re needed in your apartment?”
Pulling a face, I bit my lip. “Uhm, I planned a surprise first date for you and Hazel? It kinda involves a lot of fingerpaint and glitter? And I may have ordered pizza for later?”
“Oh.” He nodded, face still a stoic mask.
Damn.
Not the reaction I was going for.
Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck, no.
Theo was turning around. He wouldn’t just… go, right?
“Hazel, sweetie, you need your art clothes—and a hair tie,” Theo shouted into their apartment.
A scream of pure joy was the answer, closely followed by tiny feet jumping and running away.
As Theo turned back around to face me, his face had relaxed, and he wore a gentle smile.
“You are aware of the fact that all parents despise glitter, right?”
Yeah, I was, but… “Kids love it, though. And I wanted this date to be fun for Hazel, too.”
He’d said they were a package deal.
Theo sighed, but there was a hint of a smile ghosting over his lips. “Fine. You win. Just, uhm, next time please let me know about your plans beforehand, okay?”
“How long beforehand? Because I didn’t actually know about this date till… uh… not that long ago.”
Theo shook his head, but his smile was bigger now, and there was something in his expression I wanted to bask in. “You’re gonna be trouble, aren’t you?”
Giving him an apologetic grin, I shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Before we could banter more, Hazel appeared behind her dad, carrying a white piece of fabric in one hand, a doll in the other, while having a bright purple scrunchie wedged between her teeth. “’m he’e,” she mumbled around the scrunchie, smiling widely.
“Let’s go,” I said, leading my dates—father and daughter—down the stairs, while Hazel happily chatted away, telling me all about her kindergarten class and how Bobby hadn’t believed her when she’d told him she’d had hot chocolate with a real elf.
At least, that’s what I gathered. Between the scrunchie in her mouth, the pitter-patter of her feet, and the fact that my heart was pounding in my chest like a sledgehammer, she was hard to understand.
The air in the stairwell was filled with the aroma of cinnamon and sugar again, and my stomach rumbled in response as I opened my apartment door.
In here, it didn’t smell as good, though I personally loved the scent of paint that seemed to have seeped into my apartment walls.
It faded, but it never really went away, even if I had my paints packed up for days on end.
“Daddy, look!” Hazel shouted, her clothes falling onto the floor in a heap as she skipped over to a smaller painting in purples and blues.
“And over here!” Running further along the hall, she stopped in front of the photo starring me as an elf.
“It’s Mr. Elf! But he looks very different when he works for Santa. ”
“You can call me Luci,” I offered, but I wasn’t sure my words even registered with her as she continued along, running into the living room while Theo was left with picking up the fabric and the scrunchie she’d spit out upon first entering.
“She seems really excited,” I said, warmth igniting in my chest. I might’ve fucked up a little, but I’d gotten at least part of it right. “Just wait until she sees…”
A loud scream came from the living room.
“I think she found it,” I said.
Theo gave me a wide-eyed stare that was a mix of horror and curiosity. “What did you do?” he whispered.
I chuckled. I had the urge to grab his hand, but hesitated for a second. Would that be too much? I wasn’t gonna kiss him in front of his kid or anything, and it wasn’t really holding hands if I was just dragging him with me, right?
In the end, my excitement won out, and I grabbed his wrist. Dragging him with me, I reveled in that little bit of contact. His warm skin, the muscles working in his forearm.
Letting out a surprised laugh, Theo followed suit.