Chapter 41
Matt
Taking Deejay into a high-class restaurant in our tailored suits feels like an accomplishment. The ma?tre d' gives us both appreciative looks before taking my name and leading us to our table. Honestly, an ugly guy like me with a guy so beautiful it’s almost like he stepped out of the photoshopped pages of a magazine, and we both get the eye-scan? Fucking ego stroke.
“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing in a place like this, so please take the lead,”
I murmur in Deejay’s ear as I pull out his chair for him.
He smirks at me as he sits. “You do realize that I have spent almost all of my time in the last ten years dedicated to raising kids, right? How many fancy restaurants do you think I’ve been to?”
“Three,”
I guess, adjusting his chair.
Deejay looks at me agog. “How did you know?”
“You have three suits in your closet, and it was a fair guess,”
I shrug. Finding the information for his tailor required some investigative work while he was busy, but I managed it, and I’m pretty proud of myself for it. “You look perfect, by the way. Thank you for wearing the suit I picked out.”
“Thank you for having it made. I love it; it’s perfect,”
he smiles happily as our server comes over.
Deejay smiles at her. “Good evening. So, my strategy for restaurants like this is to tell my server that I want the house recommendations and the chef’s special for everything, wine, appetizers, meal, and dessert. That way I don’t have to pretend like I don’t have fifteen kids and no time for dates. Are you good with that?”
he pleads, giving her teasing puppy-dog eyes with an amused smile.
The waitress who came over with her serious face on transforms into a normal woman with a bright smile. “Do you really have fifteen kids?”
she asks, shocked.
Deejay looks at me questioningly. “Let’s see,”
he counts off on his fingers as he names them, “Val, Fraser, Jansen, Kirk, Orson, Monet, Den, Robbie, Colt, Kendall, Jasper, Cary, Eren, and Alex. Fourteen. I have fourteen adopted sons.”
He was counting me in his original statement, but that ship has obviously sailed. “I don’t think Robbie would count himself,”
I comment thoughtfully. “He’s a step-nephew,”
I explain to the waitress. “He hasn’t agreed to adoption yet, but Deejay will keep offering until Robbie either gives up or gives in.”
“Wow. That’s amazing,”
the woman breathes. “I have two little buggers at home, and I don’t think I could add to that.”
“It’s a calling. I can’t create humans with my body, so I just keep gathering the ones that need me most.”
She chuckles softly. “Trust me, creating humans with your body is not all it's cracked up to be. There is definitely a glow and it’s sweat. So much sweat.”
She pantomimes wiping her forehead.
We laugh with her and she assures us she will take care of everything for our date, then takes her leave.
Deejay stretches across the table and puts his hand in mine. “What are we seeing?”
“Hamilton. Have you seen it?”
I love the feel of his skin in my hand. I run my thumb over the back of it, enjoying the softness there in contrast to the callouses from his daily routine that have formed on the other side.
“I haven’t yet. This is exciting. Thank you. I am just so grateful for this, Matt. It’s perfect.”
His aura’s been shining as it always does, but shines slightly brighter reflecting his sincerity, tinged along the edges with magenta.
I bring his hand to my lips and kiss it. “So worth the effort,”
I rumble a bit huskily. Magenta is my new favorite color on him.
The magenta spreads throughout his aura and he hisses his exhale. “This is supposed to be dinner and show, not dinner and a boner,”
he teases quietly.
“Why can’t it be both?”
I wink but put our hands back on the table.
He laughs softly. “I would like to be able to get up from this table when we’re done without creating my own show.”
“As long as I’m the only one who gets to give you the post-production roses, I’ll be in the front row.”
“Alternatively, we can just wait for a private showing later,”
he grins, wagging his brows at it.
“Fuck. Yes,” I hiss.
Our server returns with wine and water. “I put your order in, and I made an executive decision because you guys are big. I made the order as if this were a four top because I think you’ll leave hungry on the portion sizes we serve here. I can cancel the extra, but I figured better get it in and have to cancel it than to have you guys disappointed. Is that ok?”
Deejay snickers. “Fucking perfect.”
“Yes, thank you, that was very forward thinking of you,”
I tell her, trying to suppress the grin that Deejay’s comment causes.
She beams at me, gives us an ETA on our first course, and clears off. I shake my head at Deejay. “Couldn’t keep the fucks to a minimum for ten minutes, could you?”
“Pretty sure you broke the fuck-seal two minutes ago,”
he points out.
I smile widely. “Fuck. I did.”
“Fancy suits, fancy restaurants, same foul-mouthed fuckers,”
he snickers.
I shrug. “Take a Naiad out of the water, he’s still the fucking Maledict.”
“Take the Obsidite out of the volcano and he’s still the fucking Reaper.”
I force myself to maintain my smile. “It’s fun to pretend for a few hours, though.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up,”
Deejay apologizes softly.
“Nope, nothing to be sorry for. It was a witty return serve. Nothing to apologize for.”
I reject anything that is going to put a damper on our evening. This is supposed to be fun and romantic, and I refuse to allow anything to take that away from us.
“Oh, I paid for the rush on the twins, remember? The results came in today and I can’t believe I forgot until right now. They’re definitely paternal half-siblings to you and Cary. Your dad was throwing boys all over the place.”
My heart expands bigger than it already was filling my chest as joy blossoms. I’d been suppressing any kind of hope, knowing that it didn’t matter if they weren’t biologically mine, but fuck, this is amazing. I grin like a crazy person and have to take a few moments so that I don’t shout my joy all over everyone else’s dinner. “Fuck. This is…the best fucking news ever.”
Deejay’s face and aura reflects the pure happiness in my heart. He’s almost blinding in his joy with me. “Congratulations, Daddy,”
he says just as the server comes with our first course.
“Oh, are you celebrating?”
she inquires expectantly.
“We are now. I just found out that our youngest two, the twins, are biologically mine. We weren’t sure, but Deejay got the results back today.”
It doesn’t matter that they’re my brothers, they’re my kids just like Cary.
“Congratulations,”
she enthuses, happy for us. “This is exciting news for you.”
“Thank you.”
I appreciate that she can muster up that kind of enthusiasm for strangers.
“You two are just so lovely,”
she sighs happily. “Best table of the night, I guarantee it. I’ll be back to clear these plates off in a bit. Enjoy, and seriously, I’m so happy for you.”
“It didn’t matter, not for real, but it’s nice, isn’t it?”
Deejay holds up his glass of wine, so I clink mine against his. “Congratulations to our family.”
“Yes,”
I agree wholly as an idea that will never let go takes hold in my heart.
Our family.