Chapter 6
“Wait,” Knuckles said, pausing his steps and making Rooster stop too. Other guys stepped around them, some already on their phones and others discussing further what had been brought up at Church. “You’re about to have your third date with that Emmett guy—”
“Fourth, if you count the dinner he brought him,” Tank interjected helpfully, grinning at Rooster when he rolled his eyes.
Knuckles nodded in thanks and continued. “And you haven’t done anything but kiss?”
Tank hummed as he rubbed at his short beard. “Maybe he’s worried they won’t be… a good fit.”
Rooster outright laughed at his suggestive tone. “No. I’m not worried about that at all.”
And he really wasn’t. He knew Emmett wasn’t very experienced—and had never had a daddy—but Rooster had known by the end of their first real date, as they’d walked out of the restaurant hand in hand, that they were damn near perfect for each other.
There was a spark between them that was growing into a small fire, and he knew, without a doubt, that the moment he got his mouth on anything more than his sweet little boy’s mouth, they’d burn like a motherfucking forest fire.
Everything he learned about Emmett just reinforced that feeling.
They fit together on so many levels—from the way Emmett liked it when Rooster ordered his food for him and how sweet he was when he talked about loving his job and all the residents he worked with.
And the way he smiled at Rooster like he hung the fucking moon when he called him sweet or adorable or a good boy.
And he knew there had been times Emmett’s little side had been close to coming to the surface, usually when Rooster did something particularly daddyish. The fact that Emmett felt so comfortable around him already made him feel ten feet tall.
“What’s the deal, then, man?” Knuckles asked. The only reason Rooster didn’t just blow him off was because he sounded genuinely curious and not just like he was giving Rooster shit.
He tipped his head off to the side and led the way over there, not wanting just anyone to overhear what he was going to tell him. Tank didn’t follow them, just raising a hand in goodbye and heading toward the stairs at the back of the clubhouse.
Rooster leaned his shoulders back against a wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you really want to know, brother?”
Knuckles turned his face away, mouth twisting in a hard grimace. “I don’t know. I’ve just been… thinking about shit lately.”
“Okay.” Most of them had noticed Knuckles had been a little quieter the last year or so, but as far as Rooster knew, he hadn’t shared with anyone yet what was up with him.
Knuckles rubbed at his short hair, brows furrowed.
“And I just… I’ve never started anything with a girl before where we didn’t go to at least second base the first time we hung out.
Usually, we fuck and that’s it, or we fuck a few times and I end up with my shit at her place until she kicks my ass out for some reason I don’t even understand. ”
He nodded, wondering if Knuckles had ever actually had a healthy relationship with a woman he’d been sleeping with.
“I’m just… I’m wondering if—”
“Hey! You two coming over to Devil’s Garrote for a beer?” Houston asked as he and Tomas walked out of Tomas’s office.
Knuckles stepped back, pasting on a smile. “Yeah, I could use a couple.”
“Wait—” Rooster tried to say, but Knuckles just shook his head.
“We can finish later. Good luck on your date, man.”
He took off, following the others across the clubhouse to the front door. Rooster sighed and scratched at his beard, hoping they really would finish their conversation, and then headed out too.
He had a date to get ready for.
When Emmett knocked on his door ten minutes early, Rooster wasn’t surprised.
On their second date, Emmett had shared that he had some anxiety that he dealt with, and one of the ways it manifested was in his inability to just be on time.
And he was never late. Rooster hadn’t ever really thought about it before that conversation, but he’d paid attention in the days since and realized he was usually a few minutes early to things too.
Though it didn’t stress him out like it did Emmett if he was late.
He also wasn’t surprised when he opened the door and Emmett blushed sweetly as he said a soft hello.
This was technically their fourth time spending time together—not counting the cookie decorating—but it was the first time they’d talked beforehand about Emmett maybe having little time.
He’d known bringing that new element into their relationship would make his little boy nervous.
And then he’d gotten a call last night, not long after he’d gotten home from his shift, that had revealed just how nervous Emmett was feeling. It’d only taken a little coaxing before Emmett had asked softly, “What if you don’t like Emmie?”
His heart split open, and he’d had his coat on, ready to go and comfort his boy in person, before he’d even gotten the words out to reassure him there was no fucking way that would happen.
Yes, he was sure.
Yes, he’d tell him if there was something he didn’t like.
No, they weren’t going to postpone their date if Emmett wouldn’t let him come hug him right then.
They’d finally agreed to keep their date for the next day and talk again afterward to share how they’d both felt. Rooster knew how he was going to feel: proud of his boy for being brave, infatuated since he was already falling for Emmett, and probably horny.
There was no way he could be around Emmett and not get aroused. Just wasn’t possible.
One look at the Marvel backpack over Emmett’s shoulder and the way he bounced on the balls of his feet as he stepped into Rooster’s house reassured him that they were moving in the right direction.
Even if Emmett was a little anxious about what the night might hold, Rooster trusted himself and Emmett to know if something didn’t feel right and use the traffic light system like they’d talked about to either slow things down or stop them altogether.
“Hang up your coat.” He waited for him to comply, closing and locking the door. “Can I have a hug, sweet boy?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Emmett whispered, stepping into him right away, bag dropping to the ground so he could wrap himself around Rooster.
His whole body warmed with joy.
That was the other thing they’d talked about.
Toward the end of their call last night, Emmett had shyly asked if Rooster would be okay with him calling him Daddy during their date, especially if he had little time.
Like there was any way in hell he’d ever say no to a request that damn sweet.
Wrapping his arms around Emmett, he breathed in his soft scent of cinnamon and sugar. His boy was the perfect armful, so warm and cuddly that Rooster had to force himself to step away so they didn’t skip dinner and go right to snuggling and making out on the couch.
“Something smells good,” Emmett said as he stepped back, seeming more at ease after their hug.
“The pot roast is done. It just needs to rest a few more minutes while the rolls bake. Let’s go in the living room—I have a surprise for you.”
Emmett’s eyes widened as he nodded quickly, following Rooster through to the living room, where a wrapped box sat waiting for him. Making a soft, excited sound, Emmett darted forward, dropping his bag carelessly with a soft thud and kneeling next to the coffee table.
“Can I open it now, Daddy?”
Rooster nodded and sat on the couch, smiling as Emmett wasted no time ripping into the paper, then grumbling to himself as he worked to get through the tape on the box. He was just sticking a hand in his pocket to grab his knife when Emmett finally broke through.
With the flaps standing upright, Emmett stared down into the box, frozen. Had Rooster fucked up?
“Little boy, are you okay? If you don’t like—”
Emmett shook his head quickly, then just about broke Rooster’s heart when he swiped under his eyes and sniffled. “No, I do like them. It’s just… No one’s ever bought me a toy before. Not since I was a kid.”
“Come here.” He opened his arms just in time as Emmett launched himself around the table, landing in Rooster’s lap and burying his face in his neck. “You’re going to have to get used to getting gifts from me.”
“Christmas is only once a year,” Emmett said with a wet laugh.
Humming, Rooster rubbed a circle on Emmett’s back. “Silly boy, that isn’t your Christmas present. That’s a Just Because present.”
“Just because what?” Emmett whispered, leaning back to stare into Rooster’s eyes. There was the cutest little furrow on the bridge of his nose, and Rooster couldn’t resist leaning forward and laying a kiss there.
“Just because I want to spoil my little boy.”
Emmett sucked in a hiccupping breath, nibbling on his bottom lip. “Daddy…”
“You haven’t been spoiled nearly enough in your life, Emmett.
I’m going to make up for that, starting right now.
” Rooster cupped his smooth jaw and ran his thumb under his damp, pink lip.
He leaned forward and pressed the softest kiss to his boy’s sweet mouth, keeping it mostly chaste except for a tiny swipe of his tongue at the end.
“That’s my job and something that will make me very happy, okay? ”
“Okay,” Emmett whispered, then glanced over his shoulder and wiggled. “Can I go look again?”
“Of course.” He pecked one more kiss onto Emmett’s lips just as the timer went off in the kitchen.
Emmett scrambled up and over to his box, diving in that time and starting to pull things out as Rooster pushed to his feet.
“If there’s anything you don’t like, it’s okay.
We only talked a little about what you like when you’re little, so I got an assortment, but I kept the receipt, okay? ”
Emmett nodded, hugging a soft plush dog to his chest. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome. Don’t take too long—dinner will be on the table in just a few minutes.”