Chapter Forty-One Wes #2
Wes wanted to give and receive love. As often as he could.
Like he’d told Assa a year into their relationship, he was wired that way.
He loved Assa, Valentin intrigued him, and now, he lit up knowing he’d be getting closer to Zinn and Calder.
But as much as his brain was set up for polyamory, he could not allow his thoughts to go there.
They had to take this slow. Get it right for Ryde.
But understanding that he couldn’t predict the future, that the greatest possibilities were the ones that existed in the unknown, was the truest way to explain how he wanted to live.
He and Assa had a date with Valentin on Saturday. Would the alpha from The Cracked Heart be like Calder? Would he offer to care for Wes and relieve him of his burdens?
Wes didn’t hate the idea. It was just so foreign.
Assa and Zinn returned to the dining table and they had a wonderful meal. Wes couldn’t remember sharing such easy conversation with anyone, other than perhaps their text chain with Valentin.
“So, what’s the story with the nicknames?” Wes asked. “Cap and sunshine.”
“Calder’s is pretty boring,” Zinn replied.
“No elaborate story. When I first started at the bakery, I was nervous. I’d never had a job before, and I had just changed my name and started dying my hair.
All I wanted was to fly under the radar, and I figured being deferential to everyone would make me invisible.
I’d be the employee who kept his head down and no one noticed. ”
“But every time he called me ‘Mr. Rosen,’ it was like nails on a chalkboard,” Calder picked up the story. “Nobody else called me that. I told him to knock it off.”
“Calling him ‘Calder’ was out of the question. There was no way I was going to be that familiar with an alpha, after everything my parents put me through. I tried ‘boss’ for a while, but ultimately settled on ‘captain,’ which became ‘cap.’”
“I love it,” Calder said. “And I reserve it for Zinn. One of the other staff tried to call me that once, and I shut it down—”
“You never told me that!”
“It’s only for you, sunshine.”
They smiled at each other, and Calder lifted Zinn’s hand to kiss his knuckles.
“What about sunshine?” Assa asked.
“Zinn was always so serious,” Calder explained.
“At first, I used the nickname to pull smiles from him. And it worked. Every morning, he’d come in all businesslike.
I’d greet him with a ‘hey, sunshine,’ and he’d shake his head and crack up a little.
Over time, it’s become clear that it suits him perfectly.
He tried to hide his brightness, but it’s impossible. ”
“It certainly is,” Assa said, winking at Zinn.
Zinn rolled his lips inward as his cheeks reddened. “Okay, we have to change the subject.” He turned to Wes. “Was there anything else you and Assa talked about regarding Ryde, like, in terms of logistics?”
“Actually, we have a date this weekend. On Saturday. And we were wondering if you and Calder would like to watch him? Take him to a movie or something? He has a birthday party at the go-kart track earlier that day, but this would be in the evening.”
“We’d love to!” Zinn practically shouted. “I mean, if you think he’s ready for that.”
“Date?” Calder asked. “You said there’s no one you’re serious about right now.”
“That’s technically true.” Assa coughed. “But there is an alpha we’ve been messaging with that we are…quite fond of. It’s very new, but it seems promising.”
“I see,” Calder said neutrally. He looked at Zinn. “My omega, you were a little quiet earlier before you gave the okay. If this in any way bothers you, now is the time to speak up.”
Zinn shook his head. “No. I’m fine with it. Just took me a minute to process.” He scooted his chair closer to Calder’s and kissed him on the cheek. “I found my own amazing alpha. Why shouldn’t our beta friends have the same?”
Wes was charmed by his logic.
“So you’ll watch Ryde Saturday night?” Assa confirmed. “It’s fine if you’re busy. He has lots of friends he can stay with.”
“No. We definitely want to,” Zinn replied. “It’s just…”
“What?” Assa asked.
Apprehension marred Zinn’s expression. “What are we going to tell him? About me? About who I am to him?”
Wes exchanged glances with Assa. “We talked about that a lot this week. If you’re around him, people will figure out the connection. The resemblance is simply too overwhelming to ignore. Ryde didn’t put it together on his birthday, but he’s a smart kid. He will eventually.”
Calder nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”
Assa looked at Zinn. “If it’s alright with you, we’d like to tell him before Saturday. Get it all out in the open. We think he’ll take it okay. Plenty of his friends with beta parents have met their birth fathers.”
Zinn grinned so wide Wes worried his lips might crack. “I wouldn’t have presumed to ask for that, but I can’t deny it’s what I hoped for. If you think it will help, you can mention to him that being friendly with me and Calder means free bakery treats from Felton’s.”
Assa smiled back at him. “See, your parenting instincts are kicking in quickly. You already know that bribery is an effective tool.”
“You’re going to tell Ryde about Zinn before Saturday?” Calder interjected.
“Yes. Our plan is to give him the basics. We don’t think he needs to know about Keyes and Deveron,” Wes answered.
“Agreed,” Zinn said.
“We also won’t mention Asher, since you’re still deciding about that,” Assa put in.
“We were just going to tell Ryde that you’ve been looking for a long time, but there was a paperwork mix-up that made it difficult to find him.
He’ll probably ask more questions when he’s older, but that’s enough for an eight-year-old. ”
“I hope so.”
“However,” Wes said, steepling his fingers, “he might also ask about his alpha father. If not when we tell him, then soon.”
Zinn sighed, grabbing Calder’s hand. “You can tell him the truth. His alpha father worked on my parents’ estate.
I loved him very much but there were things that happened, and he couldn’t stay.
Eventually, I plan to look for him. But like I said on Saturday, I’m not ready to go there yet.
The universe has done so well with putting us in each other’s paths.
We just have to recognize the threads to pull.
I keep thinking I’ll know when the time is right. ”
Wes hummed. “If Ryde has questions, we can help him understand your position. But I imagine it will be enough for him that you loved his alpha father.”
Zinn peeked cautiously at Calder before saying, “I still love him. I always will. Even if I’m furious at him.”
Although he was curious about Ryde’s alpha father, Wes saw how much it cost Zinn to discuss him. Someday, the resilient omega would share the full story. For now, they could wait.
Assa squeezed Zinn’s shoulder. “Wes and I are well aware that it’s possible to hold love for more than one man at a time,” he said drolly. “It’s good that you can be honest about it.”
“Zinn’s first alpha will always have a place in his heart, just as my late husband Denni will always have a place in mine,” Calder said.
Privately, Wes reflected that the two situations were different, considering the strong likelihood that Ryde’s alpha father was still among the living, but he understood Calder’s central point.
Calder wasn’t threatened because Zinn’s love didn’t have an exclusivity clause.
His main concern was his omega’s happiness, and Zinn’s ability to be honest with him.
“Enough about ancient history,” Zinn said, twirling his fork with a wink. “How about you tell us about this alpha you’re seeing on Saturday.”
Assa grinned. “He’s a nightclub owner. That’s how we met him, the first time we went out dancing since moving to Bellwether. We hit it off right away, and we’ve been texting ever since. We’ve been busy, obviously, and he has too, so this is our first chance to get together in person.”
“It has been nice, though,” Wes said, “learning about him over messages. It’s a good way to get a feel for someone’s sense of humor and how they think. He’s an interesting guy, a little younger than us, but he has that old soul quality Assa can never resist.” He gave Assa a playful shove.
“It’s true,” Assa said, tossing a crouton at him. Wes caught it in his mouth.
“I love how fun you guys are,” Zinn said. “How much you laugh. I like knowing Ryde grew up around such good energy.”
“You have good energy, too, sunshine,” Calder assured him.
“Yes,” Wes agreed. “And we may be fun—you kind of have to be when you’ve been together a dozen years—but neither of us can draw so much as a stick figure. I think we all know where Ryde gets his artistic talent from.”
Zinn smiled. A moment later, he asked, “Is Ryde good with his hands?”
“What do you mean?” Assa raised his forehead.
“Like, can he fix things and build things? Is he interested in that?”
Wes thought about it. “He likes Lego and he once built a kite from scratch. But I wouldn’t say he enjoys that more than art or reading. He likes both.”
Zinn’s face softened. “He’s the best of both of us,” he whispered, mostly to himself. “And you and Assa have been there all this time to fill his life with love and spirit and joy.” Placing a hand on his belly, he closed his eyes. “I haven’t felt this peaceful in a long time.”
“Me too,” Wes and Assa said in unison.
“That’s beautiful, sunshine.”
Wes took Assa’s hand. It had been just the three of them for so long. Now Zinn and Calder already felt like family. He was excited to meet Calder’s sons. Excited that a new baby was coming.
Excited to see if he and Assa could press their luck and make a lasting connection with Valentin.