Chapter Forty-Two Assa
Chapter Forty-Two
Assa
On Saturday, Assa, Wes, and Ryde arrived at Calder’s house at five o’clock. Zinn thought it made more sense to meet there than at his apartment, since he imagined he’d be living with his alpha soon enough.
“That’s where we’re headed,” Zinn told Assa over the phone.
“It’ll be better for the baby, and I don’t want to just dip a toe in this relationship.
I want to go all-in with Calder. But we’re also giving Jordie and Ked a chance to get used to the idea, and of course we have eight months until the baby arrives. ”
Assa and Wes’s conversation with Ryde the night before had gone well.
They’d sat him down and laid out the facts as best they could.
Assa had expected him to be more curious about why Zinn hadn’t kept his baby, and perhaps those questions would come, but his son had seemed most interested in who Zinn was as a person.
“Pop and I think it would be a good idea for you to spend time with Zinn and his partner Calder, to get to know them,” Wes said. “They’re wonderful people.”
Ryde asked if Calder was his alpha birth parent, and Wes told him no, and that Zinn would divulge that information later, once the dust had settled on this new arrangement. Luckily, the boy had accepted it. The appearance of his omega birth father seemed enough of a shock for the present moment.
“Are you sure you and Dad won’t mind if I hang out with him?” Ryde asked Assa seriously.
“No, nugget. We’re all for it. Zinn wants to know you, but he left it up to us—and you, of course. The only thing that factors in is if you really don’t want to. And we’ll respect it if that’s your choice. So will he.”
Ryde shook his head. “No. I want to meet him. Most of my friends with beta dads know their omega bio fathers. They get, like, extra birthday presents and stuff.”
Assa smiled. “Well, as it happens, Zinn comes with direct access to the best cookies and brownies you’ll ever eat.”
They spent the next hour giving their son a sanitized version of Zinn’s history and mentioned that he was also an artist. Assa hoped his and Wes’s enthusiasm would help Ryde feel safe in his curiosity, so he wouldn’t worry about hurting his fathers’ feelings by forming a bond with Zinn.
Assa and Wes wanted him to understand that it did not threaten them.
Just the opposite. They wanted Ryde to have that connection.
Less than twenty-four hours later, they stood on Calder’s doorstep, ready to leave their child with Zinn for the first time. Although the conversation with Ryde had gone well, Assa was still curious how the boy would react.
They’d barely knocked before Zinn opened the door. He’d gotten a haircut in the two days since they’d seen him. All the dyed sections were gone, leaving only the tawny color he and Ryde shared.
Wes and Assa stood behind their son, hands on his shoulders.
“Hello,” Zinn began nervously. “I’m so glad you could—”
Ryde launched himself forward. His small arms circled Zinn’s waist, squeezing fiercely. After a bewildered stumble, Zinn bent down onto a knee and adjusted their positions until he was hugging Ryde eye-to-eye.
Over the boy’s shoulder, he glanced up in wonder. As tears shone in his eyes, Assa knew in a soul-deep way that they’d done the right thing by bringing their son here.
Ryde leaned back from the embrace and gave Zinn an up-and-down appraisal. He reached out with his pointer finger and touched the mole on Zinn’s face. “You’re my omega birth father,” he whispered.
Zinn gulped. “I am,” he murmured.
“It’s…strange.”
“Maybe a bit. But it won’t always be.”
“Yeah…yeah, I think you’re right.”
Zinn swatted his cheek as a tear escaped. “I’m so happy to meet you.”
“Me too.” Ryde nodded solemnly, then pointed at Wes and Assa. “Those are my fathers, Dad and Pop.”
Zinn’s reply was equally grave. “Yes. I’ve met them. I’m very grateful your parents are such wonderful men.”
Those words must have settled something in Ryde’s mind. Assa glanced at Wes, who looked as astonished as he felt. Their conversation last night had not led them to believe Ryde’s reaction to seeing Zinn would be…this. Leave it to their mercurial child to keep his own counsel.
“Can I introduce you to my partner, Calder?” Zinn asked.
“Okay.”
“He has two kids of his own who live here too, but they’re out right now. His older son works at a pizzeria. We thought we’d go there after the movie, if that’s okay?”
“I love pizza. As long as there’s not too much sauce.”
Zinn blinked. “That’s—I don’t like a lot of sauce either.”
They entered the house and Assa saw that Calder had been standing nearby, giving Zinn space.
He marveled anew at how different Calder was from Jeral.
Assa’s alpha father had never missed an opportunity to insert himself into any situation, believing the role of an alpha was to dominate every interaction.
He’d never met an alpha as quiet as Calder. Quiet, and yet obviously powerful.
Assa and Wes didn’t need to stay long to ensure their son was comfortable. Zinn had made a plan to go to a movie and the pizzeria, but he and Ryde were immediately engrossed in one of Zinn’s sketchbooks.
“Hopefully, I can get them away from the drawings so we aren’t late,” Calder said fondly. “Another day when we have more time, we’ll give Ryde a tour of the bakery. After the cake Zinn did for his birthday, he might enjoy seeing some of the in-process ones.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing those myself,” Assa said.
“Later.” Wes ushered Assa toward the door. “Because now that we know everyone is okay, we should leave for our date.”
Assa’s stomach somersaulted. He could not wait to see Valentin.
“Have fun,” Calder smirked.
“Yes, have fun,” Zinn chimed in distractedly, engrossed in his conversation with Ryde.
Assa watched them on the couch, feeling that soul-deep rightness again.
He experienced the same sensation twenty minutes later, when he and Wes stood on the threshold of a different door. The one that opened to Valentin’s apartment.
***
Valentin lived on the fourth story of a nondescript condo building near The Cracked Heart.
To Assa, this choice of living space, along with the light blue button-down and casual jeans he wore, made the alpha seem slightly less polished than the man they’d had wild primal sex with—in a good way. An accessible way.
A lot of the initial mystique surrounding the club owner had been put into perspective by their text chain over the past few weeks.
While there had been sexy pictures, and some unmistakable innuendo, there had also been funny memes and random asides.
Assa could easily recognize Valentin’s cat, Decoy, since he’d seen so many photos of him.
Last week, Valentin gave Wes a recommendation for an electrician near the university, and yesterday, the alpha sent a picture of his lunch asking whether a burrito could ever be too big.
Assa had expected Valentin to kiss them or pull them into a hug.
Instead, he shyly led them into his living room.
Hazy sun sprayed across the wooden floor planks and beige walls, coming in through curtainless windows.
Assa clocked the lack of accessories but noted that there was a plush couch and dining set, a TV, and a coffee table.
“Have you been here long?” he asked.
“Bought it about a year ago,” Valentin said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “But I’m at the club so much, I haven’t really found time to do anything with it.”
“Is your cat around?” Wes asked, looking side to side. The space was open concept, so there weren’t many hiding spots.
“In the bedroom. He might make an appearance. Or he might not. He’s unpredictable like that.”
Assa giggled. “Sounds like our son. Sometimes he wants to be best friends. Other times, he shuts the door and hangs out in his bedroom like a teenager.”
The alpha gazed warmly at him. “I want to learn more about him. Your son.” He blew out a rough breath.
It was obvious Valentin was happy to see them, but that didn’t lessen the tension in the air.
Assa offered the alpha a reassuring smile.
“Look, I—shit. I don’t want to fuck this up, but I don’t know if I’m doing this right,” Valentin said.
He went behind the kitchen counter and returned with two bouquets of roses, handing one to Wes and one to Assa.
He self-consciously pointed to a platter with crudité and dip on the table before rubbing a hand across his jaw.
“I’ve never had anyone to my condo before.
I figured since our dinner reservations are for eight, we have some time, so I thought we could have drinks here first?
Or I could put on some music? Fuck…sorry if it’s all wrong. I’m not sure how to be romantic.”
Assa eyed Wes and saw that his husband was as captivated by the alpha’s nerves as he was.
“The flowers are lovely.” Assa padded across the room and grabbed a baby carrot, sticking it in his mouth. “And you don’t need to perform for us, alpha. Or worry about fucking it up. I think we’re past that. We’ll figure it out together.”
“Yeah,” Wes added, taking Assa’s bouquet and putting them both on the table. “You passed the audition. You already got the part.”
Valentin’s lips twitched. “The part?”
“Uh-huh,” Wes said, tossing an olive into his mouth. “The role of the first man in a really long time that Assa and I want to get to know outside the bedroom.”
“I see… Lucky me.”
Wes winked.
“I don’t want that to be a question between us,” Assa said, moving to stand in front of Valentin. “We like you.”
“You do?”
Why did the alpha seem so unsure? All the bravado from their first night had vanished. And why was it so adorable?
“Mm-hmm,” Assa put a hand on Valentin’s waist. “It’s interesting that the man who fucked us silly in his office and the one who’s nervous about buying us flowers are the same person.”
He squeezed the alpha’s ribcage, rubbing his thumb against the subtle indentations of his hard muscles.
“Yes,” Wes said. “Although summoning us to your sex lair office was a nice introduction.”
Valentin barked a laugh. “Not a sex lair. Just an office.” Tilting his head back, he surveyed the ceiling.
“I know I was inconsistent, at first. I thought it would be easier once I copped to really liking you. But apparently, that admission wasn’t a magic roadmap for how to proceed.
” A thousand-yard stare took over his eyes before they found Assa’s again.
“There’s only one person I’ve ever been serious about. And that was not easy.”
Assa recalled Valentin observing him from his office window, aloof, high above the dance floor.
“The night we met, a part of me thought you were some slick alpha fuckboy in a dark suit.” He ran a hand down Valentin’s biceps, past where he’d cuffed his light blue shirt over his forearms. “But that’s not you at all, is it? ”
The alpha shook his head subtly. “Not if you know me more than ten minutes.”
“I’m guessing there aren’t too many people who hit the ten-minute mark?”
“No.”
Assa looped his arms around Valentin’s neck. “You’re full of secrets,” he said. “The past you mentioned. Whatever made you push us away at the beginning. Your announcement that you don’t sleep with omegas. But I think maybe your most hidden truth is that you’re not some unfeeling tough guy.”
Valentin stared at him.
“We all wear our masks,” Wes said. “And yours came off the minute you sent us a picture of your cat fighting with his reflection in the window.”
Assa grinned at him before turning back to Valentin. “We know you’re craving connection. Like us. That’s why we’re here.” He slid his palm up until it cupped Valentin’s cheek. “Have you been lonely, alpha?”
Valentin closed his eyes and pushed his face into Assa’s hand. A few beats of silence passed before he whispered, “So lonely.”
“You’ve been lonely, and we’ve been searching for something that’s been missing from our relationship for a long time,” Wes said, shuffling to stand behind Valentin.
“I think we can help each other,” Assa rasped.
Wes pulled aside the collar on Valentin’s button-down and mouthed the back of his neck. “I have an idea for how to spend the two hours before we need to be at the restaurant.”
Valentin’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He tipped his head back to rest on Wes’s shoulder. “I want to do this the right way,” he said. “I want this to be about more than just sex.”
“It’s more than that,” Assa said, looking at Wes to confirm they were on the same page.
“But there will be time to talk during dinner. You can turn us down if you want, but we’d like to reconnect with you in this way.
It’s been a while since that night at the club, and it might be good to… take the edge off.”
“There’s no right way, alpha,” Wes added.
“There’s just doing what feels right to us.
” He moved his hands down to pull Assa forward, sandwiching the three of them together.
“And after hearing you admit how lonely you’ve been, what feels right is for you to let me and Assa take you apart.
We’ve been thinking about this for weeks, even with plenty of real-life stuff to occupy us.
” He nibbled Valentin’s earlobe. “And we’re going to talk about all that over dinner, but right now, you should take us to your bedroom, so we can show you just how not lonely you are. ”
Valentin trembled as Wes tongued the shell of his ear.
“Okay,” the alpha murmured, rubbing his erection against Assa’s.
“I watched you fuck my husband so good last time,” Wes continued. “And I was thinking maybe you’d want to do that to me.”
Assa’s eyebrows popped up. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Wes get fucked by another man. Even between the two of them, it rarely went that way. Wes gave him a look that said, yeah, I even surprised myself there.
The temperature instantly increased by a thousand degrees. Assa placed a firm, closed-mouth kiss on Valentin’s lips. “Please take us to bed, alpha. We’re on a schedule here.”
Valentin held Assa’s head in place as he recaptured his lips. “Absolutely.” He maneuvered to kiss Wes. “Apologies in advance if Decoy comes out to watch.”