CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Boo woke up at five and refused to be put back down in the crib, which meant Alex was awake—or mostly awake—whether he liked it or not.
He took Boo to his bed and lounged against the pillows for an hour or so, with the baby drifting off on his chest. He tried to read at first but ended up scrolling mindlessly instead to avoid thinking about the fact that he'd be leaving Boo for several hours later today.
It was hard enough doing it yesterday to go see Ian, and that had been much shorter.
"At least Ian will be here with you," Alex murmured, rubbing Boo's back. "Not that I'd like to cross your grandma when she's angry, but she's not much of a deterrent for strangers. Ian, though… I don't see anyone taking their chances with him."
While Ian wasn't as tall and buff as some in his profession, the man had the kind of presence that kept people away—those looking for a fight, at least. There were others who acted like they would love to get up close and personal with Ian, and Alex couldn't blame them, even though he had to squash the stupid urge to stake his claim on a man he had no right to stake any kind of claim on.
He might have, at one point. Ian seemed to enjoy it when Alex sucked marks into his skin that night, and Alex had dreams of—
Boo wiggled with a grunt, pulling Alex back to the present.
"Ah, yes, thank you, kind sir." He rearranged his son until Boo slumped against him once again, this time with his face pressed against Alex's neck. "You're right, I shouldn't think about that, at all."
His phone vibrated against his thigh and Alex picked it up to find a text from his mom.
If you're up, we're in the kitchen and Ian is making breakfast. He insisted and I didn't stop him.
He also made coffee and he won't tell me what's in it, but it's the best coffee that weird machine ever produced.
Do you think we could sway him away from his current job and hire him as a personal chef? I would chip in.
Alex groaned, then laughed.
"Seems like your grandma had been won over." He put the phone aside and slid off the bed with as little jostling as possible. "It must be the genes, then, since don't think I didn't notice you were staring at him last night. We can't resist, apparently, which means I should probably stop trying."
His morning routine took longer with a six-month-old than without him, but this morning it really ran long, since Alex tried to put in more effort.
"I'm going out for work stuff later on," he told Boo, who was watching him with a tilted head. "It's not just for Ian. Besides, you're too young to judge me, especially since everyone thinks you're beautiful and cute, no matter what you do. Which is true, but not all of us can pull that off."
Alex ran a hand through his hair, watching it fall to the sides.
He was grateful he hadn't chopped it off that one time he was trying to simplify his life as much as possible and his sleep deprivation gave him the idea of shaving off his hair so he wouldn't have to do all the things he usually did.
He'd gone as far as finding a pair of scissors and a trimmer, but then he'd looked at himself in the mirror and almost cried, so that was that.
His long hair had prevailed, even though he'd gone through every step of his usual weekly routine maybe once in the last six months.
"Okay, Boo, I think we're done. We're as prepared as we can be, so we're going to get downstairs and you're going to watch me eat for a change, how about that? There's apparently breakfast waiting for me downstairs and I'm not going to miss out on that."
It wasn't the only thing waiting for him down there and he tried to prepare himself, but that hope died once he actually went to kitchen and saw Ian smiling at his mother from his place by the stove.
He was dressed in black jeans and a black sweater, and Alex's mouth went dry at the sight.
He had never seen Ian in anything other than a suit, and while it had always been an amazing look, seeing him now, in his everyday clothes, in Alex's kitchen…
Fuck. Alex really didn't need any more material for his fantasies.
"Hello, dear." His mom approached him and swiftly took Boo from him, when the boy leaned towards her the moment he saw her. "And hello to you, too. Are you hungry?"
"He should be good for a while," Alex told her before dropping a kiss on her cheek and moving towards the coffee machine. "Good morning," he added, smiling at Ian. "My mom insists you have special coffee skills. Care to share?"
"I heard you coming and poured this for you." Ian pointed at the mug next to the machine. "There are some pancakes ready, too."
"You didn't have to do this." Alex took a sip of his coffee and let out a moan. "Wow, that's really good."
Ian turned away towards the stove. "It's not a problem. I was up early and I like to cook."
Alex swallowed another sip of the delicious drink and let himself stare at the expanse of Ian's back that narrowed towards his hips. The jeans were hugging his ass and thighs in a way that made Alex's hands twitch, and he had to look away quickly so he wouldn't embarrass himself.
As he did so, his gaze met his mother's right away, and while she didn't say a word, she did lift one of her eyebrows at him as a smile bloomed on her face.
Oh no.
"I wish more men liked to cook." She glanced between Alex and Ian, then back. "That's a rare thing, but much appreciated."
"My family wouldn't let me move out without learning the basics, as they think of them. I was taught all the household chores as well as simple car repairs, but cooking is the only thing I actually enjoyed."
"Alex didn't enjoy anything that pulled him away from his music, but I can't throw stones, since I actually don't like household chores, either."
"I did like some things other than my music," Alex protested. "I helped you out in the garden."
"That's true. It took some convincing to get you out there, but once you got into it, you enjoyed it."
Alex nodded. The repetitive physical tasks involved in tending to their garden helped clear his mind and he'd gotten a few great ideas out there.
"I have no artistic skills or talents and I couldn't sit still, so if my parents wanted me to stay inside, they had to give me something to do." Ian transferred the last pancake from the skillet and brought the plate to the table, taking a seat next to Alex. "It worked out well."
"Did you join the military right after high school?"
"Mom, leave the man alone. He's already going above and beyond."
Ian chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't answer any questions I don't want to.
But no," he turned his head towards Alex's mom, "I joined the OCS after I finished undergrad.
That's Marine Corps Officer Candidates School.
I served for a few years, then shifted into the private sector where I am right now. "
"Do you enjoy the work?" she asked as she bounced Boo in her arms gently.
"I do." Ian smiled. "And I'm not saying that only because I'm on the clock right now."
She laughed, but Alex only shoved a piece of pancake into his mouth. It was delicious, but he hardly noticed, his mood souring quickly.
Ian was here to do a job.
It was no secret, of course, and Alex had only just tried to remind his mother of that very same thing, but for some reason it hit differently now. This cozy scene, Ian cooking and hanging out with Alex's family, his mom gently interrogating him—it wasn't what it might look like on the outside.
It wasn't what Alex wanted it to be.
"Speaking of," his mom's voice pulled him back to reality, "since you're here and we have reinforcements, I thought I might go out for a while." She turned to Alex. "I'll be back before you have to leave, but it's going to be much easier to do some shopping without a baby."
As he watched her with Boo, he was about to point out that they could order delivery for whatever she wanted, but he caught himself in time. She probably wanted a moment for herself out in the city and he couldn't begrudge her that, even if it meant being alone with Boo and Ian.
"Sure," he heard himself say, and before he knew it, his mom finished her coffee, put Boo in his baby seat with a kiss to his forehead, and was out of the apartment in no time.
"Wow," Alex muttered into his plate, which earned him a chuckle from Ian.
"She seemed excited."
"Clearly." Alex tickled Boo on his stomach. "We'll have fun, too, okay? I promise."
Unfortunately, the calm didn't last long. He barely finished his last pancake when Boo let out a small whimper, arching in his seat.
"Okay, okay." Alex picked him up and rocked him gently as he walked towards the window. "Look, we can check out the neighborhood and maybe even spy on grandma."
Boo barely spared the sights any attention, whimpering and turning his head towards the kitchen, where Ian apparently started cleaning up after breakfast.
"No, leave it, you've done more than enough." Alex returned to the table. "I'll take care of it."
His phone started ringing a second later, startling them all, and he barely held back a curse from slipping out. He had it on silent, he almost always had it on silent now, but there were a few numbers allowed to get through, and he recognized that melody.
Em was calling.