Chapter Twelve
Gatlin
My stomach was in knots. A few drops of sweat poured down my spine as I stood at Shaw’s front door waiting for him to answer.
I had roses and a rum cake in one hand and a wolf stuffie in the other.
My life had been nothing more than mundane for years, and now I had a date with my omega and a big, big decision to make about my career.
The doorknob turned, and I let out a breath. For a moment, I thought he might not let me in. This brain of mine was a professional at overthinking.
“Hi,” he said, waving me inside. “Are those for me?”
I nodded, passing him by. “The flowers and the cake, yes. The stuffed wolf is for Sebastian.”
Shaw closed the door and leaned against it. “That’s…that’s so sweet of you. He’s at my dads’ house for the night. I thought we could have a date alone.”
A date alone.
“You can give it to him when he gets home, if that’s okay.”
“Of course. He’s going to be excited. He has chatted about you since the zoo.”
“Is that right? I’m flattered. He’s a great kid. You’ve done so well with him.”
Shaw nodded. “I’m glad you think so. Come on in. I hope you’re hungry. I planned out this grand menu in my head, but, with Bastian being extra Bastian today and everything else, I ended up with something simpler.”
I smelled steak, peppers, onions, cheese, bread, and sweet potatoes. Some of my favorite things. “Whatever you cooked is fine. I’m not picky. I haven’t heard you call him that before…Bastian.”
Shaw shook his head. “When he’s acting like a monster like he was today, he’s Bastian.”
“I get it.”
“I have the sandwiches in the oven. Make yourself at home.”
I looked around Shaw’s apartment in awe.
From social media posts and movies, I thought the lives and houses of toddlers were disasters on top of messes and covered in sticky things, but this wasn’t that at all.
I hoped Shaw hadn’t gone to a lot of trouble cleaning up.
He could be himself around me. They both could.
I noticed a small table behind the couch and went over to look at the pictures.
There was one of a very pregnant Shaw. Another of Sebastian as a newborn wrapped in a blue blanket.
So many photos of them together and of Sebastian alone.
“My parents and I take a lot of pictures when they come to visit. From right after I found out I was pregnant.” His voice tore me away from the trance I was in, admiring my mate and the life he’d had over the years. I wished we had shared them together.
“You’ll be happy you recorded everything. Those moments are precious.”
“They are.” When I turned around, he was staring at me. “Everything is on the table if you’re ready to eat.”
“Of course. After you.” I followed him to the table. Shaw had prepared what he called “Philly cheesesteak-ish” sandwiches, along with homemade sweet potato fries. “Smells fantastic.”
“Thank you.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes. Shaw was a good cook, and his was the first meal we had shared. That made me think of the night we shared.
“Can we talk about the elephant in the room?” I asked, wiping my mouth.
Shaw’s eyes widened. He almost choked on his food. “Um, what elephant?”
“What happened that morning? The morning after we mated. I came back to the room, and you were gone.”
Shaw’s face drained of all color. He put his hand over his mouth. “Wait, what? What do you mean you came back?”
“I went downstairs to get us some coffee and bagels. It took longer than expected, but when I came back, you were gone. Why did you leave? Did I do something wrong?”
His chest heaved. “I thought you ducked out before I woke up. I thought I was a one-night stand. There was no sign of you.”
“All I had were the clothes on my back. My suitcase was in the closet. I always put it in the closet. I feel safer that way at hotels. My toothbrush and stuff was in the bathroom though.”
“I never checked the bathroom, Gatlin. I woke up to an empty bed and I left, crying my eyes out.”
I took his hand across the table. My poor omega. This was a life-changing, colossal misunderstanding. “It’s my fault. I should’ve woken you. Told you where I was going. We’d had a wild night so I thought you could use the sleep. It broke my heart when I opened that door and you were gone.”
The truth hung between us, neither of us speaking a word.
I had to say something. We were on shaky ground and knew very little about each other, but I had to tell him how I felt.
“You would never, ever be a one-night stand for me, omega. Not ever. I looked for you for months. Extended my vacation to a week when I was supposed to be there for a weekend only. I tried social media but I had no pictures of you and no last name.”
“You looked for me?”
I still had his hand in mine. I hoped my touch was calming. He hadn’t let go. That had to be a good sign. “I did. Of course I did.”
Tears began to fall down his face and despite this being our first date and things being weird, I didn’t hesitate to reach for him, pulling him into my lap. “I’m here now,” I whispered in his ear while hugging him. “I’m here. We’re together.”
“I missed you so much, but then I had Sebastian and…”
“You’ve been so busy being a good daddy. You’ve done so well. He’s incredible. Just like you.”
“This wasn’t how I expected tonight to go.” He laughed, swiping at his tears. “I was hurt for a while and then angry. Angry was so much easier than hurt. When I saw you in the club, at first, I was still trying to keep up that wall.”
“And now?”
“Now, I want to make up for lost time, alpha.”
“Me too.”