Page 19 of Our Time

Rose pulls away in order to pull Dean into a hug. “I’m so happy right now, babe. My brothers are finally together.”

“You wanted your brothers to date? Isn’t that kinda..?”

“Oh my god,” she says, pulling back so she can smack Dean’s chest. “They’re not like actual brothers. I’ve told you enough about Ryder and Ben. Remember?”

“Oh!” He looks over at me and Ryder. “Congrats?”

“Thank you,” I say with a nod. “So anyway. What do you still need help with?”

Thank Christ that distracts Rose enough to get us back into action. We carry stuff in from the car and begin helping set the room up. There are rows of tables for everyone to sit at, decorated with picnic themed tablecloths. Each table has a basket filled with treats, a wine bottle filled with punch and adorable picnic themed favors. Rose really outdid herself.

As people begin to trickle in, I make my way over to the food table, making sure everything is all set up and ready. I’m happy to be the guy who takes care of things behind the scenes and Ryder can be the spokesperson at the door, greeting and directing everyone. He’s always been better at that stuff.

I can’t help but watch him as he works his magic, making everyone feel welcome and included. His laugh fills me with more joy than I knew possible. He’s completely in his element.

Ryder’s mom finds me refilling the wine bottles for the tables and my stomach flutters with anxiety. I’ve known her for as long as I’ve known Ryder. She’s always welcomed me in their home, making sure I felt accepted and loved, even more so than my own parents.

“Hi, Mrs. Krav.”

“Ben! Get over here,” she says, pulling me into a tight hug. She keeps her hands on my shoulders, taking me in like she always does when she comes and visits. “I already talked to Ryder and I just wanted to say how happy I am for you both. I was always rooting for the two of you to make things work.”

I can’t help but smile. “Thank you.”

“And you’re more than welcome to call me mom, darling. You’re family. Well, you’ve been family since you were a teenager but now it’s official.”

“Thank you. I’m really happy,” I tell her softly.

“Me too.” She hugs me again. “Maybe the next baby shower will be for the two of you,” she says with a giggle before heading off to greet another guest.

Babies.

What a terrifying topic to drop on me and then run away.

I’ve always pushed the thought of kids away. It’s complicated. I had the parts to carry babies surgically removed years ago, and being on A means that my sperm count is higher than an omega but still the chances of me actually getting someone pregnant is low at best. Despite the desire to have kids someday, it was always easier to just not think about that.

Just another thing in a long list I put into the ‘don’t think too hard about’ box.

Thankfully, today is all about Rose so it’s easy to once again push these thoughts away and focus on her. She has a wonderful baby shower where all of her friends and family shower her with gifts and love. There’s little crafts for people to do; like decorating diapers they can use in the middle of the night and painting onesies. There’s games for guessing her due date, and measuring a string to see how close they can come to guessing the circumference of her belly. There’s food and drinks and at the end, Rose opens her presents for everyone to see.

Amidst the ooh’s and aww’s of opening presents, Ryder slides up beside me. He wraps his arm around my waist and tucks his head against my shoulder.

“Hi,” I whisper, kissing the top of his head.

“Hi,” he whispers back, giving me a soft smile.

Our phones decide that’s the best moment to start blowing up. We look at each other before pulling out our phones, finding message after message coming in.

“Oh my god. Christopher started a group chat with everyone.”

“I’m surprised it took him this long, to be honest,” Ryder says with a giant grin.

Gabriel, Gunther, Derek, Harrison, Calvin, Wilson, Jeremy, Bryce, Christopher, and Parker are all in this group chat with us. Message after message comes in, telling us how happy they are for us, how excited they are for us to come back so we can celebrate, how they knew this was going to happen someday. My eyes are suddenly watery. I look away, pulling my glasses off my face so I can wipe at my eyes.

“Baby? Hey, it’s okay.”

Ryder tucks me against his chest and I bury my nose against his throat, letting his warm, sweet scent calm me down. “Sorry,” I whisper, “I’m just overwhelmed. They love us so much, Ryder.”

Ryder chuckles, the noise music to my ears. “They really do.”

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