Page 14 of What A Croc
And now my dick was hard again, walking into my child’s daycare. Great.
Maybe no one would notice.
“Good morning, Mr. Robert!” Aiden’s excited welcome told me my mate was close. Instead of looking for him, I concentrated on putting Aiden’s backpack in his cubby, while sneakily adjusting myself.
Turning around, I found Robert’s warm, light brown gaze watching me.
Honey. His eyes looked like honey. I had been trying all weekend to figure out how to describe their color, and looking at him now, it dawned on me.
“Good morning,” my greeting was low, rumbly, and filled with a heat that probably should be against the law in a daycare center.
Robert’s honey-colored eyes widened at the greeting, and I saw a tiny tremor run through his body. So, my skittish omega was just as affected by me as I was him.
“Good morning,” he whispered, then cleared his throat. “Happy Monday.”
“Daddy hates Mondays,” Aiden informed him cheerfully, oblivious to the undercurrent of emotions passing between his teacher and me.
“Most people do,” I informed him, then held out the white bag to Robert, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically shy. “I, ah, picked up a muffin for you when I got coffee. I mean, I got one too. They were just bringing them out of the oven, and they smelled really good–tasted good too–and I thought you might like one.”
You’re rambling, my croc muttered,act chill.
Robert took the bag from me, his cheeks blooming a pretty pink. He gave me a tentative smile. “Thank you.”
He peered into the bag, his nose twitching as he sniffed. “It smells delicious. I’ll have it on my morning break.”
“Good.”
For fucks sake, my croc grumbled.You were smoother in high school. What the fuck is wrong with you? Just go to work and let the man enjoy his muffin without you hovering over him. And get his fucking number, dork.
I had no idea why Robert had me tied in knots the way he did. Probably for a myriad of reasons. The fact that we were fated mates, the fact that he was the first person that had made me feel alive again since Levi, the fact that my dick was acting like we were in high school. Any and all of the above.
“Well,” rubbing a hand over the back of my neck, I shuffled my feet awkwardly. Aiden was looking between me and Robert, with a look on his small face that told me he thought I was acting weird. “I should get going. Aiden, give me a hug.”
Kneeling down, I opened my arms, relishing the feel of his little arms winding tightly around me.
“Daddy, you’re being weird,” Aiden whispered in my ear, before kissing my cheek and running over to the corner with the play clothes. A couple of his friends he had met this week were already there, and they all started chattering together about who they were going to dress up as this morning.
Robert held the pastry bag tightly to his chest, his cheeks still blooming with color. I didn’t know if he had heard Aiden or not–likely he had–and now we were bothstanding there, acting awkward as fuck. “Have a good day. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I knew from the past week he wouldn’t be there when I picked Aiden up, another teacher would be. “Could I have your number?”
I blurted the words out in a rush, wanting to kick myself. Yep, zero game where this omega was concerned. None. Zip. A part of me wondered if Levi was watching from somewhere, laughing his ass off at my bumbling. At least when I had kissed Robert, I had been a bit smoother.
“Oh, yeah,” Robert shook his head, but pulled his phone from his back pocket and handed it to me after he unlocked it. “I guess we should have done that on Saturday? It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I don’t know what the rules are anymore.”
Weighing his words, I entered my number in his phone and sent myself a text so I would have his number, then handed his phone back to him. When our fingers brushed, there was the snap of electricity between us, my arm tingling. My phone buzzed with the text I had sent, and I quickly saved his number in my contacts, before shooting off a reply.
Me:I hope you have a good day and enjoy your muffin.
Me:I don’t know the rules either. It’s been a long timefor me too. So how about we don’t worry about rules and just do what feels right for both of us?
Robert read my texts, a little smile tugging at his lips, before he slid it back in his back pocket. “Okay.”
Raising a brow at him, I grinned. “Yeah?”
He nodded, “I still think we aren’t a good fit, but we can talk about it on Friday. But my son says I should give you a chance.”
“Mine said I was being weird.”
