Page 76 of Fostering Chemistry
Surprisingly, Liam wasn’t averse to getting into his crib, but I was loath to say goodbye to him. As Diego held him, I kissed his chubby little cheeks and squeezed his little foot. “It was nice to meet you, Liam.”
Liam evidently didn’t want to part from me either, because he grabbed a handful of my hair and wouldn’t let go.
Diego talked him down. "Hey buddy, let's not scalp Auntie Mia, okay?"
Auntie Mia. I wasn’t his aunt, and likely wouldn’t see the little boy again, but wow, that term smacked me right in the ovaries. This whole evening had felt so domestic and cozy. Like we were a mom and a dad with an adorable little boy.
With all my heart, I wanted Liam to have the kind of childhood that Diego and I hadn’t. And as Diego lowered the little boy into the crib, I looked at all the toys on the shelves. The paintings of circus animals on the walls. The books. The mobile.
Liam looked well-loved and cared for, as every baby should.
We tiptoed out and I figured out how to work the baby monitor, which fortunately wasn’t hard to do.
Diego leaned over my shoulder as we studied the black and white image of the little guy.
“Is he already asleep?”
“I don’t know, but at least he’s not screaming.” I started to head into the living room, but Diego caught my arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just… I want him to have a happy childhood.”
Diego’s expression softened. “Me too.” He let me go and got a beer out of the fridge and some ice water for me. “You’re good with him,” he said when he joined me on the sofa.
“So are you. Very good godfathering skills.” I clinked my glass against his bottle.
We decided we were too tired to do the homework we’d both brought, so Diego turned on the TV.
“This okay?” he asked. It was some action movie filmed before I was born, but I nodded. “Thanks for coming with me tonight.”
“You’re welcome. It was an experience.”
“And definitely a two-person job.” Diego took a long swig of his beer. “I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to talk about your issue with Sara.”
“That’s okay. This took my mind off of it for a while, but I think that’s good. Babysitting is a healthier distraction than… some other kinds.” I looked away, not wanting him to see my face as the memory of sitting in Cody’s lap and kissing him at the movie night resurfaced. Followed by the memory of me sitting on Diego’s lap and kissing him at the Halloween party. Crap, was I going to do that with all my roommates? Hopefully not with Raymond.
Diego was watching me, and when I met his eyes again, I thought he wanted to ask me what out-of-character things I’d been doing lately but was too polite to.
Thank god.
We watched the movie in silence for a few minutes. My feet were still bare after the bath, and I pulled them up on the couch nextto me. That made me lean more toward Diego, and he swung his arm around my shoulders.
And it felt right, somehow. And very different then last time I’d been this close to him on a sofa. That had been fast and frantic and desperate. This was about friendship and comfort.
After a few more minutes, I leaned my head against him.
“Tired?” His arm tightened around me.
“Yes. It was a long week. But it ended well.” I looked up and his face was right there, his mouth close to mine. My gaze fell to his lips, but then I made myself look away. If I ever got kissed by Diego again, I wanted for us both to want it, not just because we were drunk or because we’d accidentally bumped heads.
With effort, I focused on the movie again without actually taking any of it in. Diego leaned in, pressing his lips softly against my head and inhaled deeply. “Your hair smells so good,” he murmured. “It almost smells like?—"
He went completely rigid next to me, and everything changed in a heartbeat.
"What—" I started to say, but then he was pulling away, practically launching himself off the sofa.
"It was you." His voice was rough, shocked. He was staring at me like he'd never seen me before. "At the Halloween party. It was you."
