Page 52 of Nailed (Dad Bod Contracting 3)
Nate laughs. “Dude, you know she can hear us, right? She’s got mom hearing—you say anything bad, she’ll know. I said a bad word at school once, and I swear there were no teachers or recess monitors around, and she still knew.”
I laugh out loud at that—he said the bad word with his teacher standing literally right behind him, and I got an email about it later that day.
I check the time, and curse under my breath—Nate’s bus will be here in less than five minutes and I’m still in my robe. I hustle into my room, lock my door, and get dressed for work in record time. I’ll have to do my makeup in the car on the way, but at least I’m clothed. When I leave my room, Ryder is watching Nate struggle with his shoelaces.
Eventually Nate gets frustrated, and Ryder kneels down. “Try it this way. Make a loop, wrap the other lace around it, slide the pointy end under the bridge, and pull it tight.”
Nate tries Ryder’s method and gets it the first time. “That’s a lot easier.”
“Wanna know a secret? I had Velcro shoes until I was in fourth grade because I couldn’t figure out how to tie my laces. I spent an entire summer trying to figure it out.” He laughs. “And you know, I still hate tying my shoes.” He points down at his feet, which are shoved into pull-on style work boots.
Damn him—he’s making this really hard for me. I want to take it slow, be cool, make sure this whole thing makes sense, and that I’m not making a mistake with Ryder, but then he does things like this, and proves how great he is with Nate, and my stupid heart melts and melts and melts, and all I want to do is kiss him until neither of us can breathe.
I check the time, and again have to spring into action. I toss Nate’s lunch into his backpack, snag his hoodie from the hook by the front door, and hand it to him.
“Bus is going to be here in a second, buddy,” I tell him, shoving the hoodie over his head. “Time to go!”
Nate pokes his arms through, shrugs into it, and shoulders his backpack on one shoulder; he leans into me for a hug, and then hesitates in front of Ryder.
Ryder extends his fist, the two tap knuckles. “See later, Nate,” Ryder says. “Be cool.”
“You too!” He hesitates, and then grins at me shyly. “Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too.” I kiss his cheek. “Be good. Make good choices.”
“Okay! The bus is here. Gotta go, bye!”
He bolts out the door and jogs to the end of the driveway; I follow him out onto the porch, as the bus squeals to a stop. He hops up the first two steps, pauses on the third to wave, and then vanishes inside. I watch as the bus disappears out of sight, before going back inside.
Ryder is in the kitchen, scrubbing the griddle. He glances at me. “I woke up at five out of habit, ran home, showered, changed, and came back.” He shrugs. “I just…I wasn’t quite ready to leave, but I know you said you didn’t want Nate to wake up with me here like I stayed here, so I pretended like I just showed up randomly—”
He’s rambling, and I realize he’s nervous, wondering what my reaction to his breakfast surprise will be, now that we’re alone.
I take the griddle out of his hand and toss it into the sink with a clatter; he has a sponge in one hand, and he’s soapy to his forearms. I tangle my fingers with his wet, soapy ones, splaying his arms out to the sides to keep them away from my clothing.
And then, with a sly smirk, I lean in and kiss him.
It starts out slow, but builds quickly. My heart thunders in my chest, and my heart swells at the hunger in his kiss. I can’t help leaning against him, pressing him back against the edge of the sink. Rising on my tiptoes to deepen the kiss, I keep his arms out to the sides.
He growls, pulling away from the kiss just enough to move his lips against mine. “You better quit kissing me like that or this break of ours will be over before it gets started.”
“I can’t help it,” I murmur. “You showed up when I needed you, no questions asked. You held me. You let me fall asleep. You got up early and left out of consideration for Nate, and then you came back and cooked us breakfast. You helped Nate get dressed, and tie his shoes…and you made him feel cool doing it. And then I come in here and find you doing the dishes?”
He grins crookedly. “I was worried I’d overstepped my boundaries.”
