Page 39 of A Baby for the Firefighter
But as I wanted to draw back, Griff held on to the hem of my sleeve, and pressed our lips together again, opening his mouth to me. Seemed he had no reservations about who was going to see us do this whatsoever. Well, that was a relief. And I shamelessly took him up on his invitation to explore his mouth. He didn't just smell sweet, he tasted sweet as well. I could have lost myself in him.
But this was neither the time nor the place for that.
“Thank you for coming,” Griff whispered as we parted. “Thank you so much.”
“You don't have to thank me.” I kissed him again on the forehead before looking into the room. I spotted Mr. Stevens in the bed, and Griff's mother in a chair in front of it.
“Hello, Mrs. Stevens,” I greeted her. “I'm Dean Kramer.”
It took her a moment, but then her face lit up in recognition. “You used to be friends with Griffin back in school, didn’t you?” She shook her head. “I guess that’s not the appropriate term anymore, is it?”
I reached for Griff’s hand and held it in my own. “I’m his boyfriend now, and it’s a pleasure to meet you again, Mrs. Stevens.”
“His boyfriend, I see.” She smiled. “I’d been wondering if there was anyone special in my son’s life. I’m glad to see he’s not alone.”
“No, he’s not.” I smiled back at her, glad that she was taking my role in her son’s life so well. Approaching the bed, I glanced at the still form of Mr. Stevens. I’d seen worse cases of fire victims, but I’d also seen better.
“Dean’s a firefighter,” Griff told his mother with a hint of awe and pride in his voice that made me feel all sorts of things. And not all of them good.
I hadn’t been much of a firefighter in a while, and if that was what Griff liked about me, I was going to let him down.
No, you just need to overcome your problems and get your head back in the game.
But the fact that I had no idea how to do that was exactly the reason I’d come to this town in the first place. To run away, like a puppy with his tail between his legs. Fine alpha I was.
Griffin’s mother looked at me curiously. “Oh, but you weren’t with the nice firemen at our house, were you?” She tilted her head as she scrutinized me.
“No, ma’am. I don’t belong to this town’s fire department.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” she said. “They could use more men, and you look capable.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Griff said, and then he slapped his hand in front of his mouth as if he’d said too much. He made me smile. The only one who could in moments like this.
“Be that as it may, I’m very glad to see you in relative health after the accident,” I said to shift the topic of conversation away from me.
“It was awful,” Mrs. Stevens said. “I’ll have nightmares for weeks. And the house… oh, the house…” She shook her head.
“It must be bad. I’m sorry.”
She only shook her head again. “I don’t even know where to stay yet. Maybe I’ll just stay here overnight.”
“Mom, no. I have so much space, you can stay with me,” Griff said. And then he looked surprised at his own words. I was slightly surprised as well, and hoped that he knew what he was doing. From what I’d gathered, he didn’t have the best relationship with his parents, but maybe he was right and this was the time to restore some bonds.
“You don’t have to do that, Griffin,” his mother spoke up, though she was smiling. Then she looked between the two of us. “Are you two living together yet?”
“No!” Griff said quickly as if the thought shocked him. Or maybe it was more the thought of what his mother must be picturing in her head. I hoped for the latter, anyway. “We’re not… This is a new thing.”
Mrs. Stevens laughed. “I see. But you don’t need to act so coy, dear, you know I had two children when I was your age.”
Griff’s face took on a shade so red it rivaled the stop sign he probably wanted to put to this conversation.
His mother seemed to be amused by it, though. “Are you thinking about having children?” she asked.
“It’s a bit too early for that,” I cut in before Griff could become the first human to explode from embarrassment.
“Yes, it is!” Griff agreed with me. “We’re like… going slow and all, and we’re totally not living together so I really have space in my house and all. If you want to stay, I mean. That would be cool. Because you wouldn’t be interrupting anything.”
“Griff,” I said softly to make him aware of his rambling, and he stopped. I kissed his cheek and whispered, “You’re adorable when you’re nervous,” in his ear just to see if he would squirm. He did. Considering the situation, I kept my laughter inside.
