Page 61 of A Baby for the Firefighter
“Can you think of a better pet name for an addict?”
“I’m not an addict,” he mumbled on a yawn. “Maybe just a little.” He sniffed the air. “Is that coffee?”
“It is, indeed. With lots of sugar, just the way you like it. Unless you’d rather drink it black?” I sat up and reached for the cup to hand it to him.
“Ew, no. Black coffee is poison.” Quickly, he grabbed the coffee from me before I could exchange it for something toxic. “Still not an addict,” he muttered under his breath.
“Fine. I’ll try to come up with a better pet name. How would you likemy sweet red velvet cupcakeorsnuggy-bear?” Both things I’d heard my sister call her boyfriend at one point.
He made a face, and I had the hardest time keeping my own expression neutral. “Sugar is fine.”
“Thought so.” I placed a kiss on the side of his face and caught a whiff of his scent again. He wasn’t made of sugar, but he smelled just as sweet.
“You made pancakes?” he asked, peering at the tray on the bedside table. “How long have you been up?” He glanced at the alarm clock. “It’s not that late.”
“I’m used to getting up very early,” I lied, handing him the tray so he could eat. He started by pouring a generous amount of syrup on his pancakes, of course.
“I could get used to breakfast in bed,” he said. “Are you going to treat me like this every morning or only when I put out?”
“I think I’ll reserve this for special occasions,” I said, chuckling because he managed to look so serious while asking that question.
“Special occasions?” He had to laugh too.
“I don’t know about you, but I think last night was pretty special.”
A faint red colored his cheeks. He couldn’t claim virgin status anymore, but I figured a part of him would always remain innocent. “Was it?” he asked. “I have nothing to compare it to.”
“Did you enjoy it?” I asked. “Because I did. It was amazing.” He needed to know that. He had every reason to be proud of last night’s performance. I’d never expected all that from him.
“I enjoyed it,” he mumbled into his coffee. “We should do that again sometime.”
I had to laugh again and give him a kiss. “Yeah, we definitely should.” I couldn’t wait.
Griff looked tempted too, licking his lips as he looked at me. But then he said, “My mom could be back any second.” He glanced down at the tray, as if the pancakes were being particularly interesting. “Actually I’m probably going to the hospital with her today.”
“To visit your dad?”
“Yeah.” He cut into his pancakes with a little less gusto than before. He was clearly nervous about this, but I wasn’t sure how to help him. “My mom’s practically been begging me,” he said. “And I think, I don’t know. It might be good? I mean, I visited him in the hospital before, but it’s not like it really counts because he wasn’t awake, so if he got into another accident next week, it’ll still feel like I never visited. And…” he stopped himself. “Sorry, I’m rambling again.”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind. I think it’s kind of cute, actually.”
He raised an eyebrow at me, the disbelief obvious in his expression.
“I’m not just saying that!” I ruffled his hair. “You’re super cute. Especially when you’re rambling, so don’t apologize for that. It’s just how you process things. You’re nervous about seeing your dad. I get that.” I wasn’t super close with my own parents, but at least we were still on speaking terms and got together for all the big holidays. I couldn’t imagine it being any other way, really. “If I was in your position, I’d be nervous too.”
“Really?”
“Of course.” I kissed his hair. “You’ll be fine, though. Your dad is the one who messed up here. He has no right to judge you.”
“No… I know. I just… want to make up, I guess. I want things to go back to normal. Maybe that’s stupid. I don’t know…”
“It’s not stupid.” But it was very like Griff to wish for peace. I wanted that for him too. There wasn’t a vengeful bone in his body. I was pretty sure he’d never wished for bad things to happen to anyone. It just sucked that they still happened to him. I wanted to wrap him in my arms and hide him away from everyone who wasn’t as innocent as him. “It might not be easy, but maybe it’s doable. I guess you have to go talk to him to see if there’s any chance…”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Would you like me to come with you?”
He looked up at that. Then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want to introduce you to both my parents in the hospital. And he would ask all sorts of stupid questions. It would be awkward as hell. It’ll probably be easier if I go by myself.”
