AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is our son Aiden,” she explains, turning him so I can better see the little face.
I’ve never been a huge baby guy, not really sure I wanted kids for myself, but the chubby-cheeked little bundle is pretty damn cute, even I have to admit. It makes me wonder what my baby might look like.
No, not my baby. Alyson’s baby. Alyson and Max.
I push the thoughts aside and reach out to take a tiny hand in my own, shaking it gingerly. “Pleasure to meet you, sir,” I tell him.
Caitlyn giggles. “You’re more than welcome to make yourself at home in the living room if you’d like, but unfortunately I’m gonna be stuck in the kitchen for a little bit.”
“I can come keep you company in there,” I offer, “Although it seems you’re already in pretty great company,” I look down at Aiden, who makes a weird little baby noise.
She leads me to the kitchen, where she plunks Aiden into a high chair. I sit down in a chair next to him, while Caitlyn washes her hands and then goes back to chopping veggies on a cutting board to go into a large salad bowl. “So, you work at Brand Slam, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, for a few months now.”
“I actually technically do, too, I’m just on a bit of an extended maternity leave,” she explains with a sheepish smile, “I keep telling myself I’m gonna go back, but then I look at that little face and say ‘oh, just one more week’.”
“Are you into graphic design, too?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “No, I’m just the front desk girl. Wade’s been super sweet, letting Michael fill the position from a temp agency until I get back, but I know he can’t do that forever.”
I’ve only met the owner of the company, Wade Wallace, a handful of times. Apparently he’s been pretty hands-off since he promoted Michael to management, comfortably leaving the business in his capable hands. But he still pops in occasionally, and he seems like a pretty decent guy.
The front door opens and I hear familiar male voices. Caitlyn’s face lights up, and moments later, both Hunter and Michael walk into the room. “Hey, Forrest, how’s it going?” Michael greets me.
I try to keep my surprise off my face. Michael has hung out with us in a group a few times, which was always interesting to me. I’ve never had a boss who would fraternize with us minions. “Pretty good, how about you?” I ask.
Hunter greets Caitlyn with a kiss, and Michael leans down over the high chair to tousle the downy fluff atop Aiden’s head. “I’m great,” he says cheerfully, then addresses the baby: “Did you have a good day, little man?”
“He did, he ate all of his lunch, went down for his nap with no problems, and that little sniffle from the other day seems to be totally gone now,” Caitlyn informs him.
He strides over to her and pulls her close, and for a second, I’m confused. And then he leans down and kisses her and I’m even more confused.
Hunter comes over to greet his son and sees the shock I’m unable to conceal from my face. “Oh, yeah, I should have warned you, uh…our relationship is a little bit unconventional.”
“I kinda got that.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, Caitlyn and Michael are both my partners. I’m with them, they’re with me and each other…and Aiden’s all of ours. I mean, not biologically, but,” he shrugs, as if to say it simply doesn’t matter.
“And you’re engaged?” I ask.
“Yeah. Technically I can’t marry both of them at once, but we’re not really worried about the legal part so much as the commitment aspect,” he explains, “But of course we’ll set up whatever legal protections we can, especially for this little dude,” he squishes Aiden’s cheek.
“How-” a million questions run through my brain, and all of them rush to my mouth at once, causing a traffic jam that leaves me speechless.
I clear my throat. “How’d that happen?” I ask finally, lamely.
Michael laughs. “Well, Caity and I grew up together, and we both always had feelings for each other that we never did anything about because we’re idiots. Then I moved here, met Hunter, and started falling for him, too, but then Caity moved here and started dating him.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, it was a little messy for a bit,” he laughs, “But then we just kind of figured out that….there aren’t any rules in life. No one can stop you from loving who you want to love, you know? We’re all grown-ass adults, and we love each other, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So we just embraced it.”
I nod slowly.
Before I can ask more questions, Caitlyn informs us that dinner is ready, so Hunter and Michael go to help her bring dishes to the table. I watch the three of them, and I find myself fascinated by the way they move, the three of them working in a practiced sync that illustrates just how bonded they are.
They bring everything to the table and we start dishing stuff up, and once everyone has full plates and starts to eat, I can’t stop myself from asking more questions about their relationship.
