AllFreeNovel
Share Us
August glances over at Sem, who is lifting a large bucket of water and carrying it across the lawn. It looks heavy, and he’s carrying it like it weighs nothing.
“I doubtyoucould teach Emery anything. Sem could throw him around a little, but what would you do,” he says with a smile. “Lecture him?”
“I’m great with words,” I say and then poke him in the chest. “I could talk him to death.”
August huffs a laugh. “Probably could, but hey, let’s just focus on this afternoon. And make sure Sem behaves.”
But apparently, neither of us has anything to worry about. As soon as the kids are offloaded from the vans, they make a beeline for Sem, shouting “Look! A real-lifegiant!”and start literally crawling all over him.
And Semletsthem.He’s actually grinning.
They shimmy up him like little monkeys on a tree, and he just stands there, plucking them off of him, and hanging them upside down by their legs. I nearly have a heart attack when he throws some of them up into the air, but I can breathe again when he actually catches them. When he’s not giving me a heart attack, he’s trudging around the lawn with them clinging to his legs, torso, and arms. They take turns riding on his back like he’s a horse.
The kids are having more fun with him than with any of the games we’ve set up for them. Most of them sit unused and ignored.
“Where did you find him?” Lisa asks me, her eyes wide as she watches Sem collapse onto the ground with children still attached to him. Then suddenly, he’s rising up, jogging around as fast as he can while the kids squeal in delight. He looks like a Christmas tree with ornaments hanging off of it.
“He’s a friend of a friend,” I reply. Because how do I tell her that he stalks me, sort of. That he breaks into my apartment and waits for me to get home. That we dare each other to have sex in different positions. It sounds ludicrous.
Lisa smiles as Sem plops a little girl onto his shoulders. “He’s really good with kids.”
“Yeah,” I say, rubbing at my chest. “He is.”
Sem’s puffing in the distance, his eyes filled with excitement as he holds a kid above a large tub of water.
“Hold your breath!” he shouts, and then the kid goes under before being yanked up and placed onto the ground. The kid shakes his head, droplets of water spraying everywhere, and then the kid launches himself back onto Sem.
The rest of the kids go wild seeing this, lining up for their chance to have Sem hold them headfirst over a bucket of water. Wonders never cease.
“Anyone would be lucky to have him. Imagine him as a dad,” Lisa says, and I inhale shakily. Because yeah, Sem would be an incredible father. He’d be just wild enough.
The image of that.
Fuck me.
“Hey, Magnus,” a voice says behind me, and I tear my eyes from Sem, who’s dunking his own head into the bucket of water and shaking it at a group of squealing kids.
“Oh! Hi, Colin,” I say, overly loud and clear my throat. I kinda, sorta forgot he was coming. I try not to look guilty for making heart-eyes at Sem across the field when Colin’s standing right here in front of me.
Then my gaze is drawn down to a little boy near Colin’s side. He has brown hair like Colin and the same sweet eyes.
“Hey there,” I say, bending down and smiling at him. “You must be Daniel. I’m Magnus.”
The little boy smiles shyly at me and then looks over my shoulder at what’s happening behind me. I can hear Sem growling like a monster as kids squeal their delight.
“What’s he doing?” Daniel asks, blinking rapidly.
“Being a crazy, silly man,” I say with a laugh. “Want to join?”
“Yeah,” he says and then looks up to his dad for approval. Colin nods once, and then Daniel is off like a shot, making a direct beeline for Sem, who is plucking another kid off the ground. Colin and I watch as Daniel taps Sem on the side. Sem turns to look at the new kid and glances over his shoulder, meeting my gaze. I smile at him, but his eyes flick to Colin, standing next to me, and those blue eyes narrow. Then he looks down at Daniel and hefts him up into his arms, turning him upside down and holding him over the tub of water. Daniel screams in delight as Sem dunks the top of his head into it, wetting just the tips of his hair.
“Who’s that?” Colin asks with a laugh as Daniel is set back on the ground, his eyes wide with glee. Water drips down his cheeks and soaks his shirt. Then Daniel’s clamoring onto Sem again, obviously as enamored with him as everyone else.
I feel ya, buddy.
“A friend,” I tell him and then force myself to look away because I could watch Sem with kids all day when my focus should be on Colin. Colin, who made the trip over here to meet with me. The one who looks good in those athletic shorts and fitted tee. The dedicated father. The smart, well-read man of my dreams. He’s a professor, for god’s sake. Like, swoon.
“It’s really great that you’re doing this,” he says as I hand out bags of chips and bottles of water to some hungry kids. They rip into the bags, spilling half of it on the ground, and then bend down to shove it in their mouths before I can tell them not to.
