I looked at King then and whispered, “You okay?”
He swallowed and blinked a few times before clearing his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I smiled and shot a glance in Oliver’s direction as he watched a few stage hands set up the props for the start of the show. “I think he’s decided you’re both going to be friends. Not sure you get a say in the matter. Sorry.”
King laughed gently. “That’s fine by me.”
“Thank you for being so cool about this,” I went on, voice soft.
“Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve fully comprehended what’s happening yet.”
His bemused tone made me chuckle, because I completely got where he was coming from. If I had been in King’s shoes right then, I’d probably be freaking the hell out.
Oliver twisted in his lap and practically shoved the candy floss in King’s face. “Want some?”
“Uh, sure,” he said, and picked off a piece.
“Oh, yeah, don’t bother to offer me any,” I mock-complained, and then the candy floss was being shoved in my face. I picked off a larger piece.
“Don’t eat it all,” Oliver whined before looking to King. “She always eats it all.”
King chuckled, his eyes alight and fascinated by every little thing that came out of Oliver’s mouth. A second later, the lights were dimmed and the start of the show was being announced. It turned out that Marina was the ringmaster, and she walked out wearing a long red coat and a top hat. Her capuchin monkey sat on her shoulder, and, just as I’d imagined when I first saw it, Oliver almost lost his shit.
“She has a monkey! Look, Mummy, she has a monkey!” He bounced on King’s lap, who bent down to tell him,
“That’s my sister Marina. Her monkey’s name is Pierre.”
Oliver looked up at him, a massive grin on his face and bits of pink candy floss stuck to his cheeks. “Can I meet him?”
King smiled at him, and again it made my heart go whoosh. “I’m sure I can arrange it.”
“You’re the best,” Oliver declared, and without warning reached up and threw his little arms around King’s neck for a hug. He seemed startled at first, but then his eyes came to mine and I saw the emotion in them. He squeezed him back, and somehow I knew in that moment that everything was going to be all right. I had to look away for a second and clear my throat to keep from getting all weepy.
The show began with Marina announcing the elephants.
“That’s the one I got to pet,” Oliver shouted, pointing to one of the large creatures.
He was mesmerised by the entire show, in particular Jay’s part, which even had my jaw hanging open in slack-jawed amazement. After Jay came Jack, but Oliver didn’t like this bit so much. In fact, all the fire frightened him, and he turned in King’s lap, shoving his face into his chest because he didn’t want to watch. King startled, hands in the air like he didn’t know what to do. I gave him an encouraging look and gestured to his hands. Finally he got the hint and wrapped his arms around Oliver as though protecting him from what scared him.
Unlike my son, I wasn’t scared by Jack’s act at all. On the contrary, I was a smidge titillated, especially since the man wore jeans and no shirt. I caught King shooting me an arch look, so I shrugged and mouthed a what? at him. He only grinned and shook his head, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was jealous. The thought made me oddly giddy.
During the intermission, Oliver was a chatty cat, as per usual. And he was more than fascinated by King.
“Why have you got long hair?”
King gave me a devious smile before replying, “Your mum likes it like this.”
Oliver turned to me, all inquisitive. “Why do you like his hair long, Mummy?”
I shot King an annoyed scowl, trying not to smile back, but my effort was useless. “Because it’s pretty and blond just like yours.”
By the look on his face, he didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m a boy. I’m not pretty. I’m handsome.”
His response made me laugh, and I was staring at King when I answered, “Sometimes boys can be pretty and handsome.”
“Granny Elaine tells me I’m handsome all the time,” Oliver preened.
A pained look crossed King’s face at the mention of his mother, and I knew exactly what I had left to do. I had to get him to go see her. The show came to an end, and Oliver wouldn’t hear a word about going home until he’d gotten to meet the monkey. King led us backstage, and Marina was more than happy to introduce Oliver to her furry companion. I even saw a bit of a shine in her eyes as she took in my boy. She kept looking between him and King, noting the similarities. I thought she might well up at one point, but she managed to hold it together.
“Do you want to come home with us for dinner?” I asked King quietly as Oliver giggled excitedly while Pierre stuck his monkey hands in my son’s shirt and trouser pockets, searching for loot.
King breathed deeply, standing close enough for me to feel his breath hit my skin. “Yes, I’d like that, Alexis.”
There was something intense in the way he said my name. It caused the tiny hairs on my arms to stand on end and my breathing to turn shallow. I started remembering our kiss from the night before, his tongue hot and wet in my mouth and his cock hard and ready in his pants. I blinked and looked away, trying to clear the images. I had no business thinking those sorts of thoughts right then.
A few minutes later, I finally managed to pull Oliver away from Pierre. Suddenly, all he could talk about was getting a pet monkey. We made our way to where I’d parked the car, and Oliver asked King to sit in the back with him so that they could talk. By the time we arrived at the house, he’d told him all about his friends at Montessori and how he was going to be starting at the big school in September.
Every once in a while my gaze would lock with King’s through the overhead mirror, and every time it happened, my skin tingled. He was here, in our lives, talking to our son like it was the most normal thing in the world. Feeling dizzy with happiness, I got out of the car and went around to let Oliver out. King exited from the other side and stood in our small garden, surveying the house in front of him.
“This is a nice place,” he said as I gestured for him to follow me inside.
“Thanks. It felt like it took me forever to save for the down payment. I’d put aside a bunch of money from my modelling work, but then when the agency took off, I could finally afford it.” I stopped talking when I realised I was rambling
“You like living here?” he asked.
“I love it,” I answered simply. “It’s home.”
Slipping my shoes off in the hallway, I padded barefoot into the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out the ingredients for dinner. I planned on making roast pork with potatoes and apple sauce. King took a stool by the counter and watched, while Oliver situated himself in the living room to play. He had this set of toy cars that he was currently obsessed with. All I’d hear was various renditions of vroom vroooom out of him for hours on end.
“It’s a good look for you,” King said randomly as I peeled potatoes.
“What is?”
“This place. I like how happy you seem here.”
“Well, like I said, I kind of have you to thank for it. You always used to big me up, tell me I could do whatever I wanted once I set my mind to it. And owning a home of my own has always been a big dream for me.”
His stare grew thoughtful. He didn’t say anything in response, and I suddenly felt awkward. It was probably because of the way he was looking at me so intently. I fingered the collar of my shirt, bashful, and his eyes wandered to the movement. His breath escaped him all at once before he blurted, “Is it strange to feel like I love him already, and I’ve only just met him?”
My heart gave a single hard thump, and I knew instantly he was talking about Oliver. His words caused my pulse to accelerate as I shook my head. “It’s not strange at all. I loved him from the moment I saw him.”