Some Like it Hot - J. D. Light Page 0,17

me.

"How am I supposed to be friends with someone like that?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "Not only is he like stupid hot, he's so fucking nice and caring. He has a cat that he says isn't his, but the damn thing has a cat door, and comes and goes in his apartment whenever he wants. I don't know how to tell him, but I'm pretty sure Cat the cat is a she, and he's probably going to end up with four or five mini-Cats soon."

I gasped, glancing at the cat sitting in my lap like he'd betrayed me, but all she––apparently––did was yawn at me and turn her head away as Bates continued.

"And he totally doesn't get how appealing he is. He's absolute shit at accepting compliments, which is such a change from alphas I've been around in the past." He paused, swallowing hard. "I can already tell I'm in big trouble."

***

AUGUST

"Oh, wow," the new guy, Johnson, said, sounding awestruck, through the door that led to the back. "Hi."

I frowned, not really sure what to make of his tone, until I heard the sound of Bates' voice answering back, and then I fully understood why the guy sounded like he was falling in love.

"Hi."

By now, most people in the shop knew Bates, and quite a few knew he came by to see me.

Yeah, we'd been doing this friendship thing for a few weeks now, and I still hadn't managed to work up the nerve to ask him on a real date, or even come close to stating my intentions for him.

"You want some coffee?" Johnson asked, sounding perky.

Bates snickered softly. "Maybe in a bit, but I was actually hoping to see Grant."

I poked my head through the door. "Hey." My breath caught at the way he brightened, as soon as he saw me.

"Hey," he whispered. "I thought I'd stop by to see if you wanted to have lunch. I brought tacos from the food truck down the road."

I smiled, making Johnson gasp. "You brought outside food here to the place we sell food."

Bates blinked, holding up the bag. "Tacos."

"Damn, boss, I didn't know you could smile," Johnson said, and I frowned, glancing over at the super-young omega suddenly staring up at me adoringly.

"Watch your mouth, Johnson," I said, scowling. "This is a family place."

"Then maybe you should stop eye fucking your hot friend," he grumbled, quiet enough that only Bates and I could hear.

I chuckled and shrugged, reaching out and grabbing Bates' hand, pulling him with me toward my office. "Come on."

"Oh my gosh, who are these cuties?" Bates gushed when he saw the pictures of first Ricki and Casey playing together at Ricki's birthday party, and then of Arden and Calen playing in the grass in my parents' backyard from a couple weeks ago.

I smiled as I looked at them, hoping someday my kids were just as fun. "Well, these three are my nephews, Ricki, Calen and Arden, and that one is Casey, Riley's nephew," I said, pointing each one out. "Oh, and Ricki, is also Kent's nephew, and soon to be stepson." I smirked when he gave me that strange look I'd been expecting and nodded. "Kent's brother is Ricki's dad. Dawes has been in love with him for almost as long as Ricki has been alive."

"And now they're together. That's so sweet."

"It is. How would you like to come to my parents' with me this Saturday? We have a family dinner once a week."

He gasped, his eyes meeting mine. "You want me to meet your parents?"

"I want you to meet my whole family, and I want them to meet you. I know they'll love you, and I think you'll like them too."

"I… Will those guys that were here the other day be there?"

I thought I might know why he was suddenly looking so damn nervous. We still hadn't talked about his profession. I'd thought about bringing it up a few times, and I was pretty sure he'd thought about it also, but in the end, nothing was ever actually said.

He had to think it was weird that I never questioned what he did for a living. We'd been hanging out nearly every single night for a while now.

"Yeah," I said, knowing Jennings was the one he was actually worried about, since Jennings had been the one to imply that he used to watch his scenes.

"I don't know," he whispered, his eyes moving to the pictures of my nephews, before snapping back to my face. "Not that