Chapter 111

Chapter 35 "Are you sure you'll be fine?" Grayson asked, his hand resting hesitantly on the doorknob. I sighed. "Yes, I'll be fine. I think I'm capable of taking care of our son by myself for a few hours." "But he..." "Grayson, just go," I said. "Ryder will be fine being away from his dad." Probably. Most likely. Grayson nodded. "Yeah, of course. If you ever need anything, you know where I find me. And even if you just want to..." I interrupted Grayson by cupping his face in my hands and pressing my lips on his. He really needed to shut up and go to work. I pulled away. "I'll be fine," I said. "Just go." "Okay," Grayson said. He kissed my cheek before grabbing his keys and leaving. I went to my room after locking the door and laid down on my bed next to Ryder. Grayson put him down for a nap a while ago, putting pillows on the edge of the bed so he wouldn't fall off. I closed my eyes, going down for a nap. However, I was woken up about forty five minutes later when Ryder started fussing. I gently picked him and and began rocking him, but he soon began to cry. I knew for a fact that he wasn't hungry, so there was another reason he was crying. And I had a feeling it was because he wanted his dad. I got up from my bed, rocking him as I walked around the apartment. His sobs quieted down a bit, but not completely. Five minutes of trying to dissolve his sobs, I decided I was going to need help. I carefully put him in the stroller, wrapping his blanket around him before grabbing my keys and leaving, locking the door behind me. Ryder kept crying softly and I now knew it was because he wanted Grayson. He had a distinguishable sob for when he wanted Grayson and this was it. When I got into the cafe, a lot of the university students that I knew and live nearby looked at me. I ignored them and stood in line, still having Ryder cry. I got to the front of the line where Grayson was. "I know I told you I'd be fine, but he wants you," I said. Grayson sighed. "I can't hold him, as much as I want to." "I know," I said. "Can you just talk to him so he can see you?" Grayson bit his lip and looked behind me, making sure there was no one else in line. He sighed. "I could get written up for this," he said before walking out from behind the counter and crouching beside the stroller. "Ryder," he said softly. "Hey, don't cry." Immediately, Ryder stopped crying and he even smiled at Grayson. As annoyed I was for him only wanting Grayson, that smile was the cutest thing ever. "There you go," Grayson said, smiling back. Someone cleared their throat and Grayson turned around, seeing his manager. "Grayson, you're supposed to be behind the counter at all times," he said. "I'm sorry," Grayson said. "My son was crying and wouldn't stop until he saw me." His manager looked at Ryder, then had a smile on his face. "Well, you're lucky nobody is in the line," he said. "I'll let you off the hook this one time, only because I know how hard it is to be a new parent and having to go to work. But you have to go back behind the counter now." "Yes, sir," Grayson said before his manager walked away. "I have to get back. Are you going to stay here?" "I think so, yeah," I said. "Maybe until Ryder falls asleep and I can take him back home without him realizing he's away from his dad." "Yeah, good luck with that," Grayson said with a snort. "So, want any cookies while you're here?" I shook my head. "No, I'm just going to sit at a table." "Alright, I'll see you later," he said before kissing my cheek. He then bent down in front of the stroller. "Bye, Ryder." Ryder smiled again, but his lip began quivering when Grayson went back behind the counter since he was out of sight for him. I sighed, but I had a solution for it, hopefully. I went to the closest table to the counter, positioning the stroller so Ryder was facing the counter. He had a clear view of Grayson and his quivering lip turned back into a smile. I pulled out my cell phone, deciding to go on Netflix since there was nothing else for me to do. I would hold Ryder, but he was more interested in seeing his dad than being held by his mom. Once in a while, mainly when there was no lineup, Grayson would wave at Ryder, which only caused our son to smile wider. He was only four weeks old, but he was smiling so much. It wasn't long before Ryder decided to randomly fall asleep. As soon as I finished the show I was watching, I was going to go back home, hoping Ryder would stay asleep until Grayson was off the clock. However, right as the show finished, Grayson sat down beside me, throwing his arm around my shoulder. "How's my beautiful girlfriend?" he asked. "Your beautiful girlfriend is about to head home," I said. Grayson curled his lips into a pout. "Aww, you don't want to stay and bask in my presence?" I rolled my eyes. "I'm just bored here. And Ryder is sleeping so I thought it would be best if I leave with him now so he won't cry from not seeing you." "Can't you leave after my break?" Grayson asked. "Please?" "Fine," I said. "Only because you're so cute when you pout." I squeezed his cheeks. "Look at this cute wittle face. So cute." Grayson moved my hands away and gave me a sarcastic smile. "You're so funny." I smiled. "I know I am." Grayson chuckled and kissed my cheek. "This is why I love you, Flower. Oh, and by the way, how would you feel about me getting another tattoo?" "You want another tattoo?" I asked. Grayson already had two; one at the back of his neck and one on his chest where his heart is. The one on the back of his neck was of angel wings where one was dark and one was light. The other one, the one on his chest, was of a poppy. "Well..." he said slowly. "Wait, let me guess, you already got it?" I asked. "Well... yeah," he said. "You're not mad, are you?" "No, of course not," I said. "I don't care if people want to get tattoos. Besides, the ones you get always have meaning. So, what is it this time?" "It's, uh... It's actually of Ryder's name," Grayson said. "I got it put right over the poppy." I smiled. "Really? That's sweet." "And, maybe if we have more kids, I'll get their names' tattooed as well," he said. "Well, that's if we have more kids. You know, if you want more. But, of course, we should probably graduate from university first since we already have one right now and we have to focus on Ryder and university and..." "Grayson," I interrupted. "You're rambling." Grayson sighed. "Sorry. I just... sorry." "It's kind of cute when you ramble," I said. Grayson smiled and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Flower." He kissed my forehead and rested his head on top of mine. "Will you, though? I mean, will you want more kids in the future?" "Yeah," I said softly. I never even thought about having kids before, mainly because I had been so focused on university. But then Ryder came along and having him was such an amazing feeling. I definitely wanted to have more in the future, after university of course. And definitely with Grayson. Grayson soon had to go back to work, so he kissed my cheek once again. I told him I was going to head back to the apartment with Ryder. I was about to get up from the seat and was about to walk out when I saw three people I hadn't seen in a while, and I wished I still didn't have to see them. Mina, Bianca, and Jenna. "Oh, look who it is," Mina said with a smirk. "It's the whore." "Seriously?" I asked. "You're still on that? Grow up already, will you?" "I still don't know what Grayson sees in you," Mina said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why don't you ask him?" I asked. "He's working right now, so might as well. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head home before my son wakes up because then I won't be able to leave since he'll want to stay with his dad." All three of them then glanced at the stroller, seeing Ryder for the first time. "You weren't kidding when you said Grayson was the father," Mina said. "Your baby looks a lot like Grayson." "Yeah, I know," I said. "He's a cutie," Mina said softly, which did confuse me a bit. She went from calling me a whore to being... not a jerk. Ryder then stirred before opening his eyes. "Great," I muttered. Now I wouldn't be able to go home, even more so when his lips quivered and he began his I want to see my dad cry. "Hey, Ryder," I said quietly. "Look, who's that?" I pointed over to Grayson, who waved at Ryder. And, like I predicted, Ryder immediately stopped crying to smile. Why did he have to love Grayson more than me? Sure, it was cute, but not when Grayson had to work. Mina and her two friends went into the lineup without another word, thankfully. I didn't want them to talk to me any longer. I ended up having to stay in the cafe until Grayson finished his shift, which was a bit after five. Finally, I was able to go home. Grayson was the one who pushed the stroller, since it gave Ryder a clearer view of his dad. As soon as we got home, Grayson took Ryder out of the stroller and we sat down on the couch. "He's probably going to have to come to work with me everyday now," Grayson said. I scoffed. "Yeah, your manager probably wouldn't like that, no matter how nice he seems." "Yeah, you're probably right," Grayson said. "Then we have to hope that little Ryder will get used to being with his mom more often." I wished...