He looked down at himself. His skin was pale, normal, his belly flat.
The baby.
Dale sat upright, his heart stumbling. “I’m pregnant?” he murmured. “I can’t be.”
But he remembered the five tests yesterday, the double blue lines, and Greg standing beside him, counting down the minutes with his phone. They’d met for dinner to discuss the baby. Except they’d gotten distracted, and Dale had a meeting with Bernard Hastings this afternoon.
He groaned, grabbing his phone. 7:14 AM. A minute before his alarm went. Dale killed the alarm, rolling out of bed. Vaguely, he thought about pulling shorts on. But there wasn’t any point anyway, when he and Greg hadn’t just fucked once.
They’d slept together twice, Greg had watched him pee, and it was ironic how he didn’t need contraceptives now—not because he was infertile, but because he was pregnant. I still can’t believe it.
He pressed his hand to his belly, wandering to the kitchen.
Greg stood at the electric stove, shirtless, his jeans hanging from his hips. When Dale stepped in, he turned, his dark eyes wandering over Dale—from his face to his hips to his feet, and back up. “Morning,” Greg said, his voice rasping.
Dale swallowed. Gods, could this alpha get any sexier? “Hello,” he croaked, clearing his throat. “Sorry. I didn’t expect you to be up this early.”
“I’m making breakfast,” Greg said, nodding at the pan.
Dale crossed the kitchen, rubbing his arms. Maybe he should’ve pulled a shirt on—it was March, and still a little chilly. “You found my favorite food.”
“Bacon?” Greg laughed. “I looked in the cabinets. Should I be sorry?”
“Not if you’re making me breakfast,” Dale said, his chest filling with warmth. This, he hadn’t expected either. “Sex and bacon—are you trying to get into my good books?”
“Maybe your science journals.” A grin played on Greg’s lips as he opened the cabinets. He pulled out a mug, filling it half-full with coffee. “Cream? Sugar?”
“It should go to three-quarters full,” Dale said, his lips twitching. “But yes. Three tablespoons of sugar, and cream.”
“You’re pregnant, so no. Half a cup. That’s all for today.”
Dale sighed. “So I’m really pregnant.”
Greg slanted a look at him, opening the fridge for milk. “We could visit the doctor in a month’s time if you want to be sure.”
“‘We’?”
“Yeah. I’m not leaving,” Greg said.
“Oh. I thought... you might drop me and run.”
Greg snorted, stirring sugar into the coffee—he’d only added one tablespoon of it, Dale noticed. “I’ll grab some clothes from home before I come back,” Greg said. “Any plans this week?”
“No.” Dale accepted the mug of coffee, breathing in its bittersweet fragrance. “You’re... really staying the week.”
“Yeah.” Greg drank from a mug he’d poured himself. His coffee was black, like Dale had suspected. “So you’ll get used to me.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m the kid’s dad. You’re going to be seeing a lot of me.”
Dale’s pulse skipped. “You’re handling the news a lot better than I expected,” he said. “Most unbonded alphas your age would flee.”
“I’m not most alphas.”
“I guess not, if you’re sleeping with me.” Dale ducked his chin, staring into his mug. His coffee was paler than usual, and less sweet. Probably a healthier dose than he usually poured himself. “You left out two tablespoons of sugar.”
“Three tablespoons would be too much for half a cup.” Greg raised an eyebrow. “Or do you want me to indulge you with unhealthy food?”
Dale smiled to himself, hiding his face behind his mug. Greg’s concern was endearing.“One tablespoon, I guess. I’ll have to get used to less caffeine. My usual is three cups in the morning.”
“Three?” Greg stared incredulously at him. “No wonder you smell like coffee in class.”
“You’ve been smelling me?”
“Yeah.” Greg’s nostrils flared. “But you smell like me today.”
The heat on Dale’s cheeks intensified. Greg had marked him last night, after he brought in a damp towel to wipe Dale down. Then they’d kissed and cuddled, and Dale had savored the tangle of their limbs, the whisper of Greg’s skin on his own. And now, he smelled like Greg.
A ribbon of horror shot down his spine. “I have a meeting with your dad this afternoon.”
Greg tensed. “Crap.”
“He’ll smell you on me. I’ll have to look for a scent suppressant.”
“The school pharmacy should have one.” Greg winced. “Sorry.”
“I don’t know if you should be. Last night was... nice. I enjoyed it. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Greg said, but he smiled, his cheeks darkening. He turned to flip the bacon in the pan.
Dale watched him, melting a little. Greg had helped him through the pregnancy tests in the college bathroom yesterday, and he had seemed too good to be true. Except he was still here, and he was now making Dale breakfast. “You really don’t have to do all this.”
“You deserve a good time,” Greg said.
“Then you’re spoiling me. Who’s going to give me a good time after you leave?”
“I’ll come back. I meant what I said about this week, you know.” Greg turned fully to look at Dale, his expression honest. “Let me stay until Sunday. Give me a chance.”
Dale rolled the mug in his hands. If it weren’t for his heat last week, he wouldn’t even have agreed to meet Greg. But after two months of Greg asking him out, Dale’s resistance had eroded from rock to sand. “Fine.”
Greg smiled, laying bacon strips out on a wad of paper towels. “Do you want eggs, too?”
“Yes, please.”
Dale watched in silence as Greg cracked eggs into the pan. They sizzled, their yolks a sunny yellow, their whites turning opaque.
Even though it was a school day, it didn’t feel like one. Breakfast was cooking on the stove, and Dale’s body was relaxed, aching a little after last night.
“My first class is at 9 AM,” he said, sipping from his mug.
“Yeah, that’s my class.”
“Gods, I hope no one notices. I smell like you. I mean, I smell like we had a thorough fucking.”
Greg smirked. “Want more tonight?”
Dale shivered, his nerves
