I hit the end call button before sitting back in the chair at my desk, completely stressed about everything. I had gone through so many calls today and it wasn't even one in the afternoon yet. I finish typing up the order that the lady had just called me about before getting up from my seat to walk around for a bit. Before I could even get to my own two feet, my phone starts ringing in my pocket. When I pull it out, I see that it was Kadri calling, probably since she was bored or had writer's block or something like that.

"Hello?" I say, stretching my legs by pacing around my living room. I make sure to not trip over any of the toys that Kai had played with last night that I hadn't gotten around to cleaning just yet.

"Hey!" my best friend says, sounding much more enthusiastic than usual.

"What's going on?"

"Well, I got a text from your mom and she told me that I needed to get you out of the house for your lunch break. So you're either going to leave willingly or I'll come over there and drag you out myself," she tells me, trying to sound as sweet as possible even though she was easily one of the bitchiest people I've ever met. Hey, I'm her best friend, I'm allowed to say that.

I sigh, already knowing that my mom was going to make a big deal about me getting out of the house today. "I'm not going to leave for my lunch break, Kadri. Besides, I was going to clock out early and head over to my parent's house to hang out with them and Kai."

Kadri lets out a chuckle and I could just imagine her shaking her head. "Absolutely not, you idiot. You barely have any time to yourself nowadays, so you're going to clock out early and then get out of the apartment. Maybe go to that bar next to your house and pick up some dude or something. There has to be some gay man there that you could hit on."

"You want me to go to a random bar and bring some guy back to my house where me and my son sleep at night? That doesn't sound dangerous or anything," I say sarcastically.

She chuckles again. "You're going to a bar, so maybe the guy will be drunk or something. He probably won't even remember where you live and anyways, you'll bring him there in broad daylight, so if you get murdered or anything, he'll be all over security cameras."

"Well, that makes me feel better. Thanks, best friend," I say with a roll of the eyes.

"Seriously, Levi, drop your guard for a bit. Have some fun today, please. You never know, maybe you'll meet your husband today," she says in a teasing tone and I just roll my eyes again. I let out a sigh before running a hand through my hair, hating that she was right. I really did need some time for myself, so maybe going to a bar won't be a bad thing. Sure, I love that Kai takes up all my time, but I still like to have my own personal time doing things I like to do.

"I doubt it, but... I'll go out," I tell her, earning in her cheering in my ear. I just laugh before making my way to my room to get dressed while Kadri starts to tell me all about the newest book she had thought of.

I stand outside the bar that had a black-and-white sign that just read Tilted Tap in block letters. I watch as my taxi drives away and before I could even think about it, I grab the door handle before stepping inside. I'm instantly assaulted by the smell of vodka and greasy food. When I look at the bar, I see that there are two women sitting there with fruity looking drinks in front of them along with a bowl filled with fries. In one of the tables in the corner was a man that looked ready to pass out any second and I could tell he was drunk by the way he swayed a bit in his seat.

I sit down at the end of the bar, a little disappointed that there were no cute guys here like Kadri said there might be. I grab the little menu thing that had all the specials on it, just reading over it while I wait since the bartender was talking with the two women at the other side of the bar. As soon as he turns around, I immediately realize that there is a cute guy here. The bartender had a name tag on that said Aria in black letters and I'm instantly intrigued.

Aria has luscious brown curls displayed on the top of his head and he had adorable freckles on his nose that made him even cuter. His piercing green eyes made him seem a bit intimidating along with his tall height, but I could tell that he was a nice person by his beautiful smile. When he reaches me, he had already checked me out just like I had and I immediately made the assumption that he was gay. Either that or he was judgmental, I didn't know. "Hi, what can I get you?"

I stare for a second more, seeing that his eyes continue to roam my face before they land on my eyes. "Uh, can I just get a rum and diet coke?"

"Rum and diet coke, got it," he says in a perky voice that he was definitely putting on just for his job. Whatever you had to do for tips, I guess. I watch as he instantly gets to work to make my drink for me and once he's done, he grabs a napkin and sets the glass on top of it. He motions to the menu that I was holding and I look down at it, not realizing that I was still holding onto it. "did you want to order food with that?"

I clear my throat before shaking my head. "Oh, no, I'm alright for now. Thank you."

He nods his head with a smile before walking to the middle of the bar to start cleaning up a bit. I watch his every move to familiarize myself with the way he worked. His arms were as long as his legs, but they move much swifter than I expected. He works fast, not missing a beat to get his job done as quick as possible. The only thing that breaks me from my trance is when he glances up at me and I instantly look away. I try to pretend like he didn't just catch me by taking a sip of my drink.

He checks in with the two girls once more before he turns his eyes on me again. He walks over to me, leaning his hands on the wooden bar beneath his fingertips. He has a small smirk on his face while he checks me out again, seeming extremely confident. "If you don't mind me asking, why're you at a bar at two in the afternoon?"

I clear my throat again, realizing that it had become much drier the second he walked over. I start to play with the napkin underneath my drink since I was starting to get so nervous from just speaking with this godly man. "Um, I clocked out of work early and needed something to do, I guess."

He smiles again before nodding his head. "Ah, makes sense. Where do you work?"

"I'm a call center representative, so I work from home most of the time," I tell him and confusion takes over his face. I notice that I was biting on my bottom lip and I have to force myself from acting so nervous in front of him. I couldn't look too desperate, now could I?

"What does a call center representative do?" He asks and I could tell that he was genuinely curious. Not that fake curiosity that most people conjure up whenever they know they should question what you said, even if they don't care.

"Uh, well, we just answer phone calls. You know when people call and order out of a catalog or call from those commercials you see on TV? Yeah, I'm the person that answers that. Or whenever someone calls to complain about a product or service they received, I take care of that also. I've also worked with a few companies before and I just answer calls and answer any questions the customers have," I explain, already knowing how to describe it since I get the question a lot.

He nods his head, looking in deep thought. "Sounds kinda boring."

"It is, but it pays the bills, you know?" I explain.

He nods again before he glances behind him to make sure everyone else in here was alright and didn't need him for anything. He turns back to me with a small smile when he sees everything was alright. "Do you go to school or anything? You seem pretty young."

I chuckle, shaking my head. If only he knew what my life was like. "Nope, no school. I dropped out when I was a sophomore... I had some personal stuff I had to deal with. Also, I'm 24, so not too young. What about you? Are you in school?"

He nods his head, looking a bit proud as he starts talking. "Yeah, I go to a university that's about 15 minutes away from here. I'm majoring in astronomy and astrophysics."

I give him a confused look because don't get me wrong, this boy seemed smart but smart enough to major in something that complex? I wouldn't have guessed it, but that's why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. "Okay, so you're smart."

He chuckles, flashing me that cute smile once more. "You could say that."

"What made you decide to get into astronomy? I'm assuming you weren't just like 'oh, I want to make my college years super hard and frustrating' and then picked a science-based major to do just that," I say with a chuckle and he nods his head, that smile never leaving his lips.

"Definitely didn't think that, but I was pretty obsessed with stars as a kid. My parents got me a few astronomy books when I was a teenager and then I took a class in high school that focused on space and I fell in love. I'm also pretty good at math and I like numbers, so I thought this was perfect for me," he explains, looking very happy to be talking about it. Now that he mentioned it, I notice that he had a tattoo on the center of his wrist that was a very detailed star.

I point to it and he instantly looks down at his tattoo that didn't look too faded, which meant it wasn't too old. "Is that why you got the tattoo?"

He nods again, that smile getting a bit wider as he continues to look down at the really well-done tattoo. "Yeah, I got it about a year ago with my sister. She got a shooting star and I got this," he flashes the tattoo at me again. "I've been planning it ever since I was a teenager and finally got the courage to do it."

I nod my head, motioning to it again. "It's cute."

"Thanks," he tells me. I watch as he runs his index finger over the tattoo again and he gets a slight shiver from the single movement. I smile lightly because he's pretty cute, definitely one of the most attractive men I'd ever seen. So what the hell was I doing? This man was never going to go for me.

I just nod my head, not knowing what to say. I take a sip of my drink, allowing the alcohol and soda to calmly slip down my throat as Aria watches me intently. He seems to be doing exactly what I had been doing to him before he walked over to me, watching my every move. I didn't mind though, I had nothing to hide. I couldn't stop it, but my thoughts immediately go back to my little boy. If this man came into my life, would Kai like him? I definitely shouldn't be thinking of that right now, but the dad of me was coming out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I completely didn't introduce myself. I'm Aria Morales," he says, reaching his hand out to shake mine. I smile as I clasp my hand around his, noticing his firm grip that was also loose enough that you could pull away at any time you wanted.

"Levi Whitehouse," I introduce myself and the cute smile appears on his lips again.

"Whitehouse? That must have some connotation that comes with it," he says with a smile, bringing out the intelligence in him. You really wouldn't think this man was super smart or anything, but majoring in astrophysics can't be easy, so he must be pretty brainy.

I chuckle, nodding my head. "Yeah, it was definitely expected that I pass Government in school. It would be kinda ironic if I failed a class about the white house with a last name like that."

He chuckles, nodding his head. "Makes sense."

I watch as he glances down at his watch before looking at the door to the bar and I couldn't help but be a bit nosy. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

He smiles before looking down at his watch again. He taps against the glass lightly before his eyes meet mine and I didn't miss how they seem to darken a bit. "One of my coworkers should be showing up soon. My shift's about to end, do you want to get out of here?"

I smile, hoping he was implying exactly what I was thinking. But if not, I guess we could just go back to my place and talk some more. I would love to get to know him more so than I already did. He seems pretty interesting. I clear my throat before motioning to my drink. "Do you mind if I finish this first?"

"Go for it," he says with a smirk before turning away from me to check with the other people in the bar. Ten minutes later, my drink was empty and a girl had arrived dressed in the same thing that Aria was wearing, so I assumed she was here for her shift. When she walks behind the bar, she says something to Aria before typing away at the computer they use to put in orders.

Not even five minutes later, a taxi shows up and Aria and I both get inside of it. He glances at me for a second before opening his mouth to tell the driver his address, but I cut him off. I rattle off my address, knowing that I'll feel much more comfortable being in my apartment than at this stranger's house. I was just hoping that I had actually picked up every single toy on the floor in my apartment because bringing back a man for him to see a bunch of children's stuff wouldn't be very sexy.

The taxi ride wasn't very long since I only lived a few minutes from the bar. I notice that Aria was mostly just looking out the window at his surroundings while also texting someone and I realize that he wasn't even nervous or anything like I was. His hands weren't trembling and he wasn't constantly blushing, having to hide it from me. But me? Yeah, I was a fucking mess.

Once we pull in front of my apartment building, Aria pays the driver along with tipping before following me into my building. He texts someone while we take the elevator up to the floor I lived on and once we get there, he stuffs his phone in his pocket before giving me a cute smile. I unlock my apartment door and as soon as the door opens, I make sure that there was no indication that a kid lived here.

All the toys were placed in the toy box, which was just a plain white tub that didn't look too suspicious. I had closed Kai's door while leaving and I realize that I had subconsciously prepared for someone to come home with me by the way everything looked completely different than it usually did. Even all the pictures in the apartment weren't suspicious since you would probably just think Kai was my brother or something instead of him being my son.

I turn to look at Aria after placing my keys in the bowl by the front door. He was looking at his surroundings, probably looking for anything that gave him a clue that I was a serial killer or something while I was worried that he would find out I was a father. But, thankfully, I was good at hiding it when I wanted. It's not that I didn't want Aria to know, it's just the fact that he might be turned off by that fact, so I kept it to myself for now.

Aria turns to face me and when he sees that I was already looking at him, he smiles. He uses his long legs to walk over to me, surprising me when he cups my cheeks before pressing his lips against mine. I don't know why I had expected him to be rough or anything because he was definitely the furthest from it. His lips were soft and he held my face in a way that if I wanted to pull away, I could. It definitely made me feel better and I was soon much happier and excited about bringing him back here.

Instead of thinking of my son or my parents or my best friend, I just focus on the man right in front of me. The absolutely attractive man that just had a way about him that made me feel safe, made me feel happy, and definitely made me feel much hornier than before I had met him.