After we all had gotten home last night from the beach, I put Kai to bed before planning for my date with Aria. I had decided to do something simple, so we were just going to one of the restaurants closest to my apartment because I didn't want to do too much, especially since I had to pick up Kai from my parents' house afterward. He had texted me his address and asked if I could pick him up since he had to let his sister use his car, so that gave us more time to spend together.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm super nervous and I don't even know if he would want to see me after this since I'll probably do something to mess it up. Ximena and Kadri had prepared me well for the evening and even dressed me since my sense of fashion was close to none. All I knew how to do was match clothes, but that was about it. I didn't have a specific style since I literally just threw things on, even if they didn't look good together. But for tonight, I looked good. They had dressed me in rolled-up dark blue jeans, a blue button-up with the sleeves rolled up, and some black ankle boots that my mom had gotten me some time.

I check my phone to make sure that I was going the right way to his apartment and not even five minutes later, I was pulling up in front of a building that looked a little rundown, but nothing too horrible. It looked like there were a lot of people living here by the full parking lot and the number of stories the building must have. I quickly text Aria to tell him that I was here since he hadn't told me what apartment number he lives in. After a few minutes of sitting in my car, I see the front door to the building open before he walks out.

I freeze when I see how amazing he looks. He seemed to have put in a lot of effort into his outfit that he was wearing. He wore maroon dress pants, a white button-up, a black trench coat that was fitting to still show his hot figure, and some black ankle boots. He styled his hair, different than the last time I saw him. He wore some black framed glasses that seemed to really suit him, which was also different than last time. I guess he wore contacts sometimes and glasses the rest of the time, but I wasn't upset about it. He looked really cute with them.

When he sees my car, his lips lift into that sexy smile that I was learning to like very much. He picks up his pace, either because of the chill in the night air or because he was excited to see me, I didn't know which. He opens my car door before sliding in the passenger side, quickly closing the door to not let in too much cold air. He surprises me when he immediately leans over and presses his lips to mine in a quick kiss. His lips were warm, but the rest of his face was cold and I could feel him shivering slightly.

I kiss him back, not knowing what else to do. When he pulls away, the smile comes back to his lips before he moves back to his side of the car and pulls on his seatbelt. I tried not to say anything stupid, but of course, I couldn't do that. "Well, hello to you too."

He chuckles before looking out the front window as I pull out of the parking space I was in and driving towards the restaurant. The ride there wasn't awkward or anything since I had purposely put on music in the background that would fill all the silence. I knew he was thinking though because his finger was tapping lightly against his thigh while he looked out the window. It didn't take long to get to the place I was looking for and once I do, I park the car and we get out together.

Once we're seated at a table, we both look over the menus before ordering quickly. Then, we were alone. There were no menus to occupy us and no drinks we could play with to busy ourselves. He was glancing up at me every few moments and I knew he wanted to say something, but he couldn't quite get his mouth to work. I made sure to not linger on him too long as the air suddenly turns awkward, which I hadn't expected. I busy myself with just looking at all the other people in the room, talking with whoever they were with while we just sat there in silence.

I instantly wish that Kadri and Ximena hadn't texted him because this definitely wasn't going to end well. I knew that me having a kid would make everything bad once again and I vowed to never go on another date again. I could be a single parent forever. I could. I've done well so far, so I'll just stick to one-night stands and not have any strings attached. That just makes things awkward and unnecessary. I was fine with where I was at, but right now, I wasn't. I was uncomfortable and I wanted to leave, but that meant either leaving him here without a ride or taking him back home, which would just ruin things even further.

But all those thoughts go away when he finally speaks up. "Can I... am I allowed to ask about your kid?"

I was surprised, to say the least. I wasn't expecting him to want to talk about my child for obvious reasons, but apparently, Aria was different. He was different than the other men I've been with because he knew that I was sexually assaulted in college and he knew that I was a father, but he was still here. He still wanted to be here. He was different. "Uh, yeah, of course you can."

"Well, how?" He asks, which was pretty normal. Whenever people found out that I was a single father that also happened to be gay, they were curious. I usually just said that it was complicated, but I couldn't use that excuse now. That wouldn't be right. I sigh before looking down at my hands and taking a moment to just think. When I look back up at him, he gives me a supportive smile before holding his hand out for me, allowing me to decide if I wanted to hold it or not. I smile before placing my hand in his, feeling comforted by the feeling of his skin against mine.

"Well, you know about the girl who... the girl in college," I say and he nods his head. "well, that wasn't the last time I saw her. A few months after that, I skipped a bunch of classes because I wasn't doing well, mentally. But apparently, she had been looking for me. She must've recognized my friend, Kadri, the one that went with me to that party and everything. Well, the girl found her on campus and basically threatened her to give me my address. I hadn't been staying at my dorm so I was at my parents' house, so Kadri ended up giving her my address because she was truly scared."

Aria nods his head, squeezing my hand gently. "Okay, then what?"

"Kadri told me that the girl now had my address and I freaked out. I mean, I never wanted to see her again, you know? Well, she didn't show up until... she didn't show up for six months, which was almost ten months after she sexually assaulted me at the party," I tell him and his face clears of all confusion that he had.

"She was pregnant," he whispers, but I shake my head, confusing him again.

"She wasn't pregnant anymore. Instead, she had a baby with her and she basically just gave him to me along with this little monster stuffed animal that he still has now. But after that, she just left. She didn't even tell me his name or that he was mine, she just left. I called my mom and made her come home and we immediately took the baby to the hospital," I tell him before taking a deep breath because it was like all the memories were coming back at full force.

"Hey," Aria whispers to me, tightening his grip on my hand. "you don't have to talk about this. I get it, it's hard. You don't need to explain it to me."

I shake my head, looking down at our intertwined hands. "No, I need to talk about it," I tell him and he nods his head, understanding. "apparently, we went to the same hospital that the baby had just been born at. The girl... her name's Amelia. Can I call her that to make it easier?"

"If you feel comfortable, of course," he whispers, giving me a sympathetic look.

"Well, apparently, Amelia had literally just given birth. Like just a few hours ago and then, she grabbed the baby and left. She must've gone straight from the hospital to my house to give me the baby. So while he was getting checked out by the doctors, my dad and Kadri showed up to the hospital. At this point, my parents didn't know that I was sexually assaulted, so they were super confused. So I told them," I whisper.

"You told them," he states. It wasn't a question, but I nod anyway.

"I tell my parents how I got drunk at a party and then woke up to being tied to the bed. I tell them everything and Kadri helps to explain. Now, before I tell you this, I need you to know that my dad's a great person. He's a great father and he just... he just didn't understand that men could be sexually assaulted for some reason. But he is a good person," I tell him.

"Okay," he says with a confused look.

I let out another sigh before continuing. "After I tell them about Amelia at the party, my dad asks me 'do you think that it's possible that you were just drunk and had sex with that girl?' and-"

Before I could say anything, Aria's hand tightens on mine and I can feel his nails biting at my skin, but I knew it wasn't on purpose. "What the fuck?"

I instantly feel emotional, so I look down at my lap, pulling my hand away from his. I settle my arms in my lap, trying to get my emotions under control. I shouldn't have told him. I shouldn't have fucking told him. I shouldn't even be talking about this. Why the fuck am I talking about this? How could anyone want to stay with me when they know how fucked my life is? Who would want to do that to themselves? Before I could dwell on those thoughts even more, I feel Aria slide in beside me in the side of the booth that I was sitting in and taking my hand in his again.

"I'm sorry, I should've listened to you. He's a great father, he was just worried. I understand that, Levi. I'm sorry. I just got mad and overreacted, I apologize," he whispers to me, lightly running his fingertips over the indentations that his nails did in my arm. "I'm so sorry I hurt you."

I shake my head, looking up at him as my lip quivers. His eyes soften immediately before I throw myself into his arms, feeling the rush of emotions coming way too fast into my body. Aria wraps his arms around me to hold me close as I start to cry into his shoulder. I feel pathetic as I completely ruin this date and the future of this relationship because I completely breakdown in his arms. I ruined everything. I absolutely fucked everything up now.

After I calm myself down, I pull myself away from him before hastily wiping my eyes. Before I could say anything, Aria grabs a napkin off the side of the table before handing it to me. I give him a smile before using it to wipe my tears away and then sit there with my head down. I feel his finger go under my chin before lifting my head to look up at him. "It's okay, Levi. You went through a lot and you're still going through with the repercussions of what she did to you. It's okay to break, okay? I'm not going to hold this against you."

I feel immensely better from just hearing that and nod my head with a small smile. "Can I... can I finish telling you?"

He nods his head with a smile. "Of course."

I take his hand in mine when he holds it out for me and I realize how much that seems to calm me down. But I don't think about that because I needed to finish telling him what happened so we could just move on and not talk about it for the rest of the night. "So at that point, I hadn't come out to my parents, so I guess it was understandable that my dad thought that," I continue and I see Aria's face flash with anger, but he doesn't say anything this time. "but I wasn't thinking then. I was stressed and mad, so I just blurt out and I quote, 'no because I'm gay and I've hidden it for years, but now it's important that you know that and understand it because I didn't want to fuck that girl and have her have my baby'."

His eyes flash with admiration before he just nods his head, probably not wanting to overreact like last time. "Wow, well, that must've been hard."

"Yeah, it was," I whisper, looking down at our hands again. "I mean, so much happened in that one day that I don't even know how I moved through it. I mean, my child was dropped off at my front door, I had to tell my parents that I was sexually assaulted, then came out to them, and then I decided that I was going to keep my child. I don't know how I did it."

He gives me a confused look. "Was there a part of you that didn't want to keep him?"

I sigh before looking down again, hating all of this, but also knowing that I needed to talk about it more. "There was, yes. But... he's my kid. He's my son and it wasn't his fault that he was brought into this world in such a harsh and disgusting way. I completely understand victims of sex crimes not wanting to keep children that come out of it and I respect them for being able to make that decision. But, for me, once I saw my boy's face, I couldn't give him up. I couldn't."

"So you took him home?" He asks with a small smile.

"He had to stay in the hospital for a few days and CPS were called and we had to do a bunch of interviews with them and everything. I had the option to report the crime that Amelia did to me, but I declined. I probably would've still been blamed and I didn't want that weight on my shoulders for the rest of my life. We did a paternity test and found out that, yeah, he's definitely mine. After I was deemed a fit father and met with a lot of people, yeah, I took him home," I tell him, making his smile get even bigger.

"Well, it's not great that he was brought into your life that way, but it's great that you're happy with keeping him," he tells me, gripping my hand tightly.

"Yeah, he's pretty great," I whisper.

"I don't want to pry and if you don't want to talk any more about the situation or your son, I'll completely understand. I'm still a complete stranger and you probably don't trust me whatsoever, but what's his name?" He asks and I almost facepalm because that's probably one of the first things I should've told him.

I chuckle before nodding my head. "Malakai. His name's Malakai. Kai for short."

His smile gets even bigger and he nods his head. "I like that name."

"Thank you," I say, a small blush coming to my face. "um, enough about me. I want to know about you. So you're in college and you live in an apartment instead of a dorm? Why's that?"

"Uh, well," he says with a sigh, looking down at his lap with a clearing of his throat. "when I graduated from high school, I actually decided that I didn't want to go to college, so for four years, I just worked. I got a good job when I turned 19 and I stayed there until I was 22. I was a secretary for Roman Hartley, who's one of the biggest graphic designers out there. He works with really high profile companies and he asked me to look into this one company that focused on astronomy and I just got really into it," he said, but I noticed that there was an edge to his tone, telling me he wasn't too happy about that.

I nod my head. "And you decided to go into that?"

He nods his head before thinking for a moment, looking a bit hesitant, which confused me. "Kinda, Roman actually noticed how fascinated I was with all they do and then actually fired me because he told me that I should go back to school. I was stubborn and kept telling him no, but he wouldn't take no for an answer, so I went back to school and I fell in love. I think I always knew I wanted to do something with space, but I hid it because I just didn't want to go to college."

"Well, this Roman guy sounds pretty persistent," I say with a chuckle.

He nods his head eagerly. "He is, but he's one of my best friends. He's really helped me with a lot and even got me an interning position with a university with one of their research programs next year. I'm probably just going to be doing small things, but it's a start."

I think the thing that really interests me about Aria is that at times he can be very tough and intimidating while on the other hand, he could also be very enthralling and enthusiastic at times. It's like he was two people combined into one and it's very interesting as I continue getting closer to him. I know this is only our second time meeting, but he had really caught my eye from the beginning and he was getting me excited for this relationship we were building.

"That sounds amazing," I tell him and his smile gets even wider, which I didn't see how it could, but I didn't have a problem with it. He was definitely insanely cute and one of the most attractive men I've seen in a while.

"Yeah, it is," he agrees before looking up at the waitress as she sets our food in front of us. She glances at us with a warm smile, glimpsing at the empty chair that Aria had abandoned when he came to sit next to me. When he looks away, the waitress winks at me before nodding her head at Aria. I instantly blush lightly and she giggles as she walks away to a different table. We start eating the food we had ordered and it was amazing, definitely somewhere that I would have to come back to.

I freeze when I realize something. "Oh, wait, you didn't even answer my question. I asked why you don't live in a dorm."

He glances up at me with confusion before laughing, hitting his forehead with his palm before setting his fork down to wipe his mouth with his napkin. "Yeah, you're right. I just got way too excited, but, um, I started college when I was 22, so I felt weird rooming with someone who was four years younger than me when we would both be freshmen, so I just decided to get an apartment. Fortunately, my parents are pretty well off, so they pay for it along with my studies, so I'm actually able to do it."

"How old are you?" I ask, realizing he kept telling me these ages, but I had no idea how old he actually was or how long he's even been in college.

He hits his forehead with his palm again, making me laugh. "Probably should've mentioned that too. I'm 25. What about you? How old are you?"

"24," I tell him, glad that we were close in age.

We continue talking while we ate, mostly about our families. I learned that his sister's name is Arabella and she's one year older than him. Also, apparently, his parents had a kid five years ago named Audrey and the only thing I could imagine when he said that was Kai and her playing together and I had to literally force myself to stop thinking that. I can't get attached. I can't. First of all, this was only the second time meeting this man. Second of all, people leave. I knew that and I needed to be prepared for it.

"What're you thinking about?" Aria asks me as we walk out of the restaurant and back towards my car. I glance at him to see that he was staring at me, trying to examine the emotions that were on my face.

I just smile and shake my head. "Nothing."

He didn't seem convinced, but he doesn't say anything as we get back into my car. Once I start driving back to his apartment, I glance at him again to see him looking out at the night sky. He had that cute little smile on his face as he looks at all the stars in the sky, telling me that he really loves what he's studying. I continue to look at him and now that he had taken off his coat, I could see the nipple piercings poking out of his button-up shirt since he wore no undershirt or anything. I smirk, remembering the time we had in my bed in my apartment and I have to force the thoughts out of my head so I don't get too excited.

"What're you thinking about now? You're smirking," he says with a chuckle and I realize that he was now looking at me instead of out of the car window.

I chuckle, glancing at him again. My eyes immediately trail down to look at his nipples and how much I wanted him again. After getting laid for the first time in a while, it really brought out the horny side of me and I was ready to fuck at any time, even if we couldn't. "When'd you get your nipples pierced?"

He chuckles, looking down to see how clear you could see them through the thin fabric of his shirt. "Uh, I was 18. I just randomly went and did it one day. I didn't even tell anybody that I had it and it wasn't until the summer that my family noticed and they were shocked."

"Really? You seem like the type of person to do that," I point out.

He tilts his head at me with an indescribable look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," I say with a shrug of the shoulders. "you just seem so confident, fearless even. You just scream to me that you would do what you want to do and not even think about it. Quick decision-making."

He laughs, nodding his head to tell me that he was right. "Yeah, I guess, but I wasn't always like this. I guess I didn't actually come out until I was 19 because I never even noticed sexuality. I don't focus on gender, I guess. I fucked whoever wanted to fuck me, as long as I was attracted to them. I never even noticed homophobia because I grew up in a very, very liberal town, so there wasn't much hatred. I could be who I wanted, then my family moved here when I was 18 and it's like everything changed. I started to notice the judgment, so I hid in the closet from everyone around me, except my family since they already knew. It wasn't until I was 19 and just said 'fuck it' and was myself."

"So there was a year where you just kinda retreated back and wasn't like this?" I ask.

He nods, glancing out the window with a guilty expression that confused me. "Yep, from 18 to 19, I was a fragile little thing. But I hated it and I saw how much it was affecting my family, so I basically came out again."

"Came out as what exactly?" I ask, glancing at him for a second before focusing back on the road.

"I guess you could say I'm pansexual," he says with a shrug of the shoulders. I nod my head before continuing driving back to his apartment building with him giving me directions since I sucked at knowing where to go. I usually just used my phone whenever I had to go anywhere. It annoyed Kai a lot because he sometimes even knew how to get somewhere since we've been there hundreds of times, but I like to have the GPS on anyway so I don't get lost.

When I pull into a parking space at his apartment building, he turns to me. He unbuckles his seatbelt before leaning against the center console in my car, examining me for a few minutes while I stare at him. After a while he gives me that cute smile again, clearing my head of all the thoughts I had. He surprises me when he actually says something after a little while. "Can I see a picture of him?"

My eyes widen slightly before I clear my throat, shocked. "Of Kai?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I just want to put a face to the name, but if you don't want to, you completely don't have to. I understand that people can be protective of things like that," he tells me with a smile to tell me that it actually was okay if I didn't want to show him.

I shake my head before pulling my phone out of my pocket. I go to my photos before clicking on the one that I took of him at the beach yesterday since I really loved it already. The wind was blowing, making his brunette hair go everywhere. But, fortunately, this was one of the only pictures I had of him truly smiling since it was candid. Whenever we planned photos, his smile looked fake and forced, so I usually had to sneak pictures to get his real smile. His hazel eyes were very beautiful in the natural light and his nose was scrunched up a bit since he was slightly laughing. The picture shows my beautiful little boy that I get to experience every day, so I was happy to show it to Aria.

He grabs my phone from my hands as his lips turn up into a soft smile as he examines the picture. He glances at me after a bit before looking back down at my son. "You two have the same eyes."

I nod my head, knowing he got the hazel color from me. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"And his hair is slightly curly like yours," he points out, making my hand go up to brush through my curly, black hair that was the same length as my son's. Unfortunately, we didn't have the same hair color and his matched Amelia's, from what I can remember. I hate that I know her name now that the hospital and CPS told me when I took Kai there the day he was dropped off with me, but I guess it was good that I know some things about her, so I could try and get some closure.

"Yeah," I whisper.

"He's very cute," he says before handing my phone back to me. I put it back in my pocket before looking at Aria, who was still staring at me with that cute smile. Our eyes lock and before I know it, his lips are on mine in a passionate kiss. His hands come up to cup my cheeks as we move our mouths together and I can't help it when a whine leaves me once he pulls away. My hand shoots out on its own to grab a fistful of his shirt and pull his lips back on top of mine. He smiles against me before moving his mouth with mine. His hand slides up from my cheek to run through my hair before settling on the back of my neck.

After a few minutes of just kissing, he pulls away again and I don't whine since I knew I had to leave soon to pick up Kai. Aria settles his head against mine before pecking my lips once more. We sit there with our heads together and his fingers running over the hair at the nape of my neck, sending shivers throughout my body. One of his fingers on his other hand runs underneath my eye, making it flutter for a few seconds before refocusing back on him. "Call me if you need anything."

I nod my head, giving him a sweet smile. "I will. I'll see you later?"

He smirks before nodding his head as he backs up to open the car door. "Of course."

I watch as he gets out of my car, pulling on his coat before making his way to the entrance of the building. Before he steps inside, he turns around to look at me once more. He winks before going inside, showing that confidence even more that I was starting to like so much. I sit back in the seat of my car for a few seconds, just reeling in from all that happened tonight. 

I feel like we both opened up about a lot of personal stuff, mine being much, much more private. But the fact that he didn't run or make fun of me or do anything bad really meant a lot to me. And the fact that he was so invested in learning about Kai meant the whole world to me. As I left to go pick up my boy, I was so happy that I could practically feel my heart about to burst.