Three weeks later, everything was better. After a few days of keeping Kai home with either Kadri, my parents, or me, we all felt better about taking him back to daycare. I had a long discussion with the workers there and they assured me that the safety of the kids is their top priority, so I was happy with letting him go back. Of course, if something else happened, I would switch centers, but for right now, I trusted them. They protected him once, so I knew they wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

I hadn't been contacted by Officer Daniels, so I was assuming that he either didn't find anything or he just didn't think it was big enough of a deal to look into the man that showed up for Kai. Either way, I didn't know. I thought about giving him a call, but I also felt like he already didn't like me since I never pressed charges against Amelia, so I decided to ignore it. We were okay now because we had put in precautions with Kai to make sure he was okay. He knew the safeword and we even roleplayed a bit to show him what to do in a situation like that, so we felt better.

This new concept of the safeword didn't even phase Kai. I think it actually made him proud of himself because he felt like he had some responsibility now. Of course, he didn't even know that that was why he was proud of it, but I knew him too well to understand it. Even though the man had scared him a bit, he had moved on, just like I had. We were okay and we would be safe if something bad ever happened.

A few days after everything happened with Kai at daycare, Aria had texted me to ask if I was okay. I don't know why I didn't answer, but I didn't. He kept texting me for the next few days to make sure everything was alright, but I hadn't responded. He eventually gave up and I felt bad. Like, really, really bad. I don't know why, but I was just so focused on making sure Kai was happy and safe that I didn't really feel like I had time to talk to Aria, which was definitely idiotic. I definitely had time, but I think I have been making myself too comfortable these past few weeks.

I think that I started to fold back in on myself and not want to bring any outsiders into my circle because of what happened with Kai. I guess I'm too scared of bad things happening just because I decided to bring someone new in. But at the same time, I knew that the man showing up for Kai had nothing to do with Aria. He didn't even know where he went to daycare and he barely even knew anything about my son. I can't hold this against him and make him feel like crap for weeks all because I was scared. So I'm going to get my head out of my ass and open my heart up again.

I pull up to the Tilted Tap and hope that he was working today. I let out a long sigh before pushing up the door to the bar, immediately assaulted by the smell of alcohol and greasy food. I let the door close behind me before looking at the bar to see that he was here. I could literally feel my heartbeat pick up because not only did he look absolutely terrible, but he also looked beautiful as always. There were bags under his eyes and his lips looked a bit chapped, but his hair was styled perfectly and his clothes looked neat. I instantly remember that he probably just had his exams and had been up studying all night long while continuing to work. I watch him as he types something on the computer before saying something to his coworker with a small smile. He nods his head to whatever she said to him before he unties his apron and throws it under the bar.

He grabs a backpack that he must keep under the bar before coming towards the front door where I stood. As soon as his eyes drift up to me, his whole body freezes. His smile from before drops and an upset look comes onto his face, telling me that I had really fucked up. I should've gotten my head out of my as sooner and made contact with him because all I felt right now was guilt. He clears his throat before trying to walk around me, but I get in his way, not allowing him to leave. "Aria, please, talk to me. I fucked up and I'm so sorry. I want to make things right."

He shakes his head, staring into my eyes with that depressed look creeping in. Roman's voice comes into my head because he specifically told me that Aria was sensitive, so I needed to remember that. Before I could say anything else, he speaks up. "Look, I get it. You're a dad and you're busy, that's all you had to say. That's it. You didn't want a relationship, I get it."

He walks around me before throwing open the door to the bar and walking out. I instantly follow after him and grab his arm before pulling him into the alleyway that was right next to the bar. It was littered with trash and blankets, but I didn't care. I just needed to talk to him and make things right. He gives me a terrified expression, either from me forcing him into this horrible alley or from having to talk to me, I didn't know. I let out a long sigh before setting my hand against his chest lightly. "Aria, I'm so sorry. You're right, I am a dad and I'm busy, but that doesn't mean I don't want a relationship. I'm 24 and I'm not getting any younger. I can't just let one little thing set me back and I did and I'm so sorry. I want to make it up to you."

Aria lets out a sigh before rubbing his eyes with his palms, looking even more tired than before. "Levi, I just want to go home and sleep. Can we do this another time?"

"You're not driving like this," I say with a confused look because that definitely didn't seem safe. He looked like he would pass out any second and I didn't want him crashing on his way home or anything. "why don't you let me take you back to my apartment? I can order you some food and you could even take a nap and we could talk. Then, I'll drop you off at your place before I pick up Kai."

He lowers his eyes to look down at his feet before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Levi, I'm gonna be completely honest. I don't want to be lead on. I like you and I think you're a great guy, but like we've agreed on, you're busy."

I nod my head before taking a slow step forward. I find the courage to put on a smile even though I was absolutely terrified right now. Aria is a great guy from what I've seen and I don't want to lose him like this. "I am, but I don't want to let that hold me back anymore. My son will always come first, but that doesn't mean I can't have other people in my life. I messed up and I'll do whatever you want me to to make up for what I've been doing for the past three weeks. I didn't mean to lead you on and ignore you, I just... a lot has happened."

He runs a hand through his hair before checking his watch for the time. He seems to be debating what to do in his head and I allow him a few moments to just think since I had no right to force him to talk or anything. After a few minutes, he sighs before nodding his head. "You can take me to your apartment."

My smile widens before I motion for him to follow me towards my car. Once we get in and I make my way towards my apartment, we sit in a comfortable silence. He was staring out the window with his chin propped up on his arm, looking absolutely exhausted. I clear my throat before trying to start a conversation. "Did you have exams?"

"Yeah," he whispers, wiping his eyes with his palms again. "I finished my last one yesterday and I was hoping I could just sleep the rest of winter break, but unfortunately, I had to work, so that'll have to wait until tonight. My sleep schedule is absolutely fucked."

I nod my head, remembering what it was like when I had exams when I actually went to college. They were completely exhausting and I can't even imagine how he was even walking on two feet right now and got through a work shift like that. "Well, did you do well at least?"

He shrugs his shoulders, looking annoyed. "Who fucking knows?"

I nod my head before focusing on my driving since it seems like he wanted a few moments of silence. It doesn't take that long for me to get back to my apartment, so when we do, we silently make our way up to my place. Once I unlock the door, he collapses onto the couch with a long sigh before he props up on his elbows to look at me. I didn't know what to do, so I start moving around the living room, picking up toys and placing them in the toy box since the place was a mess right now. I know that Aria was watching my every move, but I didn't care. I just needed something to do before I actually went insane.

"Levi," Aria whispers, making me stop what I was doing and turn to look at him. He gives me a soft smile before patting the couch cushion next to him. "come sit."

I throw the toy in my hand into the box before going over to sit with him. Once I was settled on the couch, he lets out a small sigh before settling his head onto my shoulder and grabbing my arm. He starts to lightly trace random things onto my wrist, letting the comfortable silence fill the space between us. I watch how his eyes flicker between watching how my fingers move and what he was doing to my wrist. I smile lightly, liking how we could just sit here without talking and it not be awkward or uncomfortable. Sometimes a little silence is all that you need.

After a while of not saying anything, he picks up his head and looks at me. He stares for a few seconds, gauging what my mood was before he looks back at his hand that was now intertwined with mine. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"What happened with what?" I whisper, breaking eye contact with him after a few seconds because my cheeks were heating up due to the stare he was giving me.

"I heard a little bit of what happened at the daycare because you were on the phone, but after that? After you left, what happened?" He whispers in a soft voice, telling me that I didn't need to tell him if I didn't want to. I don't know how, but he made it so easy to read him, like he was telling me everything I needed to know just by giving me a look or by sounding a certain way.

"Um," I say before clearing my throat. He tightens his grip on my hand in silent support before letting me take the time I need to gather my thoughts. "well, some guy showed up to Kai's daycare and, like, demanded to see him and when the workers there found out that he wasn't one of the people on the list to pick him up, they asked him to leave. Apparently, he got mad and everything and said that he would get to me one way or another and then left after a little while."

"Oh my god, do you know who he was?" Aria asks, sounding genuinely concerned.

"No, the police showed me a picture, but I didn't recognize him. He said his name was Beckett Strickland, but no one's gotten in contact with me since then, so I've just assumed that it's a fake name," I tell him with a shrug of the shoulders. When I turn to look at him, he looks absolutely shocked before he clears his throat and turns his body to face me.

"The police? You talked to the police? It's that bad?" He asked, sounding much more concerned.

I nod my head before running my thumb against the back of his hand. "Well, yeah. The daycare basically got threatened and he threatened me kinda, so they called the police. And since it has to do with a child, they have strict rules to call the police when things like that happen."

"Are you..." he says before trailing off, turning his head away from me to think for a second. When he turns back to look at me, I see a very nervous look in his eyes that makes me worry. "are you and Kai safe here? I mean, if he knows where he goes to daycare, he must know where you live."

I smile lightly, realizing that he was worried for my safety. I don't know why, but that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside because I guess I didn't think he would care so much or something like that? "Yeah, I think we'll be okay. We keep the doors locked and my parents only live a few minutes away so if something ever happened, I could always go there. Or Kadri's house."

"Kadri? As in the girl that was at the party with you?" He asks, looking a bit confused now. I guess I hadn't exactly told him how she was still a very big part of my life.

I nod my head. "Yeah, Kadri's still my best friend. After everything happened with the sexual assault and me getting Kai, she really helped a lot. I lived with my parents for the first few months that he was in my life so they could really teach me the things I needed to know and then Kadri and I got a place together. Uh, this place actually."

I motion to the apartment in front of us and he looks around, looking a bit shocked. "You and her lived in this place together? For how long?"

"Two years basically. We slept in the same room and took care of Kai together. We both worked and we got comfortable living together. We were basically like a married couple with a kid without any of the intimate parts, but then, she met Ximena, who is her girlfriend. A few months after they met, she moved out and for the first time since Kai came into my life, I was alone with him. It was scary as hell, but it's good. I think it's really good," I tell him.

He smiles before squeezing my hand. "You seem to be doing good, Levi. I mean, I bet there's ups-and-downs to having a kid, especially having him so young, but you seem to be happy. I mean, Kai's absolutely adorable and you're smart. You seem to be making everything work."

I smile before nodding. "Yeah, I'm making it work. I'm happy. But what about you? Are you happy?"

He thinks for a few moments before nodding. "I think I am. I mean, I'm 25 and I'm still in college, but I'm making do with what I have. I like my job at the bar because as terrible as it may look, it's fun. I love my coworkers and I like the regulars that come in. I love my classes at school, even though I still have two years left, I'm excited."

"You start your internship next year, right?" I ask, remembering how he told me that Roman had gotten him that intern position at some university. He had only mentioned it once before, but I knew that he was excited about it.

His cute smile immediately comes to his face as he nods eagerly. "Yeah! It's with this really known research program at a university not that far from here. I probably won't be doing too much, but it's a start, you know?"

"Yeah, definitely. It sounds really exciting," I tell him, genuinely because I can see that he was absolutely ecstatic about it.

He looks down at our hands again, biting lightly on his lip as he thinks for a second. I let him have time because it seemed like he was really intent on whatever was going on in his head. After a few moments, he looks up at me with a wary look. "Look, I don't know where this is going between us, but I want to try. You're interesting and kind and really great in bed."

I chuckle lightly, not even caring about the blush coming onto my face as flashes of our time in my bed comes back to my memory. "Yeah, thanks."

He chuckles before running a hand through his hair. "Seriously, I want to see where this leads. Even if this goes nowhere, I want to get to know you. I want to try to have a relationship with you. I know that I'll need patience with that because your priority is with Kai, but I'm here and I'm ready to try. I'm not asking to meet him yet or even know too much about him. I just want... I want to start a relationship."

I was shocked, to say the least. I had thought that he would hate me for ignoring him for three weeks after everything with Kai happened, but he didn't. Sure, he was upset for a bit, which he had every right to be, but he moved on. He seemed to understand that Kai is my number one priority and I was so appreciative of that and it... it made me hopeful that this could actually go somewhere. I tighten my grip on his hand before nodding. "I want to try this too. I definitely want to wait for you to meet Kai because... well, you know."

He nods immediately, looking absolutely non-fazed by that. "Of course, I understand. You don't just want to bring a stranger into his life. I get it."

I smile, nodding my head. "Yeah, exactly. But, I do, I want to try this."

"So we're going out?" He asks, tilting his head a bit before flashing his signature cute smile at me.

I chuckle before nodding my head. "Yeah, I guess we are. I get to deal with your bluntness and confidence from now on."

He chuckles before shrugging his shoulders. "You'll get used to it."

Before I could say anything else, he leans forward and connects our lips. His were rough, unlike how they usually were, but I didn't mind. I could tell that he was tired and has definitely been preoccupied with his studies, so I guess I just had to get used to it. He wraps his hand around my neck, not putting too much pressure on it, just enough to make me feel comforted. After a few minutes, it starts to turn into a heavy make-out with our tongues running together like our lives depended on it. He surprises me when he wraps his arms around my shoulders before lifting himself up on his knees and throwing himself over me to straddle my lap.

"Like I said, confidence," I say against his lips. He chuckles lightly before continuing to kiss me. His hands slide up into my hair, pulling lightly at the strands. I find the courage to slide my hands up his abdomen before landing on his nipples, feeling the metal jewelry clearly through the thin fabric of his work shirt. He moans lightly against my lips when I pull on them, something I didn't have the confidence to do last time we got hot and heavy here.

"Tell me something," he says after pulling away from our kiss.

"I'll tell you anything," I say in a breathy tone because all I wanted was for this to progress even further so we could make it to my bed. After we had sex that one time, it opened up my world to how much pleasure one person could bring me again. It really made me into a horny teenager and I saw no problem with that. At least I had a boyfriend now that could give me these things that I desperately want instead of having to deal with one-night stands with terrible men.

"Tell me how you're so soft-spoken and hesitant, but as soon as it starts to turn sexual, you open up. You become the confident one," he whispers, looking down at me with a curious expression.

I shrug my shoulders, continuing to pull on his nipples, which was definitely having an effect on him because he was shivering every few moments after I do it. "I guess it's because I'm dominant in the bedroom, but I'm submissive outside of it. I don't know. I just feel much more open in an intimate, one-on-one setting."

He smiles against my lips before connecting them again, pleased with my response. I don't dwell on the fact anymore, I just let myself get consumed in his lips. In his mouth. In his nipples. I allow him to set the pace since I was much more eager than him and I didn't want to rush anything. His hands slide up into my hair again before he pulls on it lightly and pulls his lips away from mine to kiss down my jaw until he was at my neck. I whimper lightly as his full, plump lips start to do wonders to my sensitive skin there.

But, of course, something always has to ruin it. Before Aria could do anything else, the apartment door opens before two gasps follow shortly after. Aria immediately pulls away before scrambling off my lap, probably worried it was Kai or something, which I knew it wasn't. I recognized those gasps from a mile away, so instead of looking shocked, I just send a glare to Kadri and Ximena who stood in the doorway of the apartment.

Kadri immediately puts her hands up. "Hey, not my fault you didn't warn me you would be tonguing in here."

"Probably because you weren't supposed to come over," I tell her, making her chuckle before pulling Ximena into the apartment so she could close the door. Kadri glances at Aria, waving a little before putting on her friendly smile that she always puts on when she meets new people, but I could tell that this time, it was real. She actually wanted to meet him, which definitely surprises me since she was usually a bitch to everyone she ever meets until she warms up to you.

"You must be Aria, I'm Kadri, and this is Ximena," she says, motioning to her girlfriend that now had a small blush on her face from walking in on me that way. Ximena was much more reserved than her girlfriend, but Kadri had also seen me full-on naked before, so I guess she didn't care to see me like this either.

Aria clears his throat before standing up and holding his hand out to them to be the polite gentleman that he is. "Yeah, I'm Aria. It's nice to meet you two. I've heard lots about you, Kadri."

Ximena puts on a pout before turning to look at me. "Hey! How come you don't tell him lots about me?"

I chuckle, standing up before straightening my clothes and fixing my hair. "Sorry, Mena."

Aria glances at me with his cute smile before turning back to my friends, who were now looking between the two of us with curious looks. Kadri quirks her eyebrow at me and grabs the grocery bags Ximena had and moving towards the kitchen to settle them on the counters. She comes back out, now holding an apron in her hands before throwing it at her girlfriend. "Well, we actually texted you and told you we were coming over to make you lunch, but I guess you were too busy to check your phone."

I roll my eyes at her. "Yeah, sorry, I was so busy."

"Oh, we know," Kadri says with a bitterness in her voice, even though I knew she was just putting on the act. When no one was looking, she smirks at me before winking. Yeah, she's a bitch at times, but she's also my best friend and only wants me to be happy. She puts on this act constantly that she doesn't like people and is very closed-off, but after knowing her for a while, I know that that's not the case. She loves the people close to her, just has a weird way of showing it. She turns to Aria, motioning for him to sit down on the couch while Ximena moves into the kitchen to start cooking. "so, Aria, I want to know all about you."