Fake Daddy (The Single Brothers 2)

I couldn’t believe that I was getting excited to go on a play date. Shit, babies did mess with men’s mind. They couldn’t talk, not even walk, but they had a way of making grown men lose their minds. I sat on the bench waiting for Ivy. I wanted to leap off it and push Joshua’s stroller as far away from here as possible when I saw who was coming from the same direction.

“Noah, what the hell are you doing here?”

I tried to whisper, but I could see that he was confused, he wasn’t the only one as Ivy joined by my side.

“Hey, Chad,” she smiled at me. Then there was that awkward moment. The time that passes when she wants to be introduced to Noah, and I just want him to get the fuck out of here.

“Chad? You never come to the park man. Good to see that you’re hanging out with Joshua.”

His eyes darted to Ivy, still waiting for an introduction and all I could think was, go away, Noah. You’re going to fuck up my little charade. After the last few days of texting and speaking to Ivy, I decided against telling her just yet. I could tell that she liked me and I felt the same about her. Besides, I did promise myself that within two weeks I would tell her the truth and the two weeks wasn’t up yet.

“Noah, don’t you need to get out of here.”

“Chad, are you okay?”

Ivy asked as she rested her hand on my arm. Fuck! I was sweating like a sinner in church and I never did that. I was the calm and collective one. Not the fucking mess that I was at the moment, which meant that I liked Ivy. Fucking liked her a bit too much. This was our second date at the park, and I hadn’t even attempted to kiss her. I was enjoying time with my cousin and a bit too much time with her.

I nodded my head and then Noah dragged me to the side.

“One minute. I just need to talk to my friend.”

He didn’t give her a chance to reply as he took his stroller and then headed towards the swings.

“Chad, you’re not doing what I think you’re doing, are you?”

He knew me too well. I could bullshit him and tell him that I wasn’t doing it, but we both knew that it would be a lie.

“I like this girl..”

“So you fucking lie to her Chad? Tell her that you’re a daddy when you don’t even like kids?”

I waved my hand in the air as if he was talking shit.

“I talk about Richard or Martin talks about his kids and you make that face.”

“What face?” I asked him.

“The one that you’re doing now. You asked me what I was doing in the damn park. What the hell do you think I’m doing in the park with my son? Only someone who doesn’t have a kid would ask such a dumb question.”

I started to panic, “You think she knows?”

He shook his head, “With the way that she was looking at you as if you were a prized toy, she doesn’t have a fucking clue. What I’m saying is, this isn’t right!”

Where had I heard that before?

I shrugged, “I’ll tell her within a couple of weeks.”

He patted me on the back as he left, “You better if you like her. And judging the by the way that she’s looking at you, she likes you. You don’t want to fuck it up. Believe me. Cause this type of shit; women don’t forget in a hurry.”

I nodded knowing that he was right. I should do it now, but I hadn’t even been able to go on an official date with Ivy. I would wait for that time to do it. If I did it now, she wouldn’t forgive me. I just had to get the timing right. And the park wasn’t the right time.

Chapter Six

Ivy

I was sitting at my desk debating whether to go to lunch or not. I couldn’t be bothered; today had just been one of the most boring days in the history of working for Smith & Jones. It was as if I didn’t think that it could get any worse and for some reason it did today. It was as if it was waiting for me to make it better somehow. I’d been reading this stupid book, ‘Cleaning,’ it talked about how to get rid of the things that were making you unhappy and focus on how to make your life better. The problem was that I had a house, a steady job, and a beautiful baby. I’d never been in a relationship, and I’d never craved for one. I wondered if that was the reason for my sadness. I just knew that I woke up in the morning and I acted like a robot. Everything was mundane, and there was no change to my boring routine.

Maybe I just needed a vacation?

All of these things were rushing through my mind when I stood up to go to the bathroom and I saw Chad standing in reception. It was as if he was my knight in shining armor to take me away from this boringness.

I walked up to him, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

He smiled, “Well, I thought that we could talk. Without babies. Just the two of us. Is it okay? I assumed that you would be getting ready to go to lunch.”

I nodded, “I was.”

I didn’t tell him that it consisted of me just sitting at my desk eating a sandwich and reading my Cleaning book. Maybe that was making me depressed? And not my actual situation.

“Cool, so you want to go for a picnic?”

Again I nodded my head, “Let me grab my purse.”

“Sure, I’ll be here.”

I had a big smile on my face. No one had ever made such an effort for me. I thought about him making the sandwiches and wanting this to be a special day. Chad was turning my boring life into something exciting. He may look like the bad boy, but he was acting far from it. The complete opposite, in fact and I liked it.

As we headed out of the office, I enveloped his arm. I could tell that I was the envy of a couple of girls in the office. I didn’t care as I swung my hips from side-to-side wishing that I didn’t have to go back to work.

“Do you ever work?”