Kiss Me If You Can [NOVEL] - Chapter 11

“Papa!”

As soon as he saw his face, the boy who ran into him, held on and did not let go.

Ah my angel !

Josh hugged the boy tightly, feeling all the fatigue and stress rush away. Pete rubbed his lips over Josh’s face, but Josh didn’t care. Then he turned his head so he could kiss his child’s rosy cheeks and forehead while he was still holding him. He hugged the boy and went into the house.

“Josh, welcome.”

His mother welcomed him and kissed him on both cheeks.

“Emma said she’d be late today. She must have gone on a date,” the busy mother said, going back and forth from the kitchen.

“Would you like some help?” Josh asked.

When he felt the sweet aroma of the cake he went to sniff it, the mother slightly blamed him.

“Don’t do that, it looks like you’re starving. I’ll do something to you if you’re hungry. Why don’t you take off your sunglasses?”

Unable to hide anymore, Josh removed his sunglasses and raised his head as he spoke. When the face that still had the bruise was revealed, the mother’s eyes widened at the sight of it.

“OMG. What happened? What did you do to hurt yourself? Have you joined the army again?”

Josh smiled awkwardly at his mother’s urgent words.

“No, it’s just celebrity safety … It’s just a bruise, not a big deal.”

“Daddy, does it hurt?” Pete asked, looking into his eyes. When he saw innocent green eyes like hers blinking, his heart pounded

“Not at all.”

Josh was the only Omega in the family and everyone else was Beta. It was just his mother and sister, but thanks to that, people naturally thought of him as a Beta. Josh still looked at Pete’s face. The child, who is still innocent, can express himself as a dominant Alpha, like Chase Miller did or become an Omega like Josh or he can live as a Beta for the rest of his life. Either way, he will know before the age of 20. It is very rare for a mutation to occur after that. The inability to know what the child will become has made him more afraid than expected. He got goosebumps when he thought that this lovely little boy would grow up, like Chase. Please only look alike in appearance.

Before he knew it, the boy who climbed Josh’s tall body, climbed up like a horse and grabbed him by the head. The mother turned to see and told Josh, who was holding Pete’s legs and holding him steady so he wouldn’t hurt himself.

“Be careful not to hit Pete’s head …”

“Yes I know.”

Josh spoke coldly and kissed the boy’s chubby calves.

“So how long is your vacation?”

She asked to Josh.

“It’s only two days. I can come back tomorrow night.”

The mother showed a sad feeling, but her gaze turned to Pete. Seeing the boy already clinging to him, she imagined what the next day would be like at night. She shook her head and opened her eyes as if she had just remembered something important.

“Hey, come to think of it, I need some medicine … Could you go? Bring some of these things along the way. We still have to wait an hour or so for the cake to be ready, so go with Pete.”

Josh nodded as he gathered up his mother’s shopping list. Pulling Pete off his neck and hugging him forward so he wouldn’t hit his head, the boy struggled to get back up. Josh who was holding his body with difficulties, only after he left did he let the boy do what he wanted. Pete quickly grabbed Josh by the shoulder, climbed in and re-mounted as if he were his horse.

“Hahahaha.”

Feeling better, Pete shook his hips and gave a boyish laugh. In Boston, he used to walk the streets with his son on his shoulders.

Josh deliberately stopped his car in a shopping mall parking lot, a block from the pharmacy, and began walking with the boy on his shoulders for the first time since leaving Boston. While walking, he would often notice people riding in cars or dragging their dogs. Pete got excited when people passed under his gaze.

“Papa.”

Pete was childish, touching Josh’s head with his little hands and rubbing his cheeks. Josh felt guilty because he seemed to have left him alone for so long that the boy’s behavior was more unusual than usual. Pete shook and patted Josh’s head here and there, but he just let it go.

Not long before they hit the pharmacy.

“Pete, come down for a moment.”

The boy quickly moved into his arms and they entered.

Pete was sitting in one of his arms the entire time as he picked up some items on the list, after getting his mother’s medicine. It didn’t take long to find all the things on the shopping list and put them in the basket and then go through the checkout. The cashier who saw Josh quickly came to help and spoke:

“The boy is so cute.”

The way she looked at him with a smile was full of good feelings. Josh had no choice but to kiss Pete’s head on his arm.

“Yes?”

“Yeah, I think he’ll be great when he grows up.”

“Thank you.”

Josh put the bills in the slot and took a small change.

“Thank you Hannah.”

When he greeted her using the name on the ID tag, the cashier’s face lit up. Josh, who turned around, hesitated because he found a familiar face.

“Emma.” He smiled and walked over to his sister. “Heard you’d be late, but why are you here?”

Emma approached her brother with a smile.

“The appointment was canceled. I stopped because my mother asked me to buy something …” Even though Josh already bought it. Emma slid her elbow to Josh’s side. “Stop seducing girls, you rascal. Do you want to come and do that with your face?”

“What did I do?”

Josh insisted on his innocence, but Emma wasn’t fooled.

“You don’t have to hide it, do you?There is a brand. If they know you are an Omega, far fewer women would talk to you. You don’t like it, right? Bad man, bad man.”

“You can not say that.” Josh tapped his foot hard, glaring at Emma. “Be careful what you say in front of the child. I just don’t have to reveal it, it interferes with my work.”

Josh deliberately moved the boy to avoid learning useless words.

Pete started toying with Josh’s head again. Walking side by side, Emma opened her mouth:

“Is it worth the work? They seem to pay you a lot of money, and it’s hard work,” she said after seeing the wound on his face. Josh spoke casually.

“Pete, Daddy will go bald.”

Emma spoke again later:

“I’d like to see your face every day off.”

He didn’t know when he would have another day off.

Emma who said those words to Josh, added:

“My mother asked me to ask if Josh was dating anyone these days.”

“So.”

“I said no. Because that’s the truth.”

“Yes.”

Kept walking. Emma looked at Josh and asked:

“It’s hard to raise a child alone, isn’t it? Any of your colleagues? You said everyone but one married man was an Alpha.”

“I’m not dating someone from work.”

When he gave such a curt reply, Emma clicked her tongue and closed her mouth.

“Romance is originally supposed to sprout at work. Well, I’ve never had a real relationship. Josh, you don’t turn away people who come up to you, do you? You really did manage to have a child.”

Emma, ​​who said this casually, looked at Pete and then looked down. Pete was playing with Josh’s hair without interest.

“You know, Pete’s dad… Are you sure you can’t contact him? You’re lying, right?”

“Why?”

“Why not …” Emma opened her eyes slightly. … There’s no way Josh could sleep with someone and suddenly get pregnant. I’m sure you know him, but it’s strange that you haven’t contacted him once.”

“… I’m not such a detailed character.”

“Well, this isn’t Josh. Josh would get through a heat cycle without accidents.”

Of course it was. It was an accident that happened only once. From the beginning, the heat cycle was not programmed. If it weren’t for that, that incident would never have happened. Soon after, Josh suddenly felt guilty. It was the luckiest thing in life. He has Pete, his only treasure. Josh drew the line coldly. You don’t want to do anything about it.

“It’s just that we don’t have to contact each other anymore, so we don’t. I don’t even want to try again with him. And I’m sorry Emma, ​​I hope you don’t forget I was the high school quarterback with the most girlfriends until I manifested.”

“Just a year?”

“Yes, I had so many girlfriends in that year. You know, even before I had Pete.”

Emma looked upset.

In fact, Josh had never had other girlfriends before meeting Chase Miller. It was something Emma knew too.

“A girlfriend in the morning and another girlfriend at night,” he corrected, but Emma didn’t seem to trust him very much.

“Hmph.” She turned her head and continued, “But suddenly, did you break all your relationships and one day you had Pete? I wondered how long my brother would be like this. Why don’t you get a girlfriend again? They all say it doesn’t matter if it’s with Josh, right?”

The moment he saw Chase Miller, he could tell that everyone in the world had turned into a Halloween pumpkin. And when he finally thought it was time to forget about it, he went back to square one, again. Josh said sullenly:

“I’ll have to live a modest life until Pete grows to a point.”

Emma blinked.

“Are you really interested in dating a woman?”

“Why not?” Josh smiled. “You don’t have to worry about getting pregnant. Isn’t it the best to enjoy? Of course, if the other person is thinking the same thing.”

“… Don’t you want to date an Alpha or Beta? Don’t tell me you still haven’t forgotten about Pete’s dad …”

At Emma’s cautious question, Josh replied, interrupting briefly:

“I have no intention of having children again.”

“Why not?”

Josh grinned. Chase was the first and last man he slept with as an Omega. He had no intention of sleeping with another man again. In fact, he was more of a straight person. Except for Chase Miller, his forehead immediately distorted when it came to mind. He is the only man he slept with.

Over his head Pete laughed and shook his body. The expression of the boy’s beauty appeared before his eyes. When he put his son in his arms, he laughed naturally and looked at Pete. From the face of the boy he loved so much, he imagined the face of a man. A complicated emotion emerged in Josh’s expression. Emma was puzzled as she watched him.

Josh looked straight ahead, holding Pete’s feet in his arms. When this is really over, I will never go back to California. Josh made a new promise which he did not intend to change. However, what came to mind was the image of Chase having nightmares. Nobody knows what happened that night, only him. Yet another lonely memory . When she thought about it, Emma opened her mouth:

“Won’t Pete be curious about his dad when he grows up?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Josh muttered casually.

There are many families with only one parent. Pete will also take it natural. He can live as freely as he has always lived.

He unknowingly frowned, but Josh didn’t notice. Why does what you have taken for granted now make you so uncomfortable that you are unwilling to think deeply? However, Chase’s terrified face and teary eyes rarely go away and continue to float in his head, even as he tried to force himself to erase that memory, even the kiss that warmed him inside.