The Bad Boy And His Baby

Chapter 7

I sit in silence as my mom continues playing with Lumi, making the small baby smile. She holds her, making her stand in her lap, making silly faces while the TV plays in the background. I eat my two slices of pizza and avoid looking at Ji. He's sitting on the single seater and I'm not sure if he's looking at me or my mom.

A few minutes later my mom lets out a long yawn. "I think I'm gonna sleep. That flight made me tired as hell." She says. Ji stands up. "Of course. I'll show you to your room." I catch her smile at me before she gives Lumi to Ji.

"Night honey."

"Night mom." Ji leads her upstairs and I take my plate to the kitchen before washing it in the sink and putting it in the dry rack.

I dry my hands before switching off the kitchen light and TV. I'm unsure whether I should switch the living room light off when Ji walks downstairs with Lumi still in his arms. "Do you think you can put her to sleep while I shower?" I freeze. He wants me to put her to sleep? I've never touched a baby in all my years of living and he wants me to put one to sleep? He patiently waits for my answer.

It can't be that hard though. She doesn't even seem to be fussy. "Sure. But I don't know how to hold her and what if she cries?" He chuckles. "I had to learn too. It's not that hard. Just hold your arms out." I do as he says and he places her in my arms. "Hold her against your chest and make sure her head is supported at all times. Just rock her in your arms and she should fall asleep."

I hold her as best as I can against my chest. "Not too tight of course." I loosen my grip a little and I can tell I'm definitely not holding her right. "You've got this."

He gestures to the stairs and I walk up as he puts the living room light off. I walk straight ahead into the nursery and stand next to the crib. I sway my body side to side slowly in hopes that this will do the trick. I can't stop thinking of the moment Ji and I had in the kitchen. What was that?

The way he was looking at me, the way his breath felt against my face. I had the strange urge to kiss him.

I haven't had a boyfriend in a while and I didn't even feel that way around them. In that moment I felt an instant pull toward Ji, like there was a string tied around both our hearts that we only noticed in that moment. What if I did kiss him? Would he kiss back? What if my mom never came in? Would something have happened?

It's not long before Lumi closes her big eyes and drifts off to sleep in my arms. Now what? Should I put her in the crib? There's a green and orange octopus in the corner of the crib and I gently put her inside. I pull the fluffy pink blanket up to her neck as her hands peek out from underneath. I wonder where I'll be sleeping. If I'm not mistaken, there are only four doors in the hallway. Maybe one of them leads to another guest room.

I take my phone off the desk next to the crib and send Bronwyn a goodnight text. I just realized I forgot my charger so I switch my phone off to save the battery.

Just then, Ji pokes his head in. "Is she asleep?" He whispers. "Yeah."

"Shh." He says quickly, putting a finger to his mouth. I look back at Lumi but she doesn't stir. I shrug and walk toward him. He leaves a ladybug nightlight on and leaves the door open ajar. "Where will I sleep?" I ask.

"You talk so fucking loud." He says softly and I lower my voice. "Sorry." He gestures for me to follow him and leads me into his room. "You can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." I notice a small mattress on the floor next to the bed. "Wait, don't you have another guest room?"

"Nope." I don't know why but I feel shy all of a sudden. I have to sleep in the same room as him? What if I snore and he hears? What if I talk in my sleep and wake him up? He opens his closet to pull out two blankets. "Are you sure you'll sleep on the floor?" He looks at me and smirks. "Would you rather have me sleep next to you?" My cheeks heat up at the thought of us laying in a bed together. I don't notice him drop the blankets and make his way toward me, too caught up in my thoughts.