On My Doorstep [Editing]

Chapter 8

KEVIN

Fawn gestured towards her breasts and I just... Stared. They were perfect. I mean, I realize that I sound like a shallow a-hole right now. But, come on. Every time I look at her, she seems more beautiful than the day before. And I feel like more of a creep.

"Ahem." I heard, which made my eyes snap back to her face. I didn't realize that I'd dazed out on her boobs. "I didn't say you could open the cookie jar, did I?" She asked, smirking.

I could feel my face get hot from the embarrassment. I'd pissed her off last time, and now she probably thinks I'm a perv. My chances are going to be flushed down the toilet at this point.

"Yeah, sorry," I said, looking down. "You're referring to breastfeeding, correct?" I asked, my eyes meeting hers once again. She nodded, grinning, "yeah, I need an alternative. So, I was thinking of a donor and formula. What do you think I should do?"

I turned in my desk chair, grabbing some papers about breast milk and formula from an info shelf. I looked at her and nodded, "let's talk about that." I handed her some of the sheets.

"So, what you have in front of you, the paper I just gave you, is a list of resources. These are places you can call that will set you up with someone who will be your partner, you could say, in adoptive nursing." I waited for her to respond, making sure she was still with me. She nodded slowly, her eyes glued to the papers.

"You have many different options that an expert will speak to you about. Many people opt for the milk to be sent to them. Others don't mind if the adoptive breast-feeder has contact with the child-"

"I'd rather be sent the breast milk," she responded, looking at me. She seemed deep in thought. It was obvious that she was taking this very seriously. After all, it's the health of her new child.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" I asked her.

She stared at me, then started to smile. "Your girlfriend must love to look at your eyes, huh?"

"I-I... Um, I don't have a girlfriend," I blurted out, shocked at her sudden compliment. I would've come up with something but... I was caught off-guard. There was no time.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, yeah, no. I don't have a significant other. I'm sure you do, though."

She just smiled, "well, thank you for the info." She stood up and I did the same.

"It was my pleasure. You can call me if there's anything else," I offered as she pushed her stroller out of the door. I followed her to the front desk where she picked up some pamphlets.

"Bye," she waved with a grin. I waved back, grinning like an idiot as she left.

"You've gone dumb. So dumb from love you can't even say 'bye, beautiful'!" My secretary Ellis teased, with a smirk on her face. I rolled my eyes, "I can't say that to her."

"Yes, you can. But what you should say is, 'can I take you out this weekend'? I'm sure she'd say yes," she told me. I looked at her and laughed, "how can you be so sure?"

"It's in her eyes. She likes you. You should go for her."

I looked at her and sighed. Maybe she was right.

******

I unlocked my townhouse door, trying to be as quiet as possible. The last thing I wanted-or needed-was Renee asking me a million questions about my day, then offering to take me out.

Renee Lipton is my roommate. Well, that's all we were until two years ago, when she decided to stroll into the kitchen in the middle of the night and seduce me. Well, almost seduce me.

She wasn't comfortable with that and it didn't help that I had no experience. But we were taken with each other. So, we dated for a while. Things change, though. It's been almost eight months since we ended things.

I offered to move out, but she insisted we could go back to being friends. I'm too busy to even think about how odd it is half the time. And between her travelling all over as a flight attendant and her many friends, we don't even see each other often.

But she left a voicemail last night about how she'd be back tonight and how excited she is to see me and Cookie, our dog.

Yes, we have a dog.

I sighed heavily, realizing I'd been standing at the door for a while now. Cookie looked confused as she stared up at me. Probably wondering why I was acting strange.

"Come here, Cooks," I said as I picked her up, then pet her.

"Kevin!" I heard Renee exclaim, coming down the staircase.

I put down the retriever pup and looked at Renee, half-faking a smile. I went into the living room and sat down, placing my briefcase on the coffee table.

"How was Italy?" I asked her as I picked up the remote, turning on the TV. She sighed, squaring her shoulders and placing her hands on her waist.

"Bellissimo! I'm not sure if that's the right word, but it was good. How was work?" She asked, plopping down on the couch. She flipped her red hair over her shoulder and smiled at me.

"Great!" I said with a slight smile.

She eyed me suspiciously, then laughed, "yeah, I'm sure it was."

"I'm serious. Work has been really good lately. I come back and I'm satisfied, and a lot less stressed."

"Did you meet someone or something?"

I ignored her question, flipping the channel from the news to Dr. Oz. I could tell by her tone that she didn't really want to know. She was trying to seem okay with the possibility. But I knew she wasn't.

"Want me to get you something. Tea? Coffee? Poutine?" I asked, getting up and going to the kitchen.

I filled our electric kettle with water. You know, the ones you plug in to the wall and flip a switch to heat up the water? That one.

"I'll have whatever you're having. Which I'm assuming is tea." She called from the couch.

"You must be tired," I commented, coming back into the living room. She gestured a so-so with her right hand. "I got here right after you left, at like nine-ish in the morning. I was sleeping until about half-an-hour ago."

"I see."

"Yes..." There was a short moment of silence before she broke it, "wanna get dinner somewhere? Like I suggested? Or do you have plans with this new girl?"

I shrugged, "I never said there was a new girl."

"You didn't deny it either." She replied accusingly. "Just be honest about it, Kev."

Shaking my head, I gave in to her pestering, "I'm thinking of asking her our. That's all I'm going to say."

"So-"

"Can we just stop talking about it?"

She raised her hands in defense, "Alright, grumpy! I think somebody's hungry."

Laughing, I shook my head, "how about Italian?"

*********

A/N

Is it just me, or is Renee gonna be a problem?

Thanks for reading this chapter. Vote and/or comment if you enjoyed it, or just for support. I appreciate your patience with me these past few months. A lot has been happening.

I love you all! 😊

HanaMay