Daniel

We got back to the condo exactly a month before the baby’s due date. As much as I loved being on the ship and seeing so many amazing places, I was exhausted. My back and feet ached and all I wanted to do was lie around in bed. It was good to be back home.

While we were at sea, I spent a lot of time looking through baby websites, bookmarking cute things for the baby’s room, and picking out clothes. I was floored when I realized that Cameron had gone through and ordered everything, then had it delivered while we were still on the cruise. He had some of the staff start back to work a week before we got home so that everything was set up by the time we walked in the door.

I was thrilled to walk into a brightly colored room filled with stuffed animals and toys. It was right next to ours so we could hear him in the middle of the night. And yes, we found out it was going to be a boy. The last ultrasound showed us the sex, and one night, while we were still sailing on the ocean, we sat on the balcony looking up at the stars, and decided on the name Greyson.

The one thing I wondered in the months I’d been pregnant was if I’d actually know when I was going into labor. If I would be able to tell the difference between the everyday aches and pains and the big ones that told me my baby was coming out.

It happened in the middle of the night, of course. I woke up thinking I had to pee, then the feeling became more intense and completely different. Halfway across the bathroom my water broke, and when I looked up in the mirror, Cameron was already behind me. I’m not even sure he slept through a full night during my whole pregnancy. He always seemed to be right there whenever I needed him, keeping me calm and taking care of me.

He called Stephen, and everyone met us at the clinic. We took the limo and I laid down the whole way, with my head on Cameron’s lap and Maggie crouched down next to me, holding my hand.

I was thrilled to have my baby at the clinic, surrounded by all my friends and their kids. They weren’t all in there during the delivery, but everyone crowded into the room afterward, and it felt like every family celebration I’d ever dreamed of all rolled into one.

It felt like the day Greyson came into our lives was one of the happiest days in my entire time on this planet. But really, it was one event in a string of amazing moments that started the minute I met Cameron. There was no way I could actually pick the happiest or the best, because every single one of those seconds with Cameron and Maggie, and now Greyson, was perfect.

It was incredible knowing I had everything I’d always wanted. I had an alpha who made it his mission in life to take care of me, and I had a beautiful step-daughter that I loved so much. And now Greyson, the tiny baby I gave birth to, so sweet and beautiful and bundled up in my arms.

After a month of breastfeeding Greyson every few hours, changing more diapers than I thought possible, rocking him until I fell asleep sitting up, and staring into his beautiful eyes for hours on end, I had finally gotten enough rest and had recuperated enough that I was up and around most of the day. I was still tired at times, but I was finally back in the swing of things.

“Let’s pack everyone up and get out the stroller. I have something to show you,” Cameron told me one day. He wouldn’t say what it was, so I just went along with him. I grabbed the diaper bag and filled the side pockets with snacks and juice, then put everything, including Greyson, into the stroller, and down we went to the street.

We walked a few blocks, with me pushing Greyson and Cameron holding Maggie’s hand, before we came to an empty storefront.

“Here we are,” Cameron said.

“Where?” I asked, looking up and down the street.

“Here,” he said, pointing to the glass window that looked into an empty room. “It’s your dance studio.”

I watched Cameron as he unlocked the door and gestured for us to walk in, but I didn’t say a word.

“What’s Daniel’s dance studio?” Maggie asked.

“Whatever he wants it to be,” Cameron told her.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s for you, Daniel. I wanted you to have a place all your own. There’s no pressure at all, so don’t feel like you have to do anything with it right away. But you told me one of your dreams was to start some sort of a dance class for kids, and I think that sounds like a really good idea.”

I didn’t know what to say. Tears filled my eyes as I looked around at the empty room, imagining all the things I could do with it. I remembered telling Cameron about my crazy ideas, but that was so long ago. “How did you remember that?” I asked, moving closer to him and feeling the way his tall frame hovered over me.

“I remember everything you’ve ever told me, Daniel.” He took me in his arms and in that moment, I knew. Cameron was always going to be there. He was always going to be protecting me and watching over me. He was going to find a way to give me every single silly little thing that I wanted.

“We could put a huge mirror up, all along that wall,” Cameron said, pointing to the one wall in the room that didn’t have any doors or windows. “And bars at different levels for different sized dancers.”

I turned back to Cameron and couldn’t hold back the tears. He totally got me. He understood what was important to me and he cared. I didn’t know how I’d gotten so lucky, or what I’d done to deserve this. “I don’t know what to say,” I said, burying my face in his neck.

“Tell me you’re happy. That’s all I want.”

I looked up at Cameron. “I’m happy,” I said, kissing his lips. “I’m so unbelievably happy.”

“Yay!” Maggie said as she skipped around the empty room. “Daniel’s going to dance! Can I dance with you too?”

“You can be my first student,” I said, wiping the tears off my cheeks. “We’ll figure out what I’m doing together.”

Cameron laughed and hugged me close. “We’ll all help you figure it out. But I know that amazing mind of yours. You’ll come up with something that surprises us all.”

I took pictures of the room before we went home so I could figure out how to decorate it. I’d had an image of what my studio would look like in my head for a long time, but I never thought there was any way I’d have one, so it was just floating around aimlessly, like the rest of my life before I met Cameron.

“What are you thinking?” Cameron asked as we made our way back to the condo.

“You wanna stop for some ice cream?” I asked, grabbing his arm.

Cameron laughed, and there were those sexy lines around his eyes again. I loved how different features of his showed up in different light. Like he was constantly evolving and perfecting himself. We both were. “Sure, but I meant the studio.”

“Oh, well, I thought maybe I could start with something like a simple movement class for kids. It would be easy on me and easy on them. I mean, I’m not trained or anything, so I don’t want people to think I’ll be teaching kids ballet or modern jazz,” I said as I fanned my hands out in front of me.

“That sounds nice. Maybe we could get everyone together for your first class, Trevor, and Lark, and Fawn, and Maggie.”

“And Greyson,” I said. Cameron gave me a puzzled look and lowered one of his eyebrows. “Well, I can dance around with him in my arms, anyway.”

“I’d like to see that,” he said with a big smile. “It sounds perfect. I really can’t wait to see you in action.”

Five months later, the big day finally came. It was the kid’s very first recital, and I didn’t feel anywhere near ready. But I wasn’t sure if I ever would be.

"Are you sure you’re ready for this?" Cameron asked with a worried look when he saw my face.

"Always asking the big questions,” I said.

“You’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I said with a grin. “I’m just nervous. But I think there’s someone else you should be asking.”

“Are you all ready?” Cameron asked the group of kids who were scattered around the dance studio.

“Yes!” they all yelled. It was Maggie, some of her friends from her kindergarten class, and a few others who had signed up from a flyer at the clinic. Lark, Fawn, and Trevor were also there, and all three of them had that excited-but-not-sure-why look in their eyes that one and two-year-old’s have. But they waved their hands in the air, anyway.

“I think they’re ready,” I said as I bounced Greyson on my hip. I walked over to Janine, who was sitting on a bench against the wall along with Stephen, Jake, Mark, and Landon, as well as a few of the other parents. “Can you hold Grey for a sec?” I asked, handing my son to her. She’d met a really cool guy in the last week of the cruise who happened to live in Portville. They moved in together and she’d been baby crazy ever since. Any chance she had to hold Greyson, she took. I hoped one day she would have a baby of her own.

“God, he’s so beautiful, Daniel.”

“I know,” I said, watching him snuggle into her arms.

I turned back to the kids and looked over at Maggie. “Do you remember what to do?”

“Yes!" she yelled, jumping in the air. “I’m going to go over to the music!”

"And then what?” I asked her.

"I'm going to wait until everyone is quiet.”

“And then what?”

“I’m going to turn on the music!”

“And then?”

“I’m going to grab my partner!”

“That’s right. Okay, let’s get started.”

Maggie walked over to a tablet that was sitting on a corner table, and when she turned and saw that everyone was waiting, she tapped to start the music. Suddenly, the room was filled with an old school go-go beat with the tune ‘The Farmer in the Dell’ mixed in. It was from an old record I’d found online that had a bunch of children’s music set to a go-go beat, and was just about the cutest thing I’d ever heard in my life.

As soon as the music started, Maggie walked back across the room and stood in front of Cameron. "You’re my dance partner, Daddy!” Maggie said with her hands thrust up in the air.

Cameron looked at me with his mouth open. “You two are ganging up on me!”

“You can’t get out of it this time!” Janine yelled. “We all want to see the infamous Cameron Styles dance!”

Maggie squealed as Cameron picked her up and twirled her around, then set her back down on the ground and looked over at me. “I don’t even know the steps.”

“It’s easy,” I said, smiling. “Just shake your hips to the beat, like this.”

I started moving around the room and shaking my hips, and before I knew it, a bunch of little kids were wiggling their bodies and shaking their hips too. Some were less coordinated than others, shaking their arms or doing something that looked more like a snake move, but every move they made was still fabulous.

I looked up and saw that Cameron and Maggie were holding hands and they were both shaking their hips. Cameron had this whole sexy, rock ’n’ roll dude thing going on with his dancing and his old jeans and the black T-shirt, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. Cameron was dancing, I had my very own dance studio with a class of little kids, and we were all shaking our hips.

It was magical.

It was so small and so silly, but knowing that this was my dance studio, and that we were doing our very first mini recital, it meant so much to me. It had only been a few months since Cameron had gotten me this space, and I knew this was just the beginning.

I was thrilled that I already had kids from all over the city, not just from this neighborhood. I made sure that the parents that signed their kids up knew that it was a low-key movement class, that it was mostly to get little kids used to the idea of moving their bodies to music and not being afraid to get in front of an audience, and they were thrilled.

The kids were thrilled too. I usually had quite a time getting them to stop dancing at the end of the class. Moving to music just made them happy. They were letting their joy flow through them, and they loved the way it felt.

I walked over to Janine and took Greyson in my arms, then waltzed around the room with him, and when I looked up again, all the parents were dancing with their kids and moving with the music. Mark and Landon were doing the twist with Trevor. Stephen and Jake had picked up Lark and Fawn and were dancing around the room with them. And the other parents were all doing the same. I started a hip-shaking conga line, which was basically our big finale, and everyone joined in. It wasn’t anything that would win an award, but every face in the room was smiling, and that’s what was important to me.

My life with Cameron is amazing. Every time I turn around I feel like it’s getting better and better, and I finally stopped trying to figure out why. I deserved a wonderful life. I had dreams, just like everyone else, and every single on of them had come true. But that didn’t mean I was done dreaming. Not by a long shot.

“Daniel! What the hell are you doing here?” Jason whispered.

“I was worried about you. I don’t think you should do this, Jason.”

Jason grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a wall of boxes. “You’d better get the hell out of here. If Brock sees you …”

“Dude, I don’t want to be here. If Cameron found out I was in this neighborhood he’d kill me. I want you to leave with me. Don’t let your cousin talk you into this. I know what he’s going to do now … what he’s already done. It’s horrible, Jason! You could go to prison just for being here!”

“You could too,” Jason said, the look in his eyes very serious. “Now, get out of here.”

I stood up and was about to say one more thing to try to convince Jason to leave with me, when I heard the warehouse door bust open behind me.

“Freeze! Hands on your heads!”

I moved my hands up and put them on the back of my head, then slowly turned around. My entire body was shaking, and I squinted at the light filtering in through the open doorway, trying to see the bodies that were silhouetted in the sunlight.

“Daniel?!? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Landon!” I said, my eyes finally adjusting to the light. “I’m not involved in this! I swear! I was just—”

“Hank take him down to the squad car so he’s out of danger. I’ll go after the other one.”

Landon ran past me, and the cop who’d busted in with him grabbed my arm. “Come on.”

“I didn’t do anything, honest,” I said as I was dragged out of the warehouse. I looked behind me but couldn’t see anything in the darkness. I jumped when I heard shots fired in the distance and more shouting. I was terrified that Landon had shot Jason, or maybe Jason’s asshole cousin had shot Landon.

The cop that had a steely grip on my arm opened the door to the squad car and pushed my head down.

“I didn’t do anything, I swear.”

“Kid, if I thought you were a criminal mastermind you’d already have handcuffs on. Now shut up and get in there before you get shot.”

I crawled onto the seat and heard the car door slam behind me. A few minutes later, I saw Jason come through the warehouse door. His face was bloody, and his arms were cuffed behind his back. He didn’t look very happy at all.

I heard a thud on the car and realize that was Jason’s body being slammed into the side. The door opened and Landon pushed Jason in.

“Oh, my God, Jason, are you okay?!?” I asked.

Landon looked in through the open car door. “I don’t want you two talking! Not one word, Daniel!”

“But, Landon! He’s hurt! And he didn’t—”

“Hey! You have no idea how much trouble you’re in! You could have been killed, Daniel. Those were real gunshots fired in there. I’m pissed as hell that you’re even here. And you’re gonna be in a world of hurt when Mark and Stephen find out. Not to mention, Cameron. So, don’t make me any madder than I already am! Can it!”

I looked at Jason. His face was bloody in patches and had been pressed into the ground. I could see rocks embedded in it. I felt so bad for him but there was nothing I could say or do.

Landon’s partner, Hank, slid in behind the steering wheel and closed his door. “Did you put some cologne on or something?” he said to Landon.

“What are you talking about?” Landon picked up the radio and called into the station.

“I don’t know. Something smells really amazing all of a sudden.”

Hank looked up into the rearview mirror. First at me, but then he moved his head to the side a bit and his eyes fell on Jason. I looked back and forth between the two of them and realized their eyes were locked on each other. Jason kept shifting in his seat and I could see that his chest was rising and falling rapidly.

“Hank! What’s going on? Let’s get out of here,” Landon said after he got off the radio.

“Yeah, sorry.” Hank started the car and pulled out of the warehouse parking lot, but for the entire drive to the police station he couldn’t keep his eyes off Jason. But he wasn’t staring at Jason like he was pissed. It was more like he just couldn’t stop looking.

I remembered Mark telling me that he and Landon shared a partner, and that partner was an omega. And I knew Jason was an alpha.

I looked back up in the mirror and my eyes caught Hank’s again, but this time he looked worried …and I was pretty sure I knew why.

Find out what Hank’s hardest choice is in the next book of the Portville series!