Page 49 of Roommates
“Yeah?” I stepped a little closer to Adam and moved the hand with the spoon back to the bowl because he was still dripping batter on the tiles at our feet. Honestly, sometimes I didn't know who was messier, him or the baby.
“I was thinking lots of balloons.”
I had to laugh at that. Falconlovedballoons. He especially loved the sound they made when they exploded. His whole face would light up and he'd throw his arms up and try to imitate the sound. It was the cutest—and weirdest—thing. “He would enjoy that,” I said, looking at the baby I was holding. “Wouldn't you, you little troublemaker?”
Falcon responded by trying to grab my nose and babbling something that sounded vaguely likebaboo.
“That's right.Balloons,” I said, before focusing my attention on my alpha again. “Why are you making a... I don't know... is that going to be a cake? Or cookies?”
“It's going to be a cake!” Adam stood a little straighter, as if I'd already insinuated that I didn't trust him to be able to bake. Actually, he'd gotten pretty good around the kitchen over the past couple of months, freeing my time so I could study—which I did remotely for now. At first I'd planned to go back to school while Adam stayed behind with Falcon, but the idea appealed less and less every day.
In the end, it was my friend Conner who told me that a number of omegas with children study remotely and to try that for myself. It worked well, really, though I did miss my time on campus a little.
“What kind of cake?” I asked, making myself focus back on the present.
“Carrot cake!”
“My favorite! But why?” It wasn't my birthday for another three months.
“To celebrate that you passed your LSATS, duh.”
“But the results aren't even out yet.” I'd literally only just taken the test.
“Who cares about that? I already know that you've passed.”
“So you're clairvoyant now?”
“Nah, I just know you.” Adam set the bowl down on the kitchen counter with a small smile. “You said you'd get the results tomorrow and by that time the cake will be perfect.”
I could only shake my head at him.
“Don't be like that,” he said. “You've worked hard for this and you deserve cake.”
“Okay,” I relented instead of trying to explain to him that we shouldn't be celebrating something that hadn't even happened yet. In a way, it was sweet how convinced he was that I had passed. IhopedI had. “Don't you have to get ready for work, though?” I asked. Adam had finally found a nice job at a gym a few months ago. It wasn't quite his dream job yet, but they offered flexible scheduling, which was a lifesaver for us at this time.
“It's fine,” he waved me off. “I got one of my friends there to cover for me. Speaking of friends...”
Adam raised a hand to his mouth as if he could barely contain his laughter. “Did you hear what happened to Nathan?”
“No, what happened to Nathan?” I asked, only mildly distracted by my son babbling at me as if adding to the conversation. While he'd met Nathan, I doubted he recognized the name.
“Nathan's got half a tattoo.”
My gaze snapped to Adam. “Half a tattoo? You mean he's going to get the other half later?”
“So he says. But you know the truth is that he decided to let Raph practice on him and then he chickened out halfway through.”
“He really doesn't like needles, does he? Poor guy.”
“Seriously. Considering that he wanted to be a vet...” Adam shook his head.
“I never knew that he wanted to be a vet.” I talked to Nathan a little bit from time to time, but he'd never told me that.
Adam shrugged. “He loves animals. It's no big deal, though. I'm sure he'll find something else he can enjoy. You just gotta be flexible.”
“Like you?” I asked, eyeing the bowl of dough with a smile. Who would have guessed that I'd have an alpha trying to make me carrot cake someday?
“Like us,” Adam said, closing the distance between us to rest his hands on my hips.
“I'm not being very flexible,” I pointed out. “I'm still going to be a lawyer.”
“Yeah, but look at all you're taking on, on your way there.” Adam glanced at the child between us, who was eying the both of us as if wondering what we were up to. “I'm proud of you. For passing your LSATS, and for everything else too.”
“I haven't passed my—”
“Hush, you.” Adam pressed a kiss on my lips to shut me up. I didn't object. I didn't reallywantto argue anyway. Adam was right. Sometimes, you needed to be flexible in life. This moment, I didn't mind giving up the argument to peruse other pleasures.
Later on, I would learn that Adam had been right in other ways too. I did pass my LSATS, and we had carrot cake together, and everything was perfect. As perfect as things could ever be, anyway. I had revealed my secret to the world, and I'd survived. I had Adam and Falcon with me, and I wasstillgoing to be a lawyer. My roommate and I had gone from sharing a room to sharing our lives, and I was going to fight for every omega's right to be as happy as I was.
What more could I have wished for?