Nick had looked a lot like a male version of Goldilocks sleeping in Baby Bears' bed when I went to check on the two of them that night. His feet hung over the sides of the bed and his left arm drifting towards the ground. But his right arm was locked tight around Jake and our son was curled up to Nick's chest, a perfect miniature, and both of them were smiling.
I didn't have the heart to wake them up. There was no reason. He was just a dad who had fallen asleep putting his son to bed. So instead, I dug out a blanket from the hall closet and draped it over the duo, tucking it gently under Jake's chin. I pressed a kiss to his little forehead; for good measure, the big blonde forehead got one too.
It took me forever to fall asleep in my own bed that night. I thought about how nice it would be to have someone to snuggle up to every night. The problem was making sure the snuggler would be there for good.
Somewhere in all that, I had to have drifted off. The next thing I knew, I heard a clatter from the bathroom and a happy exclamation. It was better than the call of the rooster; it was Jake's declaration that it was officially morning.
I got up, yanked my hair back into a sloppy excuse for a ponytail, and followed the sound of the noise. When I got to the bathroom doom, I saw Nick first. Then I saw Jake standing on the toilet. I grinned.
"Step one is that you have to hold onto the can."
"It's a big can!" Jake exclaimed. He was clutching my shaving cream, the one that smelled like mandarin oranges. Nick grinned.
"Well, it's an important job. Now, for step two I'm gonna hold out my hand and you're gonna press the top, okay? But hold on."
Jake's tongue popped out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on holding the can and pressing the nozzle. Nick held out his hand, palm open. A second later, a mountain of cream filled the empty void.
"Perfect! Put the can down."
Jake turned and put it on the top of the tank. He turned back to Nick, giving him his undivided attention.
"Okay, so now we have to put the cream on our face. Like this."
Nick tilted his head back rubbed the cream all along his jawline and slightly on his neck. He took one last blob and did the same to Jake's face. Jake leaned over and stared at the both of them in the mirror. He started to laugh.
"Careful," Nick warned. "It smells good, but it tastes bad."
Somehow I figured he knew that from personal experience.
"Now, we have to shave our whiskers," Nick said. "We have to look good for the ladies right?"
"Right!" Jake chirped. "For mommy!"
Nick laughed. "Right on." He held up a brand new pink razor that I knew he had found scattered on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet. There they were out of Jake's reach, but close enough in case I suddenly found myself with a dull dud.
"Watch closer," Nick said. Jake pressed his elbows down on the sink and looked up.
It shouldn't have been so hypnotic watching a man shave, but Nick made it look good. It was the hands. I don't know why I was just realizing it, but the man had amazing hands. They would bring the razor down in a swift, sure line, and then with a flick of his wrist, he would send the used cream parasailing down into the basin of water.
I had to give it to him. For using a woman's razor, he didn't cut himself once. He splashed a handful of water on his fresh-shaven chin and grabbed a towel. Jake stood back up.
"My turn!"
Jake looked like a miniature version of santa Claus. The cream had dried slightly in drips, creating the appearance of a beard. I saw Nick slide the plastic safety over the razor while Jake was still hopping.
"Okay, your turn."
Jake stood perfectly still, his eyes squeezed shut and his head tossed back, as Nick 'shaved' his face. I had never seen Jake stay in one spot for so long. Nick flicked the last bit of cream into the sink with a flourish.
"All done. Let's wash you off."
Jake mimicked Nick's face splash and then grabbed a towel and planted his whole face directly in the center. Nick glanced in the mirror, his eyes sparkling. He mouthed 'Good Morning.'
Something told me he had known I was standing there the whole time.
I had known Shay was standing in the bathroom doorway the whole time. I know it sounds stupid, but it was kinda sexy having her watch me shave.
"Mommy, I shaved!" Jake said happily. He scrambled off the toilet and ran to her. She touched his face.
"SMOOTH!" she announced. She ran a hand through his head.
"Want an omelet, Nick?" she asked. "Egg whites with green pepper?"
I turned the sink tap on, rinsing away the last of the father/son tutorial. "Sounds great."
I knew I probably should have left. I had only accidentally fallen asleep.
But, I didn't want to go.
Lauren was going to murder me. I knew that even if I explained that I slept in Jake's room, she wasn't going to be happy.
That was why I wasn't going to tell her.
Breakfast was uneventful. Jake actively gave a play-by-play of shaving his whiskers off, with me breaking in only to correct him when his recount started to get two wild.
"I didn't see any aliens with lasers shooting our whiskers off," I said. Shay laughed. Jake shrugged.
"You had your eyes-eys closed."
And that was a good enough reason for me.
"Thanks for breakfast," I said an hour later. "I better get going. Is it your day off?"
Shay nodded. "Yup, it is. I'm going to head to the gym."
"How about if I meet up with you tonight?" I asked. I don't know what made me say it. My mouth sometimes didn't check-in with my brain. "I think you're ready for a jog in the park."
Shay's mouth fell open in protest. Jake heard the word 'park' and it was all over.
"I wanna go! I wanna go to the p-aw-k!"
"Whaddya say?" I asked. I knew Shay couldn't say no, not with Jake so pumped up about going. She gave me a look and stretched out her leg behind her.
"I say...seven. Be there on time or I start without you."
I laughed. "Deal."
