Page 24 of Mate Match: Curtis & Jae
“Oh, so you have baby experience?” I could imagine him changing diapers and burping babies. Maybe I’d developed a competence kink, because just picturing it was getting me hot for him.
Curtis laughed. “Yeah. I’m an uncle, too. Plenty of baby experience here. Marty was getting sick of working at the grocery store, so I encouraged him to go back to school with the promise of a job with me after he completed his certificates. To save money on bills, he moved in with my dad for a while. I know Dad misses the company now that they have their own place. They needed something of their own, though. Marty works hard to provide for his family.”
“I’m glad you could help Marty out. You said Grace is an omega too?”
“Yeah. She and her husband just announced that they are pregnant! I’m so excited for them. They’ve been trying for a while now.”
“That’s fantastic news! Pass on my congratulations, please.” Curtis agreed he would. He sounded so happy for his employee. “Won’t that suck when she leaves?”
“Grace is one of my best employees, which is why I’m glad she’s decided she’ll be coming back to work after her leave. Maybe on reduced hours until the baby is a little older. We dunno yet. I’m willing to be flexible about it. I’m gonna be lost without her while she’s out, but happy for her at the same time. We were just talking about it the other day, actually. I guess she and her husband were crunching the numbers and realized she earns more than him. It makes sense for her to return to work.”
I didn’t know how to word the next question. Curtis appeared to be everything I wanted in both personality and values. After Hwan, I was more cautious. “What if he was earning more? Would you think she should stay home then?”
“Hmm, well, no.” He paused. “I think it’s important for both parents to have something for themselves, though it’s usually the omega who stays home. I don’t think that it’s a healthy dynamic to have one partner relying on the other for everything.”
“You don’t?”
“Yeah, unfortunately, I’ve seen this kind of situation play out a few times. An omega gives up work to look after the kids, and their work in the home is suddenly devalued. The alpha believes they are putting more in just because they provide the money, forgetting that childcare is expensive and difficult. Eventually, their alpha leaves them and they have nothing. They’ve been out of the workforce for so long it’s hard for them to find something that pays well.”
Unsurprisingly, since he would have been questioned on his values too, Curtis echoed many of the feelings I had aboutrelationships. He had a lot of sympathy for these omegas. I could tell it was important that he not be like those alphas. He nailed my fears, too.
“I think if I was to have a stay at home partner, I’d make them a part of the business or pay them a salary. Money just for them. To be honest, there’s a lot of pressure on an alpha to provide, mostly from other alphas, to be fair. So I think I’d prefer to have both partners work and figure out childcare around their schedules.”
“Curtis, I think you might be a unicorn.” Either that or Mate Match was just that good.
His laugh was so rich and warm. “Because I believe in equality? Honey, it’s only right to make things a partnership. My parents were like that. I want what they had.”
His calling me honey gave me a full body shiver. It had been over a week since I’d last seen him. Far too long.
“Let me make you dinner,” I offered. “I want to see you. Our date feels like ages ago.”
“I’d love that. Listen, if I move things about, I can make my day a bit shorter tomorrow. Is that too soon?”
“No. That works for me. Is six alright? I know you get up early.”
“Yeah, six is good. Need me to bring anything?”
“Just your appetite.”
Dinner with Curtis was easy. We caught up on our days while we ate the Japchae I’d prepared for us. The noodles were made withsweet potato. The beef strips I’d picked up earlier in the day, along with the carrots and spinach. As meals went, it was filling and fairly quick to make. It had been a long time since I’d made the dish with my mom, but it came back to me fast.
Seeing Curtis eating it with enthusiasm warmed my heart. What was even better was Percy sitting on Curtis’ lap hoping for scraps of beef. I swear I saw Curtis feed Percy from his hand, something my cat rarely did. They were already fast friends, which told me everything I needed to know. Hwan had never bonded with Percy.
We ended our date with a make-out session followed by some frotting when I climbed into his lap. Just like all our times together, we had such great chemistry. Nothing was awkward, and he knew what got me off.
The kisses! Oh, the kisses! Curtis was affectionate. Always pressing kisses to my head, nose, cheek. He was happy to sit and just kiss me for such a long time. If that was all I wanted at the end of our dates, then that’s all that happened.
Over the course of the next few weeks, there were endless dates. We hiked. Went to the movies. Curtis took me to the arcade. I took him to an art gallery, and he loved it. We spent all our free time on calls or just hanging out. We had dinner at each other’s homes so much his neighbors learned my name!
It was fast. I knew that. I just couldn’t help it. Curtis had my heart. I loved him.
“Is it easier if I stay at your place? Save the back and forth,” Curtis asked one morning as he got up for work. I’d spent the night at his house and he’d given me two orgasms before he knotted me, earning me my third.
I stretched as I got out of bed. The world lurched a bit. A queasy feeling formed in my stomach. Curtis was going to drop me home so I could feed Percy. Then I was planning on comingback to his house to get some work done without my cat climbing all over me.
“The light is better here. That bedroom you use as an office is the perfect drawing room. Are you sure it’s okay I work in there while you’re out for the day? I just got the best vibes in there.”
My stomach settled. Probably just low blood sugar. I’d make sure to grab a banana before I left Curtis’ house.
