What He Needs

Chapter 36

"Huh?" I replied stupidly, staring into her now opened brown eyes through the mirror.

"You're our second daddy now, yes? Mommy says you are," she continued as if she was talking about the weather. April was staring at me expectantly as well, but I didn't have an appropriate answer for them. This wasn't a topic that ever came up in conversation between Jonathan and I. Personally, I assumed I'd always just be "Winston" to April and Alyssa. It was sad at times when I thought about it, but I accepted my reality a long time ago.

I wasn't ashamed to admit that Alyssa's question had completely blindsided me.

"I'm honestly not sure, angels," I finally stated after the lengthy silence. While continuing to braid Alyssa's hair, I took another glance at them both in the mirror before us. "Do you want me to be?"

"We do," April answered without missing a beat, making my heart constrict in the most magical way. "But we can't call you daddy because that's what we call Daddy. You'll be Bubba."

"Bubba?"

"Yes," Alyssa nodded in agreement with an adorable smile. "We call our daddy, Daddy and our grandpas, Papa. You're our second daddy, but saying Daddy would be confusing, so you'll be Bubba."

Bubba... I'm a Bubba.

"I love it," I admitted just as I felt my eyes watering with happiness. Quickly, I wiped at my eyes before they could realize that I was crying. "Why don't you two run it by your dad first? Just to make sure it's okay with him."

"Okay, we will," April nodded before she switched places with Alyssa since I had just finished doing her hair. "Can you braid my own next?"

***

"Hey, Ellis!"

"Hi, Winston!"

I waited until Ellis was buckled up before pulling away from the curb in front of his apartment complex.

After my mother's funeral, I decided to keep in contact with Ellis because I realized that I was being a terrible sponsor. Furthermore, I felt awful for how someone was catfishing him using my identity. After explaining to him that our relationship wouldn't work if he couldn't accept that we would only be good friends, he completely changed his attitude. Instead of the overbearing man who would text me back-to-back when I wouldn't respond, he became a man who understood boundaries and respected my relationship with Jonathan.

It took some getting used to on both my and Jonathan's part since we were still aware of Ellis' feelings toward me. However, since he was no longer doing things that we considered inappropriate, we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. So far, I haven't come to regret that decision.

"Thank you for helping me today," I said a few minutes into the drive to my old place.

"No problem," Ellis blushed in response. "I actually wanted to talk to you, face-to-face."

"Really? About what?"

"About when we first met," he muttered with a nervous chuckle. "I did some things that – looking back – I'm not so proud of, and I never took the time to apologize."

"Whoa, Ellis, it's okay. We've moved past it."

"I know. It's just that I felt wrong for not giving a proper apology to you and Jonathan."

"Jonathan?"

"Yeah," his blush darkened considerably. "I might have sent a threatening note to him when I first learned of you twos' relationship."

"We're not mad about it anymore, Ellis."

"I know that too. You guys have been so kind and welcoming to me when I was a literal brat," he laughed uncomfortably. "Truthfully, I didn't think I deserve your kindness."