Most days, it took John a bit to make it out of the zoo. He almost never got to clock out on time because he was finishing something up or not making waves because the next shift was late. Making waves, in general, just wasnât Johnâs way of handling things. He also needed to shower in the locker room and change back into his street clothes. He technically got off at six so it was already dark, but by the time he left? The time had usually crept past seven. Typically he went straight to Sorenâs and only stopped by his apartment with Sutton on weekends to pick up mail and check on his roommate. He refused to completely move out unless there was a ring on someoneâs finger, so even with the baby on the way, he had somewhere to go to decompress, which was what he was doing right now. Decompressing.
John was not a polyamorous man. Neither were Will and Soren. So that wasnât the problem. The problem was that John couldnât stand to hurt either one of them. The thing was, this whole move to Chicago was supposed to be a new start and never meant to even think of Will. Yet, Will was here and John was weak for him, so weak that heâd cheated on Soren. Though it wasnât like his stupid night of cheating on Will to prove a point, it was still cheating and he seemed to have a habit of doing it even though he damn well knew he shouldnât and that plagued him. It made him get lost in thought, so lost that time would slip by and when he heard his phone buzz, he snapped back from his thoughts the moment he saw that it was nearly hal- past eight in the evening and that Soren had texted him a single word: Hey.
Nearly knocking over his rocking chair when he stood up and fumbled with the phone to send a text back, Johnâs chest pulsed with the ache of guilt.
[text]: Sorry, darlin, got too busy visiting with my man Chewy
[text]: Iâll be there before you know it
With that, he scooped up his hat, plopped it on his head, and then pulled on his Carhartt jacket over his layers of shirts and flannel before he was off. He left the apartment and headed straight for Soren, hoping he wouldnât be too sore that John had missed dinner.
He looked at the manâs text and visibly relaxed some. He hated how much the word âdarlinâ could make him relax and not feel as angsty as he previously was. It made him know that he and John had something that was genuine. But he knew that it might not be enough to compare to what the male had with Will. He looked at his big belly and the stretch marks that were appearing and made him want to scream and cry at the same time. He should be happy at this moment. He had wanted a kid for a long time now and he had a guy like John, who he knew would be an amazing father to the baby. He looked around the place and then back to his phone for a second. He was very conflicted.Â
But he trusted John and knew that the other wouldnât lie to him. He took about a minute to try to get up from the couch, with the belly it was extremely hard. He grunted and headed over towards the kitchen. His back was aching like hell and his ankles werenât even ankles at this point. Maybe he just needed some rest, because he had been a little moody and grumpy lately. But that definitely did make him think and act irrationally. He decided that he could start some dinner for him and John, since the other hadnât probably eaten, but either way he was pregnant and got hungry every thirty minutes.Â
[Text]: No rush, baby. Drive safely, please.
[Text]; Your baby is grounded for the first few weeks. I have terrible looking stretch marks and my back hurts just from breathing.Â
He wanted things to be okay. So he decided to not be so grumpy and mean towards the other. Because just because he thought about Will didnât make his thoughts true. John was a good guy and wouldnât ever hurt him. So it was just best for him to get over it.
