Page 13 of Talk About… Dramay

“You look perfect,” he promised, pulling me in for a kiss, but this time he stopped himself from taking it deeper.

We had plans and he was too excited to show off his work. God, he was adorable.

He’d put on something similar. His jeans were well-worn, hugging his incredible ass, and splattered in long-dried paint. His shirt was more of the same. It was once all black, but now had a rainbow of colors. It should look messy but I swear he pulled it off.

Even dressed down, the man was gorgeous.

“Come on, it’s about a twenty minute drive across the city,” he said quickly, trying to shift my attention from his body. His cheeks were a little red as I took my time checking him out, letting my eyes roam over every inch of him.

“Roman, I want to make something very clear,” I said as I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. He paused and looked back at me, but he didn’t say anything, just waiting for me to finish. “When we finish tonight, I want you to take me home and stay the night. A little post-date dessert, if you will.”

“Gladly, Stormy,” he said, his teeth clamping down on his clenched fist as he took steady breaths to stop himself from lunging at me. It took a few seconds before he got his composure, his eyes full of heat and longing. “You’ll be the death of me.”

“Come on,” I laughed. “We need to get going.”

I ushered him out of the front door and locked it behind me. We hurried outside and into his car. Traffic was definitely going to pick up soon.

This time the car ride flew by as we threw questions back and forth, everything from favorite colors to favorite foods. I genuinely craved to know every single tiny detail about this man.

If I went into the store and thought of him, I wanted to find something he would genuinely like me to get him. Plus, date planning would suck if I didn’t know what he hated.

His family was truly missing out for not realizing how amazing he was. I, however, was excited to see him in action.

Bridgeview was an adorable little community. It wasn’t anything like I expected. It was a compound of tiny little cottages with a main building in the center of it all. Maintained grounds and pathways dotted in benches led the way in between them all.

He parked in front and led me to the main doors while I took it all in. It was clean, but not overly clinical. This felt like a home.

A nurse wearing bright aqua scrubs came out with a huge smile on her face. “Is this her?”

She talked to him like she was his favorite auntie. He nodded once and she turned to me with a quick squeal and pulled me into a hug. I returned it, unsure how to feel or react, but she didn’t care as she went on.

“Girl, you have no idea how excited I am to finally see our main man finding his omega. We always knew he was a catch.”

“He really is,” I agreed. Roman shifted from foot to foot under the attention and quickly changed the subject.

“Are they already in the day room?”

“You know they are. They show up thirty minutes early for every session you’ve got with them. A few of the kids are also here already, but I expect we’re going to have more in the next couple of minutes.”

“Then you can help me with supplies, they’ll get impatient soon,” Roman said, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hallway. He stopped outside of a room labeled storage and pulled me inside.

Much to my disappointment, he wasn’t here to ravage me. In fact, he kicked the door stopper down so the door didn’t close and flicked on the light.

The utility closet had a large sink, a counter, and plenty of shelves all full of various crafts and themed party decorations. He made quick work of loading up a push cart with everything he needed, filling a large jug of water for rinsing brushes, and added bottles of paint in every color imaginable.

“We’ve been working on painting landscapes lately,” he started, before giving me the ins and outs of everything they’d covered, and how to properly mix paints.

It was hard to listen to his words and process them. I was too caught up watching him talk. The passion in his voice was sexy as hell, but also, it was endearing. He genuinely cared about these people and what he was doing.

When we walked into the art room, it was no different. He greeted every single person by name, asking about grandkids, family, favorite shows. He had something different for every person that we ran into.

He also didn’t let me fade into the background. Anytime we talked to someone new, he introduced me all over again, that proud smile wide on his face.

He may call me Stormy, but he was truly a ray of light. He drew the attention of everyone in the room, made them feel comfortable and seen.

That was a rare quality.

Now it was my turn to be proud, the feeling filling me with warmth as I tried to stay present.