Moving On - 24. Chapter 24 - A Day at the Zoo

My first conscious thought Wednesday morning was that I was experiencing my first earthquake. It took a moment for my panicking brain to realize it was merely Zach jumping up and down on the bed. Exhaustion from the two consecutive late nights had taken their toll, and I was barely able to react at first. Zach immediately sat on my chest and began shaking my shoulders.

"Scott, are you awake?" he asked me a few times, before putting his mouth right next to my ear and repeating it again. Loudly.

Finally, I'd had enough torture and could no longer pretend to still be asleep. With a groan, I rolled onto my side, taking Zach with me. Immediately, I set forth my best effort to get my revenge on him. That plan backfired, however, when his response to my tickles was to kick and squeal. If I hadn't been awake before, I was now.

I gave Zach a final squeeze and a kiss on the forehead before climbing out of bed.

"Good morning, buddy. How's my little guy doing?" I asked him as cheerfully as I could.

"Now that you're up, I'm real good. Daddy said I couldn't eat until I woke you up. I had a lot of fun, though. Can I wake you up tomorrow?"

"We'll see little buddy, but I expect your daddy would like it even more than I did. Maybe you can wake him up tomorrow!" I said, hoping that maybe I could get a little revenge.

"I know! I'll wake Daddy up and then we can both wake you up! It'll be even more funner!" Zach squealed happily.

I resigned myself to whatever my fate the next morning would be, while I got out of bed and threw some clothes on. I didn't bother with my full morning routine, since I knew Noah was going out as soon as breakfast was over, and I didn't want to delay him.

I was surprised to see Noah making French toast when I carried Zach into the kitchen. The aroma of bacon filled the air, and scrambled eggs were well on their way. Zach quickly jumped into a chair, anxiously waiting for the morning feast. I quickly gave my boyfriend a hug and a kiss before he shooed me out of his way. Minutes after I sat down, Noah carried the food over, and we began to eat.

"So what did you think of your alarm clock this morning?" Noah asked me mischievously.

I tried to shoot him a death-glare, but the smile on my face belied my faux-anger.

"It was…different," I said diplomatically, fully aware that Zach was hanging on my every word. "I can honestly say I've never woken up that way."

"Well, get used it. It comes with having a four-year-old in the house," Noah said with a laugh. "Good job, Zachy!"

Zach just gave a toothy grin between spearing mouthfuls of syrup-drenched bread into his mouth while Noah ruffled his hair.

"I think Zach has plans to wake you up the same way tomorrow, don't you, little buddy?"

"Yup," he replied matter-of-factly, syrup slipping out of his mouth and down his chin.

After we finished eating, I took care of the dishes while Noah hosed down Zach. After that was accomplished, the two of them took off for Noah's errands. I insisted Noah take the new car so he could get used to it, but he surprisingly put up little resistance.

Once they were gone, I grabbed a quick shower and got dressed. Remembering the new mattress scheduled for delivery, I took the sheets off and dragged the mattress and box spring into the hallway before settling down in front of the laptop for more work.

As it had the past two days, the work just flowed out of me. I took a break shortly after noon to make a sandwich. I was just about to take it back to my bedroom when Noah and Zach returned home.

"How'd everything go?" I called out, setting the sandwich aside and greeting both men in my life with a hug and a kiss.

"Great!" Noah responded enthusiastically. "It sounds like there's not going to be any real problems getting started by the fall semester. As long as my transcripts and test scores all make it in time, I should be fine. The school seems like it'll be perfect. The first semester, I'll have to take at least one class on campus, but otherwise, I really would only have to go in if I wanted to talk in person with my advisor or a professor."

"That's fantastic," I responded with almost as much enthusiasm as Noah. "So I guess you need to submit requests, fill out the application, and all that fun stuff?"

"Nope, I actually filled it out while we were there. I figured I could just get it over with. I do need to write an essay and email it, but I figured I could do that this evening.

"Now eat your sandwich and find a stopping point in your work. We have a date with some monkeys!" Noah said, directing the last part of the statement to Zach, who seemed somewhat excited, but I wasn't sure he really knew what his father meant.

Suddenly, my face fell as I realized something. "I don't think I can go with you guys," I said, a little upset, since I had so looked forward to taking Zach to the zoo.

"Why not? Run into an issue?" Noah asked. Instantly, the excitement was gone from his face, replaced with concern.

I let out a sad chuckle. "No, that would make this easier. We have the mattress coming, and someone's going to have to be here to let them in."

"Is that all?" Noah asked, the concern immediately gone from his face. "I had the same thought earlier, so I called Tom. He's going to hang out here until they come. I think he was grateful for an excuse to not go shopping with Sarah."

"Look at you, all ahead of the game!" I said excitedly.

"She has been shopping a lot, not that I'm one to talk. They spent a lot of time in their room together here, and then they moved to her house together. I'm sure he's grateful for a little alone time," I added.

"We haven't been too different in that regard. It hasn't bothered me at all, and I really hope you don't feel smothered or anything," Noah said with a twinge of caution in his voice.

"Not at all … I mean, alone time is nice once in a while, but I've been spending most of the past few days working. If that hadn't been the case, we both might be wanting a little time to ourselves. All I really want to do when I take a break is spend time with you and Zach. As we settle into a routine, it might be nice to do our own things from time to time, but for now, I want to spend all the time I can with you," I responded, giving Noah a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Any idea when he's supposed to be here?"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

"Your ears must've been ringing. We were just talking about you," I told Tom as I let him in.

"Hopefully good things," Tom replied with a smile.

"I was just telling Scott how it seemed like you needed to get away from Sarah for a bit," Noah said.

"It's not so much needing time away from her, so much as needing time away from shopping. That woman never tires, and she keeps expecting me to pay. Heck, to get out of going today, she begged to borrow my credit card."

"Damn, She must've found out you're loaded!" I said, laughing.

"Scott, that's a no-no word," Zach said smugly, at least for a four-year-old.

"You little rascal, good catch!" I said with mock anger, then ruffled his hair and picked him up for a good tickle.

"What is it you do, exactly, Tom?" Noah asked. "I'm kinda embarrassed that I don't actually know."

"I'm an accountant for several small businesses, and I also dabble in the stock market," Tom replied.

"He's being modest. He's been playing stock markets like pianos for the past five years. Oh, that reminds me, Tom, I have a gift for you."

"Do I have to remind you again that the company needs to be making money for me to be able to write these off?" Tom chastised as I handed him the receipt from my laptop purchase.

"It won't be a problem. I'm back on my game, and I'll have several invoices for you next week. They won't be pretty from an income standpoint, but I have to get people wanting my services again before they'll be willing to pay for it."

"Which brings us back to why we asked you over," Noah cut in. "Scott's taking a break, and we're going out with Zach for a bit. I don't know when the mattress will be delivered, but you know where it goes."

"Make sure they take the old one with them, unless you and Sarah want a free mattress. It's in pretty good condition," I added.

"No, that's ok. I'm pretty sure that you and my brother did gross and unspeakable things on that mattress, and I wouldn't feel comfortable with it. Eww," Tom responded, shuddering at the thought.

"That we most definitely did, although I'm pretty sure you did a few 'gross' things on the mattress in the guest room yourself," I said with a knowing smirk.

Tom's blush was all the acknowledgement I needed. I didn't bother to tell him that the really kinky things Steve and I did were usually on that mattress, too, so ours wouldn't be messed up.

After chatting a few more minutes, Noah strapped Zach into the back of The Grape, and we were on our way. While I was driving, I asked Noah how he fared driving the new car in the morning.

"It was fine," he replied. "It feels bigger, but I don't think it feels as big as it is. It handled really well, and I quickly realized my concerns about driving something larger than what I was used to were completely unfounded."

"Great! At least this isn't a moving truck. I drove one of those for a while in college. I never got used to its size," I said with a laugh.

The remainder of the drive was filled with content silence as I reminisced about the various odd-jobs I had worked in years past. I also was pleased Zach was more than happy to just stare out the windows when I drove. I knew some people's children acted like little shits when they were in a car, but I'd yet to experience any drama from him other than his nerves surfacing the day we drove back to Atlanta with him.

It was only a few minutes before we pulled into the zoo's parking lot. After getting out of the car, Noah immediately started walking towards the main entrance, but I suggested we become members.

"I don't know, Scott. It sounds expensive."

"You haven't been here before; this place is expensive. Tickets to get in for just the day will probably be around sixty bucks for the three of us. Then, there's food, rides, souvenirs, and so on. It's like the season passes at Six Flags. Once you come twice, it pays for itself, plus there are extra discounts on pretty much everything. It's not much extra savings, but still …" I trailed off, knowing I had made my point.

"Alright, that sounds like a deal. But on one condition: I'm paying for it. Actually, I'm paying for everything today. In fact, give me your wallet. You're cut off from spending any money on us today."

As Noah spoke, his tone had gotten sterner, and despite joking at first, I was beginning to think the money issue was beginning to resurface. I glanced down at Zach, and saw he was staring at both of us with wide eyes. Before I could even react, however, Noah stuck his tongue out at me, which caused Zach to giggle loudly.

"Fair enough," I said with a laugh, but handed over my wallet. You really had me going there, though."

"Sorry, I thought I'd just tease you a little. I guess I didn't realize how it came across until I saw the look on your face," he said before giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

"It's all good. That was a nice touch, demanding my wallet. It keeps me from being tempted to pay for anything without thinking."

"I'll keep that in mind. This might be a good way of keeping you in line in the future," Noah responded, winking at me.

Without any hassle, Noah purchased a 'Family Pass', we were handed our membership cards, and sent on our way. Upon entering the gate, we were struck by the foul stench of the flamingos. Zach immediately pinched his nose.

"Scott, what smells bad?" the boy asked me. To the best of Noah's knowledge, he'd never been to the zoo before. While he had seemed excited about going, and had been looking at all the signs and posters, I don't think he had any idea what a 'zoo' was.

"It's those birds over there," I said, pointing him to the exhibit just inside the entrance.

"Oh wow!" He exclaimed, and took off at full speed to the flamingos.

Noah and I were right behind him. I suddenly remembered I had bought a stroller just for occasions like this, but it was at home. I hoped this wasn't a taste of what the rest of the day would be like – chasing after Zach as he sprinted from exhibit to exhibit. Noah had the look of a worried parent, so I could only assume he had the same thought I did.

Noah tried to get Zach's attention, but it wasn't happening. Finally he turned his son around by the shoulder.

"Buddy, I know you're excited, but you can't run off like that. Promise me you'll hold either my hand or Scott's when we're walking around today."

"But …" Zach started to complain, glancing back at the birds, but Noah cut him off.

"No buts, Zachy. Promise you'll hold one of our hands, or we're going to go home." Noah's voice was firm, but it was completely devoid of any anger. He was simply telling Zach how it was going to be.

"Fine," he said indignantly after a moment, crossing his arms and pouting.

"That's my boy," Noah said with a smile, giving his son a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead before turning him back around to see the flamingos.

"What do you think of them?"

They're funny looking, and pretty," Zach said excitedly, his irritation already forgotten. "But why are some of them pink?"

"I don't know, buddy. Scott, any idea?"

I leaned down to Zach's level and pointed to a couple of the birds while I explained, "See how the gray ones are smaller than the pink ones, Zach? They're the baby flamingos. When they grow up, they'll be pink just like the adults."

I decided not to go into the why flamingos turn pink. I didn't want to deal with a four-year-old worried that he'd change colors depending on the food he ate.

"Wow, you really do know the animals," Noah said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, Steve loved this place. For a long time, we were here nearly every week. One year, I even signed him up for a program that allowed him to feed and interact with several of the animals as a birthday gift. He was just like a kid in a candy store, although I'm pretty sure he would've smuggled a few animals out if he thought he could get away with it," I replied with a slight smile.

Thinking of the happy memories with Steve still brought pain with them, but it was less than in the past, and I didn't feel tears threatening. Noah just wrapped his arm gently around my waist and gave me a gentle squeeze.

As we continued through the zoo, Zach had to be reminded constantly to hold a hand; every time he chose me, I felt so happy and fulfilled – not that I felt the smallest twinge of jealousy whenever he chose his father. Each animal we encountered was immediately Zach's new favorite. In front of the gorillas, he tried to make them imitate him, but when that didn't happen, he started to imitate the apes.

I had a blast in the parakeet house. There are hundreds of birds free to fly all around the people inside. Noah got overwhelmed and left at a sprint after the first flurry of activity. Zach was in heaven, and I bought him a honey-stick so he could feed the birds.

Supposedly Zach loved the reptile house, but I refused to go in. Noah said I was being ridiculous since the snakes were separated by glass, but I wasn't going to take any chances. Besides, the keepers regularly liked to bring out supposedly-harmless snakes, and I just knew one of them would try to attack me. I really hate snakes.

Zach was beginning to whine and get frustrated easily, so we decided to take a break and get some food. That seemed to refresh him, and we decided to check out the kid area. He had a blast in the petting zoo, and we all enjoyed riding on the train and carousel.

With Zach refreshed and in better spirits, we returned to the animals. By far, Zach's favorite exhibit was the giant pandas. We stayed there nearly an hour, watching the youngest cub play while his older brother and parents slept in the various exhibits.

After the pandas, we kept exploring. Zach still enjoyed the animals, but the pandas were definitely his favorite. After a while, he asked Noah to pick him up, and it wasn't long before Noah was carrying around the dead weight of a sleeping child.

As we left the zoo, Noah lamented that he wished we had remembered the stroller.

"I definitely agree. Zach gets around fine on his own, but he got tired and cranky by the end. Next time we go someplace like this, we'll have to remember it so he has someplace to go when he needs a break," I responded.

Tom was gone by the time we had gotten home. Noah and I weren't surprised, but Zach seemed a little upset. I think he really just wanted to regale Tom with the stories of the animals he saw at the zoo.

Noah and I threw together a quick dinner while Zach played with his toys in the living room. It was only reheating leftovers, but it was the first time we'd actually worked together in the kitchen. It went smoothly, which is far better than any time Steve and I cooked together, at least that I could recall.

Zach was almost too quiet as we prepared dinner. Both Noah and I kept glancing over to see what trouble he was getting into, but he was happily constructing something with his building blocks. I couldn't tell what it was supposed to be, but it didn't look like something that would allow him to take over the world or something, so we let him be.

After dinner, I excused myself and walked into the bedroom to get some more work done. I was pleasantly surprised that Tom had made the bed for me. If it were not for the papers on the dresser, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was a different mattress until I sat down on the bed. The old mattress was nice, but this was far comfier.

After a couple hours, I stopped and surveyed my work. I was shocked to discover that I really only had a couple small projects to wrap up. I cued up emails for the clients whose work I had finished, and set them to submit automatically at eight in the morning on Friday.

I decided on a quick break, so I went back into the living room. Zach was sitting next to Noah on the couch, and they were both staring at the computer screen.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked them, sitting down on the other side of Noah.

"Zach kept asking me questions about pandas that I didn't know, so I started looking them up. One thing led to another, and now we're watching videos of otters on YouTube," Noah explained.

"I like otters, too, but not as much as pandas. Daddy, show him the panda sneezing!"

I placated the boy by watching the video, which I had already seen umpteen times myself.

"Again, Daddy, again!" Zach exclaimed as soon as it was finished.

"No, you've already watched it five times."

"But I like it and wanna watch it again, and Scott's only seen it once!" Zach whined.

"I said no, buddy. Maybe you can watch it again tomorrow."

"Fine," Zach said, beginning to pout.

"You know, Zach," I said, in attempt to distract him, "maybe we can go to the aquarium tomorrow. They have otters like the ones at the zoo, and lots of fish."

"What's an ack-wam-ian?" the tyke asked, struggling with the word.

"An aquarium is like a zoo, but with just animals that live in the water," Noah explained to him, placing emphasis on the correct pronunciation.*

"Oh cool! I wanna go there!"

"You know I've had a lot of work to do the past few days. It'll all depend on how much I get finished in the morning. But I promise if we can't go tomorrow, we'll go really soon."

"Yaaaaay!" he said excitedly, pumping his fists in the air like he'd just won a gold medal. I knew in that instant I'd be pulling an all-nighter if necessary to be able to take him tomorrow.

"Oh, that reminds me, Zachy … tell Scott about the surprise for tomorrow evening," Noah said, his golden eyes twinkling.

"Oh yeah! Scott, tomorrow I'm gonna sit on a baby with Sarah!"

My head immediately cocked to the side, and Noah nearly fell off the couch, doubling over with laughter. Zach just glanced between the two of us trying to figure out what was going on until his father managed to regain his composure.

"Close, buddy, good job," Noah said, still wiping tears from his eyes. "Tomorrow night, Sarah is going to babysit Zach. I called her a little bit ago to ask. I'm taking you out for dinner. It'll be our first real date. No Tom and Sarah, no Willow, no rugrats. Just you and me. Seriously, sit on a baby?" he added, mostly under his breath, and began to laugh again.

I laughed, too, finally understanding what Zach had tried to say.

After a minute of contented silence, Zach asked if he could watch the panda video again. Noah was definitely getting frustrated, but suddenly an idea entered my mind.

"Actually, Zach, I think I have something for you. You stay right here with your daddy. I'll be right back," I said before racing to the basement. I hoped I still remembered where it was among the clutter. After about five minutes, I returned, and Zach's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he stared in wonder at my gift.

"Oh wow!" He exclaimed, reaching out to take the giant stuffed animal out of my arms. It was over half his size, and he struggled to wrap his tiny arms around it.

"Do I want to know why you had a giant stuffed panda in your basement?" Noah asked me with a raised eyebrow.

"It was Steve's. I bought it for him the first Christmas we spent together. It was a combination gag-gift and inside joke. Pandas were always Steve's favorite animal. It's been in the basement since we moved here. He kept complaining that it didn't match the décor, and we were far too old to have stuffed animals lying around the house."

"Are you sure you want to give it to Zach if it has an emotional significance? You do realize he'll probably manage to stain it within an hour, right?"

"I'm sure. Like I said, it's been in one box or another for years. The significance is only enough to not want to throw it away. Zach will get far more joy out of it than I will by keeping it in the basement. Besides, I think Steve would approve of the decision."

"I really wish I had the chance to meet him, but based on the little I know about him, I think you're right," Noah concluded.

I kissed Noah and Zach, before returning to work for a little while longer. If wanted to be able to take Zach to the aquarium and go on a date in the evening, I needed to ensure everything was done by around noon the next day. Technically, I had told clients that my work would be submitted for approval by the end of the day on Friday, but I wanted to prove my seriousness by being a little ahead of schedule. Hopefully, this wouldn't be starting a bad precedent where they expected me to complete work early, but most of my clients had been so understanding for the past year, that I thought it was the least I could do.

Before starting, however, I decided to preempt any attempt at subterfuge by Noah, and went ahead and purchased annual memberships for the three of us. Even if we didn't make it tomorrow, all we had to do was get our pictures taken and get our id's on our first visit. I was surprised how much more expensive it was than the zoo, considering I always preferred the zoo over the aquarium, but I guess there's a lot more maintenance costs associated with all the tanks, and the zoo doesn't have to deal with air conditioning in the Georgia heat!

Around midnight, Noah knocked on the door. When he came in, he had already changed into a pair of shorts and a tee.

"I'm going to bed, sexy man. Zach's sleeping with the panda. He actually spent fifteen minutes acting out the sneezing panda video with it, too. He really loves that thing. Will you be able to swing both the aquarium and our date tomorrow? We can always order in and just do a quick romantic dinner or something if you want to make the aquarium work."

"I'll get back to you on that tomorrow, but I think we'll be able to do both. If I have to chose, Zach's just going to have to deal with the disappointment. Like you said, this will be our first real date. Dinner Friday night was date-like, but there was the whole taking-your-boyfriend-to-Chuck-E.-Cheese-with-your-four-year-old-as-the-actual-first-date thing earlier in the day, and the whole Willow drama. I'll be the bad guy and tell Zach that he can't go to the aquarium if it boils down to that. Let him be mad at me. I'll make it up to him, I'm sure."

I got off the bed, and wrapped my arms around Noah's neck, pulling our bodies close and kissing him deeply. As blood rushed to my groin, I became distinctly aware that Noah was going commando under the shorts. I ground into his unmistakably-growing erection a few times before breaking the kiss.

"Damn, you always get me going," I said with a giggle.

"In case you didn't notice, you do the same to me," Noah responded with a wink and a gentle pelvic thrust.

"Unfortunately, I need to work, so we have to stop. I guess we'll just have to hold … that … thought." I punctuated each of the last three words with kisses as I said them.

"I know, I know," Noah said with – what I assume was – mock frustration. "How about one more kiss for the road?" he added with a wink.

"Sure thing, babe," I said, kissing him briefly, but with more passion than before.

As I broke the embrace, I gently traced a finger down his chest, and over the obscene bulge in his shorts. He moaned gently as my finger ran over the length of his cock for the first time, albeit separated by a layer of cloth.

"Now do you need a shower again tonight, or will you be ok?" I asked with an evil grin on my face.

Noah's blush confirmed that I'd probably hear the water turn on shortly after he left the room.

"Whatever you do with that," I said, gesturing to his straining erection, "I love you, and I will see you in the morning."

"I love you, too," Noah responded, giving me one last peck before heading out the door.

Shortly after I sat down on the bed, I heard the shower running, and knew I had been right. Two hours later, I had finished all but the most basic projects that I'd saved until last. I needed to look over a lot and check for errors, but I was essentially done. I got changed and brushed my teeth before climbing into the new bed.

It was incredibly comfortable, and I was in heaven, except for one small problem. Try as I might, I just couldn't fall asleep. The bed just felt so big, so empty. Even if I no longer felt a special connection to Steve in our old bed, it had been my bed. This just felt foreign. After weighing my options, I decided to go for broke.

I quietly padded down the hallway and knocked on Noah's door. When he didn't answer my quiet knocks, I let myself in. I stood by the bed for a moment and just drank in the sight of my gorgeous boyfriend sleeping peacefully, before I quietly said his name. He jolted straight up, looking panicked.

"What happened? What's wrong? Is Zach ok?" he blurted.

"Shhh. Everything's fine. Well mostly. I need to ask you a huge favor."

"Shit, Scott, what time is it? Can it wait?"

"The time doesn't matter, but it can't wait. I can't sleep, and I'm not entirely sure why. I was wondering if you wanted to sleep with me."

"So you're going to give me blue-balls two days in a row, and then wake me up for sex in the middle of the night?" he responded dryly.

I gently smacked his arm.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. Our new bed just feels so empty at the moment. I was hoping with you lying beside me, I'd be able to get some sleep. This is just for tonight, by the way. We can discuss more long-term plans in the morning. Besides, you're not the only one who currently has blue-balls," I added with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"At least for tonight, is that ok?"

"Of course babe," he responded sleepily. "Let's go before I fall back asleep."

I helped him out of the bed, and he grabbed his cell phone before we went back to my bedroom. I lay down on my side of the bed, and Noah quickly crawled under the covers on the other side.

"I love you, Scott. This is wonderful, even if it's just for the night," he said, giving me a quick kiss, before he was immediately asleep again.

With the gentle sounds of his deep breathing quickly lulling me into my slumber, my last thought before sleep overtook me was 'yes this is'.

– – – * * * – – –

* – Despite his best efforts, it took Zach a long time to say it properly. For simplicity, I'll just pretend from here on out that he picked it up correctly the first time. In fact, it's safe to assume that most words that he messes up took quite a while to learn correctly, but I seem to recall this one giving him more trouble than most. Ethan said 'mazagine' until he was six. Being his big brother, I took it upon myself to tease him about it correct him. In all fairness, it supposedly took me nearly as long to stop saying 'pasghetti', although I refuse to take Mom's word on that.