Exclusive - Jack Maynard
“You mean, exclusive?”
Y/N felt as if she had to throw up. The music seemed to fade away, only because it wasn’t important anymore. The only thing she could focus on was him. And the girl who was grinding on him. Jack had his arms around a petite blonde, pressing her hips flush against his own, swaying to the beat that seemed like background noise to Y/N now.
Conor, who had been dancing next to her, noticed her stopping in her tracks.
“What’s wrong?”, he loudly asked so she’d hear him. He noticed how she glanced at his brother.
“I need some air”, Y/N said and made her way through the dancing crowd without looking back.
When she finally reached the smoking area outside, she desperately tried to fight the tears that threatened to spill. Y/N wasn’t even sure why she felt that way. She shouldn’t feel jealous, she shouldn’t feel sad and angry, but that confused her even more. They had hooked up a few times, when they both went home drunk after going out clubbing like today. It wasn’t regular, it wasn’t anything special. It was just in the heat of the moment, a used opportunity. She tried to steady her breathing as someone approached her.
“Can I offer you a cigarette?”, a handsome stranger asked. He was rather tall, quite tan and muscular. Y/N found him very attractive, but he wasn’t Jack. She was surprised that this was the first thought that came to her mind when she looked at him.
“I don’t smoke”, she said, although that wasn’t even true. She did smoke one or two cigarettes when she was very drunk, and she’d actually really like to have a smoke right now. But she knew by the way the guy looked that it wasn’t just a cigarette he offered. And she didn’t want that. Looked like Jack was the only one who’d get laid tonight.
“Maybe a drink, then?”, he asked and smiled at her. He actually had a pretty smile, but it made her feel nothing. She only wished Jack would smile at her like this. He’d never, probably.
“No thank you”, she said a little more determined this time.
“Playing hard to get, I see”, he said and came a little closer. Y/N felt a little bit uncomfortable at this point.
“Look”, she said, “I don’t play anything. I just don’t want to talk to you. If you want a hook-up, go look for someone else, I’m not interested.”
“You might want to think twice before turning me down, promise you won’t regret it”, he continued.
Y/N was just about to say something when someone cut her off.
“She fucking told you to back off, mate”, Jack said and put an arm around her. You could see that his tone affected the guy. He sounded very angry and if Y/N hadn’t known him, she would have been scared.
“Hey”, the guy said and raised his hands in a defensive manner, “didn’t know you had a boyfriend. You could’ve just said that.”
Y/N contemplated whether she should object, but she was pretty glad that the guy finally seemed to stop his approach.
“She’s taken, fuck off”, Jack said and watched as the guy finally left the smoking area and disappeared in the dancing crowd inside.
“You okay?”, Jack said and turned around to look at her. He noticed how puffy her eyes were. “Have you been crying? Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head no, but didn’t look up to him.
“What is it then?”, Jack asked, worry now evident in his voice. “Hey, look at me.”
When she didn’t obey, he gently took her face in his hand and lifted her chin up. Their eyes met for a second, and Y/N was surprised at how soft his eyes were, so full of concern for her and her wellbeing.
“Where is your little blondie?”, she asked him. She really didn’t want to say it because she knew she’d give herself away with that, but she couldn’t stop herself. Y/N watched his face when she said it. First, it was confusion that she could see, then realization hit him, then confusion returned.
“Dunno”, he said, “why’d you care, though?”
She shrugged her shoulders and tried to pull away from him, but he held her by the waist. She managed to look away from him, though.
“Why don’t we go on a walk”, Jack proposed as he noticed some curious stares from some social smokers. He turned around, not letting go of her waist and gently nudged her in the direction of the closest exit. They passed the security guard and walked in silence for a few minutes. Still, his arm rested around her waist.
“Are you mad at me? Because it kind of feels like you give me the silent treatment. And I don’t know why you’re mad. Please, just tell me what I did wrong”, Jack said.
As Y/N finally looked over to him, she saw that he was truly sincere. This look he had truly got under her skin, it wasn’t often that she got to see him like that.
“I’m not mad at you, Jack”, she said and stopped walking, “I’m mad at myself.”
“Now you’ve lost me”, he admitted.
“When I saw you in there with this blonde girl, I just felt so jealous of her and I know I don’t have any right to be jealous because what happened between us wasn’t important but maybe I want it to be important. And I know you don’t want that, but I don’t know if I can still be friends with you now when I suddenly feel this way and now I’ve ruined everything”, Y/N rambled until Jack finally cut her off.
“Breathe, Y/N”, he said and took one of her hands in his. She let it happen, but raised an eyebrow at him.
“Look”, Jack started but this time, it was Y/N who cut him off.
“Please just make it quick before this gets really embarrasing.”
“I didn’t know you wanted this between us to be important”, he summarized and squeezed her hands.
“Well I didn’t know that either till earlier”, Y/N said and let out a rather raspy chuckle, “but I know that you don’t want that.”
“You suppose, but you don’t know for sure, don’t you?”, Jack asked and smirked at her. Unlike the smile of the stranger earlier, this affected very much. Her heart began to race and she could feel her palms become sweaty. She just wished that Jack wouldn’t notice. If he did, he was too nice to say something.
“Well, do you want it to be important?”, she asked shyly and looked away again. She was sure that she couldn’t bear to see his face if he rejected her now.
“Yes”, he said, making her look at him to see if she didn’t get him wrong.
“You mean, exclusive?”, Y/N asked.
“Yes, exclusive”, he confirmed, making her blush. He looked at her with such a wide smile that she just couldn’t help but to return it.
“Can I... kiss you now?”, he asked, which Y/N found absolutely adorable.
“Of course”, she said and felt butterflies in her stomach as Jack closed the distance between them.
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"I have a daughter." (Mikey x Reader)
Dating as a single parent was complicated at best. Your daughter, Lindy, was four and you had yet to get past a first date. To be fair, you gladly spent all of your time and energy on your daughter, but the three dates you had been on never made it past "I have a daughter."
You didn't spend much time with people outside your work and your daughter, but about a year ago you had met Josh at a charity event you organized. Josh was one of the YouTubers you had worked with, and you two hit it off right away. Not really in a romantic way, though. He was more like a big brother, and your daughter adored him. You guys tried to hang out once a week and Josh just couldn't say no to Lindy. He'd take her to the park or play Legos with her or let her cover him in stickers. Today you guys had built a fort in Josh's living room where you were currently laying and talking.
"Y/n, you deserve to find love." Josh said, Lindy asleep on his chest.
"14 years, Josh. 14 years and this little one will be 18 and I won't feel bad for wishing dating was easier for a single parent." You said, looking at your daughter.
"Wishing it was easier doesn't make you a bad mom. You're the best mom she could have asked for." He smiled at you, hating that you were so hard on yourself.
"Thanks, love." You replied, hearing your phone ding. "Looks like I'm going in to work today." You said, sitting up in your make-shift fort.
"Why don't you grab your stuff and I'll walk you two down to your car so this one stays asleep." Josh slowly sat up, making sure not to wake Lindy up.
"You're the best." You thanked him, starting to put the couch cushions back and folding the blankets.
"Hey, I'll clean this up. Don't worry about it." He said, standing with your sleeping daughter in his arms.
"Are you sure? I can do it." You started to say, but stopped seeing the look on his face. "Fine", you laughed. "Let me just grab our stuff."
Josh walked you down to your car, placing your sleeping daughter in her car seat and pulling you into a hug. "Hey, I know you don't really go out anymore, but I want you to come to my birthday night out." He said, hoping you'd consider.
"I'm pretty sure I can find a sitter for one night." You said, thinking it would be nice to go out for once.
You hadn't met many of Josh's friends. You knew jack because you happened to meet one day at their flat.
*flashback*
Lindy had stared at him for a solid 10 minutes before Jack finally asked her why. "Am I funny looking, love?"
Looking at you and then back at Jack, she asked "what's on your nose?" Looking at his piercing.
"Oh! I forget it's there. It's jewelry." He said coming to kneel in front of her so she could see it better.
"Can I touch it?" She asked, leaning in to look at his nose.
"Of course, love." Jack replied, a big grin on his face. Lindy won over everyone she met and she had the boys in the palm of her hand in no time.
Reaching out to touch the ring with her tiny fingers, she replied. "I think it makes you look very pretty." That had you all in tears laughing.
"Thank you. I think you're prettier, though." Jack replied. Jack and Lindy spent the next half hour on snapchat playing with every filter.
*flashback over*
You shared your flat with a college student named Sarah you had met at work many years ago. It was kind of perfect. Your schedules were both all over the place and you got along famously. Thankfully she was staying in the night of Josh's birthday party and was more than happy to watch Lindy.
Hearing your phone, you opened the text. *Jack, Mikey, and me are on our way to yours to pick you up.*
*Just come up when you get here, I'm running a bit behind.* you text back, rushing to dry your hair and get your make-up on.
Finished with everything but what to wear, you heard Lindy squeal "Josh!"
Walking out into the living room you laughed, seeing Lindy on Jack's shoulders asking someone new a million questions. "You must be Mikey." You said, introducing yourself and your daughter.
"Very nice to finally meet you and your little one." He said, shaking your hand and continuing to talk to Lindy.
"Josh, come help." You walked back to your room.
"What's up?" He asked, reclining on your bed.
"I don't go out. I don't think I even have going out clothes. What am I supposed to wear?" You asked, opening your wardrobe.
"You don't have to dress up, Y/n. You can wear jeans and a nice top." He replied.
"I never get to dress up, though." You said, pulling out a few dresses.
"Ah, then wear this one." He said, standing up and grabbing a dress you had left in the wardrobe.
"I doubt that'll fit. I haven't worn that in years." You replied, eyeing the beautiful black lace dress.
"Try it on. Come on." He said, handing it to you and laying back down on the bed, closing his eyes.
"Oh, fine." You said, stripping and stepping into the dress. "Come zip me up?"
Walking behind you and zipping up the dress, he told you to turn around. "Y/n, you look hot." He said, turning you to face your mirror. "You have to wear this one. Where are your shoes?"
"Here." You replied, pulling out a pair of black pumps. "Are you sure?" You asked, smoothing your hands over the lace of your dress.
"Absolutely. You look beautiful." He replied, helping you balance while you slipped on your heels.
Walking into the living room with Josh, your daughter saw your dress. "Mommy, you look so pretty!" She said, running into your arms.
"Aww, thank you, love." You said, kissing her and leaving a lipstick lip print on her cheek.
Walking to the door, you sat Lindy down. "Say bye to the boys. I'll be back tonight." You said, grabbing your purse.
Lindy hugged Josh and Jack, Mikey walking up to you. "I have to tell you that you look stunning tonight." Mikey said, stuttering a bit.
"You're too sweet." You replied, thinking he was quite adorable.
"Jack, come on." Josh was saying, trying to hurry him along. He and Lindy always took funny pictures together and they were currently making "thug" faces in front of his phone.
"You've got to send me that one." You laughed. "Be good tonight, Lindy!" You called opening your door to leave.
"I will, I will." She said, waving as you guys left.
Getting to the club, you walked in to see most of his friends already there. Hugs and "Happy Birthday"s were shared as Josh made his way to the area sectioned off for his party.
You knew most of them from funny videos they did with Josh, but you still stuck with Jack and Mikey as everyone found a seat.
"Here you go." Mikey said, standing aside so you could slide in next to Jack, sliding in after you.
"Thank you." You said, leaning in so he could hear you.
Josh's birthday was loads of fun. You got to meet the rest of his friends, Joe realizing it was your daughter making appearances on Jack's snapchat. "She's too precious." He complimented, showing you the one Jack had posted that night.
"She's my whole life." You replied, smiling at the hilarious picture.
"Well I'm glad you came out tonight." Mikey added. "Josh is always sharing stories about you two."
"I'm glad I came out too." You continued talking to Mikey. "Josh is great with Lindy. I'm glad she's got such a good male role model in her life." You said, smiling as you watched Josh and his friends celebrating.
Seeing you smiling over at Josh, Mikey started thinking a bit. "Do you fancy him?" He asked.
"Josh?" You asked in return.
"Yeah. I mean, obviously he's a good lookin' bloke, and your daughter loves him." Mikey replied, still watching Josh.
"I can't deny either of those things, but Josh is like my brother." You said, laughing a bit.
"Really?" He asked, looking a bit happier than he had a moment ago.
"Yes, really." You assured him. "I promise I'm not trying to make your mate settle down. He's still one of the lads."
"Hey, nothing wrong with settling down. We're all growing up. I wouldn't be surprised to see people having families soon." Mikey replied. "I quite like the idea of having a family."
"Lindy is definitely a blessing. But being a parent is also a full time Job. I don't really date, so it'll probably just be the two of us." You said, finishing your drink.
"Why don't you date?" Mikey asked.
"People don't like hearing that I have a daughter. They want to be number one in my life, but when you have a child...well Lindy will always come first." You replied, fidgeting with your empty glass.
"Anyone that thinks that way doesn't deserve a woman like you." Mikey said, ducking his head a bit. You started to reply, but Mikey continued. "Let me get you another drink." He grabbed your glass and slid out of the booth.
Feeling your cheeks turning a bit pink, you watched Mikey walk away. "Mikey's a bit flustered." Joe said, grabbing Jack's attention.
"I'm pretty sure he likes you." Jack said, turning to face you.
"That's what I thought!" Joe added, a bit drunk.
"Guys, hush. He's just being sweet." You said, a part of you wishing it was true.
"Y/n, I know Mikey better than anyone here and I'm 99% sure he fancies you." Jack replied.
"Shut up, he's walking back." You said, trying to get the tipsy boys to hush.
"Here you go." Mikey said, sliding next to you in the booth.
"Thank you." You replied, looking him over. You definitely found him attractive and he had been a sweetheart from the moment you met him.
The night continued on, Josh's birthday going off without a hitch. You had made plans to hang out with Josh in a few days and you made it back to your flat with no problems. Walking in the door, your daughter jumped up from the couch and ran to you.
"Hi, sweetheart. Did you miss your mum?" You asked, dropping your purse by the door to hug your daughter.
"We watched Nemo!" She said, running back to your roommate, Sarah.
"It's almost one in the morning, Lindy. You need to go brush your teeth." You said, joining Sarah on the couch.
"How'd your night go?" She asked.
"Good. I had a lot of fun." You said, unable to keep a smile from your face.
"Oooo, did you meet someone?" She asked, staring you down.
"No, no. I just had a great time out. Sat and talked with Mikey and Jack, mostly. Met a few more of Josh's mates." You said, recalling your night.
"Mikey, eh? You should have seen him with Lindy. She was asking him a million questions and they talked the whole time you were getting ready with Josh." She replied. "It was quite cute."
"He is a sweetheart, that's for sure. I shouldn't be dating, though." You said, even more smitten with him after hearing he had already hit it off with your daughter.
"Hey, don't count him out. If he asks you out, do yourself a favor." She said, placing her hand on yours. "Give him a chance." She got up from the couch and went to her room.
The next day Mikey wandered over to the Pieters Maynard flat like usual. "Mikey!" Josh called, when he walked in "How are you feeling, buddy?"
"Good, actually. I didn't drink too much last night, unlike the rest of you randys." He teased.
"I feel like death." Jack said from the couch.
"Looks like I made the right choice, then." Mikey laughed, joining them in the living room.
"I know why you stayed sober. You were too busy flirting with Y/n to drink with us." Jack said, chucking a pillow at him.
"Lp, you didn't!" Josh teased.
"Oi, I didn't overstep. I was a gentleman." He replied, turning a bit pink.
"Awwww, you like her." Josh said, knowing he was going to get flustered.
"Why wouldn't I? She's a beautiful woman." Mikey replied, stuttering a bit. "I doubt she'd go for me anyways."
"Mikey, she definitely likes you." Jack said.
"I wish I would have been paying attention." Josh added.
"Mate, it was your birthday. You didn't need to be my wing-man." Mikey replied. "And she straight out told me she doesn't date, so let's drop it."
"Well, she's coming over tomorrow. You could always drop in." Josh suggested.
"Do it, Lp. I know Lindy will be happy to see you again." Jack added.
All Mikey said was "maybe", hoping the boys would drop it.
Opening your phone, you read a text from Josh. *Thank you again for making time to come out to my party. The boys were all happy to meet you. I hear you hit it off with Mikey??*
Laughing, you replied. *Tell Jack his Lindy snapchat privelages will be revoked if he can't learn to keep his mouth shut.*
Josh laughed out loud, calling the attention of the boys. "What was that about?" Jack asked.
Josh handed his phone to Jack and let him read the text. He typed a message on Josh's phone before he handed it back. *Love, you can't take my Lindy bug away from me. And I was only lookin' out! I'm being a good wingman! - Jack*
Reading it, you couldn't help but be a bit nervous. If they're talking about it, there's a chance you'd be going on an actual date. With someone who already knew you had a daughter. With a kind person that already had your daughter's seal of approval. *I know, I know. Just...new things are scary. We're still on for tomorrow, right Josh?*
*Of course. Come over whenever you'd like.* Josh replied.
"Mikey, you should definitely come over tomorrow." Josh said, thinking of how tomorrow was going to play out.
The next day, you and Lindy had spent the morning in your office. You were planning another big event, so Lindy was used to packing her back-pack full of her stuff and keeping herself entertained for a few hours at a time. "Mum, are we going to see uncle Josh?" she asked, drawing big flowers with funky colored crayons.
"Absolutely. In fact, let's head over there now. I think I've caught up enough here." you said, helping her pack her stuff back in her bag.
Pulling up to their building, you sent Josh a text letting him know you were there so he'd unlock his door. Making your way inside, you could hear people laughing. "Hey boys." you called, joining them in the living room.
"Y/n!" Josh and Jack called. You saw them, Mikey, and Conor who you had met at the birthday party. Lindy immediately crawled on the couch between Josh and Jack.
"Nice to see you again." Conor said
'You too." you replied, taking a seat by him and Mikey. "What are you guys up to?"
"Well the three of us need to figure out our videos for Monday so we were going over a list of ideas we sometimes pull from." Josh replied.
"Ah, no running through the streets naked this week?" you asked with a straight face, looking at Jack.
"You told me you didn't watch my videos!" Jack said, covering his face.
"I've watched a handful of videos from all of you." you laughed. "What are you guys doing this week?"
"We still haven't picked." Mikey replied, watching Lindy set up her coloring stuff on the coffee table. "Did you draw those?" he asked her.
"Yup!" she replied, looking up with a proud smile. "Wanna try?" she asked, handing him a purple crayon.
"Blimey, I'm sure I won't be nearly as good as you." He replied, scooting to the floor across the table from her.
"It's easy. Just do this..." she started showing Mikey how to draw the flowers.
"Just throwing it out there, and feel free to say no..." Jack said, putting his hands up and looking at you. "I think this needs to be Mikey's video." He pointed at the two of them coloring.
"You know he's going to get more views than you guys." Conor said, laughing.
"I don't care if she's in your videos." you said, thinking it was be fun for LIndy. "Hey Lindy, do you want to be in some of the boys videos?" you asked her, knowing she'd say yes.
Lindy cheered and then asked what you'd be doing. "Do you want to be my coloring teacher for my video? We can tell people to draw with us." Mikey said, talking to Lindy.
"Yes. yes. yes. You need the practice." she said, continuing to color.
When they got Mikey's video set up, they decided to film it with Mikey and Lindy laying on the floor on their stomachs so you could see what they were drawing. You had seen Mikey's other videos and thought this was going to be an adorable addition.
"Hey guys, welcome back to my channel. Earlier today I tried my hand at coloring and apparently I'm total crap at it." Mikey said, looking over at LIndy.
"It's true." She replied, her chin resting on her hands and her feet swaying back and forth.
"So we thought it was about time that I had a proper lesson. My teacher today is the beautiful and talented LINDY!" Mikey introduced her. She waved at the camera. "What are we drawing today, LIndy?" Mikey asked her.
"We gotta start simple." she said, flipping over and showing the camera a piece of paper she had drawn on in your office.
"Oooooo, looks like we've got some flowers, some grass, some clouds, and a sun." Mikey said, pointing at the paper.
"Think you can do it?" she asked.
"I'm gonna give it a go." he replied, holding his hand up for a high-five. "Where do we start?" he asked.
"First you pick out your colors." she said, grabbing random colors that didn't really match. "They can be whatever colors you like."
"Good, good. I think I'm going for some pink flowers." Mikey replied.
"Next you need to draw your middles." she said, drawing three little yellow circles on the paper.
"Are these the middles of the flowers?" Mikey asked, the two of them both swaying their legs back and forth as their dialogue continued.
Josh walked up next to you as you were standing watching Mikey and Lindy being incredibly cute. "I know you see us give him a hard time in our videos, but Mikey really is a great guy."
"They do the same to you." you said, poking him in the side. "And I know for a fact you're one of the best guys I've ever met."
"He really likes you." Josh said, looking over at you until you turned to face him. "I've never seen Mikey actually want to talk about a girl before. He doesn't really date much."
"Dating someone with a child is a lot of work, love." you replied, leaning on Josh's shoulder.
Putting his arm around you, he replied. "Just give him a chance."
Mikey and Lindy were about half way through their pictures. "Lin, I don't think I did the petals right." he said, trying to fix them.
"Don't worry about it. Flowers are all different." she smiled up at him. "They look pretty to me."
"Awww, thanks love." Mikey smiled back at her. "What's next?"
The video ended and Mikey thanked Lindy for being in it. Jack had asked you if he could steal her for his video as well, and obviously you allowed it. He was going to let her do his make-up and you couldn't wait to see the finished video. They set up the camera so that jack would be sat in a bar-stool and Lindy would be sat on the counter so that she could reach his face.
"Hello boys and girls, today you get to meet someone you've all seen in my snapchat and my instagram. Drum roll please! It's Lindy!" he pointed to her, striking a pose in Jack's sunglasses and hat. "This little beauty belongs to one of our good friends and she's been so kind as to let Lindy here do my make-up today." Taking the hat and glasses off of her he asked what they were going to do first.
"You have really pretty eyes." she said tapping her face like she was thinking. "We should put green on your eyes." she picked up the green eye shadow and used her finger to put some on both of Jack's eye lids.
You, Mikey, Josh, and Conor were all sat in the living room watching from a distance. Conor was working with MIkey on editing his video. "This is the simplest video you've done yet, and I guarantee you it will be your most viewed." Conor laughed, slicing pieces of the video together.
"I don't doubt it. She's going to steal my viewers hearts." Mikey said, watching himself and Lindy interacting on the screen. "Y/n you've done an incredible job raising that one. I wouldn't even know where to start."
You couldn't help but smile at that. "Thank you. And it comes more naturally than you'd think. You've done great with her in the short time you've known her." Mikey beamed at the compliment, blushing.
Hearing your daughter squeal with laughter, you all looked over to her and Jack.
She had been putting little glittery stars on his cheeks, and Jack snorted and jumped, startling her and making her belly laugh. "Jaaaaacck you need to sit still." she said between giggles.
"I'm sorry, gorgeous. I couldn't help it." he sat still, letting her apply more glitter.
Josh caught you staring at Mikey with a soft smile on your face and poked your cheek. Looking over at him, he simply smiled back.
"Okay guys, I hope you enjoyed this week's video. Well, I know you did. You got Lindy and you got me covered in make-up." he laughed. Scooting closer to Lindy he started talking again. "Give it a thumbs up and subscribe if you haven't already." he quickly smooched Lindy's cheek, leaving big purple lip marks. "Ha! I got you."
She just laughed and turned so the camera could see it. Jack waved to the camera and Lindy joined him.
"Look at the amount of glitter that is on my face." Jack said, walking into the living room with Lindy in on his hip.
"This was all your idea." you laughed, your daughter running to you when he sat her down.
"Fair point." Jack laughed, sitting next to Conor and looking at the video he was editing.
"What are you lot doing for Dinner?" you asked.
"I don't think any of us have any plans." Josh said. "I just need to figure my video out."
"Well, why don't I pop out and pick something up while you guys figure out your video?" You said, thinking of what shops were close by.
"That works for me. Let me grab you my card." Josh said, standing from the couch.
"Oh, hush. You can get me back later. Everyone cool with me grabbing stuff to make Alfredo?" you asked the room.
"Y/n, you never have to approve your cooking through us. You had us at 'food'." Conor teased.
"Well I don't want to make something you don't like." you replied. "I'll be back in a bit. Lindy, do you want to stay here?"
"Yup." she answered, popping the P. She was currently sitting in Jack's lap, watching Conor edit the video.
Quickly grabbing all of the ingredients you needed, you made your way back to the flat to find Josh filming a video with Lindy. "What are they doing?" you asked the boys in the living room.
"The best friend tag." Jack laughed. "They ask each other questions about themselves and whoever has the most points at the end, wins."
"My bets are on Lin." Mikey said, watching Josh and Lindy laughing behind the camera.
"Those two are as thick as thieves, so they both may get most of the questions right." you laughed, walking to the kitchen with the bags of groceries.
"Want help?" Mikey asked, following you into the kitchen.
"Sure." you smiled back at him. "Get some water boiling?"
Being in close quarters with Mikey, working on dinner, you found you two worked quite well together. The conversation wasn't awkward and he was quite eager to help with any task you gave him.
"Y/n, I have a question." He said, running his hand through his hair.
"Well, go on." you encouraged him, stirring the Alfredo sauce.
"Best to just get it out, i guess." He said, clearing his throat and closing his eyes. "I know you told me you don't date." he said, opening his eyes, but not making eye contact with you. "And I know it's because Lindy is the most important thing in your life. Which she should be, and anyone that wants to be with you should be willing to make her the most important thing in their life too. I'm rambling now, I'm sorry." He cleared his throat and tried to keep it simple. "Y/n, I really like you. And if there's a small chance you like me as well, I'd love to take you on a date. I don't care if I buy you a 100 dollar meal or if we take Lin to an ice cream shop. Whatever you want." he finished, waiting for your response.
"Mikey, I do like you. And I love that you and Lindy get on so well." you said, feeling a bit anxious. "I think I just need a bit of time to think it over." you said seeing his expression drop.
"I understand." he said, starting to walk toward the kitchen doorway.
"Mikey, I don't think you do." you said, grabbing his arm. Going up on your tip toes, you kissed his cheek. "I really do like you. I just have more than myself to think about, love. I promise we'll talk about this again."
Smiling and lifting his hand to touch where your lips had just been, you saw his whole demeanor change. "I'm here anytime you want to talk." he replied. "I'll go tell the boys that dinner is ready."
Josh and Lindy had finished his video and she beat him by one point. As a forfeit, she got to paint his fingernails. She ended up painting Conor's as well. Dinner went over well, full of compliments, thank yous, and full stomachs. As the night was coming to a close, you started gathering yours and Lindy's things. "Well, boys. I think I'm going to call it a night."
"I'll make sure you get links to the videos before they go live." Josh said, coming to hug you. "Thank you again for dinner."
"Of course. I quite liked cooking for you lot." you replied, the rest of the boys lining up for hugs.
"Thank you for letting us steal Lindy for our videos, too." Jack said. "I'll send you this video, as well" he held up his phone, showing you a small clip of Conor and Lindy laying on the floor on their tummy's, facing each other. She was painting his fingernails bright blue while he sang her a song.
"That is going on my Instagram." Conor said to Jack.
"I look forward to hearing from you." Mikey said, pulling you into a hug, before turning to find Lindy. "Thank you for showing me how to color." he thanked Lindy.
"You're welcome." she said, opening her arms so he would dip down and hug her.
"Come on, Lindy. I'll walk you guys down to your car." Josh called for her after everyone had said their goodbyes. "I thought you would be more tired after such a full day." he teased your daughter, poking a sticker she had on her cheek.
"Nope. You guys are fun." was her response.
Josh got her buckled into her car seat and walked you around to the drivers seat. "I take it you and Mikey talked?" he asked.
"We did. I just need to make sure Lindy is okay with me dating." you replied.
"I think Lindy wants you to be happy. And she's one hell of a little girl. She basically ran the house today." he laughed.
"I promise I'm on board. I just worry. I'm a mum." you said, hugging Josh one more time before opening your car door.
Hugging you back and dropping a kiss to the top of your head, he replied. "Talk to Lindy about it. She's a smart little girl."
"Will do." you replied.
"Have a good night. Drive safe." Josh said, walking back around to the sidewalk.
"Hey Lindy?" you called to your daughter in the backseat.
"Yeah." she replied, watching the buildings pass as you drove home.
"What do you think about your mum having a boyfriend one day?" you asked, cringing at even talking about this with her.
"Why not? You're beautiful." was her response, not even thinking you were worried about her.
"Sweetie, thank you, but that's not why I'm asking. It's been just the two of us for a long time. I don't want to add someone new if you don't want me to." you replied, hoping she kind of understood.
"But we add people all the time. We added Josh, and Sarah, and Jack and Mikey..." She continued on.
"What if I dated one of them?" you asked. "Would that bother you?"
"Nope." she said, popping the P.
"I think I like Mikey." you said, waiting to see her reaction.
"I do too. He gave me a nickname!" she said, all of a sudden really excited. "He calls me Lin."
"I noticed that. It's a cute nickname."
This was much easier than you had anticipated. Maybe you really were just getting in your own way. You were almost home and you looked in the rear view mirror to see Lindy asleep. Pulling up to your flat, you put your car in park and pulled your phone out. Scrolling to Mikey's number, you typed up a text. *Hey, Mikey. Lin and I would love to make dinner plans with you.* You kept it simple and put your phone back in your bag.
Carrying your sleeping daughter upstairs, you put her in her bed and got ready to go to bed yourself. Hearing your phone ding, you opened your texts. It was from Mikey. *I'm glad I get to type this instead of say it because I don't think I could speak with such a big smile on my face.* *How about we talk tomorrow and set up a date?*
You had quite a large smile on your face, as well. *Sounds perfect to me. Sweet dreams, Mikey.*
His return text was simple. *Goodnight, beautiful.*
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