Freeing My Alpha: Book 2 of My Shy Alpha

Chapter 9

Noah ducks his head, breaking into the sweetest, shiest smile. "O-oh. Yeah, I have thought about it. A lot."

I dissolve into uncontainable giggles. It terrifies me for a second - I don't want to celebrate a promise for future kids too early. Not again.

But I can't stop myself. With how sweet and shy Noah looks, laughter spills out of me, filling my parents' old living room with my excitement.

Noah peeks up at me, taking breath after breath in an apparent struggle to speak. He exhales hard, dropping his stare. "Fuck. I keep imagining you with Sarah in your arms during Rainn's class. And her little heart - it felt so happy, and I—" Noah exhales hard again, shaking his head. "I can't believe how lucky I got. That you might— You might w-want that— with me."

I grip my heart to keep it from bursting. When Noah peeks at me again, anxiety creases his features, but I can't suppress the deep, elated grin from erupting from me. We break into shy laughter, dropping our foreheads together.

"I can't believe you might want that with me," I say.

"I do," he whispers. He can't look at me, but he said it.

"Noah," I whisper.

He peeks up at me. We stare into each other's eyes, forehead to forehead. Neither of us speak, but it's not silent; our anxious breaths tangle between us, heating my cheeks.

"I really do too." My voice shakes, but my confession rips through me, excitement and nerves sending my nervous system through the roof.

"I know, I– I can feel it. B-but I also get the sense you've put a lot of thought into it," Noah mutters. "Having kids and how you want to raise them, I mean."

All I can do is nod. I don't know where to start. How much excitement might be too much? What if I scare him away?

But Noah can't bear to look at me. "I-I don't know, I'm a little nervous about that. Not because I haven't thought about it, but after the whole Forest School thing, I realized how much I don't know about what human kids need to learn. When you find out what I'm like raising kids, I'll probably seem a little– I don't know. Immature."

I sit back, cupping his cheeks in my hands. "What I've seen of you around kids hasn't been immature. Far from it. You're their favorite role model in the world, and an absolute sweetheart to them."

He ducks his head, burrowing into my neck before breaking into shy giggles. "Don't compliment me to my face."

I sputter out a laugh. "Noah, I'm serious! You don't need to have the same knowledge as me. It's all about what we bring to the table together, right?"

Noah sucks in a heavy breath, then holds it. My words catch up to me, heating my cheeks. I groan, burrowing my head into Noah's shoulder.

"You're giving me cute aggression," Noah growls. He squeezes me hard, and I burst out laughing. "Teach me something about parenting, Miss Matsuoka. Please. Before I eat you."

I laugh even harder, digging my nose into his mark until he squirms away from me. We meet eyes with beaming smiles and bright red cheeks, and I love every second of it. I feel so wholly present.

My voice comes out shy and shaky. "Actually, I do have a few books about a few different parenting styles."

Noah's eyes widen. "Shit, see? There are styles? With definitions?"

I laugh, kissing his cheek. "Yeah, but I– um– we don't have to strictly use any of them." My heart flutters, still so unaccustomed to discussing this possibility with a partner. I can feel Noah's pointed stare on my cheek, but I unruffle my button-up, standing from his lap. "But defining each style was helpful for me to categorize different belief systems in my head. I already know I teach or babysit better with a goal in mind, so I like to pull my favorite morals from each style to create my own personal style– For teaching, at least. I can show you my favorite books."