by Parker, Ali
“Why?”
I grimaced. The why stage had started recently, but Paxton fell off that band wagon a couple months ago. Apparently, we were barreling right back toward it here and now. Perfect.
“Because I want them to feel comfortable here,” I said, trying to keep my answers as simple and to the point as possible. I couldn’t very well tell him the real reason why I’d been cleaning the house like a crazy person while he napped, which was because I was swooning for this girl and I wanted to impress her. Simple as that.
“Why?”
God damn it.
“Pax,” I said, setting down the vacuum and the air freshener on the end table beside the sofa. I turned toward him. “This is something a lot of people do when friends come over. They clean. Don’t worry yourself over it. How about you go get changed? They’ll be here pretty soon.”
Paxton sniffed the air like a bloodhound. “It smells like laundry.”
“It does smell like laundry. Very wise assessment.”
Paxton shrugged and shuffled out of the living room to his bedroom, where I heard his dresser drawers open.
I was a little bit nervous for our evening together. I’d spent the last two days warming Paxton up to the idea of having people over. He was less intimidated than he had been when I first told him about Emelia and Linden coming over for game night, but he wasn’t entirely on board yet. He would have much preferred a quiet evening at home, just the two of us, but that was how we spent almost every night, and it was time to do some proactive work to push him out of his shell.
There was no better way to start than with Emelia and Linden.
If tonight went well, it would be a huge step in the right direction. For Paxton and for me and the girl I was falling for.
The living room was practically spotless, and I spent a couple more minutes fluffing pillows (something I’d never done in my entire life), refolding the blanket on the back of the sofa, and tidying stacks of magazines and books on the shelves on the bottom of the two end tables. Then, when I concluded it was as good as it was going to get, which was pretty good I had to admit, I brought all the cleaning supplies back to the kitchen and put them under the sink.
When I straightened up to wash my hands, the doorbell rang.
“Here we go,” I muttered, quickly drying my hands on the towel hanging off the stove. Then I hurried down the hall to the front door. Paxton emerged in the doorway of his room in a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt. His lips were pursed in a frown as he stared anxiously down the hall at the front door. I paused, crouched down, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Remember what we talked about?”
“They’re good people.”
“Good people who don’t want you to feel any pressure about them being here. Take your time. They’ll give you space. But try, okay, buddy?”
Paxton licked his lips and nodded.
When we sat and had our oatmeal this morning before heading to school, I’d told him if he was uncomfortable at any point tonight, he could get up and go to his room. None of us would ask questions, and nobody would follow him. He could be alone if he felt too anxious in the company of the rest of us. That offer gave him some peace of mind when he realized he wasn’t being forced into this.
“All right.” I ruffled his hair, kissed the top of his head, and went to the door. I shot him a grin over my shoulder, and Paxton shifted from foot to foot in the doorway to his room.
Then I opened the front door.
Emelia beamed at me. She had three board games in one hand and a six pack of beer in the other. We’d agreed she bring the beer and I cover the pizza, and we’d each only have three drinks over the course of the evening to keep things kid friendly. She was dressed differently than I was used to in a pair of skin-tight black leggings, a gray pullover sweater that went down past her ass, and the only familiar thing, her white tennis shoes.
I returned her enthusiastic smile and took the board games and beer off her hands. “Hey.”
I wished I could lean in and kiss her.
Moving aside, I made way for her and Linden to come into the house and then closed the door with my hip. “I just ordered pizza. It should be on the way as we speak. Hey, Linden. How’s it going, man?”
Linden peered up at me from behind his mother and gave me a small smile. “I’m good.”
Emelia spotted Paxton standing in his doorway. She smiled and waggled her fingers at him. A low pressure, subtle way to say hello. Paxton waved back.
Then I carried everything into the kitchen and set out the games. Everyone followed, including Paxton, who hovered in the doorway, stretching to the tops of his toes to see what games were on the table.
“What do we have here?” I mused.
Linden climbed up onto one of my kitchen chairs and jabbed a finger at each box. “Mouse Trap. Trouble. And Snakes and Ladders.”
“Wow.” I ran a hand over the Snakes and Ladders box. “I haven’t played this in at least ten years.”
“Then we should start with that one,” Emelia said.
She was standing very close. Her shoulder was nearly grazing mine, and if I reached over just a couple inches, I would have been able to entwine my fingers with hers. And God, did I want to. I wanted any semblance of closeness I could get with her. But that wasn’t what tonight was about. Tonight was about giving our kids a chance to bond and to get to know the other parent.
Baby steps, I told myself as I watched Linden unpack the Snakes and Ladder game. He moved with practiced precision and put everything exactly where it should be, and then he glanced up at Paxton, who was still leaning over the threshold into the kitchen. “Do you want to play, Paxton?” Linden asked.
Paxton’s eyes whipped over to Linden. His cheeks went fluorescent pink. “Um.”
“It’s fun,” Linden said, carrying on with choosing what piece he wanted to be.
Emelia moved around the table to take a seat. She tucked herself in and smiled at Paxton. “You can just sit and watch the first game if you like.”
I nodded at Paxton. He swallowed, abandoned the doorway, and came to climb up into the chair sitting beside Emelia and across from Paxton. “Okay.”
If there hadn’t been people here, I would have thrown my arms around him and had a huge celebration about his braveness. But that would have to wait until we were alone.
“Drinks, anyone?” I asked. “Beer for me and Emelia. What do you two want? I have juice, water, chocolate milk—”
“Chocolate milk!” Linden cried.
Paxton flinched but recovered quickly. “Orange juice, please.”
I went about getting everyone their drink. When we were all good and ready, I sat down. Emelia and I made eye contact as we tipped our heads back and drank, and I could have sworn I could read a thousand words passing between our gazes. She yearned for that same closeness I did. I could feel it in the air between us.
Linden started the game and acted as Game Lord, pausing to explain rules or clarify things when needed. He was a clever kid, quick on his feet, with a strong sense of language and advanced reading skills.
I took note of it to tell Emelia she should be putting him in advanced classes as soon as he was old enough.
The game went on, and we were about two thirds of the way through when the pizza arrived. I popped up out of my seat, told everyone to hold tight, and went to the door to pay and collect the pizza boxes. In the time I spent at the door, which could only have been two minutes, three maximum, Emelia somehow got Paxton talking.
When I came back into the kitchen, he was looking her right in the eyes, speaking.
Saying actual words.
I stopped with the boxes in my hands and listened.
“I like building things,” Paxton was saying. “Like Lego. I love Lego. Santa brought me a huge Lego set last Christmas. It’s a pirate ship. Dad and I put it together.”
Emelia nodded along with a pretty smile on her lips. “That sounds like so much fun. I love pirates.”
“
Me too,” Paxton said.
Emelia glanced in Linden’s direction. “Linden likes Lego too. Don’t you, champ?”
Linden nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. I have a rocket. And a spaceship. And I want the Death Star. Have you seen that one?”
Paxton shifted into a new kid. He nodded, put his elbows on the table, and leaned in. “It’s so cool.”
Linden grinned from ear to ear. “Mom says I can ask Santa for it this year. Or I can save my allowance. But I figured it out, and I’d get it sooner if Santa brought it. If he does, we could build it together.”
Emelia looked up at me.
I stared back at her. My heart thundered with excitement, and I looked at Paxton who, bless his little soul, nodded.
“Okay,” he said.
Another thing to celebrate in less than half an hour. We were making better progress than I could have dreamed of.
“All right, let’s leave the game where it is and eat some pizza,” I said. I put the boxes down on the counter and flipped them open. “As requested, we have plain cheese, one pepperoni, and one veggie. Dig in, people.”
We sat and ate at the kitchen table off paper plates. While we ate, the kids got to talking, and once they started, they wouldn’t stop. It gave Emelia and me the time after the pizza was finished to do some light tidying up, and I stole a moment with her at the kitchen sink while the boys laughed about something at the table.
“Tonight is perfect,” I said.
“Better than I dreamed it would be for a first-time thing.”
“Right?”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Definitely. I’m having a really nice time. And it seems like they are, too” She glanced at the table. A small laugh came out of her as she looked back to me. “I can see it so easily.”
“See what?” I asked.
Her cheeks blushed. She averted her gaze, and I ached to put my fingers under her chin and lift her face back up so I could look into those beautiful eyes of hers.
“The future,” she whispered.
Chapter 26
Emelia
“Do you have your coat?” I called down the hall to Linden.
“Yes!”
“And your boots?”
“Yes!”
I shrugged into my denim jacket in the hall by the front door and stepped into my old pair of gray Timberlands. The laces were tied but loose, so I didn’t have to bother doing them up. I pulled the curtains to the side on the window beside the door as Jace’s truck pulled up to the curb outside.
“They’re here, Linden. Let’s go! Chop chop!”
“Coming!”
I opened the front door. A chilly afternoon breeze that carried the scent of grass and dry leaves blew into the house. I was glad I’d opted to wear a sweater under my jacket and thick socks with my boots. Soon, it would be cold enough to start wearing beanies and scarves. My favorite part of the season.
Linden’s heels struck the hardwood as he jogged down the hall. His boots weren’t laced, but at least he had them on. I dropped to a knee and did them up for him, and then zipped up his jacket and fixed the hood, which was all popped up and half smothering him around his neck.
“All right,” I said, smiling at him. “Are you ready?”
“Ready.” He nodded.
We stepped outside. Linden waited for me as I locked the front door. Then we made our way down the path to the gate, stepped out onto the sidewalk, and met Jace outside his truck. He greeted me with a hug. His cheek was warm against mine, and I would have given anything to be able to kiss him.
Instead, I pulled away.
Jace opened the back door of the truck. Paxton was in the back seat in his booster, and there was a second booster seat on the other side for Linden. I helped him up into the truck and got him buckled in. Then we closed the door, and I went around the hood to get in the passenger seat.
“Seat belts?” Jace called.
“Check,” I said.
“Empty bladders?” he asked.
“Check!” the boys said in the back.
“Ready to have some fun?”
“Check!” we all cried in unison.
After pizza and games last night, we’d decided to stretch the fun into today. Jace suggested we go for lunch and then hit one of Paxton’s favorite places: a mini-golf course two towns over. It was a forty-five minute drive, so we planned to stop at the halfway mark somewhere for lunch and then proceed to the golf course, which apparently had an arcade and other activities attached to it, like go karts, bumper cars, a driving range, and batting cages.
Linden was so excited he woke up an hour and a half earlier than usual this morning.
While en route to our lunch destination, we played I Spy in the car. Jace smoked all of us and gloated about it.
“You’d better be careful, big guy,” I said. “The three of us might just have to rally together to beat you at mini golf.”
Jace scoffed. “Golf isn’t a team sport. It’s every man for himself.”
“We’ll see,” I said, stealing a look at the boys in the back seat. I winked and they giggled.
“No conspiring,” Jace warned.
“What?” I asked innocently. “I thought golf was a solo sport. You scared, bro?”
Jace laughed, which in turn made the kids laugh. Everyone was in a good mood when we took our seats at a burger joint in the neighboring town of Crofton. From there, we would carry on to Bowie.
I ordered a cheeseburger. Jace opted for one with bacon. And the boys ordered kids meals which, coincidentally like our conversation from last night, was served in a box in the shape of a spaceship. This entertained them throughout the whole meal.
“This was a good idea,” I said to Jace, popping a fry in my mouth.
“A very good idea,” Jace agreed. “But don’t let all the fun and games get to your head. I’m still going to kick your ass on that golf course, Ms. West.”
“Jace.” I tried to sound serious and stop him from swearing, but I started giggling.
He grinned sheepishly at me. “What? They’re not paying attention.”
He was right. Both Paxton and Linden were consumed in their imaginary game, the two of them sliding off the booths to meet under the table.
I bit my bottom lip.
Jace ran his thumb along his jaw.
Before I lost my chance, I stood up, leaned across the table, and kissed him. The boys couldn’t see, they were on the floor playing with cardboard spaceships that smelled like burger grease, and I wasn’t going to miss the only chance to kiss Jace I might get today.
He went to pull away, but I grabbed the collar of his shirt and kissed him harder. He smiled into the kiss, cupped my cheek, and gave me what I wanted.
A little bit of tongue.
Then we both parted and took our seats. I knew I was a bit red in the face, a little breathless, and more than a little achy between the legs, but it was worth it.
Completely worth it.
Jace paid the tab, and the four of us went back out to the truck to carry on with our journey to Bowie.
The parking lot was pretty full when we arrived. Jace had to drive the truck through the lot four times before we caught someone backing out of a space. We waited, and the boys grew more and more rambunctious in the back seat.
“Can we do bumper cars first?” Linden asked. “Paxton said there are bumper cars.”
“We can start wherever you guys want,” Jace said, palming the wheel and pulling the truck into the space.
“Bumper cars, please?” Linden pleaded.
Jace put the truck in park and took off his seatbelt before flashing a white smile at my son. Our son. “Bumper cars it is.”
We poured out of the truck.
The park was much bigger than I expected. There were three different mini-golf courses: one outside, which was the largest, along with two themed courses inside, located in the basement of the building. There was an Under the Sea theme, as well as a Jurassic Era theme.
We blew past the ticket stands to golf and made our way through the arcade, which roared with bells and chimes and laughter and video game car engines. We passed through a set of double doors at the back and found ourselves in a covered outdoor area. To the right was the bumper cars. Then the batting cages. Then the go karts.
Both Linden and Paxton took off running toward the back of the line for the bumper cars. There were only six cars on the course, and they were each encased by a wide rubber bumper filled with air. When you hit each other, you practically bounced off. I watched the epic match happening between the families currently on the course.
“I think I’ll hang back and take pictures and hold everyone’s stuff,” I said when we joined the boys at the back of the line.
Jace looked at me, eyes wide with horror. “I beg your pardon?”
The boys looked up at us.
I frowned. “I just don’t think this is my thing. You know. Impact. Crashing into each other. That sort of thing.”
Jace held up a hand. “I won’t hear of it. You’re coming in there with us. Don’t you want to see your mom on a bumper car, Linden?”
Linden nodded and tugged at the end of my jacket. “You have to come with us, Momma. Please?”
“All right, all right,” I said, shooting Jace a dark look. “It looks like I don’t have much of a say in the matter.”
Jace hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and rocked back on his heels. “Nope. You’re coming into the dragon’s den with the boys.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. “You guys better get ready. I’m coming for you.”
Boys.
When our turn came to ride the bumper cars, my stomach was light with butterflies. This wasn’t really my cup of tea. I preferred to be the person standing on the outside, snapping pictures, enjoying the activity from a distance. But it appeared Jace wasn’t that kind of guy, and unlike my ex, he wasn’t going to accept me not participating.
It made me feel good. And wanted.
I’d just have to get over the nerves.
The cars were turned off while we all took our seats, buckled up, and listened to the employee wearing a neon pink shirt as he told us how the gas and brakes worked. There were pull levers on either side of your seat. Push them both forward, and you go straight. Push the right one forward, and pull the left one back, and you turn left, and vice versa. There was no steering wheel and no pedals.