by Meghan Quinn
“Grew them myself,” Fallon said with pride.
“Let me know when you want to have him hang out, I’ll make sure he’s ready. I’m sure you have my number.”
“How did you know?”
“You seem like a girl who steals phone numbers,” Luke laughed.
“You got that right. I know all his contacts, just in case there’s an emergency and I need to sell him some more expensive herbs.”
“I hate you both.” Nash leaned against the frame of the door and listened to Luke and Fallon talk about plans for their “special day out.” Nash was irritated, annoyed, put out, and also…a little excited.
Why? He had no clue. He didn’t care for Fallon all that much; she was a little too quirky for his liking and dressed like a pile of trash whenever she got the chance, but there was something about her that excited him for some strange reason. She was unique, unpredictable.
Nash’s life consisted of mundane activities and getting high…when he had the right stuff to smoke. The idea of doing something new, or breaking out of his little bubble sent a little thrill through his body, a fact he would never let Fallon know.
Yeah, if he ever told Fallon that he was just a little bit excited about spending a day with her, she would eat him up and probably shit him out on a pile of glitter that was being donated to a children’s hospital. He wouldn’t put it past her.
“Great. I’ll call you,” Fallon said with a wink, before turning around and walking away.
“Call me?” Nash missed the last part of their conversation.
Luke patted Nash’s face and dragged him by the neck back inside the house. “I like her. She’ll be good for you.”
“I don’t need her to be good for me. I’m not interested.”
“Why not? She seems like a good time, she has tits for days, and she’s really pretty. You always liked fucking redheads.”
Nash shrugged his shoulders. “I like it when the curtains match the drapes. Just seems like good interior design. Why does a platinum blonde have to have a fucking dark box? Freaks me the fuck out.”
Luke laughed. “Go out with her, man. It will do you some good.”
“So not happening,” Nash shook his head, letting that be the end of the conversation.
“You’re just salty from her pulling a quick one on you. Dude, you’ve been smoking for how many years and you couldn’t tell the difference between oregano and ganga?”
“You can leave now.” Nash flopped on his chair, grabbing the remote and tuning into some mindless game on the television, trying to shut off the thoughts of Fallon running through his head.
He didn’t want to think about her in any other way than an annoying nuisance that happened to enter his life in a rather odd way.
But by the look in Luke’s eyes, he wasn’t going to let Nash off that easily. It was going to be one hell of a long night.
Chapter 6
**Connor**
“Welcome home,” Austin said, holding his arms open, showing off the two bedroom apartment he was able to obtain in Florida after talking to his manager about his “unique” situation.
The tiled entryway led to an open floor plan with a large living room, a dining room, and an updated kitchen, stainless steel appliances and all. Toward the back of the apartment, there were two doors split by a bathroom. The walls were beige and the furniture was all white, as if the apartment was made for two teenagers obsessed with the Disney Channel. The curtains were even white.
“Kind of shabby chic in here, don’t you think?” Connor asked, setting Leonard’s car seat down. The plane ride from Atlanta was a disaster, an experience Connor wished he didn’t have to do alone, but of course, Austin got himself a first class ticket and left Connor to fend for himself as daddy dearest.
“When you say things like that, it makes me hate you even more,” Austin shook his head and pulled a beer out from the fridge, taking no time at all popping the tab and downing half of it.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Austin pulled the beer from his lips, looked at the label and then back at Connor. “Enjoying a cold brew. That plane ride was a bitch. I could hear the kid screaming the whole time.”
“Yeah, imagine that screaming mere inches from your ear,” Connor said with irritation.
Austin hopped up on the kitchen counter and downed the rest of his beer before answering. “Glad it wasn’t me.”
“It should have been, this is your kid too.”
At the hospital, Austin was all about having an equal partnership in raising Leonard, but after they left, Connor was seeing more and more that Austin was more about a seventy-thirty partnership. Him being the thirty, never changing a diaper, and pretty much using his toe to rock the car seat until Leonard fell asleep. If it wasn’t for the restrictions Dr. Cuevas set for them, Connor would be raising hell.
“You’re kind of being a nagging beast right now. Cool it, Poppy, we just got to Florida, and by the sounds of it, I have a long day ahead of me of kissing ass to my coaches.”
“How is that my fault?” Connor asked.
“Did I say it was your fault? Hell, you’re such a woman. I didn’t know Lucy was a lesbian; if I knew, I would have taken advantage of that.”
Rage flowed through Connor as he closed in on Austin, who had a giant grin plastered across his face.
Don’t fall for it, Connor told himself.
Austin’s number one priority in life was to goad Connor. From the first moment Connor met Austin, he knew that was his mission in life. Even knowing that, Connor still fell for it every time.
Taking a deep breath, Connor unclenched his fists and took a step back. “This is going to be a long fucking life for us if you speak ill of Lucy. Say what you want about me, but if you want to keep my fist out of your skull, don’t fucking talk about her.”
Austin was silent for a second before hopping off the counter and grabbing another beer. “You’re not the only person who lost someone, you know?”
“Really? Now you’re going to be remorseful? Isn’t it a little late for that?”
“Some people react differently. Not everyone drops to their knees, cries, and yells at the world like you do.”
“Not once did I do that,” Connor defended himself.
“I saw the scuff marks on the knees of your jeans,” Austin topped off another beer and reached for a third.
“Stop fucking drinking,” Connor said between clenched teeth.
Mid-reach, Austin peeked past the refrigerator door with a raised eyebrow. “Excuse me, Mother?”
“You heard me. Stop drinking.”
“And why the hell would I do that?”
“You can’t be drunk and take care of a baby.”
Chuckling, Austin grabbed his third beer, popped it open and walked over to Connor, where he patted him on the cheek. “That’s why I have you, sweetheart.”
Without thinking, Connor swatted the can out of Austin’s hand, sending it across the room and into the wall, where it splattered, dark liquid falling to the floor.
“Great, you fuck stick!” Austin shouted. “Now we aren’t going to get our security deposit back. Beer is a bitch to get out of a carpet. The smell lasts for years.”
“Look around you!” Connor shouted back. “We live in a replica of an insane asylum, white is everywhere, and we are rooming with a projectile nuclear shit bomb, waiting to spray the fuck out of this white furniture. We lost our security deposit the minute we walked in here.”
“With that kind of attitude we will!”
Exasperated, Connor sat on the edge of the couch, his forehead in his hand, a scorching headache impending. “Why is this my life?”
“Doesn’t have to be,” Austin replied, grabbing another beer, clearly not getting the hint. “No one asked you to tag along.”
“Oh, so you think I should just leave you with the baby? When you obviously know nothing about taking care of another human being?”
“Like you do? Pretty sure we’re bot
h new at this. Unless there is a love child I don’t know about.” Austin perked up as he spoke. “Please, let there be a love child. Shit, that would make my day.”
“Why the hell would that make your day?” Leonard squirmed in his car seat, making some uncomfortable coos before settling back down again. Connor held his breath, waiting for an ear piercing scream to emerge from the baby, but it never came, luckily.
Austin nursed his third beer, sitting on the couch and propping his feet on the coffee table in front of him. “Because, perfect Connor Cartwright, Mr. I do everything right, having a love child…It would just be so perfect.”
“I’m not perfect,” Connor defended.
“Glad you finally realized that.”
They hated each other, that much was evident, but what Connor didn’t understand was why they couldn’t just bury their issues already. Why were they constantly at each other’s throats? If he was going to get through the next eighteen years with half of his sanity, he needed to figure out the problem.
“Why don’t you like me?” Connor asked.
Austin threw his hands up in the air, exhausted. “Listen, I know this apartment screams teeny bopper lusting over Justin Boober, but you’ve been here for five minutes. Don’t get all training bra on me.”
“I’m fucking serious,” Connor seethed. “If we are going to do this, raise this kid together, we need to figure out our issues and be done with them.”
“Listen, when I signed up for this, I thought I was getting an annoying roommate, not an aspiring Dr. Phil.”
“Can you be serious for two fucking seconds?” Connor’s irritation was at the boiling point. One more smart-ass comment and he was going to grab his shit and fly back to Atlanta.
Austin must have realized the strain in Connor’s voice because he straightened up, and before taking a sip of his beer, Austin said, “You’re a douche canoe. Never liked guys like you. You think you’re perfect. From the moment I met you, you always thought of yourself as better than me.”
“That’s because I am better than you,” Connor replied before he could shut himself up.
Nodding his head, Austin said, “Yup and that’s why you’re a douche canoe. Thank you for proving that in a matter of seconds. I rest my case.” Austin rose from his seat and dropped his empty beer can on Connor’s lap, a little beer splashing on his shorts. “By the way, I dare you to take a poll. If you ask people who is better, a professional baseball player or some marketing shithead. Ninety nine percent of them are going to pick me. The one percent that doesn’t are marketing shitheads.”
Austin walked by the sleeping baby in the car seat and looked down at Leonard. He exhaled a deep breath before saying, “You’re so fucked, kid.”
Connor hated himself at that moment. He had a chance to try to talk to Austin, and instead of reasoning with him, as if he was a child, Connor fed into his irritation and shot back. In this situation, Connor realized no matter what, he was going to have to always be the bigger person. Austin was a stubborn bastard, very unlikely to give in to any argument they would have. If Connor wanted to make amends, he was the one who was going to have to do it.
“I’m sorry,” Connor said painfully, stopping Austin in his tracks. “I’m sorry if I ever made you feel inferior; it was not my intention. I would say I was slightly threatened by you when I was with Lucy. You two had history; I hated that. I wanted her for myself and hated that you had a little part of her.”
Austin slowly turned around, a Cheshire cat sized grin on his face. “You were threatened? Makes sense to me. I would be threatened too if I were up against someone like me.”
It took every muscle in Connor’s body not to throw himself at the pompous prick.
“Although, I guess I was slightly threatened as well. I saw how much Lucy loved you and I hated that.”
The heavens parted and angels sang. Did Austin just admit to something? At this moment, Connor had two options, he could jump on the couch and pelvic thrust his hips in Austin’s face, reveling in the fact that Austin had a minor complex when it came to Connor, or he could hold his breath, tread carefully, and try not to scare away the little nugget Austin tossed his way.
Even though pelvic thrusting seemed more satisfying, Connor took a deep breath. “She was the one thing that held us together, but also tore us apart.”
Reflecting on that statement, Austin said, “There never really was an ‘us’, Connor.”
True fucking statement, but at this point in their lives, they really didn’t have a choice.
“We don’t really have a choice in that matter now. There has to be an ‘us’.”
“Which is so fucked up.” Austin rested against the wall, placing his hands behind his back. “I don’t like you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
Austin nodded. “I like this kid, though. I feel the need to prove something to Lucy, that I can do this. Even though I hate to admit it, I can’t do this without you.”
Connor felt like he was dealing with a skittish cat. If you approached them too fast they were going to run away, leaving you no chance to get close, but if you slowly walked toward them, held out your hand and made cooing noises, they might, just might, allow you to get closer.
Connor was at that point. Metaphorically, his hand was out, he was squatting and making the dumb ass noises every cat person made.
“Then let’s find a middle ground. We can’t raise Leonard in a home where we are constantly yelling at each other. That’s not how you bring up a baby.”
“Fair enough,” Austin agreed. “I can see how that would be stressful to a thing who shits and pukes all day long.”
“Come on, man,” Connor replied.
Austin rubbed his face with his hands and said, “Being nice to you is not going to be easy. I’m a sarcastic dick; it’s what I know best. Plus, your brother kind of ruined my love life.”
Yeah, about that.
Before Luke came back from being a captured prisoner, Austin was getting pretty serious with Molly. But the moment Luke came home, Austin was chucked to the side, leaving him a bitter man.
“How about we don’t talk about that?” Connor suggested, not really knowing how else to handle the situation.
Thoughtfully, Austin agreed, “Yeah, we probably don’t want to open that can of worms.”
“Might be the best decision we ever make.”
“Agreed.” Austin smirked. “So, where are we going to stick the kid?” Austin looked around the apartment made for someone who wanted to mount a unicorn on their wall.
“Where else? In one of the rooms?”
Austin was scanning the kitchen, when he whipped his head around to look at Connor incredulously. “Dude, I know you’re tired and shit from wiping green crap out of that kid’s ass, but you do realize we have two rooms. So, if you give one to Leonard, where the fuck does that leave us?”
“I saw that IKEA has some amazing bunk beds,” Connor held the smirk that wanted to peek past his lips, knowing full well he had no intention of sharing a room with Austin, but the panicked look on his face was priceless.
“Like fuck I will be sharing a bunk bed with you. Are you losing your damn mind? This isn’t some chance to revisit your dorm days. Fuck, man.”
Connor laughed, full on belly laughed at the disturbed look on Austin’s face. “Oh, shit, the look on your face is amazing. Like hell if I would ever share a room with you. You probably would end up wanking me off in the middle of the night.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Austin said, deadpan. “I would do it in the morning.”
Connor shook his head and walked over to the little nook that was off the dining room. “This should be good for him. The bassinet will fit perfectly, and we can use the dining room as his changing table.”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to shit where you eat?” Austin asked, looking over the set-up Connor had in mind.
“There’s TV trays over there; you really think we’ll use the dining r
oom table?”
“If anything, I’m a traditionalist. Meals will be held at the table,” Austin responded with conviction.
“Traditionalist? Then why didn’t you propose to Lucy when you found out she was pregnant with your baby?”
Wrong thing to say, Connor thought, as he took in Austin’s reaction. He wasn’t very good at thinking before he spoke on little sleep.
Austin took a breath before speaking. “Why would I propose when she was so clearly infatuated with you? I know when I’m beat, man.”
The honesty from Austin was overwhelming. So, instead of making a smartass comment, Connor just accepted the truth and went out to the hallway to get the rest of their belongings. They had a few weeks left in spring training; there was some unpacking to be done.
**Luke**
“Ahhhhhhh!” Winnie screamed, running through the house, a pair of underwear on her head and one of Luke’s shoes in her hand.
Stopping in place, she flopped to the ground, gripped the shoe tightly to her chest, and started spinning in circles on her shoulder, her little feet propelling her forward.
Luke and Molly stood above her, observing her impressive Donald O’Connor moves he displayed in Singing in the Rain.
“She gets that from you,” Molly nudged Luke’s shoulder.
“The hell she does. She gets her crazy from you. She gets her looks from me.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Molly agreed, knowing full well she was a mini-me of Luke.
Luke still couldn’t believe how much Winnie looked like him, that he had a daughter, that she called him Daddy. It was almost too surreal.
Before he left for his last mission, he always envisioned having a life with Molly when he was retired, raising two kids in the burbs, and diving into some off-beat hobby that was a waste of time and money.
Being held captive changed all his thinking. Yes, he lived for Molly, and he fought to get back to her, but with everything the captures put him through, the torture, he knew he would never be the same man. He would never be able to fully follow through on the future plans he made for himself.