His Apprehensive Mate - Brea Alepou Page 0,68
the booth asked.
“Three,” Kenny said, already knowing they probably would do more than that. He’d made sure to do his research and check out the racetrack safety features and all the reviews. But just in case.
“Helmets are required, correct?” Kenny asked.
The cashier smiled. “Yes, sir.”
He glanced over his shoulder at Morgan and Ava giving him the biggest smiles. He doubted he’d be able to change their minds.
“Three for three races,” Kenny said, handing over his card. He reminded himself multiple times as they got suited up that it was for Ava.
“Make sure both of you are listening to the safety rules,” Kenny said.
He got a resounding “okay” from his mate and daughter. It was the best he was going to get.
“Winner gets cake?” Ava asked.
“Are you trying to swindle cake out of us?” Morgan asked.
Ava shrugged, a smirk on her face. “I can understand if you’re too scared that I’ll beat both of you.”
Kenny paid no attention to Ava’s taunting, but Morgan fell right into it. He wasn’t competitive most of the time, but there were times when he was.
“Oh, you are on, young lady.”
Ava giggled and was happy she got her way. She strapped her helmet on, and before she got into her kart, she hugged Morgan and made her way over to Kenny.
“Thank you.”
He hugged her tight. “Be safe.”
She didn’t argue with him, just nodded before she went over to her kart.
“I’m going to show her what I got,” Morgan said.
Kenny pulled his mate in for a quick kiss. “You do that, but don’t get reckless.”
Morgan smiled at him before giving him another peck. His little family.
They sat down at a small mom-and-pop diner. The theme was retro with red booths and chrome finishes. There were old black-and-white pictures hanging around the place. It was a nice lunch spot for their family outing. They got lucky and got a round booth so that they all sat together.
“You’re a lot better at go-karts than I thought you would be,” Ava said.
She’d beaten them both every single time, but Morgan had gotten close the last race.
Morgan laughed. “It’s a lot easier than video games.”
Ava shrugged. She hadn’t had any issues whatsoever.
“You two were reckless the whole time,” Kenny said.
Ava and Morgan looked to each other and burst out with laughter.
“Kenny, you were driving slowly.”
“Yeah, the safest driver out there. Even the track employees tried cheering you on to go faster.”
Kenny shook his head. “Wasn’t going to happen.”
Morgan leaned over to his mate and placed a kiss on his cheek. “It’s so cute that you’re so safe.”
Ava made a hacking noise, and both Morgan and Kenny looked at her. “No kid wants to see their parents be all ooey-gooey with each other.”
Morgan, stunned at hearing her refer to them as her parents, was completely lost for words.
“Ooey-gooey—are we chocolate chip cookies now?” Kenny questioned.
Ava shrugged, but her cheeks were bright red. “Best I could come up with.” She wildly gestured in their direction. “I mean, you two are definitely the definition of ooey-gooey.”
Morgan finally got over his surprise and cleared his throat. “Does it bother you?”
Ava looked shocked. She shook her head. “I was um, just um—it—”
Kenny reached over and placed his hand on her head. It was a gesture Morgan noticed Kenny did a lot to Ava. She seemed to calm under it.
“I have read teenagers tend to joke with their parents. This is one of those cases.”
Ava shyly nodded her head, and Kenny ruffled her blue hair, making pieces stand up and slip free of her ponytail. Ava didn’t seem to mind as she smiled. Morgan was going to need to borrow the parenting book Kenny had if he was going to keep up with their teenager.
The waiter made his way over to them, and they ordered drinks. Ava seemed lost in thought, and Morgan wanted so badly to ask her what she was thinking about.
“What are you going to order?” Kenny asked.
Morgan looked over the menu again. “Uh, I was thinking the chicken fried steak or catfish.”
Kenny hummed. “Ava, what do you want to eat?”
Ava jumped at the sound of her name. Morgan shared a concerned look with Kenny. Just moments ago Ava had been all smiles.
“Maybe the grilled cheese or burger.”
“I think I’ll have the steak,” Kenny said, closing his menu.
Morgan watched Ava. There had to be something troubling her. Kenny shook his head, and Morgan sighed, knowing it was better to wait for Ava to voice what was wrong.
“Umm…” Ava fiddled with her fingers, avoiding both