mom’s place. Like I often did, I came upstairs with her. That was partly to catch up with Haley and Nick about everything relating to our daughter, but also because it was a chance to visit my best friend and her husband.
Dallas let us into the apartment, and as we toed off our shoes by the door, her stepdad poked his head out of the living room.
“Oh, hey,” Nick said. “How’s it going?”
“Not bad.” I pushed my shoes up against the others. “You?”
“Eh, you know how it goes. Trying to fight the temptation to dunk the boss in the water cooler.”
I laughed. “Oh. Yeah. I feel that one.” We fist-bumped. “Mine’s trying to get a promotion right now, so he’s extra insufferable.”
Nick wrinkled his nose. “No, thank you.”
Right then, Haley appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Devin.” To Dallas, she said, “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” Dallas shrugged. “The last few days have been good.” She made a face. “Except I had to take my meds on Tuesday, so that sucked.”
Haley’s brow pinched. “Yeah? Did they help?”
Dallas nodded. “They just make me feel kinda…blah.”
“Better than the alternative, right?” I asked.
“Way better.”
“Okay, well, hopefully that means this dose is working.” Haley glanced at her phone. “You’ve still got a couple of hours before bed. Do you have homework?”
Dallas groaned. “I always have homework.”
“Well.” Haley nodded down the hallway. “You know what to do.”
Our daughter sighed theatrically. “Okay, okay.” To me, she said, “Good night, Dad.”
“Good night,” I said. “I’ll see you next Sunday.”
“See you Sunday.” Then Dallas headed to her bedroom to get started on her schoolwork.
Nick, Haley, and I went into the kitchen to catch up on everything, including the latest migraine issues. The medication had worked this week, so we all crossed our fingers that pattern held. The real test would be this upcoming week, since the days leading up to her period could be the worst. And beyond all things medical, Nick and Haley were taking care of the parent-teacher conferences at the end of the month, and they’d update me if there was anything significant. I was on dentist detail the week after that, so I’d keep them posted if she needed fillings or if anyone made noise about braces again (hahaha, paid for with exactly what?).
Once we were all on the same page, Nick went back into the living room, and Haley walked with me to the front door.
After I’d put on my shoes, I reached for the doorknob, but hesitated. “Listen, um… Before I go, can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure.” She tucked her blond hair behind her ear and watched me. “What’s up?”
“Well. Um.” I cleared my throat. “So I’ve started seeing someone.”
Her face lit up. “Oh yeah? That’s great!”
“It is. But…” I dropped my gaze.
“What’s the problem? Is there something wrong with this guy?”
“No, no, there’s nothing wrong with him. Not a damn thing. God, he’s…” I sighed. “He’s amazing.”
Haley shifted her weight and tilted her head. “But…?”
I swallowed, glancing down the hall toward Dallas’s bedroom. Then I met her mom’s gaze and quietly said, “Look, I need this to stay between us. Like, I need you to swear on all that’s holy that you won’t repeat this. Not even to Nick or Dallas.”
Her eyes widened. “Okay, I won’t repeat it. But, uh, why?”
“For privacy reasons. His privacy.” I hesitated, then lowered my voice, “Because I’m seeing Jase Kelly.”
“Jase—” Her jaw fell open, and she whispered, “As in, Jase Kelly? Are you serious?”
Face hot, I nodded. “Yeah. Jase Kelly.”
She stared at me. “How… How…” Haley shook herself. “How did you score Jase Kelly?”
I laughed. “Um, excuse me. You don’t have to rub it in that I’m batting out of my league.”
“That’s not what I meant!” She rolled her eyes. “I mean, you two don’t exactly run in the same circles. Did you match on Tinder or something?”
“No, we didn’t match on Tinder.” I huffed with exaggerated indignance before turning serious. “It was that thing he put together for Dallas. With the team? We emailed back and forth a bit before that, and then we just kind of…didn’t stop.”
Haley put a hand to her chest. “Oh my God. That is seriously adorable. You guys officially have the best how-we-met story ever.”
I could feel myself blushing even as I laughed. “Better than how I met Aiden.”
“Well, yeah, that’s not really a story I’d suggest repeating over Thanksgiving.”
“What? You don’t think my grandma would want to hear those gory details after saying grace?”