and opened his mouth, starting to say something, then changing his mind. I waited for him to voice whatever it was that was bothering him, but when he didn’t or couldn’t, I prompted, “You know, you can talk to me if you need to. I’m here. I can’t promise I won’t say something to your ma, but I won’t ever break a confidence as long as you aren’t in danger or something.”
He sucked in a deep breath and turned in his seat, adjusting the seatbelt with his new position, then he opened his mouth and let it out, eradicating the wall I’d been building since I met them.
“I think you should ask my mom out on a date. She’s pretty, she cooks good, and she always makes me laugh.”
I tried evasion, saying, “Sure she is, but I don’t go out and date every single, pretty woman I meet.”
He studied me closely and asked, “So, you just don’t like her that way?”
I was well into my thirties, had seen war both halfway around the world and right in my very own backyard. I was a little over six feet of muscles, tattoos, and bad attitude, and this kid’s direct questioning was setting me on edge.
With a sigh, I tried again, “Nate, it isn’t about not liking her either. Your ma, she’s cool. Fun. I know that, but she’s also fresh out of a bad marriage, and I’m gonna tell you something you haven’t thought of, she may not want to go out with me, either.”
He rolled his eyes and kept on, “That’s crap. Is it because she has me? You don’t want to date a lady with a kid?”
I braked at the stop sign and leveled a look on him. “Seriously? Would I be hanging with you if having a kid was a deal-breaker?”
He took that in and then asked directly, “If she’s pretty, funny, and single, and it’s not me that’s holding you back, then what is it?”
What was it, indeed?
“I don’t know, kid. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“I do,” he fired back, “ask her out. C’mon, Valentine’s Day is this weekend. Stop hiding out at your place; come hang with us some this week. Spend some time with her and ask her out a few days before. Then it won’t seem sudden, and you’ll have a better chance at her saying yes.”
“How in the fuck,” I asked him in surprise, “do you know so much about chicks?”
He shrugged. “I lived with a guy who did everything wrong, so I just figured to succeed; you just gotta do the complete opposite of him.”
Damn, smart kid.
“Alright, Casanova, I’ll think about it, but if it’s weird after, I blame your ass.”
Nate jerked his elbow in, and whisper shouted, “Yes!”
I grinned out the windshield, amused at his antics.
Reagan
I pulled up and parked as Nate and Alex were getting out of the car, so I stood next to my car and waited on my son to cross the street. He was happy, chattering at Alex’s side, and had a bounce to his step that I hadn’t seen before.
He laughed and gesticulated, drawing a smile from the man in step with him as they crossed the street. When they stepped onto the drive, I waved and called out, “Hey, kiddo! How was your day?”
Nate had been growing like a freaking weed, so he was now my height, which he used to his advantage when he handed me a bag that appeared to have food in it and kissed my cheek. “Hey, Mom, it was pretty good. How was your day?”
It was worth reiterating that I had a really good kid.
“It was alright,” I answered as he moved by me and to the porch, allowing Alex to get in his spot.
It surprised me when he lifted a hand to my face and gently rubbed his thumb along my cheekbone.
It was intimate, and it was sweet. Considering the last time I’d seen him, I’d just attacked him with my mouth, I was taking his touch as a good sign and leaned into it.
“You want that alright day to get a whole lot better?” Alex’s voice rumbled softly.
Oof.
If I had a fan, I’d be fanning myself with it while tittering, but I didn’t, so instead, I struggled to keep my composure and answered as carefully as I could. “I think I’d be a fool to say no to that question.”
That close, I got to see the lines that edged the corner of his eyes