Now that I thought of what we had, it felt weird and almost cringeworthy.
We made out a lot, held hands, and acted like a couple.
But I never let him take off my clothes, and that one time I slept in his bed was the most awkward night of my life.
He wanted to cuddle, but once I felt his boner, I pushed him away and told him that I didn’t like being cuddled.
It was a lie of course, and he knew.
And I shouldn’t have kept going with whatever thing there was between us.
“I have picked five movies. Which one do you wanna watch first?” Evie asked as she walked outside the bedroom.
“You choose,” I told her, reaching for the bottle of wine and filling my glass, then hers.
I wasn’t a big drinker, and I stayed away from alcohol at parties, but a glass of wine to make my head stop hurting and to relax wasn’t so bad.
“Love Actually it is.”
Before she would disappear in her own little world while watching a movie, I had to try one more time to see if she would agree on a few things now that I lived here too.
“Evie, we won’t have parties every week up here, right?”
She frowned while she opened the list with all the movies she had saved. “Why not? We finally live together. Isn’t that what we always wanted?”
I shrugged. “Sure, but we still have to study and I can’t do that if we keep throwing parties.”
“Is this about Wells? God, Rooney…he’s an adult. Probably in his forties. He pretty much has to complain about every little thing. Don’t let that get to you.”
“It’s not just because of him, Evie. I need some weekends off from partying to study. But also, you should have a little more respect for the people who live here.”
She rolled her eyes at me, but for some reason it seemed that she actually thought about the things I said.
“Fine. Two weekends party, two weekends off. Deal?”
I thought about that for a while, then nodded.
“Deal. But the music can’t be too loud. Not like today.”
“You are literally the worst best friend ever. Remind me again why we decided to hang out in kindergarten?”
I laughed. “Because you were rude to every other kid and I was kind enough to volunteer as your friend.”
I wished that was a joke, and luckily, she wasn’t hurt by that.
*
Wells
“Daddy?”
Ira’s small voice made me move my gaze from my computer to him, and with a soft sigh, I held out my hands to him.
“Can’t sleep?” I asked, pulling him onto my lap as he reached me.
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes with both fists, then he leaned against my chest and stuck his thumb into his mouth while his other hand moved into his hair to twirl it around his finger.
That was his way of calming himself down.
I rubbed his back and kissed his head.
He has only been in bed for two hours, but him waking up was usual even without Evie blasting music in the middle of the night.
I looked back at the screen and saved the open documents, then put the computer to sleep to get up with Ira in my arms.
“Wanna sleep in my bed tonight?”
That happened about once a month.
I didn’t want him to get used to sleeping with me in my bed, but every once in a while, it helped me relax, knowing he would sleep well with me by his side.
He nodded, and I turned right into my bedroom to tuck him under my covers.
“I’ll be right with you, okay? Do you want me to get Hulk?”
Another nod.
My kid loved every single superhero there was, but Hulk was definitely his favorite.
He had a few posters, two pajama sets, and more than ten Hulk action figures in his room.
I spoiled him when it came to toys, but that was okay because I knew he played with every single thing I got him.
Luckily, my son wasn’t already addicted to an iPad or my phone like other kids his age already were.
Sure, I let him watch cartoons on TV some mornings while I got dressed and ready for work, but that was it with screen time.
He never really asked for it anyway, and as long as he had his Hulk, he was the happiest and most satisfied kid on the planet.
I leaned down to kiss his forehead, and after grabbing his plush from his room, I tucked it next to him under the covers.