completely heartbroken, right? I’d been all set to say yes when I thought he was planning to propose. I thought he was the love of my life and all that BS, but now I just feel stupid for ever thinking that. And I feel like I’ve wasted the past few years in a relationship that was clearly not what I thought it was.”
Lily reaches out and takes my hand, rubbing it soothingly. “David’s the idiot.”
I offer her a shaky smile. “Thanks. And don’t worry, I’ll sort out a new living situation while I’m away so you’ll only have to put up with me for tonight.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you need. Just be prepared for long tutorials on Roblox and finding abandoned Cheerios bowls in random places.”
* * *
When I wake the next morning on Lily’s sofa, it’s to find a little face with wide blue eyes and a gap-toothed smile staring right at me.
“Hey, Joel. What’s up, buddy?” I ask the seven-year-old through a sleepy yawn.
“Did you know you snore?”
My mouth drops open in indignation. “I do not snore.”
His head bobs up and down insistently. “Yes, you do. You’re a snorey head!”
I let out a soft chuckle and throw off my blankets, getting to my feet.
“Why does your winkie stick out like that?” Joel asks curiously.
I glance down to where he’s pointing, my eyes widening in mortification. “Oh, fuck!” I sit back down and hastily cover myself with the blankets. How the hell had I managed to forget I was wearing nothing but boxer briefs, and that they would do nothing to disguise my morning wood?
“You said fuck!” Joel whispers, almost reverently, his bright blue eyes wide.
Ah, shit. I’ve been in the kid’s presence for all of two minutes and I’ve managed to screw up epically twice.
“Yeah, maybe don’t tell Mommy,” I say.
“Don’t tell Mommy what?” I hear Lily say as she emerges from the hall that leads to her apartment’s two bedrooms.
“Jesse’s winkie sticks out,” Joel announces.
I bury my head in my hands, my face burning with embarrassment. “It was an accident, I swear.”
Lily’s completely silent, and after a moment, I dare to look up and face her wrath…only to find her practically doubled over in a fit of silent laughter.
“Are you kidding me?” I ask. “You’re laughing? I thought you’d be angry.”
“Why would I be angry? It’s mot like you purposefully flashed him, right?”
“What if he goes to school and tells everyone about ‘Mommy’s friend’s winkie’?” I ask, lifting a hand to form air quotes.
Lily waves a dismissive hand. “That ship already sailed last year when I was dating Miles and Joel walked in on him in the shower.”
“Miles had hair on his winkie,” Joel says matter-of-factly.
“Okay!” Lily claps her hands together to get her son’s attention. “Why don’t we go get some breakfast and give Jesse a minute to get ready?”
“I want Cheerios!” Joel announces, bouncing up and down on his toes.
Lily rolls her eyes. “Well, that’s a surprise.”
Once they disappear into the small kitchen, I take the opportunity to rummage in my suitcase for some sweats and tug them on. I let out a soft chuckle as I hear Lily singing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” while Joel claps along, chanting, “Faster, Mommy!”
I pull on a t-shirt and wait for the end of the musical number before joining the pair in the kitchen.
“What time are you leaving for Vegas today?” Lily asks as she hands me a bowl and pushes a box of cereal toward me.
“Well, my shift ends at two. I was going to go home for a bit first, seeing as how David couldn’t make it for the weekend…no surprise there.” I give a frustrated shake of my head as I pour out some Cheerios into my bowl. “But now I think I’ll try to get an earlier flight. The others are getting in from Sac some time in the afternoon, I think.”
Lily nods. “Sounds like a good plan. You don’t want to miss too much of the party. Oh, and speaking of…” she trails off and walks out of the kitchen, heading toward her bedroom.
Baffled, but not exactly unused to this kind of thing from Lily, I just shrug and take my bowl of cereal to the kitchen table, where Joel is already chomping away on his Cheerios.
When Lily returns, I notice she’s holding something behind her back. “Joel, why don’t you take your breakfast to the living room and watch some cartoons?”
His eyes light up. “But I’m not allowed to watch cartoons before