Mateo
Chapter eleven
Jade's voice travels down the hall, and I'm hiding.
It's not that I don't want to see her, it's that I've seen her too much.
Perhaps hiring her wasn't the greatest move.
I'm already enamored by her, now I've made it worse, and she's made it pretty clear she's not my biggest fan.
I guess it's a good thing because Addie would never talk to me again.
Not that she's talked to me much since I've been home.
There's something up with her that I can't put my finger on.
I put my hiding to good use though and finish up some emails with my lawyer. Stuff that Jade can't help with. Like amendments to my will and finalizing details for charity projects among other things.
When I'm done, I pause outside my door, listening…but I don't hear her.
Dad and Cooper are in the kitchen chatting about how badly Dad did in the golf tournament, so I pull up a stool and make myself known.
It feels like I have to force myself to be seen lately.
Is this what getting old feels like? I know I'm an adult, and have been for some time, but right now, my best friend is eight.
I need to get out. Kyler finally texted me back yesterday, but it wasn't exactly a conversation starter, so I left him on read.
How does one respond to: Exhausting.
I'm exhausted too, exhausted from being bored out of my fucking mind. God, I'm pathetic.
"Earth to Mateo," Dad says.
"Hmm?"
"How's PT going?" he asks.
"Swimmingly," I say and turn to Coop. "Hey, what time does your mom get back from class?"
"I'm off the clock," Jade says from behind me. Guess she hadn't left yet.
I shift in my seat and find her staring at me, hands on hips. It makes me want to test all kinds of boundaries. Mine, not hers. Can I weather the storm?
"Figured we'd wait to have dinner, is all," I say, spinning back around to see Dad's eyebrows raised.
"Seven," Cooper says.
"Are you cooking dinner tonight?" Dad asks.
Asshole.
Jade kisses Cooper on the head and takes off.
I know her car is old, but it grinds and groans like a disgruntled old man when she pulls out of the driveway.
"Is that car going to make it?" I ask.
"It has to," Coop answers, and pops a grape in his mouth.
Dad takes chicken out of the fridge and tosses it on the counter in front of me. I stare at it and then look at the kid, who shakes his head.
Fuck me.
"Where's Mom?" I ask.
"It's her busy season, you know that."
Right. You would think being a TV chef would lighten her everyday load, but it doesn't, especially this time of year.
"What are you guys doing Friday night?" Cooper asks.
"Tap dancing," I answer.
"I don't want to go to Pam's," he says.
"Who's Pam?" I ask.
"Jade's mom," Dad answers, pulling out his phone. I don't miss the chip in his voice. There's a story there, but he doesn't expand. "Sorry, kid."
"Why do you need to go there?" I ask.
"Mom has a date."
If that's not a dig, why does it feel like one?
"That's weird," Dad says.
"That's what I said." Cooper sighs and points to the chicken, "So what's for dinner, Gramps?"
Dad laughs, and I toss him a dirty look.
"Why is it weird your mom has a date?" I ask, hoping I sound nonchalant and not like I'm digging.
"I dunno the last time she went on one," Addie says, popping up out of nowhere and sliding onto the stool beside me. "What's it been, Coop? A few months?"
"At least," he answers.
"When's the last time you went on a date?" I ask Addie.
She plucks a grape from the bunch and says, "Last week."
"What about you?" Coop asks.
How long has it been since my last proper date? One that I hoped would turn into something it didn't?
"I'm not sure, a year ago maybe?"
"Dude," Addie and the kid say in unison.
I shrug. "What? I've been busy. Do we have pineapple?" I ask Dad.
"I haven't been home in days. Your guess is as good as mine."
"Well then, what were you doing with this?" I ask, eyeing the chicken.
"I was going to make some baked chicken and vegetables," he says.
"Bullshit," Addie says. "You were hoping Mom would be home."
Dad shrugs. "Maybe. What are you up to tonight?"
"I have to leave for work in a few," she says. "So it looks like the superstar is making dinner tonight." She pokes me, and I flip her off.
Mom can make anything out of nothing. It's her superpower, and luckily she passed some of that on to me.
"Punk, go check the pantry. What are we working with?"
With Cooper's help, I get dinner prepped. We put the chicken in the oven to bake so we can shred it later. I dice an onion and a pepper while he breaks some angel hair pasta into smaller pieces.
His homework's done, and even though Dad's technically the one babysitting, he disappears to his office. So Coop and I get to work on a booby trap to scare Jade. His idea, not mine. I'm afraid she might murder me, but I'm betting if I use Coop as a shield, I'll survive.
"Why do you do that?" he asks. His tongue pokes out from between his lips as he concentrates on tying a knot in the string that holds the old Halloween mask.
"Do what?"
"That," he says, pointing to where I'm curling my left hand into a fist. "You flex it and make a fist over and over."
"How do you feel without your glasses?" I ask.
"Blind."
"I suppose I walked right into that one, huh?"
"Yup."
He hands me the mask.
"Tape?" I ask.
Coop hands me the tape, and I attach the mask to the broom handle. I'm grateful for the distraction, hoping he forgets he asked me a question. How do I explain my hand feeling foreign? Like it's not mine?
"Hey, is that the tattoo shop?" I ask, pointing at his shirt with a 'Tonic Tattoo' logo.
"Yeah. Emily and her husband Rich own it," he says and ties the other end of the string to the doorknob. "Man, I hope Charlie doesn't get here before Mom."
"Me too. They have an InASnap?"
"Tonic? Yeah."
I toss him my phone. "Follow them for me?"
Coop taps away on my phone while I tug on the knots, double-checking they're tight.
He hands me back my phone, and we finish rigging the trap. Coop tests it out twice before he's confident it's ready to go. Part of me wants to text her, to give her a heads-up, but I don't. Instead, we resume getting dinner ready and wait.
I want to pry more info out of him, like why Jade doesn't normally date, or what the deal is with her mom, but I don't. It's none of my business, and the less I know, the better. I'll be less likely to want more, right?
Wrong.
The bigger the mystery she is, the more I want to get caught in her storm.
Thunder rolls, lightning strikes, but Storm Cloud, she stirs.
She stirs up my head and my heart and makes me confused.
She challenges me.
But…fuck.
It can't happen. For a variety of reasons, but mostly because she can't stand me, and I still don't know why.
"She's here," Coop yells, running toward the door. He's got his phone out, ready to record.
I'm regretting not warning her. This could be disastrous.
The doorknob turns, and the door opens, triggering the broom to fall forward, the mask flying at Jade's face.
It's a second before she reacts, letting out an exaggerated gasp and taking a step backward. She grips the door frame for stability, a smile tugging at her lips.
"It worked," Coop yells, holding his hand up for a high-five.
I oblige and tilt my head to Jade, who raises her brows. "Yeah, it did. We scared her so good she's speechless. Come on, before she says something silly like it's time to leave."
"We can't leave, we need to eat dinner," Coop says, gesturing to Jade. "Mom, Mateo and I made dinner."
She closes the door and props the broom back in place. "Is it poisoned?" she asks.
"Shit, kid, we cooked the chicken all the way, right?" I ask with a grin.
"It's really yummy, Mom. Did you know Mateo can cook?"
She shakes her head and follows us to the island. I prop a crutch on the counter and serve up my chicken pasta concoction,
"Where's Liam?" Jade asks.
"Watching film for next season," Coop answers. "I'll bring him a bowl."
He grabs one from the counter, fills it with pasta, and wanders down the hall to Dad's office. He knocks and waits before entering.
"Hey, listen," I say, sitting next to Jade. "I can watch him on Friday night if you need someone."
"He hates going to my mom's," she says. "But she's trying. For real this time, I think." She spins the ring in her lip and takes a bite of pasta.
I don't think she meant to give me that much, but I soak it up.
"Liam said thank you, and it's delicioso."
I laugh at his rough pronunciation but give him points for trying.
"If we're gonna be best friends, I'm going to need to teach you some Spanish," I say.
Jade coughs and narrows her eyes at me.
"Who taught you Spanish?" he asks.
"My abuelo," I say. "That means grandfather."
He nods, mouthing the word without making a sound.
"He took your mom in, right? He and his wife?" Jade asks.
"Yeah, before I was born," I say.
"Abuelo is way more fun to say than grandpa," Coop says. "Maybe I'll start calling you that instead of Gramps."
I choke on my pasta, and he pats my back.
At least one of them likes me. I'll take it.