19. Chapter 19
I opened my door when Easton knocked. There he stood, looking gorgeous as always, but he looked even sexier with Owen clinging to his hand.
“Oh my god. Easton, I struggled to see you as a babysitter, but here we are. And you look so se—I mean, you look really attractive as one. And here I thought I couldn’t love you any harder.”
“Sid and Dalton are working,” was all he said.
I smiled and shook my head at him as I squatted to face Owen at his eye level, holding out my hand. “Hey, Owen. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Hi, Thomas! I can’t wait to go to the museum!”
“It’s going to be so much fun. Have you been there before?”
He shook his head, strawberry-blond strands wisping across his forehead. “No, but I love planes and spaceships!”
“Me, too!”
I stood and stepped aside to let them in, then I brushed a kiss across Easton’s soft lips.
“You’re overly excited about this.”
I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “It’s as if you don’t even know me. Of course, I’m excited. You look good as a babysitter,” I said again, winking at him. I took it down to a whisper. “It softens all those sexy, hard edges. Not that I don’t love those hard edges, too.”
It was spring break, so Owen and Annie were out of school. Since Easton told me he had to watch over Owen, I suggested taking the younger ones to the museum.
“I’m trained as…” he sighed heavily. “I’m not a babysitter.”
I snorted a laugh as I grabbed my hoodie from the closet, since it was still cold, and pulled out one for Annie.
“Come on! We gotta go!” I yelled upstairs for her.
“Coming!”
Annie came barreling down the stairs and jumped the last two steps. “Hi!” she said to Easton and Owen.
I handed her the hoodie, and she tossed it on.
When we stepped up to Easton’s car, Annie whistled. “Wow. Nice car.”
“Thank you,” he said, buckling Owen up in his booster seat.
Since we lived in the Capitol Hill area, it didn’t take long to get to the Smithsonian area. The museums flanked either side of the grassy mall area. At one end of the Mall was the Capitol building, and at the other was the Washington Monument .
It hadn’t been warm enough for the cherry trees to bloom, but they would soon.
When we walked through the large doors, we stepped into a world of silent planes from days past, floating above our heads like ghosts. The aircraft were from all over the world and from different periods.
The place was packed with tourists, so Easton took Owen’s hand. “Do not leave my sight. Do not let go of my hand.”
“Okay!” Owen said. I’d only met him twice, but he seemed like a really sweet kid who adored Easton.
I know just how you feel, Owen , I thought.
There was one massive airliner, fighter jets, and some really old planes. It was amazing how they managed to fit all of them into the building.
“Whoa! Look at that one, East!” Owen pointed, tugging at Easton. It wasn’t like him to be led at all, but with Owen, he didn’t seem bothered by it. “And look at that one! What’s that one, East? It’s so pointy.”
He looked up and said, “It’s a Grumman F-14D Tomcat. ”
“Cool! Does it shoot stuff?”
“Yes.”
“Cool!”
I giggled quietly during the whole exchange.
Annie tugged on me. “Let’s go to the space section.”
“Yes, space! I love space! I wanna be an astronaut!” Owen yelled, using his loud, outdoor voice, but the place was already loud with the number of people in there.
As we headed to the space section, I bumped Easton’s shoulder with mine. “Look at us, like a little family. ”
He looked at me with his stunning, pale brown eyes. “Is this what you want? Kids? They’re awfully loud.”
I shrugged. “I could go either way. Despite how cute you are as a babysitter, I don’t see you as a dad. Maybe as a cool uncle. And that’s okay, too. I could be a cool uncle. A guncle.”
“What is a… ‘ guncle ?’”
I rolled my eyes, feigning exasperation. “A gay uncle. Duh.”
“Noted.”
I burst out laughing, loving his dry humor. Then I laughed even harder as I watched Owen totally own Easton. I hadn’t known Easton all that long, but I knew enough that he only allowed Owen to lead him.
Not only was Easton the epitome of sexiness, but he was also so sweet and attentive to Owen. He was the perfect human, at least for me.
Once we reached the space section, Annie took Owen’s hand, and they ran off to look at all the displays, pressing the monitors for information on each section. I had to admit that it was pretty cool. No wonder they liked it.
As they explored, staying within our sight, I put my hand in Easton’s. He looked at me and threaded our fingers together.
“This isn’t enjoyable. There’s too much going on, too many people, and it’s too loud,” he said.
“It’s definitely very crowded. If it’s stressing you out, when we wrap up the space section, we can leave and get some lunch or something. Next time we take the kids out, we can do something quieter.”
“Okay. I’m not coming back to museums again. I don’t like them. I’d rather learn new things from my books. And what I learn needs to be put to use somehow. It needs to serve a purpose. Old planes serve no purpose.”
“These planes are just about history, which is important because we want to learn what worked in the past and what didn’t.”
“There’s truth to that,” he sighed.
I squeezed his hand and rested my head on his shoulder. “Learning new things is important. I love that you enjoy learning.”
“Enjoyment isn’t the reason I learn things.”
“That’s fair. It needs to apply to your life. I get that.”
“Yes.”
Easton was so fascinating. He wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met.
Not only was he honest, straightforward, intelligent, and gorgeous, but he processed information differently.
He saw the world in a unique way. Nothing was wasted on him.
It must have been part of his neurodivergence. It made him so special to me.
The more I got to know Easton, the more I wondered what he saw in me. I was not even remotely interesting. But I trusted him when he told me he wanted me. I fully believed him when he told me I was his. My still-stinging hand was a reminder of that.
When Annie and I got home, Dad wasn’t there. I cursed under my breath, hoping he didn’t find some money and was out gambling again. I looked around the house to see if anything was missing, things that Dad could sell for cash. Maybe we got lucky, and he was out looking for a job. Doubtful .
“Great, Dad is out causing trouble again,” Annie huffed, reading my mind. “I want the old Dad back. I hate this dad we have now.”
“Yeah, I know. I wish there was something I could do.” I pulled her into a hug, and she held me back. “Whatever happens, I’ll always take care of you, okay? One day, when I get a place of my own, you’re coming with me.”
“I love you, Tommy.”
“I love you, Annie Boo.”
She pulled away and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. She did that when she was trying not to get overly emotional. “Maybe you and Easton will get married, and you’ll have a happily ever after.”
I chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Maybe.” I didn’t tell her of the bond Easton and I shared.
It wasn’t really a marriage. I wasn’t stupid, but it was a nice thought that we were bound by blood forever—that it was Easton’s way of marrying me.
Like he didn’t seem like the fatherly type, he also didn’t seem to be the marrying type.
Traditionally, at least. I was okay with that as long as he was in my life.
For dinner, I heated two frozen chicken pot pies in the microwave for us. It was quick and easy. After dinner, Annie headed up to her room to text her friends or go on social media before bed, and I took a quick shower.
After I was clean, I fell into my lumpy mattress and opened up my phone to check my bank account.
Paranoia had my brain thinking about ways Dad found out about it and stole it all.
But the money was still there. I blew out a sigh of relief.
There was so much money in there. I imagined ways I would use it, but I barely touched it except to pay bills and buy groceries.
I wanted it there for emergencies. In an ironic twist, if my dad taught me anything, it was to be careful and frugal with money.
Then I opened my photos on my phone and scrolled through the ones we took earlier. Some nice people took pictures of all four of us at the museum and outside with the monument in the background.
I laughed at how stiff and unsmiling Easton was. Not everyone enjoyed having their picture taken. But it was nice to have something of him. Maybe next time he would let me take a selfie of us together. I wanted something nice for my phone’s wallpaper. His gorgeous face would be perfect for that.
My phone suddenly buzzed with a text.
Justin: Don’t forget we have a test on Tuesday.
Me: Thanks for the heads up.
Justin: Hey, there’s also a cool local band playing next
Saturday. Wanna go?
Me: Yeah, can I ask Easton?
Justin: If you want. There’s this girl in my Spanish class
that I like. Maybe I’ll take her, too.
Me: Sounds fun!
Easton didn’t seem like he would enjoy live bands. The noise and crowd would probably get to him. Did he even like music? He never had his radio on in the car. But it didn’t hurt to ask. Maybe he did love music. That reminded me to ask what his favorite band was.
What the heck. Why not ?
Me: Do you like music?
Easton: Yes
Me: Who’s your favorite band?
Easton: I don’t have one.
Me: What kind of music do you like?
Easton: I listened to binaural beats to improve my
concentration.
Me: That’s not music.
Easton: Yes, it is.
I huffed a laugh.
Me: I mean, do you like rock music?
Easton: If I have to listen to it, I will.
Me: Never mind then.
Easton: Why all these music questions?
Me: Justin wants us to go with him to see a live band.
Easton: I don’t like Justin.
I burst out laughing.
Me: Still jealous?
Easton: Forever. Get some sleep, Little Rabbit.
I guess that was a no. Oh, well. I hung up and plugged my phone into the charger, turned off my lamp, and went to sleep with a huge smile on my face.
Something had me jolting awake, like an unfamiliar sound. You get used to your home and all the noises it makes, as well as the people who live in it. When something is off, you notice.
I sat there, yawning and rubbing my eyes, before turning to the old digital clock, which read it was just past midnight.
It had to be Dad coming home. He was probably drunk, which explained the strange noises.
Despite needing to be up in five hours, I climbed out of bed to head downstairs. I needed to know what state my dad was in. Maybe I could once again remind him of my perpetual disappointment.
I pulled on my pajama bottoms since I only wore underwear to bed, and padded out of my room. As soon as I reached the hallway, I heard a banging coming from Annie’s room.
“What the hell?” I mumbled.
I walked down the hall to her room and pressed my ear to her closed door. When I put my hand on the knob to turn it, someone pressed their hand over my mouth and something stung my neck. My eyes rolled, and my world went black.