10. Nolan
CHAPTER 10
Nolan
I ’m not nervous. You’re nervous.
Okay, I’m a little nervous. As evident by my shaking hands. I blow out a deep breath and slide my palms down my navy Henley to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles in the material. With a pair of light-washed jeans and my brown boots, I’m going for casual, yet nice.
I didn’t want to take Katie out for a typical dinner date tonight. She deserves to have a fun night out where she gets to forget her worries for a little while. I just hope I’m not royally fucking this up before it starts.
I made sure to tell her what the dress code was for the night. The last thing I want is for her to dress in some fancy outfit and I show up in jeans. Granted, I’d love to see her in a gorgeous dress. If all goes well, maybe that can be our second date.
A glance at my watch tells me I need to get on the road if we want to make it to the bar in time.
There aren’t many in Westlake, and only a couple that are reputable, mine being one of those. Thankfully, the other one has a decent drink selection and puts on regular theme nights for people to participate in .
I jump into my truck and head across town to pick up Katie. It only takes me ten minutes before I pull into the driveway of a cute split-level house with white siding and black trim. Do I knock on the door? What if Cody answers? It seems shitty to just sit here and wait for her to come out. I could text her, but is that any better?
My manners say I need to greet her at the door, so I hop out of my truck and walk up the small set of stairs to her front step. I rap my knuckles against the door, hoping beyond hope I’m not fucking this up already.
When the door swings open, I’m met with the confused face of an eight-year-old. “Nolan? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, uh…” An Australian shepherd comes up to sniff me and then starts wagging his tail.
“Are you the one who’s been sending my mom presents?” His narrowed eyes make me pause. Do I lie? No, Ellie told me not to discount Cody’s intuitiveness.
“Yeah, I have been.” I squat down, figuring I should have this conversation on his level. “Are you okay with that?” The dog comes closer, and I absentmindedly start petting him.
Cody frowns; whether in thought or annoyance, I’m not sure. He looks over his shoulder before meeting my gaze with an expression more serious than I thought an eight-year-old could ever have. “Just don’t hurt her, okay? She’s the best mom ever, and she deserves to have someone be nice to her.”
“I give you my word: I will not hurt your mom.”
“Okay, then.” He nods. “Also, take her somewhere fun. She doesn’t get to have fun anymore since she has to do things with me all the time.”
“I think she’d argue that she finds those things just as fun as going out, bud.”
Cody smiles. “Yeah, you’re right.”
I wink at him, and he finally moves out of the doorway to let me in .
“This is Cash. He’s my best friend.” Cody points at the dog, who looks up at him with eyes full of love.
“I always wanted a dog growing up, but we were too busy to give a dog the proper attention they would need.”
“I’ll share him with you if you want. You can come over to play any time you want. He’s really good at fetch.”
And I’m officially a puddle of goo. Could he be any more adorable? Jesus.
“Cody? Is Sue here yet?” Katie comes walking down the stairs, her hands fiddling with her earring as she goes. Her back is to me while she talks to Cody.
“Nope.” His lips pop when he says the P. He’s grinning at me as if he’s about to see something entertaining.
“Then who—” She finally turns around to look at me. “Oh.” Her eyes drag up and down my body, making me want to puff up with pride. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I grin. “You look beautiful.” Her black jeans are molded to her hips in ways I want to explore in more detail than I can at the moment, and her black lace tank is covered by a black leather jacket. She looks like the princess of a biker club. I couldn’t ache for her more than I do right now.
She glances at Cody and then turns back to me with a cringe. “I’m guessing you didn’t see my text?”
I pat my palm against my front pockets and grimace. “Sorry, I must’ve left my phone in the car.”
She nods her head several times. “Sue is running a few minutes behind. Sooo…”
“Wanna help cook my dinner?” Cody asks me.
“Cody! It’s not nice to put our guests to work the second they walk in the door.”
“I’d actually love to help. My brother Carter’s been teaching me some things.”
Cody grabs my arm and leads me toward the kitchen, leaving Katie behind while she stammers. I’m not sure if she’s opposed because she doesn’t want me to spend time with Cody or if it’s because she doesn’t want me to feel obligated. Either way, I will not be denying this kid anything. He’s my in with his mom.
“Carter is older than you, right?” Cody asks as he opens the freezer and starts to pull things out. “We’re making chicken nuggets and fries, by the way. Mom always lets me have junk when she goes out because she feels guilty that I don’t get to go out, too.”
“Jesus, Cody.” Katie rolls her eyes as she comes around the other side of the kitchen to sit at the counter.
I laugh. “That seems fair to me. Although, I’m a bit partial to green beans with my chicken.”
“Me, too! I love green beans, but only the canned kind.” Cody’s eyes sparkle with excitement.
“Ohh, those are the best. Fresh or canned are my favorite. The frozen ones are fucking gross.” I turn my nose up.
Cody giggles. “Yeah, they are, but Mom likes the frozen ones, for some reason. Also, you owe a dollar to the swear jar.” He points to a large mason jar on the counter with several bills in it. I widen my eyes. I didn’t even realize I’d said a bad word. This hanging-with-a-kid thing is going to take some getting used to.
“You don’t have to do that. Cody, he’s a guest tonight. You can’t get on to someone who is a guest.”
“Ah, so the swear jar is for you, then?” I raise my eyebrow at Katie.
“Yeah, she curses like a sailor. At least, that’s what Auntie Ellie says. I’m getting close to paying for college at this point. Or a car when I’m old enough.”
Katie groans as she drops her face into her hands. I can’t contain my laughter after that one. I pull my wallet out of my pocket and flip through the cash I have.
“How about I make a deposit, because there’s no way I won’t slip up a few more times before we have to leave.” I hand Cody a five-dollar bill, and he grins as he takes it over to his jar.
“Now.” I rub my hands together. “Let’s see about making these the best chicken nuggets and fries you’ve ever had.”
Cody frowns at me as if I’m ridiculous. “They’re just the frozen ones.”
“Sure, but you can still make them fancy. How do you feel about cheese and bacon?”
Katie’s phone starts to ring, and she holds up a finger to excuse herself. When she walks around the corner, I turn back to Cody.
“I like them. This one time, I had them on my fries, and it was amazing.”
“You and I are going to get along famously.”
Cody’s grin makes my heart thump. For the next few minutes, I teach Cody how to make loaded fries in the oven. The whole goal is to get your fries crispy instead of soggy when you melt the cheese. “It’s a very precise science, my man. You cannot take your eye off your food, or it will burn.”
I keep my gaze on his food, waiting for the perfect moment to pull everything out. I’m reaching into the oven as Katie comes back into the kitchen.
“That looks so good!” Cody bounces up and down.
I wink at him. “I think these might just be my best ones yet.”
“Guys… I have some bad news.” Cody and I turn toward Katie at the same time. A look passes across her face I can’t decipher before she shakes it away. “Sue just called and said she has food poisoning.”
“Oh, no. Is she going to be okay?” Sue is like a grandmother to Ellie and Katie. I’m not entirely sure how old she is, but she’s a spitfire, that’s for sure. The few times I’ve met her, she’s practically charmed the pants off me. Actually… if I think about it, I’m pretty sure that was her goal .
“She said she was fine, just a little wrung out from being sick.”
“So Sue isn’t coming over anymore?” Cody asks, his shoulders slumping.
“No, baby. I’m sorry. You’re stuck with me tonight.”
Cody gasps. “Maybe we could have a movie night with Nolan!”
“Oh, baby. I don’t know about that. He probably has other things he could do tonight.”
I shrug. “My only plan was to take you out. I’m up for a movie night, if you don’t mind an extra person.”
Katie looks at me as if she’s trying to figure out my angle.
Cody punches the air. “Yes! Okay, we’re gonna need more chicken and fries. Oh, oh, and popcorn!” Cody starts walking to the fridge, muttering to himself. “We don’t have any candy, but that’s okay. We’ll get some for next time.”
I raise an eyebrow at Katie, asking the silent question. If she wants me to go, I’ll go. She looks at Cody with a bemused expression and then shrugs in a what can you do way. I grin at her and turn back to her son, who has drug out the frozen bags of chicken nuggets and potatoes.
“Okay, big man. You go ahead and dish up your plate. You don’t want to wait too long to eat or your food will get soggy. I’ll work on mine and your mom’s food.”
“Good idea.” Cody jumps up onto the counter to grab himself a plate and cup, both of which are plastic. It’s then Katie comes around the island to help him get his food together. The whole scene gives me a glimpse into their daily life, and I’m suddenly feeling incredibly lucky to be here. They have such a genuine connection. The love between them just radiates around the room. It’s beautiful. And Katie is even more gorgeous than I’ve seen her before. There’s something about seeing the two of them in their space together that changes how I’ve always viewed them.
I turn back to my task, portioning out food for me and Katie. She opens the fridge and grabs a handful of stuff. “Cody, I’m going to make a salad. Would you like some, too?”
He shrugs. “Sure, I guess.”
After getting our food into the oven, I lean against the counter and watch Katie and Cody interact.
“What movie are we watching tonight?” Katie asks him.
“Something with action. Oh, what about Zootopia ?” Cody looks over at me. “Have you seen that one before?”
“I can’t say that I have. What’s it about?”
“A bunny becomes a cop and catches all these bad guys in the city. It’s really good, and there’s a huge twist at the end that you’ll never see coming.”
“Sounds good to me.” I grin.
Cody finishes his food around the same time that the rest of it finishes cooking. He decides to go get the movie cued up while Katie and I get our food plated. I quickly glance to make sure Cody’s gone before I wrap my arms around Katie’s waist, my chest to her back.
“Goddamn, you smell good, woman,” I whisper into her neck. She shakes her head and turns in my arms, a smirk quirking up the side of her mouth.
“I’m sorry this isn’t the night you imagined it to be,” she says quietly.
I shrug one shoulder. “I’m still getting to spend time with you. That’s all I wanted.”
“You’re too charming for your own good.” She tries to look unamused, but the purse of her lips gives her away.
I press a quick kiss to her mouth before taking a step back and handing her a plate. If I spend any longer with her body pressed against mine, I’ll do something neither of us would want Cody to walk in on.
“Would you like a soda or something? I have Diet Coke, wine, or water.” Katie grabs a can of soda for herself.
“Diet Coke is great.”
She hands one to me, and then I follow her into the living room, where Cody already has the movie up on the screen. Cash follows us, curling up in the dog bed by the television. Cody is standing in front of the TV, fiddling with the remote. I have a feeling he’s been standing here waiting for us to come to him instead of going back into the kitchen.
“Normally, we’d have popcorn and candy for movie night, but I think we only have the microwave stuff right now,” Cody says.
“That’s okay. Maybe we can plan a regular movie night some other day,” I tell him, my eyes on Katie.
She minutely nods her head, and I feel like I could pump my fist in the air the way Cody did earlier. Katie sits down on one side of the couch, and Cody plops down in the middle. I take the only spot left on the other side of Cody. I wish I could be next to Katie, but I’m guessing these are their typical spots.
As the movie starts and I eat my food, I can’t help but continue to look over at Cody and Katie. Could this become a regular thing for us? Watching movies, having dinner, spending time together… I could absolutely get into nights like this.