Chapter 7 Skid
SKID
“Things between you two seem to be gettin’ serious.”
“You could say that.”
“Been with her every day this week.”
“Didn’t realize you were keeping tabs.”
“Just looking out for you.” Dad’s voice was riddled with concern as he asked, “You thought about this? I mean, really thought about it?”
“What’s to think about?” I shrugged. “I like her.”
I wasn’t lying. I did like her. I liked her a lot. It was impossible not to.
She was incredible, and the past few weeks with her had been better than I could’ve hoped for.
Don’t get me wrong. We had a rocky start.
She was pissed about me paying off her electric bill, and I damn near lost her before we even got started.
She was prideful and determined, and she’d thought I’d overstepped.
And in all actuality, I did.
But after some convincing, I managed to talk her down from the fence.
That was only after I’d agreed to let her pay me back a little each month.
Once we got all that out of the way, she agreed to another night out, and that led to another date and another.
They were your typical first dates where you worry about what you should or shouldn’t say, but strangely enough, that awkwardness didn’t last long. We just hit it off.
Dad broke my train of thought when he said, “I get that. I like her, too, but there are things to consider.”
“Just say what you gotta say.”
“It’s hard enough to start something when it’s just the two of you, but it’s something altogether different when there’s a kid involved.”
“You and Jenna managed.”
“Yeah, we did, but we’ve had our struggles.”
“Her using your razor isn’t a struggle, Dad.”
“Now, see. That right there shows you got no idea what you’re getting into,” he huffed. “There’s nothing worse than shaving with a dull-ass razor.”
“I don’t know. I think I could come up with a couple of things that would be worse, like having an itch you can’t reach or a bad case of blue balls.”
“Damn.” Dad shook his head as he teased, “I don’t know where I went wrong with you.”
I was giving him a hard time, but I knew exactly what he meant.
Laken and I had reached that phase where it was hard to keep our hands off each other.
That wasn’t always easy with a kid underfoot.
Hell, it was damn near impossible. But I had a good feeling about things.
I knew the time would come when things would get easier.
I inhaled a deep breath, and my mouth started watering at the smell of steaks on the grill.
Dad and I were cooking out in the backyard while Jenna and Laken took care of things in the kitchen.
Luna and Baylor had been inseparable since the minute they met, running around playing with all of Luna’s toys.
I flipped one of the steaks, letting the flames sear it before moving it to the side. Dad took a pull from his beer, watching me like he always did, making sure I didn’t fuck something up. I heard Laken and Jenna laughing inside, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I turned my attention back to the grill, and it wasn’t long before Dad asked, “How’s she liking the gig at the casino?”
“She’s really liking it, and she’s good at it, too.
” Sergei and his brothers owned the Black Crown, and after I’d helped his girl out of a precarious situation, he said he owed me one.
I never expected to take him up on it, but I couldn’t stomach the idea of Laken spending another day in that Godforsaken hotel.
“She’s making a lot more money there, too. ”
“That’s good. What about the kid?”
“They’ve got daycare on site, and they’re both pretty happy with it.” I gave him a half-shrug. “It’s good to see them finally get their footing, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.” He gave me one of his fatherly looks. “You really like this girl.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Bullshit. You got that same look I had when I met Jenna. You think you’re hiding it, but you’re not. You can see it plain as day.”
“You and I are nothing alike.”
“We got more in common than you might think.” He chuckled. “One thing is for certain, we both know a good woman when we see one.”
“That we do.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the back door swing open, and Laken stepped out, her hair catching the last bit of the sunset. She looked over to me and smiled, and damn if it didn’t nearly knock me off my feet.
She walked over and placed her palms on my chest as she inched up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss. I had to fight the urge to pull her back for another, but with Dad standing right there, I decided against it.
After we finished grilling, we went inside and ate. Dinner was damn good, but I wasn’t surprised. Dad had taught me how to make a hell of a steak, and with the girls’ extra fixings, it was a great meal. But it wasn’t the food that made it a great night. It was the company. Laken made it easy.
She just fit, and she did it without even trying.
She laughed at Dad’s stories, helped clear the plates even when Jenna told her she had it, and smiled at me across the table like I meant something to her. That was enough to make my night right there, but it was far from over.
Once we finished up with dinner, Dad lit up the fire pit, and while Luna and Baylor watched a movie inside, the four of us sat by the fire and had a cold one.
We hadn’t been sitting there long when Dad glanced over at me with a smirk.
“You remember when you were younger, maybe seven or eight, when you found that old toad down by the creek?”
“No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” he pushed. “It was a fat, slimy thing, and you got it in your head that you wanted to keep it as a pet.”
“Yeah, I might remember something about that, but that’s not a story worth sharing.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Dad chuckled. “I think Laken would get a kick out of it.”
“Sure, I’d love to hear it.”
Dad turned his attention to her as he said, “He came home with the fattest frog I’d ever seen. Poor kid could barely hold it with both hands, and he was as tickled as could be.”
“Fred was a badass.”
“Fred?”
“That’s what he named the frog,” Dad answered. “He decided to keep him as a pet and carried that damn thing around in a shoebox. Took him everywhere. The clubhouse. The grocery store. Even tried to take him to school.”
“That’s adorable.”
“Yeah, it was cute until one night when he got to screaming like he was being murdered.” Dad shook his head.
“I go flying into his room to save him and find him standing in the corner white as a ghost and pointing at the bed. And there sat Fred. Apparently, he got out of his box, and my son, in his infinite wisdom, thought the damn thing was trying to eat him.”
“Asshole bit my damn toe.”
Jenna and Laken burst out laughing, and that just fueled Dad’s need to mortify me. “Kid didn’t sleep for days. Hell, he couldn’t even look at the pond without getting jumpy.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Says the guy who still gets a weird tick when he sees a frog.”
Laughter erupted again. Once it died down, Laken leaned in and asked, “So what happened to Fred?”
“His ass went back to the damn pond,” I answered.
“Ah, poor Fred.”
“Poor, Fred, my ass! He’s lucky I didn’t drop-kick him and toss him in the damn road.”
We laughed and talked a while longer, and when Laken yawned, I stood and said, “I think it’s about time we call it a night.”
“We’re so glad you came.” Jenna got up and gave me a quick hug. “You’ll have to come back soon.”
“You know we will.”
They all followed me inside to get Baylor, and when we stepped into the living room, we found them both out cold on the couch. Baylor was curled up against Luna, and she couldn’t have looked more adorable clutching her little bunny against her chest.
“Why don’t you let her stay the night?” Jenna whispered. “They’ve had such a good time, and she’ll be no trouble.”
I glanced at Laken and asked, “You okay with that?”
“Yes. That would be more than fine,” Laken answered. “I can swing by in the morning and pick her up.”
“Perfect.”
“Alright then, I guess we’ll leave you guys to it.”
“Enjoyed it,” Dad said with a slap to the shoulder. “And next time, I’ll tell her the clown story.”
“Only if you want me to tell Jenna about the lady in the closet.”
“Well, damn. You got me there.”
I chuckled, then Laken and I said our goodbyes and headed out to the truck. The drive back to Laken’s place was quiet. We exchanged a glance or two, but neither of us spoke. I had a feeling she was thinking the same thing I was.
This was going to be our first night alone.
The thought settled deep in my chest. As much as I wanted to have an intimate night alone with her, we had a good thing going, and I didn’t want to fuck it up by being in a rush to get in bed with her—unless she was ready. And if she was ready, I was more than ready.
When we pulled into her lot, I killed the engine but didn’t move. Laken glanced over at me and said, “Feels weird being here without Bay.”
“We could go back and get her…”
“No, she’s happy. There’s no need to disturb her.” Laken lowered her head as she admitted, “It’s just been a long time since I’ve trusted anyone enough to let her stay the night with them. It’s nice.”
“Means a lot you trust my family with her.”
She looked back up at me as she whispered, “I trust you, Thatch, and I don’t trust many.”
That one got me right in the gut. I got out and came around to her side, and I walked her up to her door. She fumbled with her keys for a moment, then unlocked the door and asked, “You want to come in for a bit? I’ve got coffee, or…”
“Yeah, coffee sounds good.”
She opened the door, and I followed her inside.
I’d always picked her up at the door, so this was the first time I’d actually gotten a good look inside her apartment.
It was small, but cozy in a way that only Laken could manage.
Everything seemed to have its place, including Baylor’s toys, which were piled into a basket in the corner.
A couple of Baylor’s drawings were on the fridge, and there was a fuzzy blanket draped across the couch.
A light blush crept across her cheeks as she started for the kitchen and said, “It’s not much, but it’s ours.”
“I like it. It suits you.”
“I think so, too, but I’m hoping that soon I’ll be able to find a place in a better neighborhood.”
She started the coffee, and I leaned against the counter, watching her move through the kitchen. As I stood there, it felt so familiar, almost like I’d been there a hundred times before. She gave me a nudge as she said, “You’re being awfully quiet over there.”
“I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“How easy this feels.”
“It does. Doesn’t it?”
Her eyes locked on mine. That small spark between us, the one that had been there since the night we’d met, caught again. Slow and steady. I reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, and the air shifted. She didn’t step back.
Neither did I.
And right there, in that tiny kitchen, it was clear where the night was headed, and I couldn’t have been more ready.