Chapter 8 #2
“Huh?” I say, confused and having no idea what Cooper’s talking about until he starts blubbering.
“Mom? Mom! I thought you weren’t coming back!” He’s suddenly totally hysterical, and I have a heart-stopping moment where I think he was putting on a brave face for me.
Liam joins in the chorus. “Yeah, Mom. I thought you forgot me.” He sounds on the verge of tears.
Allyson and Michelle coo and pet the stinky boys, promising dinner with cookies and apologies.
I realize what these monsters are up to. They are absolutely, one hundred percent playing their mothers for treats. The laughter bursts forth in a tidal wave and both women shoot glares at me.
“Thank you for staying with them,” Allyson says coldly, though her eyes could burn me to ash where I stand.
I cross my arms over my chest, leveling a gaze at Cooper and Liam. They shrink under the weight of my deep frown.
“Boys, why don’t you tell your mothers what we’ve been up to while they were working so hard and worrying so much that they rushed over here to get you?” My tone broaches no argument, and their tears dry instantly, their fake drama dissipating like cotton candy in water.
“We fed the ducks,” Liam says, his eyes on the grass.
“We sat around and talked,” Cooper says.
“No muss, no fuss,” I add. “They were fine until they saw an opportunity for cookies and took advantage.”
Cooper and Liam, suitably chastised, look to their mothers with real tears in their eyes now. “Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Mrs. Michelle,” Cooper says, and Liam echoes the sentiment to his mom and Allyson.
I glance back to Allyson, not expecting an apology for her obviously frosty appreciation when she arrived, but she offers one anyway. It’s with her eyes, not her mouth, but I understand it just the same.
In the lengthening moment, the air between us thickens, heating with possibility even though there’s an undercurrent of distrust.
She looks good, the skirt hugging her hips and her shapely legs tapering down to the sexy heels that would feel great digging into my ass as I buried myself in her.
But it’s the swirling confusion I can see in her eyes that calls to me the most. She sets me off-kilter, but I do the same to her.
And damned if I don’t want to explore that, delve deeper into it and know what’s running through that mind of hers.
Which makes me furious . . . at myself, at her.
Michelle’s eyes bounce between Allyson and me.
“Look, I know you two have some stuff to talk about. Let me take the boys home and feed them dinner . . . with no cookies.” She raises a brow at Liam before looking back to me pointedly.
“Go to dinner. I hear Hank’s even has two-dollar drafts tonight.
Talk about old times, talk about life and love and whatever else comes up. ”
“Michelle!” Allyson hisses. “No, I’ll just take Cooper home.”
Michelle’s scowl deepens, her eyes screaming at me to man up and take advantage of the opportunity she’s presenting on a golden platter. I’m not sure I want it, but I can’t pass it by, either.
“I need to eat before heading home anyway,” I grumble. “I missed Mama Louise’s dinner waiting around with these guys.” I hold up a fist and Cooper pounds it, then Liam follows. They’re smiling now, though it’s cautious. “So, what do you say, Al?”
The nickname slips out again, but it feels comfortable on my tongue so I don’t correct myself. I can hear her breath pause, though, and I know it hit her too.
Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times as she looks between me and Michelle and then down to Cooper. Finally, her spine straightens and she says tightly, “That sounds great, I guess. Let’s get a beer and some dinner.”
One side of my mouth quirks up in what passes as a triumphant smile. I know I probably look like a cocky shit, but I don’t give a fuck. Dinner, a beer, and Allyson. Once upon a time, it was all I ever wanted.
Somewhere, I hear a little voice reminding me to avoid her, but I squash it down forcibly.
It’s just food, nothing more. Or maybe I’ll figure out what the fuck’s up with her so we can ‘be adults’ as she wants?
Or maybe I’ll fuck her in the parking lot?
The possibilities are endless and unexpected, something I usually hate.
I like knowing what people are going to say and do even before they do, but I can’t get a read on Allyson. Damn infuriating is what she is.
I guide her toward the parking lot, my hand grazing along the small of her back. She heads to her car, looking over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at Hank’s?”
I nod, not sure what I’ve gotten myself into.
In the quiet parking lot, Cooper’s voice sounds as loud as gunfire as he asks a question that makes my heart stop. “Coach B? Are you taking my mom on a date?”
Allyson’s jaw drops, and I shake my head subtly at her, telling her I’ve got this because she does not know the minefield she’s walking in to.
“No, buddy. Just dinner between old friends. No dating or dating.” Michelle and Allyson both look confused, but Cooper and Liam giggle before running for Michelle’s sedan.
“I’ll get the boys to school in the morning. Have a good night,” Michelle virtually sing-songs, making me wonder just how much Allyson has told her about our past. Or if she’s in the habit of pawning her friend off for God knows what with random guys. Not that I think Allyson’s into that.
Hell, I have no idea what Allyson’s into now. But I sure as fuck want to find out.
Michelle gets the boys loaded and pulls out, leaving Allyson and me alone in the now-dark parking lot. The moon shines down on us, and I can’t decide if she’s going to back out or go through with the dinner plans.
This is the opposite of what I want, I try to tell myself, willing ice through my veins. But it sounds like a distant echo through the thrumming of my racing heartbeat.
Drawn to her even as I fight it, I brush a lock of her soft blonde hair back, slipping it behind her ear. It feels natural but oddly unfamiliar at the same time. My voice is gravelly as I give her an out I’m only half-praying she doesn’t take. “We can just skip it if you’re not up to it.”
She licks her lips, and I steel myself, not allowing myself to imagine chasing her tongue the way I’d love to. I grind my teeth, awaiting her verdict.
“No, dinner sounds . . .” she says, her voice a bit breathy. She shakes her head and my stomach drops, knowing she’s going to bail. “It sounds good. Let’s do it.”
Well, shit. I wasn’t expecting that.
Coach football. Avoid Allyson.
Fuck that. Or maybe fuck her?
Shit, I’m in so much damn trouble here, mad at the old Allyson and intrigued by the new one.