Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Justin
I’m scrolling Instagram trying to get my hard-on down when Dylan comes out of the bathroom in his boxers. “Oh, hey,” he says, going to the fridge. “I didn’t see you there.”
“I got here when you went into the shower,” I say and get up to help him open the orange juice that is in his hand.
I open the cupboards and find it bare with just two of everything and nothing more.
My heart breaks for her. And hearing her story made me fall for her even more.
If there is anyone who should give up and wave the white flag, it’s Caroline, but no.
She just dusts herself off and gets ready for more.
“Did you bring food?” he asks me while I pour the orange juice, and I nod.
He turns to look at the table. “Doughnuts!” he says, grabbing the glass of juice I hold out for him.
He walks over to the table, and after I put the juice back into the fridge, I go sit down at the table while he decides which doughnut he wants.
“Is this one filled with jelly?” he asks about the white powdered one, and I nod.
“That’s Mom’s favorite,” he says and chooses another one.
After taking a bite of it, he sits down on the chair.
“Now go get dressed,” I say when he’s finished, and Dylan nods, getting up and knocking on the bedroom door before going in.
I put my head back and close my eyes, the pit of my stomach burning.
They share a bedroom. I grab my phone again and scroll through my private Instagram, which is mostly just my family.
I see that Viktor and Zoe are on the last leg of their vacation, and my niece looks more and more like Zoe.
The door opens, and the smile I have on my face fades when I see her.
The dress just makes her more angelic, and I’m almost afraid to touch her.
The best part is that she has no idea just how beautiful she is.
The dress doesn’t show any of her curves that I know are under there.
My cock springs to action again when I look her up and down, and the smiles fades as I panic about having a hard-on and Dylan coming into the room.
She looks down and escapes the room before I say anything.
My heart pounds in my chest. “I can’t have another one. Mom is going to be mad if I have another one,” Dylan says, but my eyes are on the closed bathroom door. I watch while he finishes the orange juice that I poured him, then takes the glass to the sink, rinses it out, and then leaves it there.
“Did she say that?” I ask, one ear listening for his mother while he tells me he needs to eat breakfast first. “As soon as your mom is done, we can leave.”
When the bathroom door opens, and she comes out, well, I have no words anymore. “Are you ready?” Dylan asks, and she nods at him.
“Close the windows and I’ll make sure nothing is in the sink,” she says, and he gets up to close the windows.
“Can I have one more doughnut before we leave?” he asks Caroline, and I look at him. “We never get fresh doughnuts, and I promise I’ll eat my breakfast.” I want to just make him eat all the doughnuts.
“Why don’t we bring the doughnuts with us, and you can have one after breakfast?” I tell him, and his eyes go big.
“I want eggs and pancakes,” he says, going to the door. I watch Caroline walk to the sink, making sure everything is clean. She grabs her purse, slipping it around her. “Mom, are we going to church? You’re wearing your church dress.”
“Not today,” she says softly. “Not for two days,” she says, and I wait for her to walk out and lock the door. Dylan walks ahead of us, and I walk with her. The sun hits right us right away, and I look up, seeing not one cloud in the sky. “It’s going to be a hot one.”
We walk down the sidewalk toward the car.
Our hands graze each other and finally my pinky grabs hers, and I hold it there in mine, her eyes going straight to our joined hands.
“What’s wrong?” I ask quietly, and she just shakes her head.
I stop walking, and because I’m holding her hand, she stops also.
She turns to look at me and then she looks away at Dylan, who is getting to the vehicle.
“You look beautiful,” I say, and she turns again to look at me, but the sun is in her face, so she squints, closing one eye.
“Every single day, I don’t think you can look more beautiful.
” I close in on her, and now my frame blocks the sun from her face.
“But every day I’m wrong.” I lean in and kiss her lips softly.
“Mom!” Dylan shouts. “Justin, I’m starving, and it’s hot.”
“I really have to check and see if there is a hole in his stomach,” she says while I laugh, and finally, I see her smile. “I’m not kidding.”
“He’s a growing boy,” I say when we get to the SUV, and I open the door for her. “It just gets worse.”
“Great,” she mumbles, climbing into the passenger side.
When I pull into the same diner we ate at yesterday, Dylan already knows what he’s going to order.
I wait to see if Caroline orders for herself, but she looks at the menu and then just orders a bowl of fruit.
I order more than I’m going to eat, and I’m happy when she takes a bit of the eggs and a sausage.
When I pay the bill, she starts to go through her purse. “Don’t even think about it.”
“You’ve paid for breakfast this whole week,” she says. “Seriously, I can pay for breakfast.”
“Yeah,” I say, draining the juice from my glass. “Good to know. You’re not going to but still good to know.”
I slide out of the booth, and Dylan follows me and walks ahead of me. I wait for Caroline to slide out, and the dress has risen a bit, showing off her long legs. “Next time, I’m not going to order anything.”
I shrug and grab her hand in mine. “It’s okay. I’ll order for both of us.”
“I won’t eat.” She thinks she can one-up me.
“I’m sure I can force-feed you.” I wink at her, and now I put my hand over her shoulder and pull her to me as she groans. “Eventually, you’ll eat.”
She doesn’t say anything. Instead, we just walk to the SUV, and Dylan opens the back door. “I’m going to walk from here,” she says, and I look down at her. “It’s two blocks.”
“It’ll take me thirty seconds,” I say, and she just shakes her head.
“Give me a kiss,” she says to Dylan, who leans over and kisses her. “Have a good day at camp.”
“It’s free Friday,” he says, and she looks over at me.
“They can do whatever activity they want all day long,” I fill her in. “If he wants to stay on the ice the whole day, that’s okay. If he wants to stay in the gym and then go on the ice, that’s okay, too.”
“I’m going to do whatever Justin does,” Dylan says to her.
“That sounds like a great day.” She smiles at him and then closes the door. “Have a good day, you two.”
I walk to her, and I’m not sure I’m okay with Dylan watching us kiss, so I lean in and kiss her cheek. “Call me when you get to work.”
“I’ll be fine,” she says when I walk around the front.
“Either you call me or I drive you?” I give her the option. Everyone likes options, right?
“Or I walk to work and start my day and see you tonight.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Yeah, those options are both negative.” I look at her. “I can always carry you over my shoulder, put you in the vehicle, and then drive you there.” I smile now as she puts her hand up to shield the sun from her face. “Not going to lie to you. The latter is my preferred.”
I can’t see her eyes with the sun. “I’ll call you when I get there.”
“See, that was easy,” I say, smirking, and she just shakes her head and turns to walk away. I watch her for way too long, until she disappears around the corner, and I want to jump into the SUV and follow her, but I know she’ll just close up again.
Instead, I start the vehicle and make my way to the rink. After five minutes, I’m about to turn back around when my phone rings. “Hello,” I answer the Bluetooth.
“I’m here,” she says, and I smile.
“See, was that so hard?” I ask, waiting for her answer.
“Yes,” she huffs out. “Now I have to go.”
“Have a great day at work, sweetheart,” I say, and she doesn’t answer me; she just hangs up, and I laugh. Dylan just looks out the window while I drive to the rink. I park in my usual spot, and I’m getting him out of the truck when my phone rings, and I see it’s Allison.
“Hey,” I say, putting the phone to my ear and grabbing Dylan’s hand.
“Don’t hey me,” she starts, her tone angry. “Why would you tell Zara you think I’m getting fat?”
“What?” I ask, confused, and we walk in. “Go get changed,” I say, and he runs off.
“Zara just called,” she says. “I’m not getting fat. I just weighed myself, and I’m the same I was the last time you saw me.”
“I never said you were getting fat.” I laugh. “Not once.”
“You better not,” she says. “So I heard something.”
“And there it is,” I say. My sisters are like the newspaper. If one gets a morsel of a story, then it’s only a matter of minutes before all three of them know and then also Karrie and her best friend Vivienne. “Spit it out.”
“You’re dating a single mother,” she comes right out and tries not to screech, but she fails. “Justin, you really think that’s a good idea?”
“I think it’s a great idea,” I say, waving at a couple of parents and going into the changing room.
“You know it’s not just her,” she says softly. “You can’t just dip and go.”
“Dip and go?” I close my eyes.
“It’s slang,” she says. “Mini Cooper taught me.” She mentions Matthew’s son, who is now almost fifteen. “Means you go in, do what you need to do, and then bounce.”
“I know what it means.” I laugh. “Does Max know you use that ‘slang’?”
“Um, no,” she says and then calls Max’s name. “Babe, I’m going to dip and go.”
“What the fuck?” I hear Max in the background. “You aren’t dipping anywhere. Don’t say that.”
“Told you.” I laugh.
“Anyway,” Allison says, “how serious is this?”
“Very,” I reply, not skipping a beat. “I just need to convince her of this.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Her voice goes low again. “When you break up with her, you are going to be breaking up with her son.”
“Who said anything about breaking anything?” I say, and she gasps out.
“But,” she says, “you don’t really do relationships.”
“I didn’t,” I admit. “But Caroline is different. There is just something there.” I try to find the words, but I can’t. “I can’t explain it, but it’s different.”
“Shit,” she says. “This isn’t just a fling.”
“No.”
“Fuck, I owe Zara five hundred dollars,” she says. “I told her she was crazy. There was no way you would go there.”
“I’m there, and if everything goes my way …” I look at the door, seeing Dylan walk by in full gear. “We are all going to be there.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” she says, and I grumble.
“What?”
“You didn’t think that you would find someone, and us not come and see what is going on?” She laughs. “You silly, silly boy. We are all coming up in two weeks.”
“What do you mean by all?”
“I mean, all of us.” She laughs. “Stone family vacation is coming straight to you, Justin.” Her laughing never stops. “Hope she’s ready for us.”
I don’t bother answering her because I really hope she is ready for what my family brings to the table.