Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Zac
“What’s all this?” Oliver asks as he and Jace enter my place and look around at the chaos. “You having a fucking slumber party?” He chuckles, picking up two huge square pillows and turning them over.
The two of them then proceed to start smacking one another with the oversized pillows and instead of arguing with them, I walk over to the kitchen. Within minutes Jace is in a headlock and Olly is dragging him in my direction.
“Really.” He finally releases Jace and sits down on one of the barstools. “What’s going on here?”
I know how this works. I tell them, they hassle me, and I’m left wondering if I’m doing the right thing.
“Aurora tells me that Presley and Gray are coming over for movie night,” Jace answers the question for me and I avoid looking up. Instead I start tearing the grapes off the vine and tossing them into the strainer.
“She was over at her place earlier and Gray was bouncing off the walls with excitement.”
I smile as I picture it. “That what this is all for?”
“What kid wouldn’t like a fort?”
“You call that a fort?” Oliver says, looking back over his shoulder.
“Well it will be, if you two hadn’t interrupted me.”
“Fuck that.” He stands and starts making his way back to the living room. “I’ll do this.” Jace and I watch as Oliver takes charge. He is so meticulous with the placement of each pillow and the positioning of the fort that goes over the top. So yes, I may have gone a little overboard and purchased a kit. But this place is huge and I really wanted Gray to love it.
Pres and I have had a couple overnight stays. They were completely innocent, more like two best friends than two people who shared one hot night together. This would be the first time Gray came along.
I am excited and nervous, I want him to love it.
After a few minutes Jace and I join Oliver. He takes charge commanding where we put things, ensuring it is all secure. I want to laugh but truth be told it is nice to see this side of him. I won’t say it to him, because he’d probably deny it and brush it off, but he’ll be a great father one day.
We’ve all had hardship in our lives, some more horrible than others. Each one of us has fears of not being the kind of person that could raise a child without screwing up. Jace insists that no child deserves to be cursed to have him as their dad. But honestly, I think he’d be the most fierce, caring, and compassionate one of all of us. Oliver is and has always been the one to watch over us all, to do his best to fix anything wrong and to hold us up when we fall. He is loyal and the size of the guy’s heart, well, he loves hard. But he does his very best to maintain that badass, don’t fuck with me demeanor.
Today I got a glimpse of his soft side. The part of him that is still just a big kid.
* * *
“Oh wow,” Presley says as they step inside. I grab her jacket and slip it off her shoulders and watch as Gray peeks around her legs. “Look at this, buddy.”
Grayson slowly eases forward.
Kneeling down, getting eye level, he never takes his eyes off the fort.
“Have you ever slept inside a fort before?” Staring ahead, he shakes his head at me, his eyes wide with amazement. “Well, that is all for you.” He shifts his gaze and looks at me.
“Mine?’ he asks and it’s my turn to nod my head.
“You can go check it out.” He glances back at Presley and she offers him a nod and then he is off. Running across the space and skidding to a stop right at the entrance. Suddenly he disappears inside and all we can hear is laughter and squeals.
I watch for a minute wondering if he will come rushing back out.
“He’ll be busy for hours,” she tells me before taking a step closer. I’m frozen in place as Presley places her hand on my arm and moves in. Pressing a kiss to my cheek, I’m sort of stunned for a moment until she once again creates space between us.
“Thank you for doing that for him.” She offers me a smile. “It’s perfect, more than perfect actually.”
“I wanted him to enjoy himself.”
“He would have been happy even without the fort, he’s been talking about staying at Zac’s all day.” She smiles. “But the fort is a huge bonus.”
I remain where I am, watching as she joins her son and I hear the echoes of his giggles ricochet around the big open space. Closing my eyes I listen loving the sounds. Lately the place has felt like it was swallowing me up, but tonight, for the first time in a long time, I feel comforted.
Placing Presley’s jacket on a hook I walk toward the laughter and peek inside. Press is tickling Grayson, him on his back. He’s shifting from side to side, his legs and arms flailing.
Moving closer I crouch down and move inside, joining them.
Grayson starts to explore the area, and I notice how Presley is looking around too.
"Let me show you something.” I stand up and move over to the part that is facing the television. With a few Velcro straps I release the wall and it opens up further. “You can still lay in the fort and watch a movie too.” Grayson does that wide-eyed full of excitement look and I grin.
He can’t hide how he is feeling even if he tried, every little thing he expressed showing through his eyes.
I grab the controller and get it to the program I wanted to show him. “Your mom said that you two like watching cartoons?”
He starts nodding his head.
“Well,” I get to the place I want to be and then pass him the controller, “you can choose whatever you want to watch.”
Gray is in complete awe as he takes the controller from my hands and starts to scroll.
I glance at Presley and notice she is staring at me. I offer a smile and she quickly looks down. For a minute I wonder if I’ve screwed up. But then she lifts her head and mouths a thank you to me, before the two of them settle in and pick a show.
The three of us get comfortable and spend the next hour and a half giggling our way through a Disney movie that I am sure he’s watched a hundred times. There were a few times that I even caught Presley mouthing the words right along with the characters.