Chapter 28 The Envy Of Everyone
THE ENVY OF EVERYONE
“Date night, date night,” Farrah said as she looked in her closet. How much should she dress up?
“Mom,” Archer yelled and came into her room. She had the door open—he knew he had to knock if it was closed. She rarely had it that way, only if she was in the bathroom or changing.
“Yes,” she said.
“I’m packed. When is Grandpa coming?”
“He’s on his way,” she said. “Should be here any minute.”
“What are you and Jayce doing tonight?”
“We’re going out to dinner,” she said.
Her son wanted to spend the night with his grandparents. He asked, she hadn’t suggested, nor her parents, though she wondered if maybe they’d put the bug in Archer’s ear when he talked to them during the week.
Archer wanted to go to basketball camp and in order for him to do that, she needed to work out a way to get him to and from for the week. It wasn’t as if her schedule could be flexed all that much.
Her parents said they could help for the week, and thankfully it was after his trip with Tucker. If that was still on. She hadn’t heard otherwise, but there was still a month to go.
“Then what?” Archer asked. “Where are you going? Can I go too and then you can bring me to Grandpa’s?”
“What have I said before about all the questions?”
Her son sat back as if he were replaying his conversation. “Where are you going?”
“The Rooftop at Durham Hotel. No, you can’t go because it’s a bar.”
“Then that’s drinks and not dinner.”
“We’ll have food there, but it’s still a bar.”
“What are you doing after?” Archer asked.
Please don’t let me blush. Please don’t let me blush.
“I’m not sure yet,” she said. Which was the truth. They were going to get naked, she knew that much, but not what else it would entail. Nor would she tell her son that Jayce was staying the night.
She went back to look through her closet, Archer trailing around. “Will I see Jayce tomorrow? We always do things on the weekend.”
“I’m cooking dinner tomorrow and Grandma and Grandpa are going to stay, remember. They haven’t seen Jayce since we were in school together.”
“What are you making?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. And that is Grandpa. Go open the front door, please. Make sure you look first.”
Where was her mind to not say that?
Archer dashed out of the room and to the front of the house, then she heard him say, “Mom is in her room looking for clothes and talking to herself.”
Her father’s laughter grew with the sound of the footsteps getting closer.
“Everything set?” she asked, walking out of the closet. Her father was in the doorway.
“That was going to be my question to you.”
“Archer, did you pack up what you needed?”
“I did,” Archer said. “I’ll get my bag.”
Her son raced out of the room and up the stairs. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I haven’t been on a date, I mean a real date, in a long time. I’m not sure why I’m nervous.”
“I’m not either and not the person you should talk to about this.”
“I know. We are going to The Rooftop tonight. Call if there are any issues.”
“There won’t be. Have fun.”
“I plan on it.”
“I’m ready,” Archer yelled. “Mom, give me a kiss now so I don’t have to run back.”
She moved toward her son, bent down, which was much less than it had seemed it was months ago. He was growing so fast. She put a kiss on his cheek and got a hug.
“Don’t be too much of a pain tonight and go to bed when they tell you to.”
“I will,” Archer said, running out of the room.
“We’re just taking him to dinner and then will watch a movie tonight.”
“Does he know you’re going to dinner? He asked if he could go with me and Jayce.”
“No. I’m going to get your mother and then we’ll let him pick the place. We’ll see you tomorrow around noon?”
“I’ll be here.”
Her father nodded and left, and she returned to her closet to figure out her attire.
There wasn’t much in there other than scrubs, jeans, shorts, leggings and cotton shirts.
That was the basis of her wardrobe.
Long gone were sexy skirts and dresses. At least the ones she’d had when she was married. They all got donated along with anything that was a reminder of the man who cheated on her.
She was pushing hangers aside and found three summer maxi dresses. Nothing really sexy, but they’d be different.
She lifted her favorite dress from the hanger.
She’d worn it once to a coworker’s outdoor wedding last year and worried at first she’d be underdressed, only to realize she was more polished than most. The top was white, scattered with tiny blue flowers, sleeveless and fitted to her body, before giving way to a light blue skirt that fell in soft ruffled layers.
With her nude heeled sandals, it might be the right mix of fun and flirty. It’d definitely give Jayce something more to look at.
If it was too much, she’d just change into one of her other floral dresses, or put some flats on. She had plenty of them. Tucker didn’t like her heels being too high, bringing her closer to his height.
With her dress in her hand and a change of undergarments, she walked to the bathroom, showered quickly, put her hair back in a sleek ponytail, and applied minimal makeup. Just a touch more than her daily routine, then grabbed her shoes and sat on the bed to strap them on.
Five minutes later, the doorbell went off, the click of her heels on the hardwood floor the only sound until she opened the door to Jayce’s wide eyes and the air gushing out of his lips.
“Shit. You slay me.”
“Don’t be silly,” she said. “Come in.”
He reached his hand out, his arm snaking around her hips, his mouth crushing hers. “I’ve been dying to do this for days and then you greet me looking like that.”
She laughed against his lips, then leaned back. “I take it you like it?”
“Yeah. Damn.”
“It’s not too much? I’m not sure what to wear, just thought it’d be better than jeans or shorts.”
“It’s great. I’m going to be the envy of everyone there.”
“That would be me,” she said. Jayce had a white button-down shirt, undone at the top buttons, the sleeves rolled up and casual, tucked into tan, slim fit cotton pants that were rolled at the ankles with white sneakers on his feet.
“You got a little GQ going on here. Now I’m scared.
Bet you’re used to dressing like this at your old job. ”
“Most times,” he said. “Guys can get away with sneakers with just about anything.” His eyes dropped. “And those, those are some seriously smoking pumps.”
“Hopefully, I don’t embarrass myself and kiss the floor in them. Sneakers or clogs are more my style.”
“You look good in anything,” His lips grazed her ear. “But better with nothing at all.”
Her hand ran down his arm. “I was thinking the same and looking forward to later. You’re staying, right?”
“I am,” he said. “Are you ready?”
She grabbed her small purse that she’d use for the night. She was so used to carrying something bigger, having a kid, but tonight was about her. Her and Jayce.
“Looks busy,” she said when they got off the elevator.
“It’s a hot spot. Lots of people are getting off of work, I’m sure. I requested a table outside so we should be good.”
“I’ll be happy with anything,” she said. “It will be nice to just not have to wipe food off of Archer’s face or ask him to close his mouth while he chews.”
“I promise to eat quietly,” he said. “Just like I’m kissing quietly.”
She laughed. “We don’t have to be quiet tonight. I don’t plan on it.”
He groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder. “Now I want to turn around and go home.”
“We’ve got all night,” she said. “I’m looking forward to this.”
“Me too.” They moved to the hostess stand. “McCarthy.”
She looked down at the tablet in front of her. “Follow me. You’re in the corner on the patio.”
“Perfect,” he said.
Once they were seated, they could see the skyline of the city.
“I often forget this is considered a big city. It doesn’t always seem it to me. It’s just the place I live.”
“It’s a third of the size of Charlotte, so yeah, doesn’t seem like it to me,” he said. “But I’m getting used to being back.”
The server came over and poured them water, handed them menus and took their drink orders.
“How did it feel returning for the house closing?”
“Better than I thought.”
She frowned. “Were you dreading it?”
“Not really. I stopped in to see my old boss. I’ve been getting more frequent texts asking me things, questions from him and others in my department.”
“It’s been two months. They haven’t moved on?”
“They did, guess Kylie isn’t working out. I didn’t think she would, but that wasn’t my call. I was leaving regardless.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’s your problem,” Farrah said.
“No. It wasn’t and isn’t. I realized that part of the reason I never got much work done was because everyone was stopping to chat. I get a big part of my job was communication, but it was more about finding out personal aspects of my life rather than the job.”
“Are you someone who shares?” she asked. “It’s not something we’ve talked about much. I feel bad that looking back most of our time is spent with Archer around or even talking about him or my past. There are things about you I don’t know.”
“You know the important things,” he said. They stopped for their drinks.
“What can I get you to eat?” their server asked.
“Why don’t we just get a bunch of things to pick at?” he said.
“Works for me. You order. I’m good with everything on the menu.”
“Why don’t we get the charcuterie, the nachos, and the smoked fish dip,” he said.
They were left alone after that. She picked up her wine and took a sip. “Tell me things I don’t know that might not be as important,” she said.
He shrugged. “They want me back.”
She gulped but had nothing to swallow. “Are you considering it?”
“No,” he said, reaching for her hand. “Not even close. I hadn’t thought they’d ask, but there was part of me that wasn’t surprised. And that would be my ego saying that.”
“We know you’ve got a big one.”
“I’ve heard it before. They threw a sizeable chunk of money at me. More than I was making before. More than I’m making now and shockingly, I’m making more with my parents than I was before I left and never thought I would.”
“Why? Or are you worried that they are only doing it to keep you here?”
“I might have thought that, but they are paying all three of us the same. I can’t complain about that. And trust me, I’m much more relaxed than I thought I’d be. I’m having fun at the job too. A different kind of fun. A different kind of people, but it’s all good.”
“That is what it should be,” she said, letting out a breath she was trying not to hold.
The thought that he might change his mind and pick up and go again was a lot for her to handle.
Not just with how close her son was getting to Jayce, but with the speed she was too.
“I’m learning. It was good to go back and see things in a different light. Those important things I didn’t have before that I’ve got now.”
He was looking into her eyes as he’d said the words, letting her believe she was part of that list.
Her hand reached over, her fingers brushing his, then coming to rest while she tried to figure out what was going through his brain.
“I’m glad you feel that way, but I don’t want to be the thing that holds you back if you’re not happy.”
“I’m happier now than I’ve been in years. Not just my job, but my personal life. Is it different than it was before? Yeah. It is. In the best way possible.”
She smiled, her hand angling, her eyes softening. “I feel the same.”