Chapter 9 #2
They left the basement and closed the door. “Mr. Scoville!” Lizzie cried happily, hurrying to him for a hug. “Are you teaching Daddy?”
“Your father and I are working on some projects together. Is that okay?” Forrest asked. “It’s not for school, though.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Daddy needs friends.” She hugged him again and raced off to play. Conrad wasn’t sure what to make of that comment. Apparently his daughter thought he was friendless and needed to get out more.
“I take it you two were in the basement,” Mom said softly. “You should feel honored,” she told Forrest. “He hasn’t let me into his inner sanctum for years. I never understood the whole fascination with Lego, but I was so proud when he won those contests. Is that what you’re working on?”
“No, Mom. We’re just having a little fun, because apparently adults need to play too.” He winked at Forrest. “I’m not sure if I want to go back to that. It’s a lot of pressure, and I have people in my life who are more important. Though if they ever called me to judge, that would be a lot of fun.”
Forrest checked the other room and then kissed him. “I should go.”
Conrad nodded but was disappointed that they hadn’t had more time together. He was going to have to get used to making the most of the time they had.
“I can take Lizzie on Saturday,” Mom offered.
“I don’t want to interfere with your family,” Forrest said.
“It’s fine. Lizzie and I will go to the farmer’s market and the grocery store.” Lizzie ran back into the room, and Conrad lifted her into his arms. “Do you want to stay with me on Saturday night?” Mom asked.
“Can we ride the go-carts again?” Lizzie asked.
Conrad cleared his throat. “Again?”
“Lizzie and I went to the Sports Emporium last weekend. The weather was nice. I expected to play a few games, but this one wanted to ride the go-carts, so I drove. It was fun.”
“Yeah, Gramma, can we do it again? Zoom, zoom.” Clearly it was something Lizzie liked.
“Sure.” Geez, his mom caved like a house of cards. Where was this woman when he was growing up?
“Yay.” Lizzie bounced in Conrad’s arms, then squirmed to get down before running out of the room.
“You need to get ready for bed,” Conrad called to her. “Go brush your teeth and put your pajamas on.” She grew quiet, and then he heard her go into the bathroom.
“Are you free Saturday?” Conrad asked Forrest. “You can bring your papers if you need them.”
After as moment’s hesitation, he nodded. “Sure. That will be good.”
“Come for lunch. I’ll pick Lizzie up in the morning,” Conrad’s mom told him. She kissed Conrad’s cheek. She also patted Forrest’s shoulder and then left to walk next door.
“I’ll see you on Saturday,” Conrad told him, wishing he didn’t have to say good-bye. He kissed him and Forrest held him until the sound of a door opening reached their ears. Forrest released him and, after a quick good-bye, left the house.
Conrad sighed and wished that things were different, but that wasn’t possible, so he hurried up to find Lizzie heading to her room, He scooped her up to squeals of delight and carried her inside. Then he helped her with her pajamas and got her into bed. She slipped under the covers.
“Did you and Gramma have fun?”
“Yes. They teached us to draw flowers and animals. Gramma was really good.” She settled on her pillow, and Conrad got the book they were reading.
He read a story about a girl who talked too much, and by the time he was done, Lizzie was sound asleep.
He lightly kissed her forehead and left the bedroom.
Damn, there were days when he was so fucking lonely he thought he’d scream, and yes, having Lizzie put a crimp in his love life.
But as he stood in the doorway, watching her sleep, he thought of his sister and the fact that she was missing all of this.
“It should have been you kissing her good night and reading her stories.” His throat ached as he turned away and went to his bedroom.
A little over a year ago, he was this happy-go-lucky gay boy, always on the lookout for fun.
Well, he could think that, but it wasn’t exactly true.
But still—everything had changed with a single accident.
Now he was a parent with responsibilities he never expected.
And the amazing thing was that he wouldn’t change anything.
If things happened again, he’d do the same thing.
He’d step up and take Lizzie. She was the light of his life.
And yes, he’d probably still date her sexy teacher who looked a lot like Mr. Clean.
But God, sometimes life was just so fucking messy.
He got ready for bed and slipped under the covers. More than anything, he wished the bed wasn’t so empty. Sleeping with Forrest had been exciting, and he had actually slept rather than tossing and turning. Granted, Forrest seemed to be all about thinking of ways to use up any excess energy.
“Daddy,” Lizzie said from the doorway, holding her doll under her arm. “I can’t sleep.”
“Go back to bed and I’ll be right there,” he told her seriously and got out of bed. In her room, he tucked her in once more and calmed her down. Then he lightly rubbed her back until she was out once more. Finally he returned to his room, tired and sleepy.
It was difficult not to look forward to Saturday and having time with Forrest, but he needed to figure out some sort of balance.
His mother wasn’t going to take her every weekend, and that wasn’t fair to Lizzie.
He needed to take things one day at a time and stop worrying about everything.
Conrad really liked Forrest, but he kept wondering if he was doing something wrong by dating him. Still, he didn’t want to give him up.
There weren’t that many really nice, sexy guys in the world, and one had crossed his path who liked him in return. Conrad sat up and shook his head. He’d had enough of all of this. There was nothing for him to feel guilty about. He was seeing Forrest, and they both had their eyes open.
Conrad flopped back down on the bed and closed his eyes, rolling onto his side and trying to sleep. His phone dinged, and he picked it up off the nightstand.
“Night. See you Saturday. Sending you a warm hug so you sleep well.” Conrad smiled, and after responding, he set the phone aside and snuggled under the covers.
He could almost feel Forrest holding him, his warmth surrounding him and keeping him safe.
He sighed and let the tension drift out of him.
Finally, he rolled over and found a comfortable position at last, letting sleep overtake him.