20. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
Paul
I used to dread Sundays because that meant the weekend was over; another reminder that my time with my son went by way too fast. I’d take him over to Amelia’s after dinner, say goodbye, and head home to my too-quiet apartment and spend the night catching up on TV shows or meal-prepping for the week.
But now? Sundays might be one of my favorite days of the week.
I wake up to the sound of laughter so loud it reaches upstairs.
The air smells like bacon and maple, with a hint of chocolate and coffee, and the sunlight pours through the bedroom, lighting up the empty side of the bed.
The only thing that would make this morning better is if Dre would sleep in like me, so we could relax together, but he likes to get up early and make breakfast, especially for the kids.
One glance at the clock, and I realize it’s nearing nine-thirty, so I need to get moving because I told Amelia I’d bring Maddox over this afternoon per her request.
I shower, dress, and make my way downstairs, and have to stop for a moment, just to take it all in.
Rylee and Maddox are both covered in what looks like cake or cookie batter, and Dre isn’t faring any better.
There are several plates of cooked food on the kitchen table, half-drunk glasses and mugs.
My chest tightens; this weird feeling making my stomach twist and my throat dry.
I swear I could watch them forever, my best friend—my boyfriend, because I’m pretty sure that’s what this is, at this point—but unfortunately, my creepy staring is interrupted when Rylee calls me out and everyone looks up.
“Morning,” I say, clearing my throat.
Dre’s gaze catches mine, and I have to fight the urge to kiss him as I walk over to the island.
It’s not that we’re embarrassed or that we want to hide things, especially from the kids, but we both agreed to take our time with doing so, not just because of us being together, but because kids talk, and Dre’s still new on the roster, and we agreed it might be best, at least for a while to take things slow, work our way up to that kind of revelation.
I’ve had this job longer, and Andre, whether he wants to admit it or not, is still well-known enough, and the last thing he needs is any sort of drama or rumors in his life after the year he’s had.
Telling his parents was hard enough. Though they didn’t seem to have much of an opinion on the matter, and I’m not sure if that’s better or worse, given the circumstances.
Either way, I’m not anticipating having the same discussion with Amelia.
Not that I think she’d have a problem with Dre and I being together…
in this kind of capacity, but telling her makes it real.
Makes it serious. Not that this isn’t those things, but it’s just…
different from telling Dre’s parents. Amelia and I used to be married.
We used to have sex, albeit that happened less over the years; we have a kid for heaven’s sakes.
She knows me almost, if not just as intimately as Dre does now.
So yeah, maybe I’m nervous as hell to tell her after all the dates I’ve turned down that she’s tried to set me up on, that Dre and I are more than friends. Because I know admitting that out loud, means I’m admitting more than just the fact we’re dating. At least, to her.
And knowing Amelia, she’s going to want every blessed detail about how and when this happened, and I just… don’t want to deal with that just yet.
“What are you three doing?” I ask, walking up next to my son.
“Baking cookies!” Maddox says with a grin. “Andre said I could take some home for Mom.”
I glance at Dre, a smirk on his face; almost as if he’s waiting for me to challenge him.
“Breakfast might need to be warmed up,” he says cooly. “But coffee’s still hot.”
I nod as I head towards the counter to grab a mug, knocking into him on the way over.
I give him a smirk of my own, though for a moment, I think about kissing him.
I want to. I know I should feel weird about that, especially with the kids here, but I don’t.
Though I know we both need to be on the same page, especially with that sort of thing, so I resist the urge, but I can’t deny that makes me a little sadder than it should.
I grab my coffee first, watching out of my peripheral vision as Dre keeps both Maddox and Rylee busy with different things.
Maddox mixes the batter while Rylee rolls the dough into a ball and then presses little cookie balls down onto the pan.
The morning feels like an eternity as I heat up my breakfast, eat, and help Maddox and Rylee add the finishing touches—sprinkles—to the cookies alongside Dre.
“Maddox, go get your stuff. It’s time to go,” I tell him just as Dre finishes boxing up some cookies for him to take home. Rylee’s invested in some movie about a Frankenweenie, whatever that is, on the couch, completely oblivious to us.
Maddox groans, but does as I ask, heading for his bedroom to get his things.
“You didn’t have to do this, you know.”
Dre shrugs, crossing his arms. “I know. But I wanted to.”
He twists his lips, glancing from my eyes to my mouth, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. I move a step closer, contemplating doing it. Kissing him. It could be quick. I doubt Rylee would notice, and Maddox…
But just as I consider it, Maddox comes barreling around the bend with his backpack, and the moment is over.
Damnit.
“That everything?” I ask, clearing my throat as Andre carefully steps away to start washing the cookie-spattered dishes.
“Yup!” Maddox says as I grab the box of cookies and say our goodbyes.
When we pull up to Amelia’s, I notice she’s on the porch with her coffee, and Sean’s car’s in the driveway.
Which is something that I’ve noticed a lot more on these drop-off days.
Part of me wants to ask what their plans are, where they see their relationship going, but I also know that’s super hypocritical of me, so I don’t.
It’s not really any of my business, but it sort of is because it affects Maddox, though he doesn’t seem to mind Sean most of the time.
I pull up behind Sean’s BMW, and just as I throw the car into park, Maddox takes off, throwing the door open and not bothering to close it.
I shake my head as I get out of the car to shut it, and hear Amelia tell him to take the cookies inside and she’ll be there in a minute.
Just as I am rounding the driver’s side, she calls out my name.
“Hey, Paul, can I talk to you for a sec?”
I stop and turn to face her, her familiar brown eyes finding mine.
“Yeah, what’s up? Everything okay?”
She tucks some hair behind her ear. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you about Maddox’s birthday party next weekend…”
“What’s wrong? Did he change his mind about the pumpkin patch?”
Every year for Maddox’s birthday, since he was three, we’ve had the tradition of taking him to the local farm to get photos and pick out a birthday pumpkin.
We usually spend the day there and do all the activities as a family.
Even after the divorce, we kept up the tradition and agreed that we would as long as Maddox wanted to do it, because we both know soon enough he’ll be too old for it.
That he’ll want bigger, cooler things, and to spend his time with other kids, eventually…
“No, no, nothing like that,” she says, and I can tell by the way she’s fidgeting, she wants to say something.
“What is it, Amelia?” I ask, leaning against the car door. “Hmmm? You have that look.”
“What look?” she asks, her lips turning into a sly grin.
I narrow my gaze at her. “Out with it.”
She sighs. “Nothing, I just wanted to tell you that you should bring Dre and Rylee with you. To the pumpkin patch.” She clears her throat. “I mean, I’m bringing Sean.”
I blink as I try to process her words.
“Sean’s your boyfriend, so I assumed he’d go,” I say as she bites her lip, her eyes glistening with amusement.
“Right,” she says, looking at me like what she’s saying is obvious, but I don’t get it.
“I thought this was a family thing,” I say carefully.
Not that Dre and Rylee aren’t family, because they are…. But Amelia doesn’t know that yet.
At least, she shouldn’t.
“It is,” she says again, with a shrug. “I mean, Dre’s kind of sort of family, too, right? You two have been best friends for a long time.” There’s a lilt to her voice that makes me slightly uneasy, though I can’t understand why.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Amelia looks behind her at the porch, before looking at me once more, a bit more seriously.
“But… I think we both know that you and Dre are… closer than that these days,” she says carefully, and my blood chills.
“What?”
She smirks at me. “It’s okay, you know. You’re allowed to be with whoever you want to be with.”
My stomach flips, tying itself into a hundred knots, and my limbs are frozen. I can’t move. I can’t breathe.
I could just tell her no, she’s got the wrong idea.
Or tell her she’s crazy. Hell, I could write it all off as a misunderstanding, and make no mistake, I want to.
I want to climb into my Jeep and high-tail it away from this conversation, but I find myself doing the opposite. Because she needs to know, anyway.
My voice is small. Smaller than it should be.
“Even… if it’s a guy?” I croak out, terrified of her knowing gaze. I’ve never felt so on the spot in my life.
Amelia smiles at me genuinely.
“As long as they are good to Maddox, and you’re happy, Paul,” she says sweetly. “And I think you are… So, yeah, we’re good.”
A strange sort of relief blooms in my chest, and my shoulders ease up.
“Maddox loves spending time with both of you. And Dre’s parents, too,” she says softly. “They’re welcome to come, too.”
I meet her knowing gaze, my throat tight, my heart beating so loud I think it’s echoing off the mountains somewhere.
“Besides,” she says. “I think Maddox would like having everyone he cares about there to celebrate with him.”