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“If you need to talk, you can call me.”
I remained silent. I didn’t want to damn myself, but at the same time I had so many questions. She seemed to take my silence with a grain of salt as she went on.
“He was almost eight years old before I realized he was having a hard time. I was always working. Always...working.” I could see the deep sorrow etched in her face and it seemed I saw her age right across the table. “I couldn’t handle him when he was younger. The school counselor blamed his issues on me. They threatened to take him. I was so worried about how to keep him clothed and fed and so exhausted by the time I got to him I didn’t realize ...” she looked down and then straight into my eyes. “What’s done is done. God knows I’ve paid the price for my stupidity and my baby had to, as well. Now that he’s off his meds, I worry.”
She looked at him on the couch as he laughed with his Uncle. “But I can’t do it forever. He’s done so well, and you ...” she paused with a smile, “God, I’ve never seen him like that with anyone.”
I started looking around for a mop because I was sure my heart just exploded.
“There are going to be times you are going to want to give up...but don’t.”
“I won’t and I promised him the same. I don’t see anything wrong with him. He has his quirks, but they are harmless.”
“You’re young, you’re in love,” she warned.
“Very much so,” I said just as Jayden looked our way, seeming to catch on we were talking seriously. I looked down at a recipe, feeling guilty.
“Why won’t he medicate?”
“Oh, honey, that’s a can of worms you do not want to open. Let’s just say if it was available, we’ve tried it.” She looked at me for a second before pulling out the big gun.
“Chicken Casserole.”
I sat up straight in my seat. “YES!” I went to take the card and she snatched it away. When I raised my eyebrow, she answered my question.
“I want three grandbabies,” she commanded, starting the bidding.
“One, and you can watch him whenever you so desire,” I shot back.
“Two, a boy and a girl,” she countered back, the prize well within my grasp.
“One, and if it’s a girl we name her after you,” I said, desperate for that recipe.
“My chicken casserole is worth that!” She laughed, exasperated.
“I only dated him to get the recipe!” I said, laughing with her, “and now I have it!” I let out an evil laugh as she joined me as Jayden walked in the kitchen with a dopey smile.
“What in the hell, women? Mom, banana pudding!”
“Yes, sir!” she said, getting up to grab the dish from the fridge.
I marveled at the recipe and then waved it in the air in front of Jayden as he gave me a knowing grin.
“What did you give her for that?”
“Nothing at all. She just gave it to me,” I lied.
He leaned down and whispered to me sweetly, “Liar.”
“It’s a white lie. They are harmless,” I defended.
“I would have given it to you for a lot less.”
A week later, I was standing in the doorway of Jayden’s bathroom after getting home from work and apparently catching the late day performance.
“If ju like pina colodazzz ...” Jayden sang along with Rupert Holmes in some pre-pubescent, Mexican boy voice. He kept perfect rhythm, but seemed to have a mic and no amp. “If you liking making love at midnight...in ze du
I burst out laughing as the shower curtain opened and my man stood in all his naked glory with suds flowing down his legs, never stopping his song. “Then zur de love that I’ve looked forrrr come with meeee and escape.” He then decided that his penis was the perfect guitar to pick and proceeded to use it along with his mouth as the outlet. Hysterical at this point, I began to sway my hips to his crazy shit as he motioned to me with his finger to join him. Shaking my head no, I stood in place, swaying to his manmade music until he was clean and stepping out for a bow. Wrapping a towel around him, he pulled me his way, planting a messy kiss on my lips.
“Someone is in a good mood,” I teased as I pulled away to look up at him. The smile in his eyes let me know I was in for a good night.
He lowered his stare, checking me out, letting out an appreciative whistle. “Life is good, bebe. Life is good.” I chuckled at his nonsense, taking leave of the bathroom to change out of my skirt. He joined me in the bedroom to pull on some clothes. “You know I’ve heard that song my whole life and I swear I’m just clicking together the lyrics.” He looked at me with a satisfied grin as he brushed the water off his body with his towel.
“It’s the cheating song,” I replied, wrinkling my nose.
“Yeah, but it’s the point of it. Pretty cool. You have to admit that everyone gets tired of the same person after a while and the fact that they went looking for someone else and ended up finding each other...it’s honest.”
“So you are just now getting it, huh?” I said, poking at him as he opened his drawers.
“Baby, I have the attention span of a fruit fly on a watermelon farm. I probably haven’t pieced together half the songs I know the words to. Well, beside every song The Beatles ever made.”
I sat on the bed, admiring my love. “You have thick thighs and a perfect ass.”
“Did you just say you wanted to lick my thighs?” He turned and gave me a raised brow.
“Kind of,” I cooed as he pulled up his boxers.
“That can be arranged...Hilary, nope, nope, nope, get dressed. I’m taking you out tonight.”
I paused mid-skirt disposal and gave him a questioning look.
“Oh, baby, did you think I’d forget you are officially my cougar today?”
I lay back in bed, whining, “I’m too tired, Jayden.”
“That’s a given considering your age.” Baring my teeth, he moved to pin me on the bed. “It’s not every day I get to cheat on my beautiful girlfriend with an older woman. We have to make the best of it.”
“Har, har, I’ve got your age by less than a month.”
Still hovering, he looked down at me. “Happy birthday, baby.”
“Thank you,” I rasped as he softly kissed my cheek and moved down to my throat.
“See this is much better,” I protested as he peppered kisses next to my ear and then grabbed my lobe between his teeth. “Entertainment and we don’t even have to leave the house.”
“We haven’t been out since our first date,” he whispered to me. “Get dressed in something comfortable, jeans and a t-shirt.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Once Jayden dressed, he ordered me to meet him in the living room in ten minutes. I had to admit I was excited about the idea of going out, not even having realized we hadn’t since our first date. These last months had passed by in a flash. When I should have been suffering from cabin fever, I was asking to stay in and do our usual. I didn’t realize how very domesticated we’d become. I freshened up my makeup and headed out to the living room where Jayden waited for me with Trip.
“Trip’s coming?” I asked curiously.
“Yep, it’s a family affair. He baked the cake.”
I shook my head and leaned down then grazed my fingernails behind his ears. “You bake, too, buddy?” Trip’s reply was, as always, a sloppy kiss across my lips.
“Ew,” I said, wiping off the fresh saliva with a grimace.
Once in Jayden’s truck, he pulled me so I was sitting right next to him, putting Trip in the passenger seat. When we pulled up to Kentucky Fried Chicken, I gave him a sideways glance.
“Wow,” I said, not hiding my disappointment. “Just what I wanted, a bucket of heart attack.”
Jayden ordered enough food for ten people as Trip barked at the voice coming through the speaker.