“I told Logan that we do four-ways all the time,” she goes on to say while she watches me clean up.
Please, please hold it together, Vic.
“Four-ways?” I ask.
“Yeah, you, me, Henry and Reed,” she says it in the tone of, like ‘duh mom get a clue.’
“At your age, group outings are a good way to have fun.” I walk over to the garbage under the counter and toss the paper towels in.
“Logan doesn’t think so.” She rolls her eyes.
“Well, then I guess he’s going to miss out, huh?” I wink.
“You winked like Reed,” she squeals.
“He must be wearing off on me.”
I haven’t dated over the past two years, so there’s been no one I’ve had to talk to Jade about. No one that would penetrate our bubble, but Reed is slowly breaking past that hard, protective exterior I wrapped around us.
“Can we talk, Bug?” I ask, tears already threatening to spill.
“We are talking, Mommy,” she says, literal as always.
“Yes, we are, but I want to talk to you about Reed.”
“I like him.” She bites one of her chicken nuggets.
“Me, too.”
“I didn’t like you going out with him just you two.” Her lips tip down and she stares at me.
“You know adults sometimes do things on their own.”
“Not you and Reed. You guys take us with you.” She sips her milk and I press the remote to turn off the small television in the kitchen to stop her wandering eyes. “Mom,” she pleads.
“We do take you and Henry with us, but things with Reed are…”
“I know, Mom.” Her hand moves toward the remote, but I slide it away out of her grasp.
“You do?”
“Yeah, you and Reed need privacy. Jamie told me that her parents need privacy and so they lock the door on Saturday night and she can’t get in until they open it on Sunday.” My eyes widen, but she carries on. “Is he going to be my second daddy?”
“No, Bug. That’s not what I’m saying. But I do like Reed and we like to spend time with you, but also just the two of us.”
“You like a two-way?” she asks.
God help me.
“I want to get to know Reed better,” I say.
“Like what his favorite game is?”
I shrug, a smile tugging on my lips. “Yeah and to see if I like spending time with him when it’s just us two.”
“Like play together. Logan likes basketball. I told him I like the monkey bars.”
“Kind of like that, yes.”
“Why don’t you just ask him questions?”
I notice she’s running out of ranch dip and needing something to do other than listening to my seven-year-old give me dating advice, I busy myself with the task.
“I do, but the best way to get to know someone is by spending time with them.”
“You keep saying spending time, Mommy, but you mean playing, right?”
I bite my lip. “Sure, if you want to call it that.”
I work really hard not to let my mind drift off with all the playing we could do.
“I’m going to go out with him tomorrow night.” I squirt more ranch dip on her plate and then return it to the fridge.
“What if he likes the same things as you?”
Maybe I’m doing this all wrong, but I’ve never done this before.
“Well, he doesn’t have to like all the same stuff I do. It can be okay to like different things.”
“So, I can have a crush on Logan even if he likes to play basketball and I like the monkey bars?” Her face is so serious it’s hard not to laugh. Part of me wishes I would have recorded our conversation so I could replay it for her when she’s older.
“Most of the time you’ll find that it’s your heart that tells you who you like.”
She glances down to where her heart is. “My heart doesn’t speak to me.”
Yep, I’m lost. No GPS, lost in the middle of nowhere making a bunch of left turns with not a soul in sight. Damn it.
“Your heart doesn’t speak, it feels, Bug.”
Again, her head falls down, staring at her heart. “I feel nothing.”
Trying to lead us back to the main road I try a different route. “You say you love me.”
She shrugs. “You’re my mom.”
“You love Grandma?”
“Yeah.”
“Daddy?”
“Yeah.”
“Henry?”
“Ew. No. I like Henry.”
“You’ve only known Henry for a few weeks, but what if you remain friends for years? Then you might love him.”
She shrugs and from the lost look in her eyes, I see this conversation is going nowhere.
“Forget all that. I wanted to let you know that I’m going to Reed’s tomorrow night and Grandma is watching you. You can pick what you want to do together on Sunday.”
I take her dish since she’s done.
“Can I watch television now?”
“Yeah, sure.”
She runs into the other room and I rinse her plate, placing it in the dishwasher. My stomach is empty, and my craving for chocolate is in high gear over the conversation with Jade and the fact that in twenty-four hours I could be naked in front of—or under—Reed Warner.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day after a long day at work, I walk through the rotating glass doors of Reed’s condo building. I realize now, that his condo is right downtown which means it’s so far out of his way to take Henry to school it’s ridiculous.
“Ms. Clarke?” a man behind the desk asks me, standing up in what I assume is a doorman uniform.
“Victoria.”
His crooked teeth emerge with a smile. “Mr. Warner informed us of your visit.” He rounds the corner and presses the up button on the elevator.
Does everyone get this treatment?
“Thank you for the warm welcome.” I’m not sure what else to say since I’m unused to this kind of thing.
He chuckles quietly like we’re in a library.
“We’ve always got an eye on what’s going on around here,” he says and motions to the ceiling behind me.
I glance around to find cameras in every corner. Seconds later the elevator arrives and the doorman steps in, scans a card, and presses the button.
“When the doors open, step out and then knock three times, click your heels together and use one hand to pat your head while the other rubs your tummy.”
He laughs at his own joke and I lean in to check out his badge. Connor.
The elevator dings as we reach Reed’s floor and the doors slide open.
“I’m only kidding,” he says. “Mr. Warner will be waiting for you. Enjoy your evening.”
I step out and the door shuts behind me. Suddenly, fear washes over me as I think of what this night could bring.
The elevator didn’t take nearly as long as I needed it to and I slowly proceed down the hall, the plush carpet absorbing the sound of my heels. Soon I’m face to face with apartment number 1801. A gold plaque is secured to the outside of the door and it reminds me more of something you’d see in an office tower rather than a residential condo.