I look down at my shorts and tank top, unable to remember the last time I did any shopping at something other than a resale shop. “That would be fun.”
“Do you have anyone to watch Finn?” she asks. “We could get our nails done, too.”
“I really don’t,” I say. “I’ve been meaning to try to find someone nearby.”
“Well, we can just take turns holding him.”
It’s just the kind of frivolous stuff I shouldn’t spend money on, but going out and having fun is part of having friends. I can splurge a little.
“Okay, so I’ll be back on Monday morning, and we’ll get to work,” she says, heading for the door. But she turns back and laughs. “Don’t take any shit from Slade this weekend. He may own the house, but we run it.”
I can hear her giggling all the way down the hallway. Quickly, I change Finn, then head into the kitchen to get his dinner together. It doesn’t involve cooking, but it does involve a huge mess. I swear I need a hazmat suit to feed this child. Usually, I don’t mind, but Slade’s here at least for the night. He may not approve of our lack of table manners in his house.
Even though I’m still struggling to sleep, I’ve gotten used to being here alone at night, so I’m not quite sure how to act when I walk into the kitchen and find Slade holding up a clean baby bottle.
“Sorry, I should’ve picked that up,” I say. “I’m sure you didn’t plan for baby stuff to take over your house.”
“It’s fine,” he says, opening a cabinet. “You can just put his stuff in here. If you need more room, just move some stuff around. This shouldn’t be like you’re living out of a suitcase.”
“It’s not. We’re comfortable here.”
“Good. And when he’s ready, we can move him into his own room.” He takes Finn out of my arms. “You’ll need room for your trucks, won’t you?”
“Maybe he’ll like books or art and not trucks,” I tease.
“Your mommy has lost it. Trucks, sports, horses, and women, and not in that order,” he says, poking Finn’s belly and making him giggle.
“Oh good Lord,” I say, opening the refrigerator. Finn immediately starts wiggling around in Slade’s arms.
“Damn, kid,” Slade says. “You like to eat, just like me.”
“Yeah, but he’s having avocado and banana,” I say, grabbing what I need.
“No,” Slade says. “You can’t feed him that. He’s a growing boy.”
“What would you have me feed him? He has no teeth.”
“Bacon?” he says, grinning. I take Finn from his arms, looking up at his smile. Slade’s very charming when he’s not being an asshole. He’s got one of those smiles that I’m sure gets him anything he wants. “At least mix some bacon grease or sugar in with that.”
“Stop it!” I laugh. “He likes it.”
“That’s because he doesn’t know any better. Give him some ice cream, and he’ll never eat that shit again.”
Rolling my eyes, I sit down with Finn in my lap. He’s so excited he’s squirming all around, making it hard for me to get the lids off the baby food. With Finn’s pediatrician’s approval, I started him on solid food as early as I could, around four months. He was ready, and it’s cheaper for me to make my own baby food.
“You need one of those baby chair things,” Slade says, taking Finn back from me.
“A high chair?”
“Yeah,” he says, sitting down with Finn in his lap. “You’re ordering one of those tonight. This is too hard to do by yourself.”
“We do alright,” I say.
“I know that,” he says, cutting through my defensiveness. “Alright, let me see if you’re telling the truth about him liking that green crap.”
“You’re sure? It can get a little messy.” He just shrugs, so I get a small spoonful of avocado. Finn is so excited, his arms and legs moving a mile a minute. Somehow, I get the first spoonful in his mouth. His chubby body does this little wiggle in delight, and Slade bursts out laughing. “Told you.”
“Told you, poor kid doesn’t know any better.”
I’m rolling my eyes hard, which might explain why the second spoonful ends up on the floor. “Finn,” I scold gently. This time, when the spoon comes close to his mouth, he grabs it, helping me shove it in.
I’ve done this enough times to know I’m not getting that spoon back, so I grab another baby spoon. This is where the real fun starts. Finn takes another bite, then sticks his spoon in his mouth, pulling out a lovely heap of mashed avocado and baby drool. I try to catch it, but it drips on Slade’s jeans. Trying not to laugh, I reach over to wipe it away. His blue eyes watch my hand gently swiping his leg. “We get just as much on the floor as we get in his mouth,” I say, looking away.
Placing the avocado on the table, I pick up the container with the banana. Finn tries to slap my hand away, but I’m on my game this time. “Banana,” I say. “You like bananas.”
“Demand bacon,” Slade whispers in Finn’s ear.
I tilt my head, giving him a coy smile. “Maybe you should show him how good it is?” I say, holding the spoon up to Slade’s mouth. Pursing his lips, he shakes his head, but little Finn looks up at him and holds up his own spoon.
Slade barely opens up his mouth wide enough for me to shove the baby spoon in. “Mmm,” I tease, nodding my head.
“Mmm.” Slade mimics me, acting as if he loves it. Finn reaches up, trying to stick his little fingers in Slade’s mouth to pry it open. Laughing, Slade grabs the spoon from me. “Okay, your turn.”
He gets the biggest scoop of bananas possible and holds it out for me. Our eyes lock again, and I slip the spoon in my mouth and swallow. His eyes watch my mouth, my neck, my tongue as I lick my lips. Suddenly, I’m very hot.
“Umm, I should clean up. It’s close to Finn’s bedtime, and I still need to bathe him and give him a bottle.”
He watches me as I wipe up the floor and the counter before whipping off Finn’s bib. I’m like one of the vampires in Twilight, moving lightning fast. When I’m done, I take Finn from his arms. “Guess I should clean up, too,” he says.
“Me, too,” I say, motioning to the stains on my shirt.
“Want me to watch him for you?”
“That’s okay. I usually wait until he goes to sleep, or we just bathe together.”
“Lucky boy,” he says playfully, but his eyes say something totally different. Unable to think of a witty comeback, I head for the door. “Paige,” he calls, causing me to turn around. “You didn’t eat.”
“I do that once Finn’s asleep.”
“Then I’ll see you in a little bit,” he says, giving me a hopeful grin.
*
Finn almost falls asleep in the bathtub. The poor little guy is so tired. If he gets up at all at night, it’s usually just once. But lately, he’s been sleeping a good ten to twelve hours a night. I get him down a little later than usual, then grab the baby monitor and head toward the kitchen. I’m starving.
Glancing down at my knee socks, shorts, and T-shirt, I wonder if I should’ve put something else on. It’s a little weird to wear my nightclothes in front of Slade. I kept my bra on, but there’s nothing normal about your boss knowing what you sleep in. Minus the socks. I don’t sleep in the socks, but the floors here can be cold.