“I’m sure he will.” Jordy pats my hand, not sounding the least bit convinced.
“Fuck, I need another drink,” I mutter hopelessly.
Chapter 4
Everett
It’s been three days since I met Watson, and I still can’t work out if I’m grateful for the call from Val that interrupted our conversation or not. Apparently Livi had left one of her schoolbooks at my place, and she needed it for homework. I ran it over to her and then went home to replay the brief conversation I had with the adorable, sexy, charming man over and over until I fell asleep.
I wanted to ask for his number so badly, while being simultaneously terrified that he might ask for mine and what that might mean. I’m nowhere near ready to jump into bed with some guy I don’t know. Although, finally finding out what it’s like to kiss another man sounds more than a little appealing. Who am I kidding? I’ve fallen asleep three nights in a row imagining what it would’ve been like if things had gone differently on Monday night. If Val hadn’t called, how long would Watson and I have talked? Would I have worked up the courage to properly flirt with him? I’ve pictured it over and over again, the two of us talking until last call and then I would’ve found the courage to lean forward and steal a kiss, pressing our lips together briefly but with intention. Something tells me he wouldn’t have minded.
My phone vibrates in my pocket as I’m getting out of my work truck back at the office after finishing up a consult with a potential new client. I pull it out to find both a text from Val and a calendar reminder, both telling me not to forget about the parent teacher meeting at Livi’s school this afternoon.
I head inside to jot down a few notes for myself regarding the estimate I’ll need to write up first thing tomorrow so I can get out of here in time to get to the school.
“Ducking out early, slacker?” Cole teases when he sees me trying to slip back out.
“Parent teacher conference,” I explain.
“I need to get a kid, so I have an excuse to fuck off whenever I want,” Stone muses from his own office.
“Right, because insisting you were owed paternity leave when you adopted a new puppy doesn’t count as fucking off whenever you want,” Ollie calls back through his own open door.
“Puppy paternity leave is valid,” Stone argues.
Cole rolls his eyes and chuckles. “See you later man,” he says, and I give him a wave as I head out to my car.
I pull into a parking spot at the school a few minutes later, and I see Val waiting for me on the sidewalk.
“Hey,” I greet her when I get close, giving her a kiss on the cheek once I reach her.
“Hey,” she says. “When are you going to get rid of this ugly ass hat?” she teases, scrunching her nose and flicking the bill of my favorite baseball cap.
“You know better than to mock the hat,” I say solemnly, and she giggles.
After we decided to divorce, she told me her worst fear was losing me as a friend, and I have to admit, mine was the same. Luckily, it was easy enough to find our footing. Easier, if I’m being honest, than continuing to try to make our failing marriage work. Maybe that’s because we were always better friends than lovers, for obvious reasons.
We met through mutual school friends when we were fifteen. We clicked right away, becoming inseparable almost immediately. We bonded over our shared love of Saved by the Bell and MTV, spending hours listening to the Ten album by Pearl Jam together. I can still remember feeling stunned the first time she kissed me unexpectedly. I hadn’t thought of her as anything other than a friend, but I figured it made sense for us to date. After all, I loved spending time with her, and we had a lot in common, and kissing her felt fine. It probably should’ve been a sign even back then that it was just fine, but what did I know? I hadn’t ever kissed anyone else. I’ve still never kissed anyone else; maybe fine is all there is.
An image of Watson’s full lips fill my mind, and a flutter starts low in my belly. Or maybe I need to scrape together the nerve to find out what it’s really supposed to feel like.
“Ready to hear how amazing our kid is?” she asks, gesturing toward the door.
“Always.” I hold the door open for her and then follow her through. According to the email I got last week, in an effort to get us more involved in the different aspects of Livi’s education, instead of only meeting with her primary teacher, we also have to have a brief sit-down with her music teacher and gym teacher as well. And according to the schedule Val has, the music teacher is our first stop.
It takes us a couple of minutes to find the right classroom, but when we do, I open the door for Val again and, out of habit, put a hand on her lower back as I follow her in.
Watson
I check my schedule and see I have Olivia Aldridge’s parents scheduled to arrive any second. She’s a great kid, so it should be an easy meeting. I get to gush about how sweet she is and break it to them that third grade is the year we send all the kids home with a recorder and sheet music to practice playing it.
The door opens, and I put on a bright smile, my hand unconsciously moving to adjust my red bowtie. A woman steps through the door looking so much like Olivia that there’s no doubt whatsoever she’s the mother. And behind her…
Well, fuck.
Everett stops in his tracks as our eyes meet. It only takes a second for his expression to go from pleasant to surprised to panicked. I drop my gaze to where his hand rests on his wife’s back. No wonder he was so nervous at the bar. I’d be willing to bet she’s the one who called and had him rushing out of there as well, not wanting to get caught trolling for extramarital ass at a gay bar. Why do scummy guys have to be so hot?
Luckily, I have years of practice keeping a smile in place regardless of how much I might be raging inside. It’s not like I even know the guy. We had a five-minute conversation, and I proceeded to fantasize about him returning to the bar this weekend and telling me he’s been thinking about me all week. Pathetic, I know. But he’s married, so whatever.
“Mr. and Mrs. Aldridge, it’s so nice to meet you.” I wave for them to have a seat, and as soon as they do, I launch into my spiel, barely paying attention to my own words as I recite them, studiously keeping my eyes off of Everett.
Valerie asks a few questions while her husband stays quiet, looking pale through the entire meeting. She doesn’t seem to notice anything off about him, so I ignore it, trying to get through this thing as quickly as possible.
“And all the grades will have a big spring concert that I think will be fun. I’ll be taking volunteers for solos and smaller ensemble songs as well, I think the kids will really enjoy it,” I conclude.
“That sounds fun, doesn’t it, Ev?” Valerie says, and then glances over at her husband. “Ev, are you okay?” Her eyebrows scrunch with obvious concern.
He clears his throat and gives a single nod, which doesn’t seem to pacify her.
I wrap up our meeting and they both get up to leave. Just as they step outside my door, he tells her that he needs to use the bathroom and that he’ll meet her in the next room. The click of her heels echoes down the hallway and seconds later, Everett steps back through my door, closing it behind him.
“Can I help you with something?” I ask mildly.