“Sure,” I said. “Pick a date. I’ll be there.”
“Do you have material?” Sasha asked.
“Don’t fucking worry about me,” I said.
“I love when you talk like that to me, Josh.”
“I’m sure you do,” I said. “Looks empty in here when I’m not around.”
“There’s work. I’d survive without you.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” I said with a grin.
“Let’s just all stay in touch then, “Aaron said. “See if we can make something work. It would be good for the building. This area. The town. Everything.”
I reached and pulled my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose. “You done?”
“I’m done,” he said.
“If you two don’t mind,” Sasha said as she started to walk between us. “I have to get this set up.”
Her dress was blood red and looked glittery.
I pushed the sunglasses back up my face and nodded to Aaron.
“It’s always a pleasure, Sasha,” he said. “Call me if you need anything else.”
“You two stay out of trouble,” she said.
“This guy doesn’t know trouble,” I said. “Except one time, he sent a letter without a return address on the envelope.”
“Rebel,” Sasha said without any emotion.
I laughed.
Again, Aaron didn’t.
I waited for the comments to start when we got outside.
“You’re a dick, man,” Aaron said.
I looked at my wrist as though I wore a watch. “That only took you three seconds.”
“I’m important around here. And you talk like I’m some fool.”
“You done yet?” I asked.
“Yeah, I am,” he said.
“That envelope thing was true.”
“Shut up, Josh. I only panicked over that because it was tax stuff. If it got-”
“Calm down, man,” I said as I laughed. “We all know you’re a bad ass. Hey. Anyone who would attempt to get Rae gets a star in my book. And the fact that she sleeps with you? I give you credit.”
“Thanks,” Aaron said. “Speaking of that…”
“You want me to sleep with her?” I asked.
“What? No. Fuck you, man.”
I snorted. “I’m messing with you. I’m not going near Rae. She’d cut my throat and laugh the entire time.”
“Yeah, she would. But what I was going to say is you should come over to the house later.”
“So Rae could kill me?”
“We’ll see how the rest of the day goes.”
“What do you want me over there for?”
“I want to show you the plans for next door.”
“Plans?”
“Just hear it out, Josh,” Aaron said.
“Why don’t you have the stuff with you right now?” I asked.
“Because I know better. If I get you to the house with a beer and have Toby hand you the papers, it’ll be harder to get mad at me.”
I gently slapped Aaron’s face. “I hate you.”
“I know.”
“I’ll be over later.”
I walked away and had nothing but time to kill.
I ditched the crappy coffee and traded it for my phone.
morning love. how’s the pussy situation?
I smirked as I sent the text.
It took Amelia an hour to text back.
I hate you.
That was all I needed from her.
Which was a lie.
I needed more.
Maybe more than she could possibly give me.
Aaron whispered into Toby’s ear.
Toby sat in his booster seat at the table with a bowl of animal shaped crackers and a cup of apple juice.
It was a hard-fought negotiation as he giggled because Aaron’s breath tickled his ear and neck.
“Go ahead,” Aaron said. “Say it to Uncle Josh.”
“Great opprutunty.”
I started to laugh.
“You heard the kid,” Aaron said.
“You’re using your son to get to your best friend,” I said. “That’s cold. Even for a guy like me, that’s cold.”
“Business,” he said. “I play hard.”
I stared at Toby. “Tell you what, kid. Give me one of those crackers and let me think about it.”
“Half a cracker,” Aaron said.
“You’re going to break a cracker in half?” I asked.
“No,” Aaron said. “Toby, take a bite of a cracker and give Uncle Josh the rest.”
I slapped the table and rubbed my jaw. “Toby, who’s your favorite uncle?”
“You,” he said with a smile.
“I should get the entire cracker then, right?”
“Yes,” Toby said.
“No,” Aaron said. “We can’t let him win, Toby.”
“Are you using my son in a business deal?” Rae asked as she crashed our little business meeting.
“Oh, did it get cold in here,” I said.
Rae’s head snapped and she looked at me. She touched the side of her face and threw me the middle finger.
“Can you believe this guy?” I asked her. “Using his son this way.”
“You’re no help either,” Rae said. “Come here, Toby.”
She picked Toby up.
I stood up and put my arms out. “Want to come hang with Uncle Josh?”
“Yeah!” Toby yelled.
“Hey, I have an idea,” I said. “Why don’t you two go grab dinner?”
“What?” Rae asked.
“I’m serious. You two. Go out on a date. Grab a bite. I’ll hang here with Toby.”
Rae looked at Aaron with worried eyes.
I’d be a liar if I didn’t confess that it broke my heart that Rae wasn’t sure about me. Not that I gave her a reason not to be like that.
I reached for my glass on the table. “It’s soda. With nothing but melted ice in it. I’m not a fool.”
“I beg to differ,” Rae said.
“Not with Toby,” I said. “You know that. You have to know that.”
“Right down the street,” Aaron said. “Cassidy’s place.”
“Pizza?” Rae asked.
“Come on,” I said. I reached into my back pocket and threw some cash on the table. “My treat. Get out of here. For an hour.”
“I hate that you do this to me, Josh,” Rae said.
“You’re not the first woman to say that to me,” I said. “Maybe the first time I’ve heard it from a woman who is fully clothed though…”
“I hate him,” Rae said to Aaron.
She put Toby down to the floor and she walked out of the room.
“You really don’t have a filter, do you?” Aaron asked.
“Hey, think of it this way,” I said. “I get her mad enough that she takes that out on you later. Maybe she’ll break you and the bed.”
“That’s enough,” Aaron said, and he looked at Toby.
Oh yeah.
I crouched and opened my arms. “Hear that, little buddy? It’s just you and me for a little bit. You okay with that?”