“You’re never too old for a spanking, Son.”
Raising my hands in defeat, I joke, “Fair enough…Grandpa.”
Dad shakes his head at me but when I look to Mom; I realize what I said. Ohh shit, here comes the ‘when are you going to settle down and give me grandbabies’ lecture.
“When are you going to make us grandparents?” Mom asks, as she plates up brunch.
“Moooom,” I complain. “First I’d need a girlfriend and second, I’d need a girlfriend.”
“Reese is single,” Mom says, handing Dad the cutlery and plates to set the table.
“Reese Turner?” Dad questions.
Mom nods. “Yes, she and Jesse were together yesterday.”
“Mom, we were not together, together. We picked our cars up from the same place.”
“I heard you had a run-in with her and Betty.”
“Not you too,” I whine.
“Hey, I don’t name mine but I can appreciate those that do.” He looks to Mom, and I see the love he has for her etched on his face. They’ve been together for thirty-six years and I think they love each other just as much today as they did back then.
“Jesse, Son, don’t listen to your mother. You will know when you’ve met ‘the one.’ They will annoy you to no end,” he looks over to Mom, “love you Jen Jen.” He turns back to me. “But at the same time, you can’t stop thinking about them. They are your first thought when you wake, and your last thought of the evening.”
“Who knew you were such a softie?”
“I did,” Mom coos, as she finishes dishing up.
We each take a seat, and as I eat my breakfast, I think about Dad’s words and surprising me, Reese is the person who comes to mind.
After brunch, I head to Home Depot to pick up a few things and I bump into Drew and Rusty.
“Hey, guys.”
“Jesse,” Drew curtly says, looking to Rusty. “I’ll be in the bedding section.” She turns around and walks away from us.
“She’s clearly Team Reese.”
Rusty laughs, “I don’t know what her problem today is. I think it’s that time of the month.”
“Dude, I don’t want to know that about your wife.”
“Well, it means we aren’t pregnant.”
“Ohh.”
“Yeah, ohh. Bring on tonight so she can get drunk and we can forget about it for a few hours.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t realize you were trying.”
“We have been since we got married.”
“You’ve been married for a year now.”
“Yep,” he says letting the ‘p’ pop. “I want to give up trying, let it happen naturally but Drew is determined to become a mom. I think the pressure is adding to why we can’t.”
“Maybe,” I say. I have no idea about this stuff so I’m really no help. “Well, I hope tonight helps you both.”
“She will chat and drink with Reese, and I will play designated driver and be the responsible one. They’ll drink like they think they are still in college and if I’m lucky, I’ll get laid before she passes out.”
“Good luck with that.”
“You should come.”
“Tonight?”
“No, next year. Of course tonight. I could use the company.”
“Ohh, so it’s a pity invite to keep your miserable ass occupied.”
“It’s not like that…even though it seems like that.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Sitting on my sofa, I lean back and close my eyes. A vision of Reese appears before me. She’s wearing that sexy as fuck dress with the buttons down the front, her hair cascades over her shoulders. She’s smiling and it lights up her face. With a sigh, I open my eyes and realize that once again, I’ve been thinking about her. Ever since Dad’s speech this morning, she’s been at the forefront of my mind. Hell, I swore I saw her everywhere I went. Even the sky is fucking with me today; it’s a blue-gray color that reminds me of her eyes.
My phone beeps with a text. Lifting up, I pull it from my pocket.
RUSTY: You in tonight?
I read over his text several times. It’s like the universe is trying to get Reese and me together. First Mom and her words the other day. Then Dad at brunch this morning, and now an invite from Rusty. I mull it over and think, why not? A night out drinking sounds good, maybe I can get drunk with Drew and melt some of her iciness toward me.
JESSE: Sure, got nothing else locked in
RUSTY: Great. We will be at BB’s at 7
JESSE: See you then
Throwing my phone onto the sofa next to me, I wonder what tonight will bring.
9
Reese
When Drew and Rusty pick me up, I’m well passed tipsy. I woke up in a pissed-off mood. Last night I slept like shit, and it’s all Jesse Thornton’s fault; damn sexy jackass. Every time I closed my eyes, he appeared and did wicked, wicked things to me and my body. At around 3:00 a.m. I reached into my top drawer, grabbed Buzz, and went to Orgasmicville. Even after my self-induced orgasm, I was still in a foul mood. Just after sunrise, I climbed out of bed and decided to get some baking done.
Baking always makes me happy, but not today.
Everything I made was a disaster. My cake stuck to the bottom of the pan. My icing was too sweet and runny and then I burned my snickerdoodles, and that pissed me off more than anything. I kept thinking about Jesse-fucking-Thornton and his winning ones. It’s completely unreasonable to be pissed at him for that, but I don’t care, I need to blame someone so I’m choosing him.
After lunch, I decide to make rum balls. I think I drank most of the rum and I ended up with chocolate balls, but they were delicious so I finally got a baking win.
I cleaned up the kitchen and then jumped into the shower to get ready for tonight. Glad for the distraction that a night drinking with Drew and Rusty will bring. I will not think of Jesse Thornton.
Just after five, they pick me up and we head over to Bonza Burgers. I was glad we were eating because I need to soak up what I’ve already drunk. I need to be in top form so I can start on round two with my best friend and her husband.
After we each devour a double bacon cheeseburger and washed it down with a homemade ginger beer, we head over to BB’s. Drew and I grab a booth, while Rusty heads to the bar.
“I’m so full,” Drew says, leaning back, resting her hands on her stomach.
“Me too. Bonza sure know how to make a mean double bacon cheeseburger.”
“I can’t believe you eat that crap and stay so thin.”
“Says the thin one.”
“Wish I wasn’t thin,” her eyes well with tears, “I wish I was fat and pregnant, sitting here watching you and Rust drink yourselves silly.”
“Ohh, babe,” I say, reaching across the table, I squeeze her hand. “It will happen when it’s meant to.”
“What if it never happens?” she cries.
“Don’t think like that. You need to have as many positive thoughts as you can.”