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I asked you out, so I’ll pay for the sitter. I’m sure Cleo would love to go through her books because she loves reading as well, and I take it by the way you wrote it that she has more than one Kindle?
‘Yeah, she has one that’s set up to be kid-friendly since we have a lot of nieces and nephews around that she reads to, and the other one is just hers. Not necessarily spicy books on it, but definitely more YA than pre-teen approved on it. She’ll eat pretty much anything so if Cleo has any requests for dinner, she’ll be okay with it.’
Cleo asked if they could order from the Japanese place she likes. They have sushi, hibachi, and even pho on the menu if that’s okay with her.
“You okay with sushi or hibachi for dinner tomorrow night?” I ask Jaime. The smile on her face deepens and I chuckle, wondering why I ever questioned it in the first place.
“Well, as long as it’s not from Turo’s, that place was gross,” Jaime states and I nod in agreement.
“They don’t do delivery so it shouldn’t be,” I muse before shooting the text back to Adam on it.
‘She says no Turo’s and she’s game.’
Cleo would be wholly in agreement. We tried that place and even she disliked it. I’m not a sushi fan so we normally go to Bamboo’s or order delivery from there.
‘Perfect.’
“He said Cleo’s favorite takeout is from Bamboo’s,” I tell Jaime and her grin makes me laugh fully.
‘Pretty sure from her response that alone would be payment enough.’
I’ll make sure to leave them plenty to order a smorgasbord. I can’t wait to see you, baby. I can pick you up at six-thirty if you want to give me your address.
‘It’s hard to explain so the easiest way is basically to say that I have an apartment at my parent’s place so I can come over with Jaime and we can just go from there.’
A gentleman picks a lady up for a date, but I’ll let you off this time. You can tell me the rest of it tomorrow at dinner. I need to get someone into the bath and then into bed if I hope to get any sleep tonight. She’s excited for her party and hasn’t stopped talking about the ideas since we left you earlier.
‘I’m really glad she’s excited. I am too…’
‘For tomorrow night,’ I add with a winking emoji before putting it away to finish the game.
“Oh yeah, she’s done for,” Jillian teases but I don’t care, because I think they’re right.
Saturday is the longest day to get through and I’m ready by fifty-thirty and pacing around my room. I looked up his address and it’s located not too far from Jesse and Maddie’s place. It’s in another neighborhood, but it’s just as impressive with huge houses.
It takes about twenty-minutes to get to Jesse’s, so I give myself another ten to get to his, which means we still have thirty minutes before we need to leave. I swear the clock’s stopped moving. It had to have because there’s no way it can still be this far away.
A knock on the door makes my brows bunch but I open the door, smiling seeing Mom there. I don’t know how, but she can always calm us down without making us feel dumb or bad or foolish for feeling what we are I need that right now.
“Jaime said you were likely to wear your shoes out waiting for time to leave for your date,” Mom says, and I groan into my hands that she told her. “Want to talk about it?”
“I don’t know what’s going on with me. From the second I saw him everything felt different, and when I learnt he wasn’t taken it all just kind of consumed me, you know?” I tell her as she settles me into a chair.
“I know, honey. I felt the same way when I learnt that there wasn’t a woman in Daddy and Julie’s life. I knew they were meant to be mine and it filled every bit of me with joy and longing to have it already. I know you hate waiting for what you want, and it seems like this man is the same if you’ve just met him and he’s already agreed to your sister sitting for him without ever meeting her.”
I can’t help but laugh a bit, realizing the bits of similarity in how I felt meeting Adam and how Mom felt meeting Dad and Julie.
“Didn’t see it until now, did you?” Mom teases and I shake my head. “It’s how I know what you’re feeling. This need to get back to him, be with him…and his niece if I’m not mistaken.”
“She’s so sweet and been through so much already. Something happened at her old school to bring her to Rickman, and you know how kids are with new people, especially when they’re that age,” I add and Mom nods. “They have their friends picked out and think they’ll never change, so someone new and I’m thinking shy because of whatever happened before, isn’t going to just barge in and demand to be friends. Being with her for just a little bit of time, I don’t think she’s usually shy, but something happened to make her hesitant now.”
“That makes sense and who knows, maybe she just needs you to pull her out of that shell and things will be better. Now, I’m guessing based on the fact that she’ll know if you do, you won’t be staying over tonight?” Mom asks, her smile making me blush which is crazy because she’s always been open and honest with us about sex and that it’s always our choice of who and when, no matter what a boy might say.
“No, not that I wouldn’t but…”
“Maybe not on the first date with a nine-year-old around, not to mention your daddy,” she adds, and I laugh because for sure, Dad would want to throttle Adam if I stayed over tonight.
Mom’s visit leaves me calmer, and I head down to the car, smiling when I see Jaime already in the passenger seat. She hates driving and prefers to live life as a passenger princess. Right now even with her in college here in our hometown, she has to drive more than last year because Jillian loves to drive and would gladly take them wherever they wanted to go.
