Life after baseball isn't what I expected.
I turn on the TV but mute it when three voices filter down the stairs singing along to "I'm Just a Kid". The girls are way off-key, but surprisingly, Cooper can carry a tune. Jade should put him in music lessons. I bet it would help with school, and he's probably a fucking prodigy.
Twenty minutes later, I'm absolutelynotsucked into another season of American Love Abroad when he wanders down and plops onto the couch.
"Can I ask you something?" he asks, his brows furrowed.
"What's up, punk?"
I've been trying not to call him punk when Jade's around. But Coop said he liked it, and it's hard to break the habit.
"What's a one-night stand?"
I choke on air.
Fucking air.
"What's the context?" I finally ask him. Figure it's better to find out what he thinks he knows and build off that before Jade murders me for telling him the truth.
"Addie told Mom they should have one-night stands tonight, that it's been too long."
"It's a drink," I blurt. Too quickly?
He stares at me while I count the seconds.
"Can we order pizza soon?" he asks.
My heart resumes its normal rhythm.
Until a sweet yet tangy scent with impossibly long legs covered in black tights drifts down the stairs. On her feet? Her heeled shit-kickers. The tights lead up to a short black skirt. And the icing on the cake. The worn Metallica shirt tucked into her waistband.
"Did you hear me?" she asks. She hovers over me, like the storm cloud she is, hands on her hips. When I finally drag my eyes up to her face, she's annoyed.
"We know it's a school night, Mom," Cooper says.
Nice save, kid.
"Yeah, pizza, beer, and eleven p.m. bedtime," I say, holding out my fist to him. He bumps it.
Jade rolls her eyes and points to him. "You're in charge."
"You look really pretty, Mom," Cooper says.
"She looks hot as fuck," Addie says, walking past Jade in a much too short dress.
Jade toys with the ring in her lip.
"Come on." Addie leans on the wall at the entryway to the living room and taps her foot. "Ride is here."
"I'm right behind you," Jade replies. "Coop, why don't you grab the pizza menu for Mateo?"
She waits until they're both out of earshot before turning her attention back to me.
"Thank you," she says.
"For what?"
"My signing bonus was deposited this morning."
