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I twist my lips together, closing my eyes as I share this with my progressive mother. She may not think this after my confession leaves my mouth.
“The men I happen to be seeing are seeing one another, too, Mom. I had no idea, not until Bridget and I met up with them at the bar last weekend. And they seemed cozy.”
“Can you define the term seeing each other when it comes to these two men?” Her question isn’t anything but curiosity.
“Yeah, Mom, they had sex.”
My mom’s jaw drops, but she replaces it with a smile, fake as hell, but I appreciate the effort.
“It just so happens that they met a couple weeks after one asked me out, and I had not answered him. The other, I met at Bridget’s house, and I was shocked to find out he was the one who scared off Jimmy. Stone is lovely, arrogant as the earth is round, and truly a good guy. I’d told him I wanted to see Gibson, and he replied that he’d like to see the person he just met. Didn’t know we’d be dating the same man. I don’t know where he sees this going but…”
My mother is tapping her fingers on my rustic oak table I bought after the divorce, because it wasn’t Jimmy’s style.
“I’m not sure how much you want to hear, Mom.”
She stops her tapping. “Well, you can’t leave me hanging like this, Care.”
“They were on a date, well, sort of. Watching a movie at Stone’s house. And we got a little carried away with texts last night. Let me just say, they gave me a play-by-play of what they did instead of watching the movie.”
She slaps her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my, now that is truly progressive. So, what do they want?”
“Um, that’s a good question. I figured between the three of us, one would be left in the cold, but if we all like one another, after last night and the invitation to dinner to discuss this on Friday, then I’m not sure. And Jimmy won’t lie down without a fight. I could lose Meadow. Unless I want to get his rights stripped, but that’s not good for her, to be without her dad, because I want two men.” I stop to let my mom process this because hell, I think I may have broken her. “And this isn’t a romance novel I love reading, it’s my life. But after Jimmy and everything…” I almost said the abuse, but my parents don’t know he’s laid his hands on me. My dad would be in jail.
“I understand your concern, I do. And I’d fight tooth and toenail if Jimmy tried to get his hands on Meadow. Here’s the thing—Jimmy will keep on coming at you. If you strip him of his rights now, it doesn’t mean when he gets his act together, he can’t be that father to Meadow he always should have been. But in Meadow’s best interest, taking away his rights is what’s best for her. You have on these blinders that Jimmy will get better and he may. But he will always want you, and he’ll use Meadow to make that happen.”
Wow, I’ve never thought of it in the way she’s described, and my mom covers my hand with hers. “Charis, you deserve happiness and removing Jimmy from your life is the first step, just not for you—but more so for Meadow. Now, the subject of the two men…”
“Yeah?”
“Are they sexy?” With my mother’s question, we both break out in a cackle of laughter that’s sure to wake the rest of the house.
* * *
With a changeof clothes in my locker for tonight, I take a quick shower in the bathrooms off the nurses’ lounge, changing into a simple T-shirt and my favorite pair of jeans for tonight’s date. My text dings, and I open it to a picture of Meadow my mom has snapped, so I can see her before bed.
Rushing out of the lounge, I turn the corner, running into someone. Taking a step back, it’s not just anyone, but Stone. He had today off, and I’d been so busy, I didn’t have a chance to text either. I have one lonely message from Gibson, telling me he’d meet me outside the main entrance of the hospital.
“I’ll admit I was hoping I’d run into you, but not in this way, but hell, love, I’ll take what I can get when it comes to you.”
He tips my chin back, and his blue eyes bare into my soul. He has this way of seeing me in a way no one else has, besides maybe Gibson.
“Did I catch you on your way to meet Teach?” he asks.
“Teach? If you mean Gibson, yes.”
He loops his arm to his hip, offering it to me. “Can I walk you out? I got called in for Mr. Bell, again.”
“Poor Mr. Bell. He just can’t catch a break, can he?”
“Yeah, he’s going back into surgery tomorrow. Wasn’t the news I was hoping for, honestly. But you’re certainly a bright spot of the day.”
The nurses crane their heads when we walk by arm in arm in conversation. “So, how was your day off? Go golfing?” I tease because it’s an inside joke.
“Hah, I actually spent the day clearing out my house, organizing, getting rid of Jett’s small clothes. Nothing too glamorous.”
I side-eye him with confusion. “It doesn’t seem like something an esteemed doctor would do.”
“Yeah, I know, but…” He stops immediately, not finishing his thoughts. “Okay, so I’d rather talk about last night. It was pretty intense. Were you okay with it all?”
