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“Is that why you stayed with me? Because of how good my dick was?”
“Well, it was really good… of course that was before it became… broken.”
“I think I’m done talking about the past now.”
“Are you sure? I’m here to answer questions, Aden. Anything you need.”
“I need a drink and I’m thinking something stronger than water, babe.”
“If I get a vote, I’m not digging the babe thing. Maybe you could call me pumpkin? That’s cute.”
I grunt and walk off, leaving her calling my name behind me.
twenty-nine
hope
“Babe, where do we keep the wood glue?” Aden calls from the bedroom. Jack’s sitting in the living room watching his favorite cartoon, and me? I’m feeling like I’ve fallen through the rabbit hole.
“It’s in the kitchen sink drawer,” I answer, holding my face away from the phone.
“Did he just call you babe?” Daria asks, making me sigh.
“Yeah. I’ve tried to discourage him, but he says he’s trying it out for size. Whatever that means.”
“Uh-oh.”
“I tried to get him to call me darling, but that didn’t work.”
“Darling?”
“Yeah. Like those dreamy heroes in the movies from the 1950’s?”
“Girl, no man with balls is going to call a girl darling these days. Unless maybe he’s from the South and it’s going to sound much more like darlin’ with a twang.”
“Whatever.”
“I take it, since it’s almost Jack’s bedtime and Aden is still in your house, not in his motel room, or screaming at your door with the police, that you haven’t told him the truth yet.”
“I’ve tried,” I defend, basically lying. But, I’ve tried to tell him parts of the truth all week long and I should definitely get points for that.
“You’ve tried?”
“Yeah, I did. Earlier this week, I even told him how we slept together and included the fact that he was drunk and I was drugged.”
“Umm…honey, I’ve never been so drugged that I didn’t know if a man was…”
“I wasn’t… but damn Daria, it had been two years and he’s sexy in a jackass-but-still-hot kind of way.”
“Hey girl, I’m not judging. So, when are you going to tell him the truth?”
“Soon…”
“Hope—”
“I am Daria! I promise. It’s just… to be honest, and trust me I know how horrible this sounds, but…”
“But?”
“It’s been a really good week,” I whisper guiltily. And it has. Aden has been here for a full week. The motel looks amazing. We’ve moved into a routine where I watch Jack and he works on small things that need fixed. Then, he’ll watch Jack and I’ll clean… and sometimes Aden and I both will work outside while Jack plays in his new sandbox… a sandbox that Aden made him. Aden didn’t do it because I asked. He did it because he found sand from something the contractors did. It was the kind that was safe for kids, so Aden took it along with some of the left over treated lumber he used to fix the railing with and…
He made a sandbox for my son.
My son has never had anyone do something for him because they wanted to—except me. And Aden fixed him a sandbox…just because he wanted to surprise Jack.
“Hope, honey, you know I love you.”
“I know.”
“The longer you wait to tell him, the worse the fall out is going to be, girl. You have to tell him. Think of it like ripping a band-aid off.”
“I just…can I have this weekend?”
“What happens if someone comes looking for him? I’m not trying to be a pain, honey. I’m just…really worried about you.”
“I know. I do. I’ll tell him tomorrow. I promise.”
“Okay. If you need a place to crash a few days. Come over. I miss seeing little Jack anyway.”
“I will. Love you Dar.”
“Love you too.”
“Tell me what?” Aden asks.
I blink a couple of times from shock. I didn’t expect Aden to be standing there.
“I… did you find the glue?”
“Yeah. What do you have to tell me?”
“Tell you?”
“I heard you tell Daria that you would tell me tomorrow. What are you going to tell me?”
“I could have been talking about someone else, you know. It didn’t have to mean you.”
“Was it someone else?”
“Well no,” I sigh and the sigh only deepens when Aden smiles.
This is a new Aden. An Aden that I never knew, and it’s an Aden that I’ve been treated to for a solid week. An Aden who is thoughtful, funny and sweet and yeah he can still be a grouch and a little hateful at times, but those times are not that often and when they happen…they’re kind of sexy.
He also has a really good smile. The kind that makes the little lines along the sides of his eyes crinkle and sometimes his dark eyes get a light in them that remind me of warm, melted chocolate. Which is why I’m caught staring at him right now, unable to think of anything else.
“Hope?” he prompts.
“Yeah?”
“What were you going to tell me?”
