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Mac and cheese nights were something we started back in high school. It was an evening where we pigged out on every junk food and indulged in any and every type of candy we could find. Nothing was off the table.
No judgment.
We hung out, stuffed our faces, and by the end, binged an entire season’s worth of shows or watched half a dozen movies.
I groan, “I would kill for one of those.”
Life was so much simpler back then, carefree. I had the downtime to actually enjoy small pleasures like watching a movie, start to finish, without being interrupted—
“—I can do it!”
“What?” I question, not understanding Finn.
“I said,” he grates, drawing out the syllables like I’m stupid. “I’ll do it. I’ll watch Aiden.”
Rory and I shoot each other matching skeptical looks.
“Come on,” Finn whines, noticing. “Give me a chance.”
“I dunno—”
Finn’s scoff cuts me off. “I think I can handle a toddler.”
“Atoddler,” I enunciate, purposefully copying his use of drawn-out speech. “Is a lot of work.”
“I said I can handle it,” he states, ignoring the obvious dig and bolstering more confidence than before.
“You sure?” This is Rory interrogating him now.
“Positive.”
“Finn, have you ever watched someone Aiden’s age before?”
“He’s my son too!” he fumes, upset.
Hesitant would be the understatement of the century and when I look to Rory for guidance, she only shrugs.
Finn’s not wrong. He is Aiden’s father, and I should be grateful he’s so eager and willing to know his son.
Besides, when was the last time I had an entire evening for only myself? Where I could hang out? Chill?
Too long, my mind synthesizes.
I watch Finn searching for any doubts, hesitation, or reservations. I get none. He only has eyes for the child cradled at my side. The mockery he only reserves for me gone. His eyes sparkle with glee, musing over Aiden.
My stomach sucks into my core at the sight.
This is the only reason I find myself nodding when everything inside me screams it’s a terrible idea. This is as much new territory for me as it is for him.
“Really?” he asks, and I swear there was a hint of a squeal somewhere in the single-word sentence.
My nerves fire back to life at the endearment that’s not meant for me. I swallow down the disappointment, reminding myself of his known feelings toward me.
Finn grabs for Aiden, getting closer to me now than he has in days. Unapologetically, he takes him from me.
A pang of jealousy sprouts at Aiden’s willingness to abandon me and go to his father.
“I mean, honestly, how hard can it be?” Finn wonders aloud, tickling a toothy, smiling Aiden.
