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Kia laughed. “What kind of smoothie was it today?” Her sister was on a smoothie kick at the moment and was always making the kids drink a smoothie after school rather than eating crackers or junk. Since it was just the two of them at their place, Max always got his favorite snacks at home.
“I don’t know, but it was green and yucky.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“Sounds healthy.”
Max made a fake retching sound, then giggled. When he stopped laughing, he asked, “Did Luke say that ‘cuz dad’s house is at the beach?”
So much for distracting him from the conversation. “I don’t know, baby, maybe.”
Max frowned. “But…We don’t. We don’t live at the beach.”
“I know, but because your dad does, um… sometimes people think that maybe that might be why I spend so much time with him instead of just letting you hang out with him alone.” God. “That’s what a gold digger is. It’s a person who uses someone because they have a lot of money and can buy nice stuff and pay for everything.”
Max’s nose wrinkled. “Is that why you like him?”
“Of course not, sweetheart. We hang out with your dad because he’s your dad. And I like him. He’s a good guy and…” God. It’s not like she could explain to her son the fact his dad had money was actually a deterrent to dating. That she was afraid Max would like him better because of what he could buy him and choose Jeff over her. Yes, it was petty, but that didn’t mean it didn’t stop her stupid brain from running overtime. “The way your dad is with us has nothing to do with money.”
Max shifted in his seat. He nodded thoughtfully. “OK, that’s what I thought. So what’s a slut?”
Kia opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again. “Um—” Crap, she’d really hoped he’d forget all about that part of the name calling. “First off, it’s an awful term and we shouldn’t call anyone that word. Okay?” She pinned Max with a stare in the rearview.
“Okay,” he agreed. “But what is it?”
“Um…well. It’s a mean term for someone that has sex with a lot of people.”
Max’s mouth dropped open wide. “What? You’ve had sex?” he yelled.
Kia bit back a laugh. “I have, honey. That’s why you’re…um, that’s how you were born.”
His face scrunched up in disgust. “With dad?” Max’s hazel eyes practically popped out of his face as he gaped at her.
This time Kia couldn’t stop the laugh from bursting out loud. “Afraid so, honey. You wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t.”
“Gross,” Max mumbled. “But you said it’s someone who has sex with lots of people. Who else have you had sex with?”
“That’s not really anyone’s business, Max.” This was exactly what she’d been hoping to avoid by not telling Max they were dating. Besides Jeff, she’d always kept anyone she dated away from Max. He knew she’d gone on dates, but she’d never allowed the men to get to know Max because she didn’t want that kind of confusion in his life. The last thing she’d wanted for her son was to form a relationship with a man just to have him disappear when they broke up. And with her track record, they always broke up. With Jeff, there was already so much confusion and the water was so muddy right off the bat that she hadn’t wanted to confuse things more. If they didn’t work out, it wasn’t like Jeff was going anywhere. He was Max’s dad. He was going to be in his life with or without her.
“But I’m not a slut, honey, I’m not a gold digger. So people who say that kind of thing are just being mean.” Her throat tightened. Someone should tell that to her parents. “And we don’t need to listen to that kind of talk, right?” That was easier said than done.
She pulled the car up in front of their house and turned off the ignition. She spun around in her seat, so she was facing him. “So when people say that you could maybe just walk away. You don’t need to listen to that nonsense.”
“If he says it again, I’m gonna hit him.” Max smacked his fist into his other palm.
“Max, you’re not gonna hit him.”
“I’m gonna hit him.”
“Honey, fighting is not the answer. We’ve talked about this. When you’re angry, it’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to say that you’re angry, but violence isn’t the answer.”
“Luke sucks,” Max griped.
“I’m not gonna argue with you there, babe.” Luke might suck, but his dad needed to be kicked in the balls.
“But… but you don’t like dad, cuz of money, right? It’s cuz he’s nice, right?”
“Yes, honey, I like him because he’s nice.” Was it a bad idea not to have told Max that she was dating Jeff already? She always kept all of her relationships separate from him for this exact reason, because it was confusing. It was confusing as hell when it didn’t work out. It was confusing as hell when it did. Relationships confused her. She could only imagine what it was like for her son. And now this, dealing with this from kids at school. Freaking parents running their traps out of jealousy. This was the last bloody thing she needed.
Later that evening. Kia lay on her bed, thinking about the day. How the hell had that happened?
