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I roll my eyes. “Here to complain about that too? Great. Go for it.”
He half chuckles. “Nah, I actually don’t mind the kid. And he keeps Dagda on his toes.” Cody looks me up and down. “Why are you all dressed up?”
I can feel my cheeks turning red. “I, uh, had a date tonight.”
“Had?”
“Yeah. But my babysitter canceled at the last minute. So here I am, all dressed up in my kitchen, arguing with you over a soccer ball.”
Cody shrugs, but I swear I can see this…joyin his eyes. Maybe I’m reading too much into his body language. Maybe it’s because I want it to be Cody asking me on a date, not Mike.
He sighs as he looks around my house. “That sucks.”
“Charming.”
Footsteps sound on the steps and Tobias comes flying around the corner, a huge smile on his face. “Mister Cody!”
“Hey buddy!” Cody kneels down as Tobias runs into his arms. “How’s it going?”
“Better now. Can I hang out with you tonight? That weird babysitter girl isn’t comin’.”
I nervously laugh. “Cody isn’t really a babysitter, sweetie. It’s okay! I’ll stay home tonight and we’ll do something really fun!”
Cody shakes his head. “You know what? I would love to. Lemme run home and grab Dagda and we’ll hang tonight.”
“Uh.. ok. Thank you. Wow, thanks.”
He smiles and rushes out the door as I stand in my kitchen, completely lost for words. Where did that grumpy man go? Cody is like a sour patch kid; sour to me, but so sweet to Tobias.
Cody comes back through the door, giant dog in tow and an arm full of snack foods. “Let’s go, buddy!”
I quickly kiss Tobias goodbye and head to my car, driving toward the local sports bar. Mike meets me outside.
“Hey, Juniper! So glad you could make it. A little late, but I’ll let it slide.”
He winks, and it makes my skin crawl. “Well, my babysitter canceled, so I needed to find a new one.”
“Man, I’m so glad I never had kids. Let’s head inside.”
Sighing, I already know this date will not end well.Who says that to a mother?We grab two barstools and sit down, Mike already with a beer in front of him.
The bartender comes to me and smiles. “What can I get you, doll?”
Mike puts his hand tightly around my arm. “Wanna lay off the cute name? She’s my old lady.”
I pull my arm away and stand. “You know what? I’m all set. This doesn’t seem like it’s going to work.”
Walking out to my car, Mike chases after me. “Juniper! Wait! What did I do wrong?”
Turning, I shake my head at him. “My son is my entire world, Mike. And you disrespected him the moment I got out of my car.”
“Dude, it was a joke. Why do you women always get so offended?”
“Maybe because we’ve been disrespected by men our entire lives. Then you did the stupid pee a circle around your property, dick measuring contest. I am not yours. This is our first date.”
Mike’s brows furrow. “You need to chill. I thought buying your stupid dresser would at least get me something other than a drink.”
I sneer at him. “We’re done here. Have the night you deserve.”
