AlexOur fishing had been a bust—again. I promised Damion I would eventually catch him an entire bucket of fish that he could feast upon. It just wasn’t going to be that day. I personally didn’t care that we hadn’t caught any fish. I had such a great time hanging out with the boys, the rest of it didn’t matter.“How about ice cream?” I suggested.“Yes!” Oliver jumped up and down.“I think ice cream would be great,” he agreed.We loaded up our gear into the back of my truck and headed to the diner to get some hot fudge sundaes. We took a booth near the back of the place, taking advantage of it being mostly empty.“I’m glad we’re back,” Oliver said as he scooped a big chunk out of the sundae.“I’m glad you’re back as well,” I told him.“We had to live in a hotel,” he pouted. “Dad promised me we would get a yard. We didn’t. We had to be in a hotel. I didn’t have my own room or my toys. The hotel room was tiny and I had to be quiet all the time. It only had one TV.”“Wow,” I said with fei
Alex“He’s such a good kid. I almost envy him. Not envy him, like jealous, but I wish I would have had you as my dad.”“I don’t know if you want to envy him. He hasn’t had a mother all these years. He’s had a dad that works too much.”“But he’s had a dad that loves him and supports him. That’s what a kid needs. I don’t think it matters if it comes from a dad, a mom, a grandparent, or even an adopted parent. It doesn’t have to be all sunshine and flowers, but just mostly sunshine.”He laughed. “That was a very good pep talk. Thank you for that. I am going to be a better father. I’m going to shower him with so much sunshine and flowers he’s going to want to escape me.”I burst into laughter. “Maybe you don’t have to go that far.”“Thanks for hanging out with us today. He really does like you. Love you. The whole time we were in New York, he talked about you. He was so pissed at me. The kid really gave me a run for my money.”“I’m glad he pressured you into coming back. I’ll have to than
DamionI pulled up to the school, parking the truck and climbing out. I was hoping the day camp program would be a great way for Oliver to hang out with his friends while possibly learning new stuff. I hated the idea of sending him off while I was at home, but this was something he wanted to do.“Okay,” I said, prepared to give him a little pep talk.“See you later, Dad!” he said, rushing up to the front door.I laughed. It was not the same kid I had dropped off at the summer program in New York. “Can I at least get a hug?”He turned around and ran back toward me. I gave him a quick hug before releasing him. It was a lot like releasing a caged animal back into the wild. He raced inside the small building and was already down the hall by the time I made it in. The drop off was so much easier and less stiff. There wasn’t a mountain of forms or security guarding the place. It didn’t feel like I was taking him to prison. He was going to be a kid and have fun with other kids. I could hear
Damion“Oliver needs to be here. This is a great place to raise a kid. He was happy here and I had no business yanking him back and forth across the country. It is official. I am here to stay, and I have no plans to leave again. I don’t care about the inheritance or any of it. I’m going to live the life of a farmer. I’m stepping into the very large shoes my grandpa left behind. I just really, really hope I don’t completely fuck it up.”He smirked. “And Alex had nothing to do with it.”I grinned, shrugging a shoulder and saying nothing.“Ah, I see you’re taking the fifth. That says everything. Not having an answer is the answer in itself.”I avoided his gaze. “How have you been?” I asked, doing a very poor job of smoothly changing the subject.“I’m good. Have some time off and trying to stay busy. If I’m not chasing women, I’m drinking. Both activities get me in trouble.”“I could see why,” I said with a laugh.“Maybe I should go on over to New York and see what trouble I can find,” he
AlexI greedily took a bite from the massive cheeseburger on my plate. Sadie was watching me with a strange look on her face. I watched as she daintily took a bite of a French fry. I grabbed my soda, sipped on it, and washed down the food in my mouth.“What?” I asked her.“You’re eating like you haven’t eaten in weeks.”I shrugged. “I haven’t. Not really.”“I take it things are going well with you and Damion?”I smiled. “They are.”“Did you guys talk, like actually talk with words, or was it all horizontal?”I wasn’t even offended. “Yes. We went fishing yesterday and hung out for a bit with Oliver. It was nice.”“Did you tell him how you felt?” she pressed.I grimaced. “Not exactly. I did, but I didn’t. He told me how he felt and then things kind of got heated.”She rolled her eyes. “Of course, they did. You turn into a sex machine when he’s around. It’s really quite gross. And I’m completely jealous.”“It’s more than sex. It’s so much more than that. We don’t always get along, and I
AlexShe grinned. “Oh my god. Do you know how long I have waited to hear those words?”I laughed, shaking my head. “Nothing too over the top. I need to maintain my dignity.”She waved a hand. “Totally overrated. Let’s go.”We hopped in my truck and headed north. It wasn’t like there was anywhere to buy a hot little number in Geraldine. I was willing to splurge. I wanted to impress him. I wanted to knock his damn socks off. Asking Sadie to help sex me up was dangerous. I would have to keep her in check without pulling her too far back. I had to trust her.“No,” I said, vehemently shaking my head. “That looks like something that a dominatrix would wear.”She winked and grinned. “I have this in red.” “If your boobs weren’t so damn big, I would just shop in your closet. Unfortunately, that kind of dress is not going to do much for me.”“It will do a lot for you, trust me,” she said, putting the black leather dress back on the rack. She grabbed a red dress that was very short and very sma
DamionI adjusted my tie while looking in the bathroom mirror. It was a strange look for me now, but Alex had texted this morning and let me know she wanted to dress up. I was more than happy with that plan. I couldn’t wait to see her in another dress. I promised myself we would make it to the restaurant. I wanted to take her out and show her a good time.“Dad, Justin is here,” Oliver shouted from the living room.“Okay, let him in. I’ll be right out.”I used my fingers to comb through my hair one last time, checking each side of my face in the mirror before heading out to meet Justin. I came into the living room just in time to hear them talk about shooting.“Excuse me?” I said, putting my hands on my hips and wondering if I had made a mistake in asking Justin to babysit.“Justin says we can shoot his gun,” Oliver said with more enthusiasm than I cared for.“My BB gun,” Justin quickly interjected.I winced. “Maybe we can do that another time,” I said.“But, Dad,” Oliver whined.“No.
DamionI laughed, her sense of humor was a little on the dry, dark side, but it was one of the many reasons I loved her. “I’m just happy I get to see your pretty face now that I’m back.”“Are you truly happy to be back or are you trying to convince yourself you’re happy?” she asked.“I’m happy,” I assured her. “This is what I want. I’m sorry it took me so long to see it.”“It wasn’t just you,” she answered. “I was having a little trouble seeing the forest through the trees. I’m still skittish and I’m probably going to freak out from time to time, but I want this.”“Good. I want this as well. I want Oliver to be happy and I’m confident he will be happy here. You make him happy.”The look on her face reminded me of someone being told they needed a root canal. “I don’t want to screw that up.”“Why would you screw it up?”She shook her head. “I don’t exactly have the best role models for parents. I don’t know how to treat a child or how to talk to them.”I smiled. “Just be you. He sees yo