I drove without saying a word because all the words I wanted to say were too rude to say in front of my five-year-old. Instead, I stayed silent, and when we got to the mall, we all filed out of the car. Twitch took A.J.’s hand like it was the most natural thing in the world, and he walked by my side. The moment we stepped through the doors, Twitch put his arm around me.
When I frowned at him, attempting to shrug him off, he tugged me deeper into his side, held me tightly, and spoke directly into my ear, his breath warming my skin. “Fight me. I dare you, baby.”
That sounded like a threat.
A delicious threat.
I tried to ignore the way it felt to have his arm around me. It had been so long that I thought I’d imagined the way it made me feel. Unfortunately, I hadn’t.
He smelled good.
Ugh.
Why did he have to smell so good?
Asshole.
Breathing in deeply, I held his scent in my lungs for as long as I could before speaking through my exhale. “Okay, first stop, the barber.” I peered around Twitch and spoke to A.J. “You want to get a haircut too, honey?”
A.J. looked from me to his father, and Twitch gazed down at him, smiling. “Up to you, little dude.”
“Yes, please.” I would never get over how sweet his little voice was.
We walked into the first barber we saw, and while I was helping seat A.J., I heard one of the barbers ask Twitch what he wanted. I almost laughed when he responded, “I don’t fuckin’ know, man. Something neat, I guess. What’s trending?”
Before I thought about what I was doing, I told the barber, “Give him a mid fade, clean up the sides, and leave the top a little longer.” I tilted my head in thought. “Don’t shave him clean. Just a trim and tidy. He’s going to need some products to take home too.”
When the barber looked down at Twitch in confirmation, his eyes crinkled in the corners and he held up his hands. “She’s the boss. Happy wife, happy life.”
My stomach clenched and my heart warmed.
Stop it, heart.
I did not like how it felt to have Twitch call me his wife.
My body was a freaking traitor.
Another barber came to introduce himself to A.J., shaking his hand. “So, you want what your dad’s having?”
Of course they knew Twitch was his father. Our son was an exact replica of the man seated beside him. Twitch looked pleased at being referred to as A.J.’s dad. He wore his pride openly.
A.J. nodded happily and my heart panged. Anything to be like his dad. The barber gently grabbed A.J.’s chin. “Oh, yeah, look at all that fuzz.” He eyed my son. “When’s the last time you shaved, boy?”
A.J. giggled hysterically. “Never.”
“Never,” repeated the barber, solemnly. “Well, there’s your problem. That’s why you’re such a mess.” The barber spun A.J.’s chair around a couple times, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him as he held onto the sides for dear life. “Hey, Momma,” the barber uttered. “How about we give him a nice clean shave?”
My brow furrowed, but I continued to smile. “Huh?”
The barber leaned in and spoke quietly. “It’s just a little fun. We don’t actually put a blade in the razor.”
Oh. That was so cute. A.J. would love that.
I looked down at my son, my eyes full of mirth. “Yeah, why not? He is starting to look untidy.”
A.J.’s eyes widened in delight, and I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing out loud. When I saw Twitch watching me closely, my brows rose in silent question.
His eyes continued to roam me, and when he finally settled back on my face, he blew me a kiss and I scoffed. He was laying it on so thick I couldn’t even stand to walk through the sludge.
I would never admit it, but I liked this playful side of him. It was a side I rarely saw an age ago, but then again, we were both different people back then. Lord knows I was not the same person I was five years ago. Hell, I wasn’t the same person I was yesterday.
After both of my men looked fresh and—
Whoa. What?
My heart jolted.
Where did that come from?
My chest ached at how easy it was to refer to Twitch as mine.
It hurt on so many levels because a man like Twitch was so wild he would never be caged. Not by me, not by anyone.
As we walked out of the barber shop, Twitch took A.J.’s hand and moved to reach for me, but I pulled away, needing the space. I felt his eyes on me as I wrapped my arms around myself and walked to the side on my own. Reading me well enough, he gave me the distance I craved.
We walked on in silence until the little voice called to me, “Mummy.” A.J. held his legs together tightly and made a face of discomfort. “I need to go.”
When I stepped toward him, Twitch stopped me with, “I’ll take him.”
Before I could say a word, Twitch walked our son to the mall’s restroom. It wasn’t long before they both walked out of the bathroom, and while Twitch looked somewhat red in the face, A.J. peered up at his father wearing an expression of pure distress. “But is it okay?”
My brow lowered.
What was going on?
Twitch put a gentle hand over A.J.’s mouth and spoke quietly. “It’s fine, kid. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”
Okay. What the hell was happening here?
“Mummy, can I go on the ride?” pleaded A.J., and I fished out a coin, watching him rush over to the kiddie ride in the center of the mall. The moment he was out of hearing range, I asked quietly, “What happened?”
Twitch looked mortified. “I think we might have a situation here.”
He looked so distressed that my panic grew, and when he started to explain, I listened intently. “So he uses the urinal, right, and I need to piss too.” He lowered his voice. “So I whip it out and start to go and...” He closed his eyes, and whispered, “He looks over and sees it, right?”
My son had a penis. He knew what a penis was. What was the issue here?
“Okay,” I drawled.
But Twitch looks at me meaningfully. “He sees it, Lex.” When I didn’t catch on, he spoke slowly. “The piercing, baby.”
Recognition dawned on my face. “You still have that?”
He ignored my question. “I mean, he looks at it, then looks at me, and he asks what happened.”
“What did you tell him?”
“The first thing that came to mind.” His brow lowered. “I told him it was an accident.”
I
narrowed my eyes at him. “You told him it was an accident?” My mouth parted slightly. “Why would you say that?”
“I panicked,” he hissed. “Give me a fuckin’ break.” He scowled. “What’s he doin’ looking at other men’s junk anyway? You gotta talk to him about keepin’ his eyes to himself.”
Excuse me?
“He’s your son too, and he’s never been into the men’s room before. He usually comes into the ladies’ with me. I’m guessing he was just curious. He doesn’t know men’s room etiquette, and you want to be a daddy, Twitch, so you talk to him about it.” I folded my arms across my chest and stared at him. “That’s what being a parent is, Tony. It’s answering questions. Uncomfortable questions.” At his sheer discomposure, a bubble of amusement shot up my throat and I laughed. “I can’t believe you told him it was an accident.” My laughter grew. “What were you thinking? He’s probably wondering how he’s going to spend his life avoiding such an accident.” I could barely hold myself up as I continued to chuckle. “Oh my God. He’s going to have some questions for you, Daddy. I hope you’re ready to answer them.”
He watched me laugh a long while before his lip twitched. The word was spoken low and there wasn’t a hint of malice in it. “Bitch.”
The hilarity started all over again, and when A.J. returned from his ride, I finally managed to calm myself down enough to take him into a clothing store. After the men’s room incident, things seemed lighter, and I even sent Twitch a few small smiles of silent support. He was going to need it for the talk that was to come.
After I picked out some new clothes for A.J., we roamed the store and I looked for a new blouse for myself. However, every one I picked up got an unimpressed sound made by the grown-ass man trailing behind me.
“What?” I asked, holding up the simple white blouse. “It’s nice.”
“Yeah,” Twitch uttered. “It’s nice. If you’re a spinster living alone with your forty cats.”
“I happen to like cats,” I muttered, putting the sensible blouse back.