Me: So what do you propose?
Mike: I’m not going to fight you for full custody. In return, I’m requesting you lower the amount you’re asking for alimony. I’ll still pay whatever child support deemed by the state, of course, and we can split what we make off the house when we sell it.
My brows rise at that. It’s actually a fairer offer than I thought he was going to come back with. In the original papers, I wanted to keep the house and asked for enough alimony to cover the mortgage. Now that I’ve actually warmed to the idea of a fresh start in a new place, this offer almost feels… better.
Not wanting to come across too eager, I reply simply.
Me: I’ll talk to my lawyer and let you know.
Mike: Fair enough.
And that’s the end of the conversation. I look up from where I’m sitting at a table during my dinner break and see Winston making a few drinks for an order. Why is it that he’s the first person I want to run and tell about this new turn of events?
I take my last bite of my loaded nachos and grab my plate and glass, passing Winston as I make my way to the door to the back, a shy smile pulling at my lips when he looks over at me and winks. God, how is it a simple little gesture like a wink can have me thinking the most erotic thoughts about the man?
It’s the memory of him making me come so easily, I’m sure. If that’d never happened, I wouldn’t know for a fact just how skilled he could be as a lover, and I only know the half of it. It only makes me want him more, having only had the taste.
I shake my head, trying to clear those thoughts, knowing they’re just so… wrong. He’s married, with no plans to try to divorce his wife anytime soon. I need to get over this hardcore crush, but I just don’t see how, working with him every day, him always being so wonderful.
Friends. We can only be friends.
When I clock back in after my break, I walk out to the bar and stop in my tracks. Winston’s wife is standing at the other end. I can’t hear exactly what she’s saying, because someone has put some music on the jukebox, but by the bitchy look on her face, and the way Winston’s shoulders are bunched, I can tell it’s not a pleasant conversation.
I immediately wonder where their son Nick is, since it’s her week to have him. Looking around, he’s nowhere in sight, and my mother instincts begin to worry. Which is silly. I’ve never even been officially introduced to the little guy, and they’ve been coparenting him their way for all these years. Why should I worry about him? But I can’t help it. When she leaves, I’ll put my concern at ease and just ask Winston.
Unlike Mike, Corina doesn’t seem to mind one bit about causing a scene, because right after I hear her screech the words “You just fucking wait, Winston!” she gets up from the stool she was sitting on and knocks it over loudly before storming out the door.
I glance at Win, seeing he’s gripping the bar top, his eyes closed as he seems to try to keep calm. In this moment, all I want to do is go up to him, wrap my arms around him, and comfort him the way he always does me when I’m feeling down. But I know I can’t. Instead, I hurry over to the stool Corina knocked over and stand it back up, scooting it under the lip of the bar to align with the others. He looks up at me from the other side of the bar, his expression unreadable because there are so many at once. Longing in his eyes, regret, tension, worry.
I step closer to him, asking for only his ears, “You okay?”
He looks down then nods. “I will be. Eventually.”
“Where’s Nick?” I ask him, and he meets my eyes.
“At her parents’ house.”
It’s none of my business, but the words come out anyway. “What did she want this time?”
“She tried to set something up with Talon Mayson about the house he’s building, but he wouldn’t take the meeting. She wanted me to put in a good word for her, and I tried explaining the Maysons don’t want any of her drama. What you saw was a normal Corina reaction to being told no,” he says, and I grimace.
“I’m sorry.” After a beat, I wonder aloud, “What in the world would she want to know about the house Talon is working on? Everyone knows it was broken into and the interior was destroyed. Is she trying to buy it?”
He shrugs. “I have no idea. I don’t really give a shit. She has her own house, a rather nice one, so I don’t get why she’d be asking about Talon’s.”