“I am, but I want to play airplanes…” Then, just like that he switches back into playing mode.
I play with him, acting the fool as we both run around pretending to be planes. If I’m honest, I don’t really know what the game is, there seems to be some sort of complicated plot to it, but I’m just going with it…
“Food is done!” Kade yells from the kitchen, causing Logan to race in there rapidly.
I follow behind, but I’m much less sure. As I see Kade standing there holding out two plates, my heart skips about ten beats. He looks so good like that, he makes me shudder all over.
“You are eating with us too?” I ask quietly, while glancing upwards for only a second. “Aren’t you?”
His eyes widen with surprise. “Oh, well I have made plenty so I suppose I could do…”
I don’t know if he was expecting to or not, but I nod and insist that he should do. He grabs himself a plate and sits at the dining table with me and my son… our son. For the first time ever, we’re a real family and no one knows it but me. It’s the oddest sensation in the whole damn world. I can barely look at anyone because I’m all confused inside. I keep my eyes fixed on the plate below me as I eat very rapidly.
Logan and Kade don’t have the same issue. They chat away non stop. It’s only me who’s freaking out. They discuss cars, airplanes, kicking balls… all sorts of random stuff. Guy stuff, really. Not that I haven’t been able to talk to this stuff with Logan. I’ve done just fine, thank you very much, but he is enjoying the male company. My son’s eyes have lit up with excitement. He’s really loving having Kade here.
“Are you okay?” Kade asks me in the end, grabbing my focus. “You’re very quiet.”
He looks upset, like I might be regretting my decision to have him here for dinner which isn’t my issue at all. I force a giant smile onto my face and shake my head. “I’m fine, thank you. This is lovely. Thank you for taking the time to cook it. I really do appreciate it. I know that you didn’t have to do that,”
We share an intense look, one that I’m not sure what it means, but it makes me shiver violently. He does things to my body without even touching me. I wonder what it would be like to have his hands all over my body once more…
27
Kade
I like being here, I really do. Okay, so it’s a bit wild and certainly not where I expected the night would lead, but it’s good. Lucie’s child is a sweet boy, he’s a lot of fun, I can tell that he has character. I like him. I’m trying my hardest to keep a bit of distance so I don’t screw things up, but I can’t seem to help myself. I seem to have a connection with this boy that just keeps on coming. We have a bond already. I hope that bodes well for the future. If he likes me, then maybe it’ll help Lucie to warm up to me more.
Lucie… I’m not quite sure what’s going on with her. She seems to be really struggling with this whole situation. I suppose if she hasn’t let any man into her or her child’s life in all these years then this must be odd. I need to relax as much as I can and make this easy for her. It’s all up to me.
Once dinner is finished, I pile up the dishes by the sink and guide Logan out of the kitchen. “Leave the dishes,” I insist to Lucie. “I will do them afterwards but for now I want to play some football with Logan.”
“Oh!” Her face lights up. “You do? It’s a bit dark out in our back garden though…”
“I was going to take him to mine, to use the big massive garden there,” I reply with a smile. “We can just climb over the bushes so no one even knows that we’re there… not that Mom will mind.”
We both laugh, remembering how we used to do that ourselves. We probably thought that we were being sneaky, but I’m sure our parents knew what we were up to the entire time. Yes, it was a different world back then and parents didn’t have to know where thei
r kids were at every single moment, but I’m sure they did.
“Alright, we should all go,” Lucie replies with a shrug. “That’ll be fun, I haven’t played for ages.”
I watch in awe as Lucie shoves her feet into her trainers without hesitation. I suppose she was always a bit like one of the guys, someone to have fun with, maybe that’s why it took me so long to notice her. Then, once Logan is wrapped up in his coat with his own shoes on, I get ready and we hot foot it over to the bush where we can climb over. I go first, then I grab Logan from Lucie as she hands him over the fence. Then she leaps over too as if it doesn’t trouble her at all. It makes me chuckle. I remember all the people in college who thought that she was just a study hard, nerdy girl who didn’t know how to have a good time just because she didn’t get drunk all the time. None of them knew that she’s always been a tomboy as well.
Then, we go over to the biggest area of lawn that we have which is lit up well by the house and we start kicking the ball around. It’s good, I can see it tiring Logan out which I hope helps Lucie out tonight. He’s a hyper kid with lots of energy who needs something like this just before bed time. He enjoys himself anyway, and I do too. Logan makes me feel young all over again. I can see myself in him, I was like this as a child too, always running around and needing to be tired out before bed time. My poor parents…
“Oh, my goodness, Lucie, I think your competitiveness is coming out a bit now!” I yell as she tries her hardest to tackle me. “This game isn’t about me and you, don’t you forget that!”
She falls about laughing, looking absolutely adorable in her sweat pants and make up free face. I really love the natural look on Lucie, it suits her. She looks wonderful in whatever she’s wearing.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re just getting annoyed because I’ve had the ball more than you!”
She snatches the ball from me and kicks it to Logan who runs screaming across the garden. It’s only when he starts to look a little red faced and tired that Lucie makes the decision that we should all go back in.
“Right, Logey, I think it’s time for bed now, don’t you?” she asks while ruffling his hair.
“No!” he cries out in utter despair, just like I always used to do. There must be something that stops boys from ever wanting to go to bed. It’s like an unnecessary punishment for them. “I don’t want to.”
“I’ll come again, buddy,” I insist. “And we can play whenever you want. I had fun tonight.”