Leslie looks over the listing and nods. “I can take you guys over to see that one, and I think I have a couple of others to show you.”
“Perfect.”
We decide to take Lexi’s rental car back to the house and leave it there so she can just ride with me and meet the realtor at the next place, so once we’ve made the switch and Lexi’s in my passenger seat, we end up chatting about what’s new.
I tell her about Kristen’s unexpected new job, and she’s delighted. “Aww, that’s so cute,” she coos, “Kristen’s always been such a mom type, I’m glad she’s enjoying herself.”
“Yeah. And the kid’s adorable.”
“Sounds like maybe one of your own might not be too far out of the picture, huh?” she teases.
I laugh, my face reddening a little. “It’s not off the table,” I say with a simple shrug, “But we’ll let you know when you’re going to be an auntie.”
“I am gonna be the coolest aunt,” she says with a grin.
“You’re the aunt the parents worry about sending their kid off with for fear they’ll come back with a new tattoo or piercing,” I mutter.
“Exactly, the cool aunt.”
“Well, maybe Stephen will let you put some of those little temporary tattoos on Judy in the meantime to satisfy your itch,” I tease.
She laughs. “So you spend a lot of time hanging out with her new boss or something?”
“Eh, it’s hard to even think of him as her boss, really, we’ve kind of become friends with him. We hang out most nights after both of us get home. He’s into the same games I like, same shows, movies, all that good stuff.”
“And what, Kris just watches the kid while you guys bro out?”
“Not exactly. Sometimes she’ll play with Judy, keep her occupied, but a lot of the time Judy keeps herself entertained, so the three of us can just hang out and we all kind of keep an eye on the kid.”
“Wow, sounds nice.”
“Yeah, he’s great, I think you’d like him.”
“Well, if he’s that much like you, I’m sure I will. So he’s a single dad? Do you know what happened to his daughter’s mom?”
I remember what he’d told us about Elise and nod. “Yeah, car accident, less than a year ago.”
“Ouch, poor guy.”
“Yeah. They weren’t together when she passed, but they were still close friends.”
I tell her more about him as we’re driving around all afternoon between houses. A lot more. In fact, just about any time the conversation shifts to anything else, somehow I keep bringing it back to Stephen.
Finally, as we’re on our way to the last listing we’re viewing for the day, she turns to me. “Joel, is there something else on your mind?” she asks me, point-blank.
My brow furrows in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been babbling non-stop about this guy all afternoon, it just…seems like either you’re really obsessed or you’re avoiding talking about something else. Or maybe both.”
Obsessed? With Stephen?
I laugh nervously. “I’m not avoiding anything. And I’m not obsessed with Stephen.”
“Are you sure? Because the way you talk about him, it almost sounds like you’ve got a crush on this dude.”
I hit the brakes a little too hard as I pull up to a red light, making both of us jerk against our seatbelts. “What?!”
She holds up her hands. “Relax, there’s nothing wrong with it.”