I shrugged. “All the more reason for Trent to stay here.”
She worried at her bottom lip some more. “Come in and have a seat. I’ll go make sure it’s cool with Jess.” She started walking toward the hall.
“I have references.” I called out after her. “And I passed the background check and took the training necessary to volunteer at Helping Hands. Man, that was brutal. Also, I can give you my license to hold until I return the kayak… err kid. I mean kid.”
Trent laughed. “I’m not a kayak.”
Lugging him to the couch, I tickled him to elicit more laughter. As I sat, he squirmed out of my arms and started showing me his toys.
While I was getting the backstory on one of his cars, Carly returned, still looking skeptical. “Jess says it’s okay, but give me your license.”
The offer had been mostly a joke, but I didn’t hesitate to pull out my wallet and hand it to her. She snapped a picture with her phone and returned it.
“Andrew, huh? Doesn’t really fit you.”
“I know. Tried to tell my mom that when I asked her to change my name to Bumblebee in grade school.”
Carly cracked up. “Bumble bee? Trent used to sing a song about that. How’d that go, kiddo?”
“I’m bringing home a baby bumble bee, won’t my mommy be so proud of me,” Trent sang, grinning at me.
“You got jokes, kid,” I ruffled his hair. “Not bumble bee. Bumblebee. Like the Transformer. I wanted to be a kid who changed into a car.” I shrugged. “Turns out I’m more of a Wasp.”
“Because you sting?” she asked.
And man, I would love to sting her. “Something like that,” I replied with a wink.
Carly rolled her eyes.
“We should get going,” Jessica said, joining us.
“Before you head out,” I opened the movie case and plucked the disk from it, “Wanna show me how to put this in?”
“That’s what she said,” Trent blurted out.
Shocked, I stared at him. There was no way he could possibly know how dead-on his comedic timing was, but a proud grin stretched across his face as he watched our stunned reactions.
Jessica’s eyes were wide as fucking saucers. She bit her lip and turned away.
Carly’s mouth dropped open. She was trying to say something but couldn’t seem to pull herself together.
That left me, and I was too damn proud of the kid to chastise him. He’d cracked a joke that left all three of us speechless. I had to admire that.
“Trent.” Carly held up a finger, still trying to compose herself. “You have gotta stop saying that. It’s not… It’s… Just please, don’t say that anymore.”
“But it’s funny,” he replied.
Carly’s cheeks were turning red. “I cannot even handle you right now. We’ll talk about this when I get home.” She took the movie from me and put it in the player, turning on the television and passing me the remote. She kissed Trent on the forehead, and then paused inches in front of mine. Her mind was so frazzled, she’d almost kissed my forehead, but had stopped herself.
“I don’t get a kiss goodbye?” I asked, too amused to let that shit slide.
The look she gave me was either pissed or horny. I couldn’t tell whether she was recalling our last kiss or stabbing me in her mind. “No, Bumblebee, I’m a little too worried about getting pollinated.” Trying not to smile, she pulled back and stood up straight.
She’d cracked another joke! I’d known Carly had a sense of humor somewhere, and I felt a rush of pride at bringing it out of her. “Ah, you got jokes, too. All right. You two get out of here and let us men do Spidermanly stuff.”
They left, and I went to the kitchen to throw the bag of popcorn in the microwave. Then my little jokester curled up next to me and snacked on popcorn as we watched the webslinger.
***
