I watched while she pulled the seat belt across Aiden’s lap, holding his head in place. “Once he’s out, he would sleep through the apocalypse,” Becky commented, laughing lightly as she gently pressed the doorclosed.
“That’s a bonus,” I joked, waggling myeyebrows.
She smiled faintly, looking around. People were climbing into their cars, getting ready to leave the fairgrounds. She had parked far enough away from any lamp posts, and the dark provided a shelter from pryingeyes.
I took a step closer, leaving less than three inches between the two of us. I brought my hand up to tuck a strand of her thick hair behind her ear. I traced the shell of her ear, and she drew in a shuddering breath. “Let me take you out sometime.”
“Travis…” shestarted.
“I don’t want our arrangement to end, Becs,” I told her. I had so much more to say, but I feared that unloading all of my feelings on to her in that particular moment would just scare her. I worried that she wasn’t ready for those confessions, that she wasn’t ready to hear that I wanted her in every, real sense of theword.
“What’s the point, Travis?” Becky demanded, biting down on her lip and stepping away from my hand. “The bachelorette party is next weekend, and I work every day this week. Between Aiden’s soccer practices and work, there’s no way I’d even be able to get away any timesoon.”
“Let’s just do what we’ve always done, make time for each other when we can. If we’re too busy before the wedding, then we’re too busy and we’ll hook up after. Directly after,” I answered, my lips curving up in an enticing smile. I knew when she was close to bending, and Becky was definitely close tobending.
“Okay,” she inhaled. She walked around the length of her car, pausing after opening the door. She hesitated before climbing in, her eyes darting over to me once more before she climbed in her car and droveaway.
Becky
Six daysafter the community bonfire, I was dropping Aiden off at my brother’s so I could go to Toronto for Tessa’s bacheloretteparty.
“Please call if you need me. I’ll come straighthome.”
“We’ve got it handled,” Brock assured me, practically shoving me out of his cabin. I waved at Aiden through the screen door, my heart tightening painfully in my chest with anxiety’sgrip.
“Come on, Becs, you’ve already subjected the poor kid to enough of your goodbye kisses,” Braden pointed out from the other side of the screen door with a smirk. “We’ll befine!”
“I know,” I sighed, shooting him a dirty look. I didn’t expect either of them to understand. Sure, I’d had nights out since having Aiden, but I’d never gone far, and Toronto wasfar.Or at least…farther than I was used togoing.
“It will be fine,” Brock said again, nodding to my car where Katie was patiently waiting forme.
“I’m so ready for this weekend,” Katie sighed when I opened the door and climbed behind the wheel a moment later. “I haven’t had a weekend with the girls since…well, before Alyssa was born,” she laughed, brushing back a strand of dark cooper coloured hair from herface.
“Yeah,” I said absently, pulling away from the cabin. My eyes watched it in the rearview mirror, and I drew in a stabilizingbreath.
“Everything okay?” she asked softly, drawing my attention away from the rearviewmirror.
A soft sigh escaped my lips, and I turned my head to give my friend a small smile. “I guess I still get a little nervous about leavingAiden.”
Katie sent me a sympathetic look that told me she understood, and I knew she did. “Tell me about it. I’ve left Alyssa at my parents’ and with my sisters’ a few times for a day or so, and that wasn’t easy. But it’s definitely not easy staying at home every day,either!”
“I would have loved staying home with Aiden,” I commented wistfully. I took a year and a half off of work after he was born, just to recover and settle in, but I studied the whole time. I took some online courses to improve my grades in biology and chemistry so that I could apply to college for the nursingprogram.
My family helped me get back on my feet, but I had to miss a lot of Aiden’s firsts due to school or work. My top priority was ensuring that I could provide for my son, that he had a roof over his head, food in his belly, and clothes on hisback.
That he didn’t have the same childhood I had growingup.
“Maybe you’ll get to stay home the next time around,” Katie said, giving me a hopefulsmile.
“Ha,” I laughed dryly, looking at her over the top of mysunglasses.
“I’m serious,” she frowned, shifting so that she was looking directly at me. “I know things with FWB didn’t work out, but you should meet my cousin. I’m telling you I think you guys would hit it off.” As far as Katie knew, I hadn’t seen FWB since I’d called thingsoff.
“No, thank you,” I responded, shaking my head animatedly. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but I have no interest in blind dates. Besides…I’m already thinking about datingsomeone.”
I hadn’t meant to say the last bit out loud, but the secret had been festering and bubbling. The last several times we’d talked, he’d said things and done things that confused my already conflictedheart.
Katie was one of my best friends, and I knew she wouldn’t betray my trust by telling anybody—lest of all my brothers. Now that Travis had animatedly expressed his interest in havingmorethan just the arrangement with me, I needed her to be my soundingboard.
