But he also wanted to give her a life where she didn’thaveto be those things. Where she could rely on him for everything.
Maybe the key was to start small. Force her to give up control of things that didn’t matter all that much in the long run. So she could learn to trust him with the bigger things when the time came.
From the couch beside him, his phone buzzed and his heart did a little jump at the thought of seeing her name on his screen even if it was just for her to tell him he was being ridiculous.
But it wasn’t her name in his messages, and his stomach immediately twisted into a guilty knot as he scanned the incoming message notification.
Ethan:
Just checking in, making sure Mom’s not driving you crazy.
Fuck. He still hadn’t gotten around to telling Ethan about the change in his and Sam’s relationship, mostly because he didn’t want Ethan freaking out and scaring Sam off. And because Sam deserved to be a part of that conversation. Being her Daddydidn’t mean making decisions that impacted her relationship with her family without including her in those decisions.
But Ethan was his best friend, and he hated keeping secrets—especially such a huge one—from him. He’d have to talk to Sam soon, see how she wanted to handle it.
For now, he’d have to put his own guilt aside and talk to Ethan just like he would if nothing had changed.
Dylan:
Not in the least. She’s pretty cool to hang out with, actually.
There. Not the whole truth, but no outright lies, either. And he could start laying the groundwork, letting Ethan know he actually really enjoyed Sam’s company without telling him everything that was going on.
Ethan:
Really? Sure she’s not driving you crazy? You can tell me, I won’t be mad.
You definitely would be if I told you the truth.
Dylan:
She’s not driving me crazy at all. She's not even home right now.
Ethan:
What? She got a date or something?
Dylan:
No, just drinks with her friend Emma.
Ethan:
Oh, good. Kinda weird to think of my mom dating anyone. I gotta go but I’ll check back inagain later, don’t let her boss you around too much.
Well, if he thought it was weird for his mom to be dating anyone, he was going to lose his mind when he found out who was spending the nights in her bed.
Ugh.
Ignoring the growing pit of unease in his stomach, he tapped out a final message.
Dylan:
I’ll try. Later
Crisis averted, for the time being at least. But that last text brought him right back to where he’d been before Ethan had messaged him.
Figuring out how to wrest those remnants of control from his babygirl’s iron grip.
