“Yeah, you could say that. I thought after the divorce, he’d stick it out for the kids, but nope. He completely vanished.”
“What a colossal prick.”
I snort a laugh at that. It’s been a long time since I’d been able to laugh at my predicament. “That’s putting it mildly. I was pretty shocked, to be honest. I’m not sure how I didn’t see that coming.”
The kitchen soon fills up with the aroma of baked fish as we sit there awkwardly and in silence after we run out of things to say. So far, Calvin and I are fine as long as we’re talking, but in silence, not so much. Maybe it’s just me. My life is filled with noise. Perhaps I’m not used to the quiet.
I look around his kitchen, glancing at him in shorts that expose miles of tanned legs dusted with golden hair. He clearly exercises more than I do.
“I had a relationship once,” he says eventually. “A good one, or so I thought.” His eyes wander toward the kitchen window that faces into the woods behind our homes. “I’m not sure what’s worse—leaving you high and dry or cheating on you with other men. Not to diminish what you went through, but I think I would’ve preferred a divorce and him vanishing instead of knowing all the holes he shoved his cock into and then fucking me.”
“Jesus.”
That would explain why he’s single and sleeps around. He clearly has no interest in having a repeat of that. I struggle with a desire to commit myself, but if I were in his shoes? I’d run for the hills when things got serious. “I can imagine how hard it’d be to trust anyone again.”
“Yep, you got it. Once you find out, you have to get tested, then you wait for weeks with bated breath until you finally get all your results in, praying to fuck you don’t have HIV. Good thing it’s very treatable, but still, no one should have to go through that.”
“Jeez, I’m sorry. If I had a drink, we could do a cheer to curse our exes.”
He looks at me with a smile that meets his eyes. “I’ll take you up on that next time.”
We hear shuffling behind us, so we turn to find Braeden, standing in the entryway to the kitchen.
“Hey, kiddo,” Calvin says, standing and rummaging around in his fridge with the rushed chaos of a hamster. “Can I get you something to eat? Are you thirsty? Do you need something from the store? I can order something.”
“Cal,” I say gently, trying not to laugh. What a night-and-day difference from before. All I saw was a cocky jerkface. What I see now is someone who’s desperately trying, and maybe he’s deeper than I originally presumed. “The casserole should be nearly done.”
He closes the fridge and winces. “Oh… right.”
“Braeden, I brought some dinner over. It’ll be ready in a minute. Would you like to sit with us and wait?”
He says nothing as he sits on one of the stools at the kitchen island and starts scrolling through his phone. At least he’s present instead of hiding.
“Thanks,” Calvin mouths to me as he grabs a couple of plates and pulls out the tuna casserole with oven mitts.
“You’re welcome. Anyway, I’d better run and grab my kiddos. Enjoy dinner.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
He sets the casserole dish on the stovetop and guides me out. When we reach the door, he places a hand on my shoulder. Again, that weird tingling travels up my arm and straight to my spine. I mentally shrug it off. I don’t need any more tingles than what Leo provides.
“I swear to god, you’re my muse, Tiger. I’m going to adopt you as mine to help me with Braeden,” he says. “You’re stuck with me.”
I chuckle, shake my head, and pat his back. “Weirdo. You’re going to be fine. Call me if you need anything.”
Chapter 12
Calvin
I’minthatweirdtransition between sleep and wakefulness. I feel like I’m still dreaming, yet not. After rolling over, I try to find my deep sleep again. Once I’m comfortable and about to doze off, my eyes pop open, now wide awake. It took me forever to snooze last night. Dammit. Sleep has been fucking impossible lately.
I snag my phone from where it’s charging on my nightstand and check the time. 3:46 am. Ugh. I usually get up at six in the morning, but only if I’m going into work. After I called Olivia and told her about my situation, she recommended I work from home and get Braeden adjusted. Still, I’m an early riser, and I need sleep.
I suddenly sit up when I hear a sound I don’t recognize. Crying, I think.
Braeden.
Shit.
