Nikki shoots us a look I can read with little effort.
Don’t worry about him. He’s oblivious.
“About that…” Kemper sighs. “We really can’t thank you guys enough. For helping us out with this… trip.” He’s speaking primarily to Nikki.
She waves him off, but I jump in. “No, seriously. Not even just letting us borrow your boat, but watching Dog too?? How can we ever repay you? Do you like cookie bouquets? Or… ooh! You can have all of my streaming service logins!” Nikki laughs, shaking her head, but Justin looks thrilled. “I’m being for real. I have, like, all of them.”
“He’s not exaggerating,” Kemper grumbles in amusement. “Fifty streaming services, and yet he can never decide what to watch, so we end up watching the same movies over and over again.”
I sneer at him, “Don’t act like you don’t love what I bring to the table, Officer Kellan.”
He rumbles, eyebrow twitching just enough to buzz my balls without anyone knowing that we’re eye-fucking the shit out of each other.
“You two are just precious,” Nikki sighs, rocking the baby, who’s becoming a bit restless. “Babe, will you take him upstairs and get him ready for his bath? I’ll be there in a minute.”
Not a moment’s hesitation. Justin is up and taking the baby. “Good night, guys,” he says to us on his way out. “Great meeting you, Dash.”
“You too.” I smile. As soon as he’s out of earshot, I tell Nikki, “He’s perfect.”
“He really is,” she says on a breath, leaning back on the couch like she can finally be a human again. “So attentive and helpful with the baby. It’s been amazing so far… I don’t wanna jinx it.” She chuckles while we smile.
“You’ve got it all, Nik,” Kemper remarks. “Everything you wanted.”
“So do you.” She tilts her head knowingly, but supportive and happy all the same.
Kemper peeks at me. I bite my lip.
“Yea. I do.” He lifts my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles, before looking to his ex once more. “Go us.”
She laughs, “Right??”
The three of us go quiet for a moment.
“If the rest of this stuff works out even half as well as your divorce, I’ll be on cloud nine,” I murmur.
Nikki’s face goes slightly serious as she sits up, leaning in and bringing her voice down to just above a whisper. “Justin doesn’t know anything… about the real reason you’re here,” she says to Kemper. “I remember the rules.”
He nods. “Thank you. I appreciate that to no end. Especially since we’re divorced and this isn’t your problem anymore…”
“Please,” she huffs. “You’re myfriend, Kel. You mean a lot to me. I would never do anything to hurt you, or screw you over in any way.”
“Best ex-wife ever,” I hum, and she grins.
“I won’t lie, it was a tough sell,” she says. “I mean, Valentine’s Sail-cation to the Hamptons??”
I snort, covering my mouth. Kemper grins, shaking his head.
“Itiscompletely insane,” I mutter. “Especially to a New Yorker. No one in the history of New York would ever do that.”
“Well, good thing we’re from Mexico, right, babe?” Kemper shoots me a look of pointed amusement, and I chuckle.
“I’m not asking.” Nikki holds her hands up. “It’s none of my business. Just know that the boat is basically brand new. Justin’s dad gave it to us as a wedding present, and we’ve never even left the dock.” I laugh at that. “And Dog is welcome to stay as long as he wants.”
“You will regret ever agreeing to this, I assure you.” Kemper smirks.
I smack him in the arm. “Dog is just excitable. Are you sure it’s okay for him to be here, though? With the baby?”
“Yea, totally.” She’s so chill.It’s no wonder she was married to a gay man for years.“We’ve got the gate. Plus, he can hang out in the basement. And Justin loves dogs, as does his entire family, so there’ll be no shortage of people around for him to play with.”
