Three hours later, his body was collapsing into the patio chair.
“Oh, my God. I’m old. Tell me I’m old. Why do I feel so freaking old? Everything hurts on me.”
Farrah laughed next to him. “I told you it’s a lot. Now you’re going to call your mother and thank her for doing this every year, aren’t you?”
“I don’t remember it like this.”
He was going to bring flowers and chocolate to his mother on the way home tomorrow as a thank you for putting up with him and his friends.
“You wouldn’t, just like Archer won’t.”
“Will they settle down to eat?” he asked.
“Pizza is on the way. That will hold them over for about an hour, if we’re lucky. That’s adding the cupcakes to it.”
“Do you have movies planned or something?” he asked. “I don’t want to cry defeat, but I feel it coming.”
She nudged him. “There are movies and popcorn and other candy for them.”
“Sugar? You’re going to feed them sugar and have me sleeping with them upstairs. Now it’s really not fair.”
She put her head on his shoulder while the kids were playing a game of HORSE.
He loved that move. Loved it even more that she did it in front of Archer who hadn’t even seemed to notice it.
Maybe he wanted to puff his chest out some when Archer was telling everyone how good Jayce was at basketball and where he used to work.
All those things he took so much pride in and used to show off.
For the past few months he was trying to put it behind him, but it was hard when it shaped so much of him, good and bad.
Seemed like it was more bad than good and he wondered why he was still letting his ego get in the way.
“I’d say I’d give you a massage,” she said.
“I’m going to take you up on it on Monday when I come here. I mean it. And you know what—I can give you one back.”
“I expect that you will,” she said. She looked at her watch. “I think the pizza will be here any minute.”
“I’ll go watch out for it,” he said, standing up.
Farrah let him go into the house while she stayed out with the boys. The plates and napkins were already set up for them to eat outside. Less mess for Farrah to clean up, he was sure.
When the doorbell went off, he opened the door, grabbed the three pizzas and big box of wings. Jesus, that was a lot of food, but considering how much Archer ate, he shouldn’t be surprised.
Jayce walked back through the house and then out the door to the table and put the boxes down. The boys sensed food as if they were hunters on the prowl.
He was lucky enough to jump out of the way before he lost a finger in the rapid reaching of hands.
The entire time Farrah laughed at his reaction.
He knew he was doomed tonight, but once he got his wind back, he’d have a blast.
How could he not, when every smile from Farrah and every burst of laughter from Archer wrapped around him like the warmth he’d been missing his whole life?
It wasn’t something he’d even known to long for, yet now that it was here, it felt as natural as breathing.
This—them—was what had been missing. And in the quiet awe of that truth, he knew he’d cherish it for as long as he was given the chance. As long as she’d let him keep walking in that open door of hers.
