“Then why are you naked?” Liam ranted at me.
“I mean, I’m not now,” I tried. Liam looked to the ceiling in a way that his mom did when she was upset with me. Aw. Genetics.
“She could lose her job!” Liam shrieked. “You guys aren’t supposed to be doing that stuff! Mom, come on. It was my birthday!”
Emma huffed. “And it was my birthing day!”
Liam screwed up his whole face, and once again, that’s a look I’d seen on Emma countless times. “The one with the porn stache, Mom? He’s like my age!”
“Liam,” Emma chided him, and I stroked my fingers over my mustache. He could hate all he wanted. I knew I had a masterpiece on my hands.
“What’s wrong with your car?” I asked, cutting through some of his rage. We’d made it to the front door, the three of us parading out into the morning’s chill.
“It just won’t start! I don’t fucking know.”
“I can probably figure it out,” I offered, but that only made him angrier. His voice dropped to probably the lowest it could at his age. He got chest to chest with me, and though I was taller, I didn’t pull to my full height. I’d let him have the power here.
“Just because you do whatever with her doesnotmake you my dad. We’re not going to do some father-son mechanic bonding time where you teach me valuable life lessons. I have practice in fifteen minutes and a test in my first class!”
Damn, he got his mom’s quick wit. I’d have to compliment Emma later. That wasn’t going to help in the moment. I put my hands up and grimaced. “I know. I know. Not trying to do that. I can fix your car. Or I can take you to practice. Or both.”
“I’ll just call a tow, Harlan,” Emma said from behind me.
Liam screwed up his face and leaned around me to address his mom. “Oh, he’sHarlannow? Not Royce?”
I was not about to point out that the night before, she was calling me Daddy. Voluntarily. Of her own accord. Again, not helpful right now.
“I can fix it, Em. You don’t need to call a tow.”
Emma shot me a pained look before closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to her forehead. “That’s very kind, but wegot it.” She popped her head inside the front door and grabbed a set of keys. “I’ll drive you, Liam.”
“Just leave me the keys and I’ll figure out his car.”
“I can barely look at you right now,” Liam spat at her, flinging his keys her way.
“Hey,” I warned, but Emma put up a hand to silence me after she caught the keys.
“Liam, enough. I am an adult, and I can and will decide who I spend time with. I’m sorry this is upsetting for you, but this is my business.”
“I just had to see his ass!” Liam hissed, trying to keep his voice down since we were outside and it was 6 a.m.
“Sorry, man.”
“I’m sorry you had to see Harlan’s ass. Now let’s go.”
Emma didn’t make eye contact with me as she got in her car, and Liam looked back at me with an evil eye that rivaled his mother’s before throwing his hockey bag in the backseat.
And I felt the sharp sting of rejection from them both.
Where could we go from here? Liam hated me with every fiber of his teenage being, and Emma brushed off my offers for help. Would she want to talk when she got back? Did I want to be here when she got back?
The worst part was, Liam wasn’t entirely wrong. It probably was a bad idea for us to do whatever we were doing. We’d definitely crossed the professional line. Privates were grinded. Ground? Piercings were counted. Daddy was called. Faces were ridden.
But not a single kiss was exchanged. That felt intentional.
I knew Emma could call a tow. I knew she was right to want to smooth things over with Liam, and it was fine for him to not want to see me right then.
But it hurt.
