Nate nodded, his gorgeous blue eyes locked onto Josh. They seemed to be having some kind of unspoken conversation. Part of me wanted to know what was going on, but another part of me wanted to stay the heck out of it. I had enough to worry about without two testosterone fuelled males being thrown into the mix!
“Yeah. Hi, Josh, how are you?” Nate asked, his voice tight and controlled.
I smiled because he was making such an effort; I knew it was only for mine and DJ’s benefit. It was probably incredibly hard for him to have his girlfriend’s ex thrust in his face all the time – I wasn’t sure how well I would cope being confronted with one of his ex’s all the time.
Josh made a sort of snorting sound, so I turned to him, seeing that he was sneering at Nate distastefully. “I’m great,” Josh muttered, not bothering to return the pleasantries. He turned to look at DJ, who was still in his arms, thankfully blissfully unaware of the tension that seemed to be hanging in the air around us. “You ready to go, Buddy?”
DJ looked at me, as if asking if he was ready to go. I nodded. “Go to the bathroom before you go, Baby, so you don’t have to get Daddy to stop. Then get your bag off your bed, okay?” I forced a smile. I hated to see him leave and missed him like crazy, but I didn’t want him to know that otherwise he would probably get upset thinking that I was upset.
Josh put him down, giving him a little push towards his bedroom. “Do as Momma says then.”
As soon as DJ was out of earshot, I turned to Josh. “Did you bring that money for the ticket?” I asked quietly.
He frowned and shook his head. “Bunny, I can’t. Things are tight at the moment; I haven’t got it.”
My heart sank.
“But you promised you’d pay for it. I already told him he could go. You promised you’d sort this out.” I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to cry.
“Rosie, I haven’t got it, my car broke down in the week and I had to pay out to get it fixed. If I had the money, I’d give it to you. How much was it anyway?” he asked, looking at me apologetically.
“Fifty bucks. Josh, please, I already told Maria he could go, I think she’s getting the tickets on Monday. Please, please can you get it? He’s so excited, don’t do this to him, please,” I begged helplessly. There was no way I could pay for it; I could barely afford to live as it was. Josh had promised he would pay for DJ’s ticket to go and see Disney on Ice with a friend of mine and her children.
“What happened to the hundred I gave you like two weeks ago?” he asked, frowning.
“I spent it already,” I answered.
He frowned. “On what?”
“He needed new shoes and a jacket.”
“You spent a hundred bucks on new shoes and a jacket?” he snapped, looking at me like I was stupid.
I frowned angrily. “No, I spent twenty-three bucks on shoes and a jacket that were on sale, and the rest of it went towards childcare, which, by the way, barely even covered me for a week. So don’t you dare start with all that wasting money shit. Do you have any idea how much having a child costs?” I asked angrily, whilst still trying to keep my voice down in case DJ heard.
“Costs a fucking bomb that’s how much it costs. That’s why I never have any money,” he answered, frowning angrily at me.
I looked at him in shock. “You think you have it hard? You pay me a hundred and fifty bucks a month, Josh, that doesn’t even cover his food for goodness’ sake!” He had no idea how hard it was being single parent, working as hard as you can but still knowing that your wages weren’t enough to cover the bills each month. I hated to rely on people for anything, especially Josh, but I didn’t have a choice. If he didn’t pay my child support then DJ and I wouldn’t be able to get through the month – that was why I put up with his worthless ass.
He sighed and shook his head. “Let’s not get into this argument in front of your boy toy.” He jutted his chin in Nate’s direction, sneering lightly. I glanced over at Nate apologetically, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Josh angrily, his whole body tense.
Wow, if looks could kill…
I turned my attention back to Josh. “Fine, but can you get me the money for the ticket? Ask your mom for a loan or something?” I pleaded.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to, Bunny.” He didn’t even look that bothered about it, and I felt my anger rise in my throat.
“You fucking asshole! You promised me you’d pay for it. The only reason I agreed that he could go was because you told me it wasn’t a problem. He already knows about it now, Josh! Why did you let me tell him and build his hopes up if you knew you wouldn’t be able to come through on it? Do you know how much he’s looking forward to it?” I cried angrily. My hand clenched. I wanted to punch him in his sorry face.
“I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to afford it when I agreed. He’ll get over it; it’s not the end of the world, it’s just a show.” He rolled his eyes.
“Not to him it’s not! You’re a waste of space father sometimes, Josh, you really are,” I hissed, swiping at the tear that fell down my face.
“Oh get a grip, Rosie. The boy will live without seeing Disney on fucking Ice.” He threw his hands up in exasperation.
DJ skipped back into the room, smiling, with his bag on his back. I wiped my face quickly before picking him up and putting on a fake smile so he wouldn’t know anything was wrong.
“Momma, why are you crying?” he asked, looking at me worriedly.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “I’m being silly. I’m just gonna miss you, that’s all,” I lied smoothly.
He hugged me tightly. “I won’t go then, if you’re sad.”
I smiled at how sweet he was, and rubbed his back. “I’m fine, DJ. You have to go because otherwise your daddy will be upset. And Nanna Juliet, she’ll be sad too if you don’t go there to see her.”
He smiled but still looked a little worried. “Yeah, I know. I’ll bring you back a cake from Nanna Juliet’s,” he said before turning to Josh. “We will be baking cakes at Nanna’s, won’t we, Daddy?”
Josh nodded. “Probably, Buddy, she loves to bake cakes with you.”
I kissed his cheek and set him down on his feet, avoiding eye contact with Josh so I wouldn’t get angry and upset again. DJ smiled up at Nate. “I’ll bring you a cake back too if you want. Nanna Juliet makes the bestest cakes ever,” he enthused.
Nate laughed, smiling warmly at him. “Sure, Kid, sounds great.”
I cleared my throat, willing my voice to come out normal and not like a hysterical banshee like I actually felt like. “Okay, so I’ve put a change of clothes and stuff in his bag for tomorrow, spare pyjamas just in case. Woody’s in there too. You’ll be feeding him before you bring him home tomorrow?” I asked, finally making eye cntact with Josh, feeling anger bubble up again at the sight of his stupid face.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay, great. Just remember he goes to bed for seven thirty so if he could be home before then,” I rambled, biting my lip, thinking everything through to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Yep, home before seven thirty. We can manage that, right, Buddy?” He held a hand down to DJ, who took it, grinning and nodding along with his dad.
I sighed. I hated this goodbye part, even if it was only for a day. “Okay, well bye, Baby. Have a great time with Daddy, don’t eat too much candy and go straight to sleep, no fooling around tonight. Love you.” I bent down and hugged DJ tightly, kissing his cheek again.
“Love you too. Bye, Momma, bye, Nate,” DJ chirped happily. Nate smiled and waved as Josh led him out the door.
“See you tomorrow night,” I said, trying not to show any emotions so that DJ wouldn’t get upset. “Josh, please try,” I begged.
He frowned and nodded. “I’ll try, but no promises.”
No promises? The stupid asshole had already broken his promise so why would another one make a difference? I gritted my teeth so I didn’t make some bitchy comment to him in front of ou
r son. When the door closed I grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it until all my breath was gone, then I threw it as hard as I could at the front door. His stupid waste of space father was going to break my baby’s heart, and there was not a damn thing I could do about it.
My tears started to fall as I imagined the look on DJ’s face when I told him he wouldn’t be able to go, and it would be my responsibility to tell him. Josh ruined it, and I got to break the news to his son, the same as every other time he screwed up. Something gripped my shoulder, turning me around, and I suddenly remembered that Nate was there, and had just seen my little outburst that I usually only let out when I was alone.
Concern was clear across his face as he shook his head lightly.
“I’ll pay for DJ’s ticket, you don’t need to get upset about it,” he said, bending down so our faces were level as he wiped my tears with his thumbs.
My heart stopped at the adorable gesture. I couldn’t help but make direct contrasts between him and my ass of an ex-boyfriend. Why couldn’t a guy like Nate have gotten me pregnant? A sweet guy that took his responsibilities seriously, and would provide for his child, no matter what the cost. Or, better yet, just turned up when he was supposed to and didn’t disappoint his kid over and over.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. I couldn’t let him pay for DJ, he wasn’t his responsibility and I couldn’t take advantage of him like that. As much as I wanted to let him just so I wouldn’t have to see the disappointed look on my baby’s face, I just couldn’t let him do it.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to do that,” I whispered, pressing my face against his neck, letting his delicious smell fill my lungs.
“I want to, Rose.”
I sniffed and pulled back, wiping my face, trying not to sob like I felt like doing. I was actually surprised that Nate wasn’t running a mile from me after seeing Josh and I argue in front of him like that. I pulled him over to the sofa and pushed him down, then sat on his lap, straddling him, tangling my hands into the back of his hair. His beautiful, soft, caring blue eyes were locked on mine.
“Nate, that’s really, really sweet of you to offer, but I can’t let you do that. DJ’s my responsibility, and I can’t accept,” I rejected. “But thank you so much for the offer.”
I pressed my lips against his, silently showing him how much that offer had meant to me. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him, pressing my chest against his as his soft lips moved in synchronisation with mine, making my whole body crave for more. More of his touch, more of his taste, just more of him. I’d never be able to get enough.
“Let me pay for his ticket,” he whispered against my lips.
I pulled back to look at him, trying to ignore the cute, pleading puppy dog expression that was plastered on his face. “I can’t, Nate. Thank you, but I can’t let you do that.” I pressed my forehead to his and closed my eyes.
He sighed, his forehead scrunching up under mine so I knew he was frowning. “Stripes, I don’t-” he started, but I cut him off by kissing him again. He kissed me back hungrily; I pulled away when I was getting slightly breathless.
“Don’t say anything else,” I said sternly, ending the conversation. I kissed his lips again, trying my best not to let his obvious disappointment affect me. He was probably doing it thinking he needed to spend money on DJ to get him to accept him, when, in total honesty, I could already see that he adored him.
“Okay,” he muttered, forcing a smile as he brushed my hair behind my ears.
I decided to try and lighten the mood; I didn’t want him all disappointed and us to feel uncomfortable all day. This was our day, and I was going to make sure we both enjoyed it.
“Do you know that you’ve made my son want to be a cop?” I asked, cocking my head to the side, raising one eyebrow accusingly.
“Really?”
I nodded. “Yep. He wants to know how to shoot a gun so that you two can arrest all the bad guys and be partners like Buzz and Woody.”
He burst out laughing, his eyes shining with what looked like pride, and I couldn’t help but smile back. He really had a beautiful smile, it lit his whole face. “I’ll be Buzz, I don’t want to be the skinny sheriff doll,” he joked.
I laughed wickedly. “You do know he can’t really fly though, right? And the laser is just a light bulb,” I teased, using one of the lines from the movie that I knew word for word.
His eyes widened and he shook his head in mock disapproval. “Must you ruin all of my fantasies?”
“I ruin your fantasies? Or are you just annoyed because I haven’t made any of them come true yet?” I teased, trying to look sexy as I raised one eyebrow, going for the cocky, teasing face that he did to me all the time.
His hold on me tightened. “Yet?”
I nodded and inched my face closer to his. “Mmm hmm, yet being the right word, Officer Peters,” I whispered, biting his bottom lip softly.
“Damn it, Stripes, we need to go out otherwise I’m going to pin you on my lap all day and have you flirt with me until you lose your voice,” he whined, looking me over slowly. His eyes were so lustful that my body tingled in all the right places. He was right though, we did need to go.
I sighed dramatically and pushed myself up off his lap, laughing as he playfully swatted my ass. “Come on then, let’s go meet the parents,” I suggested, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
He grinned and stood up. “Just to warn you, my family, they’re not exactly… normal,” he said, wincing slightly.
I recoiled at his choice of words. “Not normal?”
He shrugged. “You’ll see.”
Wow, that doesn’t sound good.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nate took my hand at the door, squeezing a little too tightly for comfort.
“Okay, so here’s the deal. If you hate my family then we only have to see them an average of four times a year, just on birthdays and special occasions.”
I inwardly cringed at that statement. Why on earth would I possibly hate his family? Were they going to be mean to me? Did they not like me having a child? Was my job not good enough? Why was he pulling that face?
“Nate, seriously, you’re scaring me now. Are your family going to lock me in a cupboard and not talk to me, or just not acknowledge me or something?” I asked nervously.
“No,” he said grimly, “but you may wish for that.”
“What?” I yelped, looking longingly back at his car. Why had I agreed to this in the first place? Oh yeah, because I was starting to fall in love with the guy, and he wanted me to meet his family. I inwardly scolded myself for not asking Anna what they were like beforehand so I could have prepared myself.
“Ready?” Nate asked, his hand on the door handle.
“No,” I groaned.
He smiled apologetically and pushed the door open anyway. Almost immediately I saw a girl speed walking down the hallway, a big grin on her face as she bowled into Nate with wide arms. He laughed and hugged her tightly. “Hey, Paige, have you been drinking already? It’s not even midday!” he scolded playfully.
She grinned and pushed his hand off as he went to ruffle her hair. I shuffled on my feet, not knowing what to do or say. Should I stick out my hand and introduce myself or wait for him to do it? Should I turn and run? Maybe that would be the best option…
“Paige, this is Rosie. Rosie, this is my sister, Paige,” Nate introduced, smiling proudly.
So much for the running plan!
I smiled awkwardly and held out a hand to her. “Hey, nice to meet you,” I greeted.
“You too, I’ve heard a lot about you.” She turned back to the stairs and shouted, “Mom! Nate’s brought his girlfriend!”
I winced and cringed into Nate’s side.
“Paige, seriously, the longer we put this off, the better. Could you not have at least let her get in the door before we set our batshit crazy mother on her?” he complained.
“I heard that, Nat
haniel!”
I looked up in time to see a pretty lady almost skipping down the stairs; her face was stretched into a huge smile as her eyes latched on me. A blond guy was following behind her; he was incredibly handsome and looked like an older version of Nate. One of my eyebrows rose in appreciation.
“Please tell me you guys weren’t up there… Ugh, I can’t even finish that sentence without throwing up. Actually, I think I just did in my mouth a little,” Nate stated beside me, shuddering.
Paige and I both burst into laughter. I slapped his stomach to get him to stop pulling that face he was doing right now, the disgusted ‘I-saw-my-parents-having-sex-once’ face. I needed to stop laughing and that face wasn’t helping at all.
His mom stopped right in front of me. I opened my mouth to say hi, but she cupped my face in her hands, kind of smooshing my lips together. “Aww, you’re such a beautiful girl! Oh, Evan, look at her, isn’t she beautiful?” she gushed with wide eyes.