Second Chances

forty-four

a l e x

"What's wrong? Do you feel sick?" Luke furrowed his eyebrows, watching me worriedly.

"Seriously, I just wanna leave," I insisted. "I want to go back to the house."

Everyone stared at me, confused by my sudden change in mood.

"Lucas and uh, girl, I didn't expect to see you here."

And that's why I wanted to leave. The guy didn't even know my damn name.

Guess I might as well stay for the apple pie now.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" my sister stepped in, raising an eyebrow at the man standing beside our table.

"Matthew," I glared at him. "Matthew Thompson. Luke's sperm donor."

"Oh, I heard about you. My sister said you called her a bitch," Lexi looked just about ready to pounce on the guy.

Okay, she was being a little dramatic by saying Matthew called me a bitch, but I'll let it slide.

Ashton looked at me in disbelief. "He called you a what?"

Meanwhile, Luke was as quiet as can be, but I could tell that he was seething, mostly by how tightly he was squeezing my hand.

"Listen, I don't know about you, but I don't want any trouble," Ashton got up from his seat and stood right in front of Matthew, towering over him. "Just leave and don't bother us."

"You don't get to boss me around," Matthew shoved him. "Learn some respect."

He said the same thing to me last time. He needed new lines.

That was Luke's cue to join in. He was absolutely furious at what he had seen Matthew do to his best friend, and he really wasn't having it.

"If he doesn't get to boss you around, you don't get to shove him either," my boyfriend's voice was scarily calm, and I was anticipating the moment he was going to explode. "And don't preach about respect when you don't have any."

"Look, I just came over to your table to say hi," Matthew chuckled. "I didn't know you'd be so riled up."

"Don't you have another child you're supposed to be looking after? You know, the one you replaced us with?"

Well, I guess it was about time Luke got sassy.

Matthew scoffed. "Don't you have a girlfriend to fight me for you? She held up better than you the last time we saw each other."

Lexi grinned at me. Quite inappropriate for the time, but I knew she was just amused that the old man didn't stand a chance.

Luke's hand balled up into a fist, ready to throw a punch, but I wasn't about to be banned in a restaurant that I'd just been to once. If they were going to fight, at least do it somewhere we wouldn't be thrown out.

Okay, maybe just don't fight, I guess.

I got up and stood beside my boyfriend, taking his hand in mine so he wouldn't try anything.

"You don't get to talk to him like that. Besides, which one of you wanted to just talk and which one decided that being rude was the way to go?"

Matthew couldn't answer me because he knew it would just make him look stupid.

"See? She has more balls than you. I can't believe you're my son."

"I can't believe it either," Luke raged. "Never in my life would I ever want to be called your son."