𝑻 𝑯 𝑬 𝑵 𝑨 𝑵 𝑵 𝒀 (18+)

seven.

                                D O M I N I C

"Friends? Dom nobody is ever friends with the nanny," David hissed before slamming his shot glass back onto the wooden counter. "You either completely forget she exists, or you fuck her," Dan chimed in. "But you don't befriend her."

I stared at the half-empty glass of bourbon and sighed. I hated going out for drinks after work, especially since these two idiots lost all forms of dignity whenever they got the slightest ounce of liquor into their system. David was the calmest out of the two, my sister would ring him dry if he ever stepped too far out of line but I couldn't say the same for Dan. He'd been single since I'd known him and never had an itch to settle down. His pseudo-kids were Josh and Jamie and to him, that was more than enough.

"Well, I didn't say that. You definitely shouldn't fuck her, and acting like she doesn't exist is just a dick move. Which brings me back to the current question, why do you suddenly want to strike up a friendship with the nanny after countless failed attempts to even keep one?"

Maybe it had been a bit brazen of me. Everyone else I'd employed got a simple hi and bye. They weren't interested in forming any kind of relationship with me and I quite frankly couldn't be bothered. Stephanie always judged me for that. When we were together, she always thought I was one-track-minded. I was never open to anyone other than those closest to me and she thought that made me a dick.

"I'm not fucking her, and I'm not going to pretend like she doesn't exist asshole. Look, she lives in my house, and takes care of my kids—change of pace is good. There's nothing wrong with me wanting to make her feel welcome." Was using Amara to make a point shitty of me? Yes, and the heated buzz I felt from alcohol burning my throat was all the proof you needed to uncover my guilt. It wasn't like I could just go back on my word, not after I already agreed to let her completely remodel the garage in my house.

I took my credit card from my wallet and slid it across the table. The bartender smiled and twisted it around her fingers before leaning in, "done for the night?" Her long brown hair was soaking in vodka, dripping against her shit once she stood up straight.

"I am, I don't know about these two assholes," I grunted out.

"Yeah, I'm through. Tiffany has a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I don't want to be exhausted. Dan, you driving with me? Because I'm almost certain Dom doesn't want to hear you fucking around for the next twenty minutes." David yawned and waited for the dick at the end of the bar to respond. He was right. As much as I loved Dan, he was a pain in the ass drunk. He and Stephanie seemed to have that trait in common.

"Yeah, I'm out of here. Oh, Dom before I forget Stephanie wanted me to give this to you." He rolled his eyes and patted his pants pockets frantically, exhaling loudly once he found the small envelope.

He passed it to me and I frowned, "what's this?"

"How should I know? She told me not to look at it. Hey, David! What did you say about a bar at the gender reveal?"

I stared at the paper envelope feeling around to try and guess what it was. Stephanie hadn't returned anything  to me since she moved out of the house so I wondered what her motive was. I tapped the packet against my steering wheel and hummed. Ripping the brown paper off of the top, I pulled the chain of a necklace out the pendant smacking the back of my hand. Behind the jewelry, was a tiny note in Stephanie's signature red ink—

It's not the ring but it's something,

                                  Love, Stephanie.

I didn't even want the ring back. I just wanted her to stop wearing it. I wanted her to stop trying, to stop praying, to stop hoping. It was bad for both of us and terrible for the kids. Even though we were no longer together they needed to see us on the same page. I couldn't begin to work with them through this divorce when she spent every minute convincing them it wasn't happening.