Glide

Chapter thirty-eight

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Jayden asks, dumping onto the stool beside mine in the thinly crowded bar.

My heart rate skyrockets and I glance at the beer in front of me, my second already, shaking my head. "I need you at least a few drinks in before we do this."

My best friend frowns. "O-kay?" He orders a beer himself, gulping down one-third. "So, what do you want to talk about in the meantime?"

"How was Christmas?"

His face lights up, and he full-on grins. "It was fucking great. Mitch and Saltz swung by for Christmas dinner, and Antonella flew in to see Ollie," he says before pouring more beer down his throat. Apparently, he took my condition seriously. "Then Christmas morning was just Fie, me, and the kids. Sophie spent half the morning reading Harry Potter for them, and then we tried baking Christmas cookies, and yeah. It was perfect."

I smile, some of my anxiety leaking out of me. Jayden always wanted a family, and while I don't think this was how he expected to have it, it's so amazing seeing him taking on the role of dad. "I'm happy to hear it."

"And you?" he asks, raising an inconspicuous brow, probably assuming that my summoning him has something to do with the holidays.

I mull over my words. "It was fine."

"Yeah? The girls are good?"

I nod, drinking the rest of my beer at the same time Jayden finishes his first, wincing. He orders both of us another. "They are."

"You are just full of information today, aren't you?"

I smile, looking down at the table, grabbing my new beer. "Sorry, I'm a bit preoccupied."

Jayden waits for me to continue, and when I don't, he sighs. "You got back early this year."

Normally, I stay at my moms' for at least a week, but I'd changed my flight, so I flew straight back from Indianapolis. "I had a lot to take care of."

My cryptic answers are clearly bothering Jayden. He narrows his eyes at me, cocking his head. "No shit. You've been home for four days, and this is the first you've had time to see me."

My stomach twists at that. I delivered presents for the kids before I left, but I should have stopped by in these past few days. I just wasn't ready for this conversation.

Jayden slams his glass down, the little bit of beer at the bottom sloshing around the glass as he burbs. "Okay, I'm sufficiently buzzed. Give it to me."

Cringing, I lean back another inch. "Ew, no thanks."

He rolls his eyes. "Get your mind out of the gutter. You seriously need to get laid."

He's not wrong. It's an opening, although a shitty one. "That's actually kind of what I want to talk to you about."

Jayden pauses, his mouth forming the words, contemplating my meaning, before his face twists in disgust. "I don't know where you're going with that, but either way, Sophie is going to kick your ass."