Fifty Shades of Dove and Grenade

A Dinner Invite

The drive back to my car was hell, but Phil was the little slice of heaven that made it better.
When we arrived at the side road where I threw up, Phil exited the car, and held the door open for me like a gentleman would.
"Here you are, Randi." He smiled, glancing at the fiery sunset.
"Thanks." I answered, stumbling out. "Hey, Phil?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you wanna come to my place for dinner? You know, as a way to repay you for helping me."
He was silent for a few seconds, but a smile stretched across his face like elastic. "No one's ever invited me to dinner. I'd be honored to!" He cheered, hugging me.
"I'll just call my husband to let him know you're coming for dinner." I told him as we enter our cars.
I began driving, Phil following me. I glance at him in the rear view mirror, he looks so ecstatic.
I select Jordan's contact on my phone as the winds strokes its fingers through my hair.
"Hey, Randi! What's up?" He asks on the phone.
"Hey! So, there's a guy having dinner is at home tonight."
He was silent for fifteen seconds, but responded "Why?"
"I'll explain everything once we get home. Ok?"
"Ok." He replied in a slightly bitter voice.
"Love you, bye!"
I hung up, and glanced at Phil once more before arriving at home.
The second I unlocked my door, Phil exited out of his red Chevy. I waited for him to catch up to me.
I pulled the latch open, and was greeted with the familiar cinnamon and oak scent. Jordan sat in the living room, Allissa curled like a cat in his arms.
"Hey, Randi!" He called from the couch.
"Hey, Jordan!" I call back.
Phil looks around my house like it's a museum, staring in awe at the exhibits of leather furniture and photographs.
"Wow! This place is beautiful." Phil marvels, his attention fixed on my oak and birch kitchen.
"Is this the guy you invited?" Jordan asks suspiciously.
"Yes." I reply "Jordan, this is Phil."
Jordan glares at him as their hands meet.
"You better not be cheating on me." He looks at me, jealousy invading his voice.
"Look who's talking." I mutter to him.
Before things escalate, Phil informs us "Don't worry about it, I'm more into guys." He winked at Jordan.
"Oh, sorry." Jordan answers, blushing from embarrassment.
"Naw, it's cool!" Phil tussles his hair and smiles.
His attention is then directed towards Allissa.
"And who might this be?" He smiles at her.
"This is Allissa. She's my daughter." Jordan smiled at her as she hugged his tattooed arm.
"Well, she's a little cutie. Is she your daughter, too?" Phil asks me, stroking Allissa's head.
"No." I reply simply.
Ending our conversation, I enter the kitchen, and begin cooking flank steak. The aroma overwhelms my nostrils, it smells like a metric ton of pepper and fire crashed into each other. However, mellow zucchini calms the scent of pepper. A low fire sizzles the zesty meat and vegetable mix as I carefully sprinkle salt over my concoction. The sensation sadly ends when the steak turns brown with a black outline.
"Jordan, Phil! Dinner!" I call from the kitchen.
They trample over each other to taste the spicy beef. I watch them, laughing.
I strap Allissa to her high chair just before everyone takes their seats.
Jordan and I start eating, but Phil asks, "Aren't we going to say grace?"
"Ok." I answer as I rest my hand on Phil's.
Jordan grabs Phil's other hand, Phil blushes slightly, but starts praying.
As his words fly throughout the dinning room, my stomach tightens again, but it doesn't hurt as much as it did earlier.
When he's finally finished, he whispers to me, "Are you gonna tell him?"
"Tell me what?" Jordan asks suspiciously before I can say anything.
"No, no, it's nothing bad." Phil reassured him, stuffing his face with steak and mashed potatoes.
"Ok then, what is it?"
"Well, you see, I'm pregnant." I blush nervously.
Jordan spits out his food "WHAT THE F-"
Allissa's crying interrupted Jordan's yelling. His attention quickly turned to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Daddy didn't mean to make you cry." He whispers as he bounces her in his arms.
Her tears melt into laughter as she rises and falls out of his muscular arms, acting as trampolines. I never realized how sweet her laughter was until this very moment.
"Da-ddy." She cooed at Jordan in her soft,silky voice, still laughing.
He wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. "Daddy loves you so much."
He proceeds to hug and kiss her as if he'll never see her again.
"He really loves her, huh?" Phil murmurs to me.
"I have to fight her for his attention." I snicker.
"It's nice that he loves her so much. I-I never met my father, so I don't know what that's like." His smile fades to a forlorn frown.
I gently squeeze his hand. "I'm sorry."
"Nah, it's cool." His smile returns "Besides, he was a jerk for abandoning me and my mom."
He laughs, turning back to my husband and his daughter.
It takes the whole evening, but we eventually finish dinner. Afterwards, we talk about anything and everything. However, what intrigued me the most is when Phil said he knew a girl from his childhood named Randi.
"It's so weird," he shared "You remind me of her, but she can't be you, can she?" He asks me, holding sleeping Allissa in his arms etched with black dragon tattoos.