*ADOPTED*

*ADOPTED*~Nine~

Even though I didn't see him again after that one morning's breakfast, I couldn't get him off of my mind, and the way he smiled at me or the way he and AJ connected so quickly. Everywhere I looked I saw his gorgeous face. But then I'd snap out of the illusion and get back to whatever it was that I was doing. Chloe offered many times to take me to The Luxor where she and Criss performed, so AJ and I could watch him, but I would always tell her not now. Chloe shrugged her shoulders as she told me to suit myself, but I couldn't run away from my emotions forever, that sooner or later they would always get the best of the situation.

I ignored my girlfriend's last comment, and told her to have a good day at work, and that I needed to find out where AJ was going to go to preschool at, then I needed to find myself a job, so I could start saving money so I could get a place of my own and stop bumming off of my girlfriends. Chloey smacked me on my ass and told me that I wasn't bumming anything and that AJ and I were her much wanted guests, and for me to stop being so hard on myself, and there was no hurry for me to move out because she's only been there for half a day!

I gave her a hug and told her I was sorry for my behavior, it was just I didn't like sponging off of my friends for a livelihood. Chloe kissed me on the cheek and said that everything would work out for me, and not to worry at all. Then she tapped AJ on the nose and said she would see him later, then told him to take care of his mommy today for she was being silly this morning. AJ gave her a thumbs up as he said ok. After she left for her appointment, I went down to the kitchen and made a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to take with us to the park, beens it was so nice out this morning and AJ hasn't had much fun since we both went thru the nasty divorce I decided it was time for both of us to have some fun.

It was a good thing that I remembered how to get from place to place after seeing it once, or I would have been lost after the first block AJ and I walked around. The park was only 7 blocks away from Chloe's house. AJ got really excited when he saw the park and all the other kids and toddlers playing there already, he handed me his bunny and asked if he could go play with them. I zipped up his thin jacket and told him to have fun, but to be careful. As he ran down to the playground, I told him if he needed me I would be sitting right here watching him. I was a little nervous about how the kids would take to him on his first day there, but I was relieved when they accepted him fairly easily and began to play with him.

I was mindlessly messing with my son's bunny while watching him intently just to make sure he didn't get hurt, when out of nowhere a very exotic and sexy guy came up behind me and said if only he was that young again, he'd have all the fun in the world playing in the tire tunnels. I gave him a slight smirk as I told him that those toddlers really had it made when it came to having fun. He moved up closer to me and asked if he could have a sit or if I was waiting for my man to show up. I snickered lightly and said the only man in my life right now was my lil man right over there playing on the monkey bars.

I saw his eyes give a glistening spark when I told him that, and he sat down right beside me as he pointed out to another one of the toddlers that was sitting on top of the blue tire and said that was his lil man. Then he turned to me and held out his hand as he said his name was Klayton. I accepted his hand as I told him my name was Kacie Lee Etienne, and my son down there was Alexander Nicolas Jones. We both ended up having a very pleasant and average conversation about our kids and the silly things they do, then we both opened up a little more as he told me about his fiance leaving him to take care of Pheonix on his own, and I told him about what my husband put me thru, and that's why I divorced him and moved here to Vegas to be closer to my friends, and so I could start over fresh.

Klayton chuckled as he told me that Las Vegas was definitely a great place to start over fresh and that with the population of single parents in this city was so high it would be very easy for a beautiful lady like me to get any man she wanted. I thanked him for his kind words, but I didn't think I was ready to get into any relationships with any man yet, because I had a lot of emotional wounds and scars that I needed to heal first. I was about to say something else to him when I looked around the playground and noticed AJ was nowhere to be seen! I jumped off of the bench and went down to the park and hollered for him to come out, that he was scaring his mommy. Klayton followed me down and helped me look for him as he grabbed his son from the tire. I really panicked when I couldn't find him...then suddenly I heard him giggling and squealing loudly and turned around to see him hanging on Chloe's boss, Criss that was at the other end of the park sitting on one of the swingsets. I exhaled in relief as I told Klayton I found him.