all american | lance tucker

ch. 34 • closure

Over time, I got used to the idea. We realized we were going to have to cancel the trip to Italy, and our wedding was nearing. Only a month away, and I could tell Lance was starting to get antsy.

He was spending more and more time away from home, working late and spending long nights with his friends. I hoped he was just getting it out of his system, but the pregnant part of me worried he was getting other things out of his system too.

So, after weeks of barely seeing him and basically spending all my time working or watching the kids, I decided to answer a text I had received from Roman, asking to talk about some things over. I said yes. I also responded to Dean, finally. I had decided that maybe it was finally time he saw his daughter.

When Lance wasn't there, I usually did shit he didn't like. Especially when he did stuff I didn't like and then got mad at me when I got mad at him.

So, I was on my way to a coffee place all the way on the other side of the city, just so I could "discuss things" with Roman. And I had Shay in the backseat, seeing as directly after meeting Roman I was going to also go see Dean. At his house. He had requested it, and I had decided to go along with it.

Man, I was making bad decisions left and right.

I had brought my daughter along to see my ex boyfriend, left my ring on the counter, and had refrained from telling Lance that I was going. The kids were staying with the babysitter seeing as he was "staying at a friend's house" until tonight. So, it was basically a race to see who got back first, him or me.

If he got back first, there would be a huge argument, and if I got back first there was a chance I could put everything back to normal before he came home. I would still tell him about it seeing as we were both working on not keeping secrets, but it would be better than coming home to an angry Lance. If I was there first, I could at least wait until the next day to tell him about it.

I pulled into the parking lot, and I could see that his truck was already there, parked right at the front. I took a deep breath, got out of the car, and unbuckled Shay.

Slowly, I made my way into the cafe, eyes sweeping the room and looking for him. I spotted him in a booth at the far right corner, sipping coffee and looking down at his phone. I built up the courage and walked towards him, praying that he wouldn't look up until I was in front of him.

Thankfully, like Lance, he was obsessed with his phone, so he didn't notice me until I had slid into the booth across from him. He looked up, surprised, and then nothing. He did say anything, just looked at me. And then Shay.

"You brought the baby?" He said, sounding borderline annoyed.

"You're the one who asked me to come here. Don't complain about what I choose to do." I said calmly.
Ah, this was such a good idea.

"Whatever. You want something to drink?" He asked, passing the menu to me across the table.
"No. I don't want this to take too long. I have other places to be." I sighed, setting Shay next to me to free my hands. He pursed his lips, setting his phone on the table. I crossed my arms, leaning back.

"Whatcha been up to?"

"The usual shit. Got promoted to sole head of the company." He muttered, running his finger over the rim of his glass over and over again. I smiled gently.

"Good for you." I tapped my fingers on the table nervously, looking down and then up at him again. "What did you really invite me here to talk about?"

"I don't exactly know. I just feel like we broke off in a weird way. It felt too sudden." He admitted, shaking his head.

"You waited a long time to bring that up." I said dryly. It had been over two months now.