I Get A Kick Out of You

Chapter 43

"Why do I have to do this again?" Ethan whined. Cassie finished packing his bag as she told him, "Because your dad has been getting help for his problems and he's shown me a lot of improvement. I told him you could visit him for a week if he continued to show signs and he has. However, if something does seem...off...tell me. I need to know right away, okay?"

He nodded, but still wasn't happy. "I want to bring Maverick," he mumbled. He pet the dog's soft hair as it slept peacefully on his bed. "I know, baby," she told him, "but he'll be here when you get home. Besides, you know how your father is with dogs or any animal. You don't want to deal with that, do you?"

He furiously shook his head, making her laugh. "I didn't think so. Okay, make sure you have everything, he's going to be here any minute. Don't forget homework, school books and whatever else you'll need for school this week."

While he did that, she packed him his favorite snacks because she knew Joel didn't have them at his place. By the time the doorbell rang, Ethan was ready to go.

Cassie opened the door and greeted Joel with a small smile. "Hey," she said. "Come on in, he's just saying goodbye to Maverick." Joel took a step inside and she shut the door behind him. It was odd because he seemed timid, almost like he shouldn't be here.

"Where's Ben?" He eventually asked. "Usually, he's in my face intimidating me by now." Cassie had to roll her eyes at that. "If you must know," she said, "he's picking up dinner. He'll be home any minute."

He gave her a quick double take. "Home?" He asked. "What, has he officially moved in?" She could tell he was trying not to sound snarky, but she could hear it. "School ends next Wednesday," she said, changing the subject, "which means he has finals all week. He needs to study starting Saturday night or Sunday morning. Don't let him overwork himself, you know how he gets. If I get a call saying he can't concentrate or that he's doing anything else, but study this week, I am picking him up immediately. Understand?"

He simply flashed a small smile and nodded his head. Ethan came out a moment later, but didn't seem at all excited to see his dad. "Hey, kiddo!" Joel happily greeted. "Come on, give me a hug! I haven't seen you since your birthday!"

Ethan looked to Cassie, but before she could do anything, Joel quickly snapped his fingers as he said, "Hey, hey, hey! Don't look at her for permission to hug your dad. Come here." Ethan trudged his way over and gave Joel a hug. It was an honest one, but only because he knew it had to be.

"That's better," Joel told him. "Let's get out of here, I've got pizza on the way. I even got that, uh, Cars movie you like." While Ethan scratched the back of his head not saying anything, Cassie looked at Joel oddly. "Joel," she said, "he wasn't even born when that movie came out, it's so old. Besides, his favorite movie now is The Dark Knight."

Joel sighed. "Fine," he said, "I'll take it back and rent that one." Cassie told him, "Save your money. We own it. Go ahead and grab it, babe." Ethan went and grabbed it, then came back. Joel didn't seem too happy, but tried not to show it, which was an improvement in itself.

"I want to say bye to Ben," Ethan said to Cassie. She smiled because goddammit she loved how much he liked Ben. "You already said goodbye before he left," she gently reminded. He seemed disgruntled at that. "But I didn't say goodnight," he argued.

"You can call him tonight and tell him," she said. "You can call every night and tell both of us, how's that?" He knew he wasn't going to win this. As a matter of fact, she knew he was only stalling and Joel knew it, too.

Eventually, Ethan did leave, but not without giving Cassie a long, strong hug. It was weird going back inside the house because it was just so quiet, even with Maverick. She hasn't known quiet like this since before she was pregnant! It was nice, but also kind of sad.