The Elaborate Parent Trap

Chapter Three

"Jade! Get your shoes on baby!" Chris called.

"PIZZA!" Jade squealed, excitedly making Chris laugh.

Once she had her shoes on, they got into the truck and headed out. They made their way to the new pizza place just off the PCH. Jade chatted excitedly about how much fun she had this week at school and Chris listened to her daughter intently. When they arrived, they got out of the truck and headed inside. They got into the lineup, Jade still chattering excitedly when she stopped mid-sentence. "RIVER!" She cried happily running off making Chris spin to see Matt and River walking in.

Jade hugged River and both Matt and Chris laughed. "Hey." He greeted.

"Hey, you'd think they hadn't seen each other in weeks." Chis laughed as River and Jade stood between them chatting excitedly.

"Yeah. How have you been though? Since the grocery store?" He asked.

"Not bad, actually, been a good two weeks actually." Chris nodded. "What about you? Anymore crazy blonde's trying to run you over by accident?" Chris asked with a laugh that made Matt smile.

Chris blushed at the sight of his dimples and bowed her head. "No, just you." Matt laughed as River tugged on his shirt.

"Daddy, can Jade and her Mommy sit with us tonight?" River asked.

"Yeah, Mommy. Please?" Jade pleaded with puppy eyes.

"If they want to, that's okay with me," Matt told his son looking at Chris.

"I, I guess so? I don't want to impose." Chris told him.

"Not imposing. The kids are good friends it'll be nice for them to talk outside of school." Matt smiled. Chris nodded as the four of them made their way to a table. They sat down and ordered the two pizza's as the kids talked. "So, tell me about yourself," Matt told her, trying to start a conversation.

"What do you want to know?" Chris asked. "I'm not that interesting. I'm thirty-two, Jade and I are both French-Canadians having moved here about five and a half years ago. I've been a single mom since Jade was two and I started tattooing the moment I turned eighteen." Chris shrugged. "What about you?" She asked curiously.

"You really don't know who I am?" Matt asked her.

"No? Should I?" She asked with a laugh.

"I'm M. Shadows, from Avenged Sevenfold." He told her quietly.

"Oh. Oh! I know your band; Echo and I love your guys' music." Chris smiled.

"You're not going to fan-girl or anything on me, are you?" Matt asked cautiously.

"If I was gonna do that I would have done that when I saw you at the school. Don't worry." Chris laughed, "Besides. I like your music, I'm not a die-hard fan type person though." Chris explained.

"Thank you." Matt nodded in appreciation. "Well, I'm thirty-three, I've raised Riv here on my own for the last seven years. The band is working on some new stuff, but nothing set in stone yet." Matt shrugged telling him a bit about herself, but neither adult noticed the kids grinning as they watched them.

"Awe, what a lovely little family. You two make beautiful children." An older lady smiled as she walked by. Chris was stunned into silence as Matt tried to awkwardly explain that wasn't the case the kids were just school friends. "That's too bad, you two would make such a beautiful couple." She smiled patting the table as she walked away.

Chris was blushing as she refused to meet Matt's eyes, thankfully the pizzas were delivered to the table. The four of them dug in, making small talk and completely bypassing the awkward moment with the old lady. Christina nor Matt however could stop thinking about it. Matt found himself looking over at the tiny blonde as she pushed her glasses up her nose and smiled at the kids. He couldn't deny he was attracted to the small woman; she was stunning and had a megawatt smile that was contagious.

Christina too, kept stealing glances at Matt she too was attracted to the dimpled giant of a man. Every time she looked at him and he smiled she couldn't stop to blush that seemed to tint her cheeks. She ate quietly, just watching happily. "Hey, you've been quiet. You okay?" Matt asked, reaching across the table and placing his fingertips to her arm.

Chris felt tingles erupt across her arm and she looked up at Matt who withdrew from her. "Yeah, I'm okay." Chris nodded.

Matt sent her a smile and she smiled back. When the food was gone, they stayed a little longer to chat before heading home. They made their way out to their vehicles and the children said their good bye's. Once they had the kids locked into their seats, Matt turned and called out her name. Chris turned and smiled at him as he jogged over from his spot three spaces over. "This may be weird, but the kids are really close, so maybe I could get your number, maybe set up for them to hang out on a weekend or something," Matt asked slightly awkwardly.

"Yeah, sure." Chris nodded.

Matt handed her his phone, and she inputted her number into the device. Matt smiled and jogged back to his truck, bidding her goodbye. Christina waved before climbing into her own truck and just leaning back against the seat for a moment as she took a deep breath. "Mommy?" Jade asked from the back seat.

"Yeah, baby girl?" Chris asked her daughter.

"Can we watch movies tonight?" She asked.

"Well of course we can." Chris smiled as she started her truck and the girls headed home.

They watched two movies before Jade finally fell asleep. Chris carried the small girl upstairs and placed her in bed with a soft kiss to her forehead, she headed back downstairs. She grabbed her phone from where she left it in the kitchen and headed back into the living room. She turned on her favourite show and settled in before unlocking the small device. She had a text message from an unknown number.

Unknown:

Hey, it's Matt. River's dad. Thanks for joining us tonight. It was nice getting to know you.

Christina smiled down at her phone and felt like a giddy teenager that her crush had texted her. She decided to text him back.

Christina:

It was nice getting to know you too. Glad River and Jade became friends and could spend time together. Thanks for allowing us to join you.

She received a text back only five minutes later, and the next thing she knew, it was nearly one o'clock in the morning and she was dozing off on the couch.