Page 50 of Dibs
“James, are you sure you’re okay with this?” I wondered.
“I don’t have a problem with the two of you, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m just in shock.”
“Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Gage pleaded.
“I won’t.”
16
GAGE
Callingin sick had led to a fantastic day wrapped up with the person I wanted to spend all of my free time with. It had been perfect, at least until Jamie caught us kissing. She’d said she was fine with it, and while her approval wasn’t needed, I appreciated it. Still, that split-second worry I’d had that she was going to freak out was hard to ignore.
The reality was, not everyone would be as accepting as Jamie. At least she’d promised not to say anything about us. Of course, it wasn’t her story to tell, and from the little I knew of Jamie, she didn’t seem like someone who would betray confidences, especially about something as personal as who someone was dating. If Chase and I got to the point of wanting to go public with our relationship, we both needed to be prepared for the possibility that some people would be close-minded assholes. It sucked we had to be concerned about negative reactions, but based on things said in the media, that was the unfortunate reality we were living in.
Feeling secure that my relationship with Chase would be kept under wraps for the time being, I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and determined I had plenty of time to grab some stuff at the grocery store and get home before the boys would. Every day, the two of them met up at the park near Dylan’s school and walked home since I often stayed at work for a while after dismissal.
Once I made it home, I opened the back of my Tahoe to get the groceries and noticed Lisa pulling into my driveway behind my SUV. The boys climbed out of her car, and I double-checked the time on my phone and realized school hadn’t let out yet.
“You’re home from school early,” I said.
Dylan looked at Tyler, who glanced toward his mother, and then said, “Uh …we didn’t go to school today.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why not?”
“Mom woke up late and said we were going to have a lazy day.”
It felt a little hypocritical to be upset about them taking a day off from school when I’d done the same thing. However, as a teacher, I also knew how important it was for kids to attend class every day.
“Okay. Go take your stuff inside and see if you can get your homework assignments from your friends and start working on those.” I handed them my keys.
While the boys grabbed their bags from the trunk of Lisa’s car, I walked to the driver’s side and waited for her to lower the window before whispering, “We need to talk.”
She rolled her eyes. “Jesus, Gage. It was one day. Besides, I’m their mom, and according to our divorce paperwork, we have joint legal custody, which means I can make decisions like letting them have a day off without consulting you.”
I waited for the boys to go inside before saying, “You kept them home because you overslept. I’d feel differently if it was so you could spend quality time with them, but if I had to guess, you didn’t do shit today other than hang out at your place.”
“Miguel was right,” she huffed. “You always try to make me out to be a bad parent.”
“I’ve never said you were a bad parent.”At least I hadn’t said it to her face or in front of the kids.“But I’m the only one who seems to take their parenting responsibilities seriously.”
“Fuck you,” she sneered, then threw her car into reverse and backed out of the driveway.
Sometimes I wished I could time travel and avoid getting caught up with Lisa, but then I reminded myself that if it weren’t for dating her, I wouldn’t have Tyler and Dylan. And my sons were my entire world.
I grabbed the plastic bags from the back of my car and went inside. Tyler was rummaging through the fridge while Dylan looked in the pantry.
“I’m starving,” Dylan grumbled as he reached for the Cheez-Its.
“Didn’t you eat at your mom’s house?”
“Yeah, like five hours ago,” Tyler replied.
My hands gripped the edge of the counter, and I counted silently to five. Some days, it was harder to bite my tongue when it came to their mother. Instead of losing my shit in front of them, I took a deep breath before responding. “I bought some soup and stuff for grilled cheese sandwiches. If you want, I can make it now.”
“Yeah.” Dylan closed the pantry. “That sounds good.”
“You’re not going to get us sick by making our food, are you?” Tyler questioned.
