Chapter 40
So basically, the play date at the park would be equal parts heaven and hell. At least Morgan would have a good time.
Morgan emerged from his room with his new remote-controlled car—another surprise gift from his mother—and, miracle of miracles, his shoes tied. He surprised me by throwing his arms around my legs in a quick hug.
“Well, what’s this?” I asked, ruffling his hair.
“I’m just happy.”
My heart clenched at that, and it was all I could do not to sweep him up off the floor and squeeze him as hard as I could. I settled for tousling his hair again. “I am, too. Come on, we don’t want to be late.”
Morgan didn’t so much walk as he did hop, jump, and even skip. When I picked him up the night before, I asked if he had a good time with his cousins, but all he could do was talk about Sam. He asked me three times if I was sure Sam would be at the park the next day, only looking slightly soothed when I promised him that Mr. Hardison wouldn’t forget about the meeting in the past two weeks. It was obvious that the two weeks had passed slowly for Morgan, and I felt more than a twinge of guilt at how fast the days had gone by. Nothing could distract me from how much I missed him, but thinking of Aaron, being with Aaron, touching Aaron, sure made the time fly.
Aaron and Sam stood near the entrance of the park when we rounded the corner, and I didn’t try to stop Morgan from racing down the sidewalk. How could I when I wanted to run into Aaron’s arm with the same level of exuberance?
The boys had taken off by the time I reached Aaron’s side. “If you had been two more minutes, Sam and I would’ve been in my car, headed to your apartment,” he said. “He’s a little excited about today.”
“Yeah, to hear Morgan tell it, two weeks may as well be two hundred years. Oh, just so you know, Sam will probably be asking for a new DS soon.”
Aaron frowned. “Your ex bought him a new DS? I thought you told him no when he asked you for it before.”
“I did. I don’t know if she was purposefully being a jerk or what. I haven’t talked to her about it yet. I’m not sure if it’s worth making a big deal over.”
“But it is a big deal. He’s going to end up learning that he can get whatever he wants, just by asking both of you.” He turned back to watch where the boys sat hunched over Morgan’s car. “You should call her. What you say is just as important as what she does. She needs to remember that.”
It made such perfect sense when he said it, but then, he wasn’t the one who was gearing up for a fight. The sun reflected off his golden hair, and the sight temporarily wiped my mind free of everything that wasn’t Aaron. Did I really have to wait two weeks to be with him again? I could get a sitter for Morgan…no, I wouldn’t do that. I could wait two weeks. I could. God knows I’d survived longer dry spells.
“No, you’re right. I should call her. Who knows what he’ll come back with next time if I don’t.”
“Did you have plans for Morgan next weekend?”
“Nope. Would you like to make some?”
“Sam asked me if he could invite Morgan over for a sleepover.” Aaron kept his gaze on the boys, but his voice had lowered, encouraging a more private topic. “I told him it wasn’t fair to take away time from you.”
I swallowed to wet my suddenly dry throat. Aaron wasn’t inviting me to stay the night in his house, was he? That was both the best and worst idea I’d ever heard. “I could forgive a night if it made the boys happy. But it might not be fair to make you wrangle both of them by yourself.”
“It wouldn’t be fair for you to lose one of the few nights you get with him.” He paused. “If you wanted to come over, too, that would be okay.”
“I would like to. But…do you think that’d be a good idea, really?”
“No.” Well, at least he was honest. “I think it’s inviting disaster. But then I think that if I can be so careful about Sam and all his issues, I can be careful about this.”
It wasn’t just a matter of being careful. This would be pure, masochistic torture. But on the other hand, even if we just stayed up late, watched old movies, and eventually passed out in front of the television without touching each other once, it would be worth it. Being with Aaron while the boys stayed up far too late, checking in on them once they passed out, basking in Aaron’s attention all night—I wanted that with a ferocity that shocked me.