Fourth Down (Portland Pioneers 1)

“No one deserves to be cheated on. I’ve never understood why people do that. Why not just tell the other person you don’t want to be with them and move on.”

“Because breakups are messy.”

“So is cheating,” I say. “I’m glad you told me that you filed though, because I was starting to feel like what we were doing could be considered cheating.”

“Me too.” This time when Julius moves closer, I don’t move back. “I really like you, Autumn, and after Sunday, the only thing that kept going through my mind was that I’m no better than Elena. I’ve dragged my feet on filing, but no more. This divorce needs to happen for many reasons.”

“Well, I’m happy you did. I don’t want to feel like we’re doing something wrong. Do the kids know?”

Julius shakes his head. “There isn’t much to tell them. Roxy is too little to understand, and Reggie understands too much. He knows his mom has a boyfriend, and he knows that I like you. Anything more will just hurt or confuse him. Besides, Elena is going to make a big stink about the filing. She’ll play the victim and try to turn him against me because he’s at an impressionable age. To combat this, I’ve already set him and Roxy up with some therapy appointments. We’ll go as a family,” he pauses and then corrects himself, “the three of us and the kids will have individual appointments. I want to make sure they’re well-adjusted through all of this.”

“You’re a good dad, Julius.”

“I’m trying. Those two are the most important people in my life, and I need to make sure they’re happy.”

A yawn takes me by surprise, forcing me to cover my mouth. “I should get home. It’s late, and you have to be up with the kids.” I stand, not giving him a chance to protest. I could easily fall asleep on the couch right now—that’s how tired I am.

Julius follows me to the door. He opens it and leans against it. As I pass, he reaches for my hand and pulls me to him. The kiss is chaste, but the desire is there. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For forgiving me. I don’t deserve it. Hell, I don’t deserve anything from you. I’m like night and day when it comes to you.”

“Yeah, the back-and-forth game is a bit tiresome.” I wink, letting him know I’m joking. Only, I’m not, really. As much as I’d love for this relationship to take off, I’m going to tread a little bit more carefully. For all I know what happened this week is a hiccup and may never happen again, or it’s an omen and something I need to heed.

“Goodnight, Julius.”

“Goodnight, Weather Girl.”

The rest of my week went like I was back in school with my nose stuck in a textbook. Do your assignment, flip the page, meet with your peers, do another project, flip the page, and so forth. Only the pages are text messages with Julius, my peers are my co-workers, and the main assignment I must do is to be at Julius’s apartment on Sunday to watch the game with his parents and children. I couldn’t even say no because Julius knows my weakness—Roxy. He made her ask, and with her sweet little voice and those doey eyes of hers, there was no way I’d tell her no. I, however, wanted to strangle her father because I’m not ready to spend the day with his parents. The kids, I can handle, but parents are a whole different story. They’re the last chapter of the book—the review portion—before you take the final exam. Sure, I’ve seen them in the stands, but an introduction done by Reggie and Roxy, without Julius being home, is putting a bigger knot in my stomach than I had when Julius asked me to come to his apartment earlier in the week.

Now, I stand outside his door. I raise my hand to knock, only to drop it and turn around, and then I go back and do it again, only for the same result. In my other hand, I have a seven-layer dip that I love but realize others may not enjoy it as much as me, and I should’ve brought something else. Although Julius told me to just bring myself and that his mother has everything taken care of. But my mind insisted I bring something.

“Flowers—that’s what you should’ve brought.” I look down at the dish in my hand and wonder if I have time to go back to my apartment to drop this off and then head to the nearest flower stand. There is one on almost every corner, especially near the waterfront. Surely, I can find a lovely bouquet on a Sunday afternoon.

“Are you going to come in?” I hear Reggie’s voice before I see him. I whip around and almost lose the dip. I grab a hold with my free hand and try to steady myself.