Relapse

“Sunday?” Tanner asks.

“Yeah, you and Aiden are going to have a playdate.”

“Awesome.” He gives Aiden a high-five.

Jamille and Aiden wave before heading to the parking lot and leaving.

I start gathering Lilly as Tanner straps his bag to his back. “Where’s your bat?” I question, noticing that it’s not sticking up out of his bag.

He opens his mouth before closing it and turning back to the field to get the bat.

“I’ve got it.” I look up to find Chase moving toward us, Tanner’s blue bat in his hand. He holds it out to him.

“Thanks Coach Chase.”

“No problem, sport,” he ruffles Tanner’s hair. His eyes wander over to me. “How are you doing today, Ivy?”

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth. Why do they keep insisting on speaking to me when it apparently makes me an idiot. “Oh, good, you know, just making it through the day.” Jesus, I’ve never been this awkward in my life. Not even when I was losing my virginity to Russell Homer and he almost put his dick in the wrong hole.

I rub at the back of my neck, shifting slightly. Chase makes me more nervous than the other two. Sure, I get a little flustered when I speak to Nathan, especially when he’s being sweet and holding Lilly and making her laugh, but it’s never how it is like the few times I’ve held a conversation with Chase.

When his lips pull into a slow grin, I realize why. He always blatantly flirts with me and since I can’t actually act on it, it throws me off. Nathan has asked me to dinner, but he was a lot more subdued than Chase. Chase… the man makes it very clear what he wants with just one look. If I would allow myself to actually flirt back with him, I’m positive everything would be fine. It’s the not flirting that is out of my experience though.

“Yep…” I let the word hang in the air as my eyes move away from the man.

“Chase, did you ask?” Nathan approaches, and Lilly reaches for him the second he does. He picks her right up.

Traitor.

“I was getting to it,” Chase replies, briefly turning his head to look at the other man.

I look between them, waiting for whatever it is Chase is supposed to be asking. It’s too bad, he’s still just standing there smiling at me.

“Jeez,” Nathan says, shoving Chase slightly. He turns his attention to me. “We’re having a cookout tomorrow at the house and wanted to see if you and the kids would like to come. There will be some others from the neighborhood so it’ll be a great chance for you to get to know the neighbors.”

“Oh.” I think it over. He’s right, you should get to know the other neighbors and something other than baseball and swimming lessons would be a nice change of pace for you and the kids.

“I want to go,” Tanner says before I can come up with an answer and I almost glare at him before remembering how horrible yelling at him went over earlier.

I shift my gaze away from Tanner back to the two men standing in front of me. “What time?”

“Five o’clock,” Nathan says. “The sun won’t be out as hard but it’ll still be light.”

Tanner turns those big brown eyes on me, looking just like his mother and I already know my answer, So I ask. “Do you need me to bring anything?”

“Just you and the kids,” Chase chimes in.

I nod. “Oh, okay, we’ll see you there then.”