That sounded really tempting. “Okay, I’ll have a mai tai.”
When the waitress lit the flame in the middle of our pu pu platter, Simon joked, “Don’t get too close, Bridget, I’ve had my share of putting out fires for a while.”
I squinted my eyes at him. “Very funny…but true.”
We shared a silent moment, just staring at each other.
Our meal came, and Simon noticed Brendan struggling to use the chopsticks.
He put down his own and took Brendan’s from his grasp. “Like this.” Simon spent the next five minutes showing him how to use them properly.
My heart was definitely pitter-pattering even more than usual tonight.
At one point, Simon got up to use the restroom, and I let out a deep breath. It made me realize that having him here was actually making me a bit nervous, not in a bad way, but in the butterflies in your stomach kind of way.
Once he returned a few minutes later, a waitress came to the table with a piece of birthday cake and a candle.
Brendan looked so excited. The waitress addressed him, “Your daddy told me it was your mother’s birthday!” She placed the cake in the center of the table along with a second mai tai in front of me.
I was going to need that drink after I heard Brendan tell her, “Oh, Simon’s not my dad. My dad’s dead.”
A few seconds of awkward silence passed.
The waitress looked mortified. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed…”
My son grinned. “That’s okay. He’s my good friend and sometimes uncle.”
Simon fist-bumped Brendan. “Good answer.”
Relieved that the moment of sadness had passed, I took a long sip of my drink.
Simon watched me. “Better drink up, Mummy. Only one beer for me. I’m the designated driver so you can enjoy it. Take advantage of me.”
God, I’d like to take advantage of you tonight.
The rest of the evening turned into a really fun time. The second mai tai certainly helped with that. Simon told Brendan lots of stories about his childhood in England. In the meantime, a third mai tai magically appeared, and I knew Simon had told the waitress to just keep bringing them to me.
Brendan was in his glory having Simon’s full attention, and I was honestly in my glory, too, watching them interact. I was also completely buzzed, which seemed to drown out all of the negative thoughts normally ruining precious moments like this.
At the end of the night, the waitress brought out three fortune cookies, and we each took one.
Brendan opened his and handed me his fortune.
I read it aloud, “Land is always on the mind of a flying bird.”
“What’s yours say, Mom?”
I opened mine and read it aloud. “The Wheel of Good Fortune is finally turning in your direction. Well, that’s nice to know,” I said, taking a bite of the cookie.
Simon discreetly read his fortune, but I noticed him slipping it into his back pocket.
“Aren’t you gonna read yours, Simon?” Brendan asked.
“I’m gonna save it, actually.” He winked.Brendan was practically asleep on the ride home. It had been a late night for him.
I tucked my son into bed as soon as we got back to the house.
While I was with Brendan, Simon had cracked open a bottle of wine and was sipping it in the kitchen when I made my way over to him.
I grabbed the glass from him and took a long sip then licked my lips. His gaze was fixated on my mouth.
Our eyes locked.
I wanted him.
The alcohol I’d consumed was making the need worse.
“Your being there tonight really meant a lot to me, Simon. And you shouldn’t have insisted on paying for dinner.”
Simon took the wine from me. “It was the least I could do. I hadn’t had a chance to get you a present, seeing as though someone was trying to hide her birthday from me.”
“Well, I’m no spring chicken anymore. I don’t advertise this day.”
He took a sip. “You’re thirty-four. That’s not old. In fact, I find the slightly older woman thing to be quite a fucking turn-on.”
The last time my kitchen felt this hot, there was an actual fire.
He moved closer to me to the point where I could feel his words while he spoke and could smell the wine on his breath. “In your letter, you mentioned—among other things that shall not be named—that you were scared I wouldn’t want you once I saw your body. You’re forgetting that I have seen you, more than you probably realize. I got quite an eyeful that first day I walked in on you on the bathroom floor. All the things that you probably think are negatives are actually the things that I find the most sexually arousing: your luscious, plump arse, the slight feminine curve of your stomach, your soft, natural tits. And on top of those things… your eyes—they slay me. Despite everything you’ve been through, they still shine with hope and wonder, whether you realize it or not. You’re beautiful, Bridget. Absolutely fucking beautiful and don’t ever believe otherwise.”