"That's not a bad point."
"And now that running off to Third Street isn't a concern, what is he going to do? Blast some music?"
"The music can get annoying."
"So cut off the internet," she said, eyes dancing. "No one has CDs anymore. So he would have no music. No streaming stations for shows or movies. No video games. In a short couple of hours, he will be begging you for forgiveness even though he was right in the first place."
"You, Gus, are an evil, evil woman," I told her.
"I know, right? I can't wait to have kids and make them hate me," she said, smirking. "Speaking of the crotch-fruit," she said, nodding toward the driveway where Colson's SUV was pulling in.
Jelly jumped out first.
"How about I go next door and corrupt Colson's little angel for an hour while you go a few rounds with your kid? Though, from the looks of him, he won't be putting up much of a fight. I think I can smell him through the walls," she declared, wrinkling her nose, then rushing out of the room and the house, grabbing Jelena's hand, and leading her up to her house while Colson looked on in horror. Which seemed an appropriate reaction.
"Should I be worried?" he asked, coming in, watching Gus close his front door before pressing a kiss to my temple.
"Probably," I said, nodding. "Hey, bud..."
"I need to shower," Jacob said, rushing past me.
"Oh, yes you do," I said, wrinkling my nose. "How did it go?" I asked Colson.
"Well, he is more than a little humiliated that Jelena knocked him on his ass more than a handful of times," Colson said, shrugging.
"What I am hearing is his spirit is shattered, so it is the perfect time to talk to him about bikers and gangs and his very promising career as a cardiac surgeon."
"Why cardiac surgeon?" Colson asked, following me into the kitchen.
"Because they make over four-hundred grand a year. Neurosurgeons make the most at like six-hundred-k. But that might be a little too far reaching for a kid who once told me he couldn't go to school because his frontal loaf was hurting."
"It is smart to have reasonable goals," Colson agreed, eyes dancing.
"Exactly, plus, the cardiac surgeon thing works with my lecture about wanting to join a gang and how that was like tearing his mother's heart out. I'm still working at it, but it's going to be good."
"Given this a lot of thought, huh?" he asked, coming up to me, putting his hands on my hips, making a little shiver move through me.
"Yes."
"Then I feel like a dick because I already had that talk with him."
"What? When?"
"On the way to the gym before we grabbed Jelly."
"How did he take it?"
"Well. I think after the shock of hearing about Miguel, he came to see what we were all saying. And he really took to the guys at the club. So I think he was receptive to what I had to say."
"Did he call you a hypocrite?"
"Nope."
"He totally would have called me a hypocrite," I said, my eyes going to slits, making Colson smile.
"Then it was good that I had that particular talk with him. I didn't mean to overstep, babe. If I did, I'm sorry. It was just a good moment for me to get into it with him."
"Oh, God. No, please. Overstep anytime you want if it helps him become a good man."
"You calling me a good man?" he asked, eyes going gooey.
"Fine, yes, you're pretty awesome. Even if you are a weird flosser."
He snorted at that. "My dentist told me to put toothpaste on my floss."
"It's still weird," I insisted. "Thank you, though, for having that talk with Jacob. I think he is really looking for that male guidance. And, hey, anytime you don't want to have an uncomfortable talk with Jelena, send her my way."
"She's coming to you when she gets cramps. I think I scarred her for life about the period talk."
"Yeah, send her my way. I have the happy pills and chocolate bars."
"Yeah, I know. I saw your nightstand," he teased.
"Do you have to work tonight?"
"No."
"It's my night off. Maybe we can explore some other items from that nightstand together. Ones that require batteries..."
"I think we can arrange that."
Fifteen minutes later, I had a freshly showered kid actually helping me in the kitchen, and a man setting the table when the front door opened and Gus walked in, throwing up her hands.
"I tried!" she declared, sighing.
"Tried what?"
"To get her to watch smutty TV with me. But noooo. She had homework to do," Gus declared, moving into the room as Colson chuckled. "Speaking of smut," she said, her gaze falling on Jacob. "I saw your browser history," she declared, making Jacob's eyes turn into saucers as his cheeks went red. "Oh, my God. No, I didn't. But you totally just gave yourself away," she said, laughing. "Okay. I think I have done enough damage here today," she added, beaming with satisfaction. "I will be back the day after tomorrow to see what other shit I can stir up. Bye!"