Enjoying the Chase (Guarded Hearts 2)

DJ pouted. “Momma wants you,” he grumbled, obviously not pleased about having to share the phone. “Nate saided I could take my scooter to the park,” he said, putting the phone in my hand.

As I put it to my ear, I could hear Nate laughing. “Good morning. You hungover today?” I asked, grinning.

“Momma wants me, does she?” he replied, not answering my question.

I sighed dreamily. Heck yes I did actually! “Definitely,” I confirmed.

“Well I’ll pencil you in for when I get home. If you want, I’ll call you again tonight,” he purred suggestively.

I closed my eyes at the thought. Nate’s pillow talk was one of the sexiest things I’d ever heard in my life. His words could do things to my body that Josh had never managed to do using everything available to him.

“I don’t think I could handle a call like that two nights in a row. I think I’d pretty much go into meltdown,” I confessed.

He sighed. “Me either, actually,” he admitted. “So, my lazy ass of a sister said that she’s too tired to come to the park right now. She said she’ll call you later and meet up for dinner if you want to.”

“Yeah, okay. Tell her to call me when she gets her butt out of bed then,” I suggested. DJ was zipping up his coat, his shoes were already on. His scooter was sitting by the door as if he was going to somehow sneak it out without me noticing. I smiled. “Did you tell DJ that I’d take his scooter to the park?” I asked Nate.

“No. Why?” he replied.

I smiled and shook my head. “No reason. I’d better go. Have a good day at work. Stay safe, and if you get a break then call me, okay? But not at four in the morning.” I added the last part quickly, knowing he would call me when he finished his shift otherwise.

“Okay, Stripes. See ya.”

I closed my phone and raised one eyebrow at DJ. “Nate just told me I had to take your scooter to the park with us. You’re lucky he’s so great, huh?” I teased, deciding to let him get his way.

His eyes widened as he clapped excitedly. “I love Nate!” he practically shouted.

I blinked a couple of times at his words. He’d never said that before. It sounded so sweet coming out of his mouth. I silently wondered what Nate would say about that if he heard those words tumble out of DJ’s mouth. He looked like he meant it too; his lips were pulled up into a big toothy grin as he gripped the handlebars of his scooter for dear life.

I didn’t know how to answer that, so I said nothing, deciding to change the subject quickly. “Come on then, Baby. Let’s get to the park before it gets too busy and you can’t scoot,” I suggested, grabbing my purse and keys and opening the door to leave.

That afternoon Anna came over with Cameron for a visit and girlie catch up. While we had coffee, DJ was busy sorting through his car collection, trying to find one that didn’t have any loose pieces so that Cam could play with him. I was sitting on the sofa, just fussing over the cutest little baby I had seen since DJ was born. Cameron was beautiful; his big hazel eyes just seemed to take everything in as he looked at me and smiled at the funny faces I was pulling.

“So, Ashton’s still grumbling about that boys’ golf day from weeks ago,” Anna said, shaking her head, laughing. “I’ll warn you now that he’s planning a rematch in the very near future, so tell your dad and Nate to expect a call.”

I laughed at that statement. Apparently, the ‘boys’ golfing day’ that was originally supposed to be just Nate, my dad, and DJ turned into some sort of boys’ fun fest. Ashton invited himself along as soon as he heard about it, which then in turn made Seth pout until he was invited as well, and then Anna’s father had gotten wind of it. Before you know it, there were twelve of them playing. Ashton, being not very good at golf, took the hit and lost by a clear mile. Six weeks later and he still hadn’t lived it down. From what I understand, by the end of the eighteen holes, the boys were calling him ‘hole in none’ – started by Nate, of course. Ashton really was a sore loser and didn’t take it lightly when he wasn’t very good at something.

“Ashton’s way too funny,” I chuckled, tickling Cameron at the same time.

Anna sighed and rested her head back on the sofa. “Yeah, but sometimes he whines like a little girl,” she countered, grinning fondly.

I smiled. Anna and Ashton were so in love that it was almost sickening to see. I chewed on my lip as I wondered if I would ever get Nate to look at me the way that Ashton looked at Anna. It had always been plain to see that he was besotted by Anna, even when they were ‘pretending’ to be a couple at college when we all first met. Even then you could see it in his eyes. But Nate, he was just so much harder to read. I desperately wanted to ask Anna for her opinion, but I was scared it would somehow get back to Nate and would ruin everything. I’d seen Nate and Ashton together, sometimes they gossiped like a couple of old ladies standing at a fence.

“Everyone has to have a flaw,” I joked, shrugging, shifting Cameron on my lap because he was chewing fistfuls of my hair.

She nodded. “Yeah but his flaw is the snoring! Rosie, I swear to God, last night it was so loud that he woke himself up,” she said, laughing.

I laughed along with her, and was silently thankful that Nate didn’t snore. Not that I would probably hear him, I slept like the dead. The only thing that woke me up in the night was DJ. It was like I had some kind of sonar when it came to him, but everything else just didn’t get through.

“How do you cope with a snorer?” I asked, looking at her in awe. That was real love; she didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

She shrugged, smiling affectionately. “I like it actually. It reminds me that he’s there. It makes me sleep better when he’s growling in my ear. Cam sleeps through it too. Ashton doesn’t believe me when I tell him he snores; I swear he thinks I’m making it up. When he woke himself up last night, he gave me this quizzical look, so I just pretended that I woke him, and let him keep his dignity,” she chuckled.

“You two are hilarious. It’s almost six years now, right?” I asked, squealing when Cam started biting on my finger.

Anna nodded in confirmation. “Yep,” she replied dreamily, popping the p.

I chewed on my lip and decided to ask the question that I’d been dying to ask for months. “Anna, how do you get him to stay in love with you, even after all that time? I dread the day when I lose Nate’s interest. How do I keep him wanting more like you do with Ashton?” I asked quietly, eyeing DJ, who was still rummaging through his cars. I didn’t really want him to hear this conversation; I didn’t want him to start worrying about the day that Nate got bored. DJ was going to be devastated when it happened.

Anna smiled kindly. “Rosie, Nate’s crazy about you, stop stressing about it. He’s not like the other one,” she assured me, obviously not wanting to say Josh’s name in case DJ heard. “I’ve known Nate a long time and I’ve never once seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.”

I felt slightly better because of her words. I knew I was his only proper girlfriend, and that he’d never been in a serious relationship before, but that knowledge still didn’t stop the freak out that I had practically every day as to whether today would be the day that he finally realised that he could do better than a single mother. I knew that day would come, eventually. I just wasn’t right for him at all, and sooner or later, he’d see that. For now though, I was happy going along for the ride, lapping up his attention and kisses, savouring every one of them in case it was the last one I got.

Anna scooted off the sofa, settling down next to DJ. “So, what are we playing?” she asked, rummaging through the box along with him.

I smiled and pushed myself up off the sofa, sitting Cam between Anna’s legs. “I’m gonna make more coffee. You want something, Baby?”

“Chocolate milkshake with maple syrup!” he called.

I sighed and shook my head, smiling to myself. That was the little gross combination that Nate had got DJ hooked on a couple of weeks ago. The pair of them were so alike, sometimes it was like they were really father and son. As I pulled open the fridge to get out the milk, my intercom buzzed from downstairs. I frowned, shaking back the sleeve of Nate’s sweater that I was wearing, checking the time. It was only quarter past two. Paige was obviously super early, she wasn’t due here until five.

I headed over to the door, pressing the button on the speaker. “Hello?”

“Hey, bunny.”

I groaned when I heard Josh’s voice. I really didn’t need this today. Whenever Anna and Josh were in the same room, it was like you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. And he wasn’t even supposed to be here today; he was sick and couldn’t have DJ for the weekend. I didn’t answer as I pressed the button for the door downstairs, letting him into the building.

I chewed on my lip as I looked back at Anna, who was still sitting on the floor playing with DJ and Cameron. “DJ, Daddy’s here,” I called, not really wanting to see Anna’s face when I said it. She always tried so hard to keep the look of distaste off her face when he was around or when I mentioned his name, but I knew that she’d secretly love to sucker punch him.

DJ squealed and ran to my side. I opened the door and smiled at Rick, who was waiting outside the door, guarding Anna. “Josh is on his way up,” I told him, shrugging.

He nodded in response. He was in work mode today, so no joking around or anything even though we were friends. There was such a distinct difference in his personality when he was working, it was almost comical.

DJ was just standing patiently by the open door, watching the stairs like Santa Claus was due here any second. The hero worship that Josh got from his son was a little sickening and heart-breaking. Kids forgive and forget so easily. I missed being a kid sometimes.

Josh strutted up the stairs, smiling as DJ ran out into the hallway, jumping on him immediately. I sighed and raised one eyebrow, silently asking him what he was here for, unannounced, uninvited and unwanted.

“Do you feels better, Daddy?” DJ questioned, clinging to his dad as if he was going to disappear in a puff of smoke any second.

Josh smiled awkwardly, and I really hoped he felt guilty for not coming last night when he was supposed to. Maybe he was going to suggest he take him for tonight instead and bring him back tomorrow. He never usually turned up on the Saturday if he cancelled on the Friday night, so this was totally unexpected.

“Yeah, buddy, I’m feeling a lot better,” Josh replied, kissing the side of DJ’s head but keeping his eyes trained on mine. I couldn’t help but notice the smirk on his lips as he looked at me. His expression was, for want of a better word, smug.

“So, what’s up?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, glaring at him so he knew he was in the doghouse.

He smiled sadly, but it seemed a little forced somehow. “I need to talk to you about something important.” He looked down at DJ and smiled. “I need to talk to Momma, why don’t you go play in your room?” he suggested, setting DJ down on his feet.

DJ pouted. “But I’m playing with Auntie Anna and Cam!”

Josh’s eyes tightened. “Yeah, I figured she was here because of the trained ape standing at the door,” he replied, his voice a little harsh.

“What is this about, Josh? Can’t it wait?” I suggested, flicking my eyes to the lounge to see that Anna was packing up Cameron’s stuff. I frowned angrily because Josh seemed to be chasing my best friend away.

“No, it can’t. I really need to speak to you now. In private. Maybe you could ask Little Miss Important, if she could watch DJ and we could go grab a coffee or something,” he suggested distastefully.

Anna made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat as she walked into the hallway. “Little Miss Important is now leaving,” she growled sarcastically. She turned to face me and forced a smile. “Want me to take DJ to mine for a couple of hours? Ashton can drop him back before your dinner with Paige,” she offered.

I frowned and looked back at Josh. I hated that he was ruining my day with my friend. Was it not enough for him that he ruined my night last night? When Josh nodded encouragingly, I chewed on the inside of my lip, wondering what on earth could be that important.

I looked back to Anna and smiled gratefully. “You sure that’s okay?”

“Absolutely.” She looked down at DJ. “Want to come to mine and play? Ashton will play on the Wii with you.”

DJ looked a little torn. You could see the want on his face, as soon as she mentioned the Wii he was hooked, but at the same time his eyes darted to Josh, obviously wanting to spend some time with his dad.

Josh nodded. “Go with Anna, buddy. I really need to talk to your mom,” he instructed. DJ smiled weakly; I could tell he was disappointed and it made me want to punch Josh in the face with a brick. Josh helped DJ with his shoes, while I went to the hall cupboard and pulled out the spare car seat that Nate had bought for his car. The whole time, Anna’s eyes were looking anywhere but Josh. I saw her jaw tighten as his gaze flicked down to her ass. She looked like he was three seconds from feeling her foot on his balls.

Once DJ left with Anna and Rick, I blew out a big breath and closed the door, turning back to Josh. I mentally crossed my fingers that he wasn’t going to tell me that he was going to fail on the child support again this month. If he was, I was totally screwed.

Josh smiled sadly as soon as we were alone. “So, I have something to tell you. I don’t know how you’re going to take it,” he started, shrugging. For some reason, I thought this was going to be really bad news, but his posture was to the contrary, he actually looked like he was secretly enjoying this. I nodded for him to continue, unable to speak. “I went out last night and I saw your boyfriend all over other girls. He f**ked one of them in the bathroom. After that I saw him kissing another girl too.”