Page 65 of All I Need

Ellie: Gary.

My lip curls just reading his name.

Me:He didn’t like you doing that?

Ellie: Of course not. Then I had something for myself. He was… manipulative and I was vulnerable.

Me: You are far from vulnerable.

Ellie: Did you hear from Grayson’s dad? Is he coming?

I let her change of subject go. She knows she’s moved on. I know she’s moved on. No need to keep beating that dead horse.

Me: Yeah. He is. Sounds like I’m going to have to talk to him, though. Something’s up with him and Grayson is starting to get a little freaked.

Ellie: That doesn’t sound good. Well, I hope you guys can have fun tonight. Miss Polly said she wants to watch the game so wave if you see a camera in front of your face.

Me: HahahahaWill do. I’ll text you later.

Ellie: Okay!

I want to keep the conversation going but I hear the water turn off in the shower so I know Grayson will be emerging from the bathroom soon. Best to turn off thoughts of Ellie for a bit and focus on Grayson and the rest of the weekend.

I hear a knock on the door and I blow out a breath, thankful that Mick didn’t lie to Grayson about coming this weekend.

“Is that Dad?” Grayson asks through the heavy bathroom door.

“Assume so since it’s the adjoining door. Just finish getting ready and I’ll grab the door.”

I walk the few steps it takes to get to the adjoining door to the room next to us. We’ve done this for years. Early on it was because Grayson liked having the extra room and quite frankly, it felt a little funny to sleep in the same room as Mick. Now it’s just become habit.

Mick’s on the other side of the door when I open it. He props it open so it doesn’t lock and lumbers into our room. We shake hands in greeting and I want to lay into him for being a jackass where Grayson is concerned but it’s not my place. It’s Willow’s.

“How’s it going, man?”

“Good. Good. Been a busy year and lots of stuff changing around but it’s good. Where’s Grayson?”

“Finishing up getting ready. He was excited you were able to make the trip.”

“Yeah? That’s…” he rubs the back of his neck, “that’s really great to hear. I wasn’t sure. Lately we haven’t been able to talk as much. I know he’s feeling it, too. He’s getting so damn old and I’m missing it all. Every day it just gets harder and harder to be away from him.”

“I can imagine. I don’t want to, but I can.”

“I’m glad you’re there but I need to admit something. It makes me a little crazy. I know you’re close to him and you’ve never tried to pretend you’re his dad but…”

His words trail off but I know where he’s going with it. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before from him. He’s grateful that I’m here when he can’t be but plain and simple, he’s also jealous. I don’t blame him. I’m man enough to admit that if something shifted in our relationship and I was suddenly on the outside looking in, it would be a hard pill to swallow.

“Hey Dad,” Grayson says, interrupting our tense moment. I don’t know if he heard or not but by the sideways glance he offers me before giving his dad a hug, he did.

I leave them alone to catch up for a few minutes while I shower and get ready myself.

Thirty minutes later we’re walking down the sidewalk, Grayson snapchatting our trip the entire way, when Mick speaks up. “Willow tells me there’s someone new in your life?”

I raise an eyebrow at him and he barks out a laugh. “Since when do you and Willow discuss my dating life?”

“So you’re dating her now, huh?” Grayson says, turning around to walk backwards so he’s facing us and not paying any attention to where he’s going. “Dad, you should see Walker. He’s like so gaga over her. Every time he talks about her he gets this cheesy grin on his face. He even hired her to replace Linda.” He bursts out laughing.

“What happened with Linda?”

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