Page 99 of The Path To Us

Chapter Twenty-One

Beau

“Please tell me you didn’t say that to her face,” Addy says, horrified.

“Hey. She’s the one who asked how it was!” Tyson defends himself with his hands in the air but the look on Addy’s face says she doesn’t care.

“You’re a jackass. You were in an elevator!”

“A jackass who women love. And don’t knock elevator sex. It’s hot as fuck. Especially with the risk of getting caught.”

“But you told her you’d had better. I guarantee that’s not exactly what she was hoping you’d say.”

“I can’t help it. I’m an honest guy,” he says, leaning back in his chair, hands now behind his head. “Besides, she wasn’t even offended. She asked for pointers. I helped her out. I’m generous like that. Even let her blow me again.”

She throws a fry at his face. He picks it up off his chest and pops it in his mouth. Addy huffs and tries to glare. It reminds me of when Zoey tries to look mad at us but she’s really just ticked that she’s not getting her own way.

Adorable.

My woman.

It’s been a month since Addy and I got together. A lot has changed in those four weeks. I closed on my old house and my new-to-me old farmhouse. Richard moved into his duplex in town and the auction was held to get rid of all the belongings he no longer wanted or needed. The process of building a shop at my house is underway and Zoey started kindergarten last week.

Addy and Zoey still live in their house, and sleepovers don’t happen as often as I’d like, but we kind of rushed into things and decided that our relationship was important enough that we wanted to take our time and go through the motions.

Date nights.

Phone calls and texts to let each other know we’re thinking of them.

Family meals with Zoey.

Family meals with my entire family.

Including Richard.

Because he’s definitely part of the family now.

“So what else is new?” Addy asks him, taking a sip of her Coke after a big bite of her mushroom swiss burger. Juices drip down her chin and she wipes it away with a napkin. I wish I could have licked them off.

We’re out to dinner at this little bar called The Flying Goat. The food is basic bar food but the atmosphere is awesome. Plus, they have local bands come in on the weekends and it’s a place that isn’t all about the booze. So for Tyson and his sobriety, it’s not a problem. This is the second time we’ve gone out with Tyson and while it’s a tad bit uncomfortable, it’s not entirely.

“Nothing much. Thinking I’ll buy that place with the ugly green kitchen you showed me. I can do most of the work myself.”

I laugh then see the look on his face. “Oh. You’re serious?”

His bright white teeth show when he smiles. “Fuck off, man. Of course I’m serious. How hard can it be?”

Addy presses her lips together to keep from laughing but I do nothing of the sort. “Maybe have a backup plan just in case.”

He chuckles then leans forward, stealing one of Addy’s fries.

Tyson and I are fast eaters while Addy eats slower than anyone I’ve ever met. She always has over half her plate left when mine is empty, or I’m on my second helping.

“Well, I’ve got the time. If I fuck it all up, I’ll hire someone to fix it. I just don’t want to build a house. Everyone’s expecting that and I don’t need it. It’s just me. Why do I need some several thousand square foot home?”

He’s got a point, even if it surprises me.

We talk a little more about his plans for the house, Addy not being able to stay out of that conversation for sure, before the air in the bar changes and suddenly.

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