Page 77 of Summer Nights

When everything was on a plate, he added the avocado slices on top of the eggs and slid it over to me. "Eat. My baby's hungry."

"I think you mean our baby," I corrected before taking a bite.

He grinned. "Our baby."

I liked the sound of those words on his lips a little too much. Our baby. Our house. How did I know this would last? The familiar panic edged in, but I fought it. I wanted to enjoy this moment. For once, I even wanted to believe that this could be my reality.

I fought the logical side of my brain that said everyone left, everyone disappointed you, and I could take care of everything by myself. Sometimes, it was too much. I wanted someone else to worry about the details. To make the big decisions. That was a slippery slope. If I leaned on Cooper, he had the power to walk away, and I'd be devastated.

"You still up for a game of minigolf?"

I raised my gaze to his, a little surprised. "You still want to go?"

Cooper nodded. "I love minigolf. Haven't been in years."

"You don't have other things to do?" I asked, giving him an out.

He leveled his gaze on me. "I have a billion things I could do. I thought we'd start with what we want to do. And I want to take you minigolfing. My baby can't grow up with a mother who's never been."

I shook my head with a laugh. "Now I know you're being ridiculous."

He flashed me a smile as he plated his food and sat next to me. "I'm taking you minigolfing, and we're getting ice cream afterward."

Warmth bloomed in my chest. "That feels like a date."

"We went about this all backwards. I knocked you up, moved you in, and now we're going on a date."

"You don't have to call it that. I'm not someone you're dating. I'm just the mother of your child," I said quietly, the toast dry in my throat.

"There's no just about it." The challenge I saw in his eyes prevented me from arguing the point any harder.

"Minigolf it is then," I said lightly, hoping he didn't see how important it was to me that he'd fulfilled a promise he'd made. It was one more piece of me that he'd see.

"You're going to love it."

I'd dreamed of minigolfing as a kid. That some boy on the island would ask me out and take me to the place every other girl went to on Friday nights. And when someone had finally asked, I'd already heard the rumors going around that I must be easy since I lived at the trailer park. It might not have been true, but I couldn't chance it, so I refused. I had bigger plans for my future than ruining it on some boy.

When I was younger, they'd tease me about being dirty, as if living in a small house meant you weren't up on your hygiene. Those were hard memories to shake, but I hoped today's outing would clear them.

After breakfast, he drove us off the island, past a couple of elaborately decorated minigolf locations. "What will it be? Jungle or pirate?"

"I kind of want to feed the alligators," I said, hoping he wouldn't think I was ridiculous.

When he put the truck in park, he turned to me. "Why don't we do both, and then we can rate them? It’s research for our child.”

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. "We don't have to go to both."

He winked at me. "You want to though."

I nodded seriously. "I am interested in seeing which one is the best."

"Let's do it. But we'll have to eat ice cream in between to fortify ourselves."

"I might need more than that. I didn't eat my second breakfast yet." I pointed out, knowing how my appetite delighted him.

He got out of the cab and opened my door. "Come on. We have to fit in food somewhere."

At the pirate-themed course, Cooper paid for the game and the alligator treats over my objections. "This is a date. I always pay."

---