Page 67 of A Match Made In Evan
Jesus, I must love him because I just thought he was ‘adorable’.
“Come on, hot stuff,” I tease, and gesture to the bowl of meat in front of him. “Finish making the patties and I’ll warm up the barbie.”
“I hope you realise you’re not getting laid for at least a week,” he huffs.
“That’s an idle threat. I give you two days before you’re begging for a bj.”
“Pfft. It’ll be you begging.”
I affect nonchalance. “We’ll see.”
(In the end? We last 24 hours by mutual agreement. Well, that’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.)
Bonus Epilogue
James
“So, are you empty-nesters, yet, or is the demon child you unofficially adopted sticking around?” Leo asks me as we sit and watch our men on the soccer pitch.
While the social games they usually play are friendly, Jack and Ev decided to join a amateur competitive league, and their team made it to the finals of their first season. Naturally, their entire social team and their families and friends, Leo and I included, have come to watch the final game. As a group, over the course of the season, we’ve been playfully calling ourselves SPASM (Soccer Partners And Spouses Mostly), which always gets a rise out of our men.
“Demon child?” Toby asks from his seat in front of us.
I am familiar with most of these guys now, seeing as Jack and Leo have become good friends of ours, but there have been a few new faces today. Toby is one of them. He’s in his late forties and looks every bit the typical Gold Coast surfer dude. His skin seems permanently tanned and is weathered by long hours in the sun. He’s got thick, blond hair, and has an enviably athletic frame. It puts my beer gut to shame, that’s for sure. But he’s been very friendly and has come along with Jack’s dad, Will, and his husband, Connor, who are also friends of Ev’s.
“It’s a long story,” I sigh, shaking my head as Leo leans forward and says, “He’sevil.”
“You only think he’s evil because he flirts with Jack,” I tell him, before looking back at Toby. “He’s harmless. Just…forward.”
“Uh huh,” Leo folds his arms across his chest. “All I’m saying is now that he’s eighteen, he’s an adult and I will treat him as such.”
Toby snorts. “Sorry to break it to you, but you’re about as scary as a kitten wearing a tutu, Leo.”
Leo sniffs. “I can’t believe I taught that kid how to contour and then he goes and looksprettierthan me.”
“He doesn’t look—no.” I stop myself before I go down a rabbit hole I can’t climb out of. “No, we’re not going to objectify or belittle Joey when he’s not here to defend himself.”
Leo sighs. “Fine. That’s fair.” He cocks his head. “I’m mostly joking, anyway. Did he get into NIDA with Mia?”
Mostlyjoking. I want to laugh, but I manage to keep my composure.
“He didn’t, no. But he applied to UNSW Sydney for a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Visual Arts and Media…or something like that,” I wince a little because I can never remember the exact name of his chosen degree, “and he got in, so he and Mia are going to share a place together with a couple of other students.”
“That must be stressful for you,” Toby says with empathy. He’s been raising his daughter as a single dad, too, which we bonded over when we were first introduced. “I’ll probably be a wreck when Vi moves out for uni.”
“You’ve still got a handful of years before that’s an issue,” Leo responds. “But, yeah, it would probably be a huge change.” He gives me a little smile. “But you’ve got Ev to keep you on your toes, at least.”
“He’s the biggest child of all of them,” I agree. “With the kids moving out, he’s started begging for a puppy.”
Leo groans. “Don’t let Huddy and Prez hear that. They’ve gotten sick of the cat and are back on the ‘can we have a dog, Dad?’ mantra.”
“Oh dear,” I commiserate, looking up at the pitch briefly as some of the spectators cheer. When I realise they’re cheering for the other team, I switch my attention back to Leo, “how are you distracting them from that?”
“Well, Hudson’s made a new friend at school this year. A little girl named Ava. He’s absolutely smitten, and he wants to do gymnastics classes with her. I’ve told him that he can do that instead of having a puppy.”
“And Preston?” I ask about Hudson’s twin. “He’s not interested in gymnastics?”
“No,” Leo sighs. “He’s going to be a tougher nut to crack. But,oh, get this: Ava’s dad is some former big name soccer player from the UK. Jack went a bit starry-eyed when we met him. It was cute. But, anyway, he’s apparently also the coach of the new Gold Coast soccer team. You know, the A-League one?”
