Page 74 of Together We Burn
“I’m fine, macho man,” I said, batting his hands away as he cupped my face.
“No, Mom, you’re not doing it right,” Nate moaned, taking the device off Chris to show her properly. “Look, everyMario Brothersgame that existed in the store.” His voice got louder and louder as his excitement rose, showing the new games that had now appeared on his device.
“You’re very lucky, buddy,” Chris said, kissing her boy’s cheek. “Did you say thanks?”
“Duh!”
“Nathan,” Chris scolded. “Less of the sass, or I’ll ask Jake to return them.”
“No, Mom, you can’t,” Nate said, holding the Switch away from her. “It was like five hundred dollars.”
Chris gasped and looked at Jake. “That’s seriously too much, Jake.”
“It’s fine. I don’t have any nieces or nephews to spoil, so it’s worth it.”
Nate looked over at Jake like he’d hung the moon. His affection was easy to buy, or maybe Jake was just that good with children. I squeezed Jake’s hand.
Alex entered the living room and stood behind Chris, his fingers ghosting across the tops of her shoulder. He leaned over, plucked Nate out of her lap, and held him upside down, tickling his sides as he squealed and kicked his legs in the air, close to hitting Alex’s head.
“We’re going to go to Jake’s apartment and order some pizza,” Alex said, holding my panting nephew against his chest as his legs flopped over his shoulder.
“We’re not staying here?” Chris asked, looking up at Alex.
He shook his head. “No, gorgeous, Jake’s apartment has more room, the rich bastard.”
“Five bucks, Uncle Alex.” Nate laughed as Alex resumed tickling him.
“It made more sense. That way, we can all be together,” I added, and Chris nodded, seemingly happy with the idea.
“Your Aunt Stefy’s dog is there,” Alex said, righting Nate and plopping him to his feet. He stumbled, clearly dizzy from being upside down.
“You’ve got a dog?” Nate asked with wide eyes.
I smiled. “Yeah, his name’s Rocky.”
“He’s huge,” Jake supplied, getting to his feet and dragging me with him.
I grabbed my backpack, packed with enough clothes to last me a while from the bottom of the stairs where I’d left it earlier, Alex doing the same. We exited the house, Jake and I going to his SUV, as Alex said he’d ride with Chris to “show her where she’s going.”
Nate stood, staring longingly at Jake’s car. “Mom, can I go with Jake and Stefy?” he asked, pointing to the SUV. Chris looked at Jake, and he shrugged.
“If it’s okay with you, it’s fine with me,” he said.
“Okay, Nate, but not in the front,” Chris called as he ran to the passenger side and opened the door. He huffed and looked back at his mom, giving his best puppy dog eyes. “No, buddy, you’re not old enough.”
“Fine,” he huffed, moving one door over and sliding inside. I heard Alex laugh as he opened the passenger door of Chris’s Chevrolet Traverse and helped her inside.
It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Nothing is going on,I chanted over and over in my head as Jake started his car. Sliding into the front, I buckled my seat belt and closed my eyes.
Taking my hand, Jake lifted it to his lips and kissed it. “You okay, baby?”
“He better not have fucked my sister, Jake. Or I’ll fucking kill him.”
Nate’s little laugh came from behind me. “Ten bucks, Stefy.”
Jake chuckled, kissing my hand once more, then pulled out of the driveway.
Fuck my life. This was going to be a costly sleepover.
