Page 41 of When Stars Collide
“Your shorts are on the floor, Dad.” Jackson reached down, coming back up with Peter’s basketball shorts.”
“Thanks, bud.” He reached out his arm to take the shorts from Jackson. “Hey, why don’t you go to the kitchen? I’ll be right there to make you breakfast.”
“If by make breakfast, you mean cereal, I can just do that myself.”
“I was going to add in some toast, too.”
“How about waffles? Can we make some waffles?”
“You drive a hard bargain, but I think we can manage that.”
“Yes!” Excited, Jackson turned back around to leave the room.
“Close the door on the way out,” Peter called after him.
Already in the hall, Jackson did an about-face, grabbed the handle, and slammed the door shut behind him.
“There’s no way I was going to deny the kid waffles after the years of therapy he just saw.”
“I always knew I’d be the reason for someone’s therapy visits someday.”
“Did you forget that I asked you to make sure the door was locked before you came to bed?” he asked, rubbing his temple.
“Are you seriously putting this all on me? I’m sorry that it slipped my mind. Unlike you, I’m not used to having a fun-sized version of me busting into my room like the Kool-Aid man every morning.”
“First, if anyone’s fun-sized here, it’s not Jackson.” He smiled slyly at me. “Secondly, I’m now going to have yet another incident to explain to Amanda, and based upon how the first one went down, my night is going to be total hell.”
“Things happen. Why does everything have to be blown out of proportion with her?”
“She’s Jackson’s mother, and I respect her wishes when it comes to the way Jackson should be raised and what he should and shouldn’t be exposed to.”
“What about your wishes, does she respect those? Do you even get a say?”
“Of course, I do. It’s just—”
“Easier to let her have her way.”
He sighed. Peter speak for ‘drop it’. “We both just want what’s best for Jackson. Arguing with each other is the exact opposite of that.”
“And what if she decides that me being out of the picture is what’s best for Jackson … you know, since I’m the opposite of maternal, and all?”
“That’s not going to happen, Mena. Amanda knows her boundaries.”
“Daaad! The waffles aren’t going to make themselves.”
“That would be my cue to get my ass up and out of bed.” He kissed me on the forehead, flashing one of his trademark smirks just before rolling out of bed to join Jackson in the kitchen.
Although he tried to be reassuringly direct in his dismissal of my not-so-subtle insecurities, there was something about the way he said it, something about the look in his eyes, that told me things were changing between us—or maybe they already had changed and I’d just been too distracted to see it. Whether that change was for the better or for the worse, though, remained to be seen.
CHAPTER SIX
My cell phone was propped up on my desk, allowing me to work while I FaceTimed with Elle, who was changing into her first wedding dress. Kirsten was with her, holding Elle’s phone.
“Good lord, Elle, you’re not getting married today. What’s taking so long over there?” I asked.
“You can’t rush perfection,” she replied, her voice a bit muffled from the distance between herself and the phone.
“No, but you can kick it in the ass a time or two.”
