He’s not amused. I should’ve went bigger.
Sal, the owner, comes walking up to our table, holding a ball of pizza dough in one hand. He knows all of us well, especially Tessa and myself. We came here all the time back in high school.
“How’s it going? We bring our big bellies today?” He smiles down at Nolan and sets the dough on the table in front of him. “You make any shape you like, okay? I bake it for you and you take it home.”
“Oh cool!” Nolan starts pounding his fist into the dough to flatten it out.
Sal looks around the table. “What’ll it be today?”
“Just cheese for us,” Mia replies before looking across the table. “Do you want to do half and half?”
I nod. “Yeah, sounds good.” I look over at Tessa. “What do you want? Everything?”
She turns her hand into a gun, points it at me, and makes a clicking sound in the back of her throat. “Bingo.”
“Okay, half cheese, half the works,” Sal echoes the order in his thick accent. “And to drink?”
“White milk,” Nolan declares as he sits up on his knees and hovers over the dough for leverage.
“White milk?” I ask.
Mia shakes her head through a smile, looking between Sal and myself. “He means plain milk. Not chocolate. It’s how he’s been saying it lately.”
“Daddy says milk will help me get big muscles like him.” He looks across the table, tilting his head up to see me underneath his hat. “Do you dwink white milk too, Uncle Weed? For youwr muscles?”
“Yeah, of course.” I look up at Sal. “I’ll have a root beer.”
A foot connects with my shin underneath the table, and I drop my eyes to Mia who’s exaggerating her stare and officially confusing the hell out of me.
“What?” I silently ask, holding my hands out. It’s then I look back to Nolan and see his eyes still on me, wide and unsure.
Ah. Got it.
I look up at Sal. “On second thought, I think I’ll do white milk too. I wouldn’t dare drink anything else with pizza.”
Nolan grins and resumes hitting his tiny fists into the dough.
“I’ll have a root beer,” Tessa says through a teasing smirk as her fingers poke me in the ribs.
“You’re a menace. You don’t even like root beer.”
She shrugs, her smile growing obnoxiously. “I like it just fine, thank you. Mind yo’ business.”
“I’ll just have a water,” Mia orders, sending Sal away from the table. She bounces Chase gently in her lap when he starts fussing. “So, what do you think you’ll do if you see Molly? Are you going to talk to her?”
I settle back in the booth while my fingers pull apart the napkin in front of me, tearing it into tiny pieces. “Already saw her.”
“What?” Tessa shoves against my shoulder.
Christ, these two are violent when they’re hungry.
“What do you mean you already saw her? And you didn’t call me? What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing’s wrong with me. I just didn’t feel like talking about it.”
“Girl code, Reed.” Tessa crosses her arms with a pout, leaning her back against the window to fully face me. She makes a soft tsk sound. “I’m disappointed in you.”
The fuck?
“Girl code? Is that what you just said? You realize I have a penis, right? A very large, well-loved penis.”
Nolan giggles across the table, and I realize my error, which is only confirmed as I lock onto Mia’s tested glare. I risk a glance over at Tessa, who merely rolls her eyes, as if she’ll never believe I’m not a fucking chick.
“Well, what happened, Mr. Zero Filter around my children? Where did you see her?”
I dodge Mia’s expectant stare, pinch my eyes shut, and let my head fall back as I take in a slow breath.
This is just what I need. On my own, I can’t stop thinking about Saturday night. Now I’m going to be forced to re-live it out loud, and I don’t think getting an erection right now will play out well for me.
“Hellooo.” Tessa snaps her fingers in front of my face, prompting me to open my eyes and tilt my head down. “I do need to get back to the house sometime today. I have a stack of transcripts waiting for me.”
I nod a silent thank you to Sal as he sets our drinks down in front of us. Nolan grabs his milk and brings it up to his lips, his eyes seeking mine and willing me to do the same.
For fuck’s sake. I need a beer right now. Not some kiddie drink. But it’s Nolan. And he’s staring at me, wearing that crazy big hard hat, like I’m his damn idol or something.
I grab the milk, tip it back, and swallow a mouthful. Nolan does the same after I’ve set my glass back down.