Meet Me Halfway

His eyebrows shot up, the hazel of his eyes appearing more brown in the darkening evening light. “Like administrative courses for your job or something?”

“No, I’m enrolled full time. I have a few associate degrees I transferred with, but I’m focusing on my bachelor’s right now. It’s honestly not awful, I just do it at night because of my work schedule.”

“And you’re a mom.” He shook his head, releasing a heavy sigh. “Jesus fucking Christ, Madison.”

Before thinking better of it, I reached over and patted his knee, “It’s really not as bad as it sounds.”

His eyes darted down, focusing on where I touched him. Feeling like I’d crossed an invisible line, I pulled it back, but his eyes stayed pinned on his knee.

“I get it now, why you told Layla you don’t—”

My phone’s shrill ringtone filled the silence, cutting him off and making me jump. I bundled the blanket up and tossed it in his lap, lifting my legs and searching for the phone hidden somewhere beneath me.

It was probably Layla calling while she watched us from the living room window like a voyeur. I’d answer, and she’d likely greet me with a dirty comment about Garrett. I was already chuckling over the imaginary conversation when I located the device.

Caller ID: Don’t Answer.

My fingers clenched around the screen involuntarily, and my body tensed. How many years would it take for me to stop reacting this way? How many years away from him before the thought of his voice no longer sent me into a downward spiral of self-hatred?

I closed my eyes, willing it away, but when I opened them, the contact name was still across my screen, laughing at me. I’d known his silence wouldn’t last forever. Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? Forget me? It wasn’t hard, Jamie’s sperm donor had proved that much.

Angry at myself for my inability to keep from obsessing over past mistakes, I smashed the power button harder than necessary to silence it, and looked up at Garrett. “Sorry about that. What were you saying?”

But he wasn’t looking at me. In fact, I wouldn’t call what he was doing ‘looking’ at all. He was glaring down at the phone in my hand with such vehemence that I legitimately wondered if he might light the device on fire with nothing but the flames of his eyes. He looked furious, and it instantly had me backtracking.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have tried to answer my phone while you were talking, that was rude of me.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to come up with something to say or do that would ease the sudden tension between us. I wasn’t sure when my mind had decided to consider this man my friend, but it had.

He raised his eyes to mine slowly, reluctantly, like he feared my phone might leap up and stab me in the chest if he removed his gaze from it. He exhaled through his nose, squeezing the fleece blanket between his hands like he wished it was someone’s neck.

I frowned down at the helpless fabric. Was he angry that I’d cut him off to pick up my phone, or because of who’d been calling? It couldn’t have been the latter. Even if he saw the contact, it wasn’t a name. And why would he care anyway?

Feeling confused, I mumbled, “All right, well, I should go back inside. I’m surprised they haven’t come looking for me yet.” I gave him a small smile, the pressure in my chest lessening when his face relaxed minutely.

“Would you…” I hesitated, unsure if it was okay to invite him inside. Besides Nate, whom I’d never seen outside of work, I hadn’t had a male friend since high school. I didn’t have experience with where the lines were in a male-female friendship.

“I feel like it’s all I ever offer you, but I was planning on making my fiftieth cup of coffee for the day. Would you like some?”

He grunted, and I chose to take that as a silent agreement. Slapping my thighs, I said, “Come on, it’s cold out here.”

Getting up, I nudged him with my foot. Whereas I’d had to shove off my knees and heave myself up, he rose in one smooth movement. His gloriously thick thighs doing all the work.

Good Lord, what was wrong with me? Thoughts like that were definitely crossing the line of friendship. I grabbed the blanket and shook it out to distract myself before heading toward the house.

Both dogs instantly went for him, one in excitement, the other in furious outrage. I rolled my eyes, walking toward my little family who’d moved to the table and were now playing a game of Guess Who.

“Child of mine, shouldn’t you be getting ready for bed by now?”

“I was going to go outside and ask you if we could play one more game, but Layla told me not to bother you. She said you were having a mental crisis and would come back in when you were done asking the sky for the answers to life.”

I slid my eyes to the woman behind that statement. I was going to kick her in the ovaries when she least expected it. I opened my mouth but didn’t get the chance to reprimand either of them when Garrett’s rumbling laughter echoed out right behind me, sending shivers up my spine.

I glanced back, but he was standing so close, I only got an eyeful of chest. Tipping my face up, I squinted my eyes, but that only made him laugh harder.

“That sounds about right, J-man.”

I flung my hands up in defeat. “I hope you all get restless leg syndrome the second you try to fall asleep. Which, speaking of sleep, you seriously need to finish up and get ready, bud. It’s past your bedtime, and you have school tomorrow.”

He grumbled, flicking the remaining plastic figures down and loading the game back into its box. I watched him shuffle to his room, Sadie at his heels. She’d taken to sleeping with him lately, and although he wouldn’t admit it, he was eating it up.

“Coffee still okay with you, Garrett? I could also do tea or a glass of water?” He looked down at me, close enough I could feel the heat from his chest, and I fought the urge to press my chilled body against him for warmth.

“Coffee’s fine.”

I gave him a thumbs up, setting to work and chatting with him and Layla about their plans for the weekend. Layla seemed to be the only one with anything exciting happening.

“You sure you don’t need me to stay home to watch Jamie for you Saturday?”

I waved a hand near my head. “Nope, my parents are excited to have some extra time with him. You and Rick go off and have fun. Hike, get some vicious leg cramps, sweat profusely, attract mosquitoes, all that fun outdoorsy stuff.”

She gave me an unimpressed look. She and Rick were not, in any way, the outdoorsy type. They’d probably stay in and write new, amazing music all day.

Garrett had moved to the bar to watch me work. He looked so out of place with his huge mass of a body trying to get comfortable on our cheap barstool. “Which jobs do you do on the weekend?”

Grabbing the finished pot, I poured it into the two mismatched mugs I’d pulled out. “Payroll on Sunday and waitressing each night. Although, I honestly think I might call out from the restaurant. Someone recently told me I look awful so I think maybe I should pull back a bit.”

I winked at him over my shoulder and swore his eyes flared in response. But by the time I turned to slide him his mug and creamer, he was back to his normal, stoic expression.

“I actually start a new position Saturday as well.”

He wrapped his long fingers around the cup, and my gaze was drawn to his full lips as he pursed them to blow across the top. “Another one?”

“Kind of. I’m just a fill-in, nothing permanent.” I leaned back, gesturing to my body with an exaggerated wave, “You’re looking at a newly licensed, unarmed guard. Saturday’s my first solo shift.”

His mug hit the counter with an abrupt thunk, causing my head to jolt back. I could practically see the anger seeping from his pores. The man’s moods were going to give me serious whiplash one of these days.

“You’re fucking with me.”

I grimaced, unsure what to do with the unapologetic audacity he was flaunting at me. “No.”

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