Hix closed the door behind him while Andy replied, “Can we go to a game?”
These were the times I had to tread cautiously.
Either he wanted to go to another one.
Or he forgot he’d already been to one.
If it was the second, and I reminded him, he might get frustrated and that could be bad, especially with Lou and the girls heading out to see him.
“Uh . . . a Glossop Raiders game?” I asked the floor where I’d again aimed my eyes.
“Yeah, that’d be cool!” he exclaimed.
He’d forgotten.
My head dropped so now I was looking at my lap.
Hix sat beside me on the bed.
“I’ll have to talk to Gemini,” I told him. “I work Fridays, Andy.”
And I’d already asked for a weekend off. Gemini would arrange another one for me if I explained or if I didn’t, he knew Andy had these problems, but I couldn’t do it frequently.
There was an act coming in but that was weeks away and it might not be during a home game.
“Yeah, I know,” Andy said.
“And, well, he’ll have to let me take a Friday off.”
Hixon’s hand took mine and then he did something strange.
Strange and tender and fascinating and wonderful and amazing.
He rested the back of my hand on my thigh, put the heel of his palm to mine and stroked the insides of my fingers with his fingertips in a sweet, soothing way.
I liked every way he touched me physically, and it might make me crazy, but I liked that way the best.
“Yeah, I know,” Andy repeated.
Staring at Hix touching my fingers, I replied, “I’ll talk to him, darlin’, and we’ll see.”
“Okay, Ta-Ta. Gemini’ll say yes. He always says yes. And it’ll be great. We can ask Lou to come and the girls too.”
“Yeah,” I agreed because I knew it was great because it already had been.
I also made a mental note to text Lou and tell her to tell the girls not to mention the game.
“Feel better,” he said. “So you can come on Thursday.”
“I will for sure, buddy. Have fun with Lou and the girls, yeah?”
“For sure, Ta-Ta. ’Bye.”
“’Bye, baby bro.”
He hung up.
I dropped the phone to my other thigh and stared at Hix and my hands.
Topper: he had beautiful hands.
“What was that?” Hix asked.
I looked up at him to see him staring down at me.
“Andy wants to go to a Raiders game.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“He’s been to a Raiders game.”
It came more cautious this time. “Okay.”
“He forgot he’s been,” I whispered.
“Shit,” he whispered back and he stopped touching my hand so he could wrap his arm around me and pull me into his side.
I liked the hand touch but being tucked close to his warm, strong body didn’t stink.
I dropped my head on his shoulder.
“Should be used to it when he forgets,” I muttered. “I just sometimes . . . last night and everything . . . it took me by surprise.”
“Yeah.”
“At least he didn’t get upset that I couldn’t come today. Sundays are our days.”
“Sundays,” he murmured strangely, like he’d just figured something out.
“Yeah, Sundays,” I confirmed because I didn’t know what else to say.
“Least it’s good he didn’t get upset,” he kept murmuring.
“I’m not sure what I’m gonna tell him when he sees my nose this way.”
“We’ll come up with something.”
I nodded, my head moving on his shoulder.
“Greta?” he called.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“Baby, you’re sittin’ next to me on the edge of my bed, head on my shoulder, wearin’ my daughter’s clothes, and I know last night that shit was extreme but—”
I knew where he was going with this so I interrupted him on a soft, almost-not-there, “I’m unblocking you, Hixon.”
I felt his body go rigid, the pads of his fingers digging into my flesh at my hip before he relaxed and murmured a deeper than normal, “Good.”
I liked that deeper than normal and what it meant.
I liked it a whole lot.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Are you good hanging with us for Junk Sunday?”
I tipped my head back with it still on his shoulder and he dipped his chin and twisted his neck in a way that had to be uncomfortable but he still did it in order to look in my eyes.
“What are Junk Sundays?” I asked.
“They start with the TV on and donuts, sweetheart, and healthy-living-wise, it goes south from there.”
Okay.
Here it was.
All right.
This was it.
It was time to make it official.
It was time to complicate things.
“That sounds awesome,” I whispered.
Something came up from deep in his eyes, it was warm, it was beautiful, then he dipped in and touched his mouth to mine.
He pulled away a breath and said, “One bad part, Hal’s comin’ over soon to take your statement. Once we get that done, you just get to relax and eat and hang with me and my kids. No pressure. No one to impress.”
“Uh, Hix, I think I need to impress your kids.”
“Then just be you.”
Okay.
Crap.
That was unbelievably sweet.
I pushed through that before I ignored my broken nose and his kids down the hall and let what he said and the thermal he was wearing overwhelm me, and I jumped him.
“Is Corinne okay with, well . . . having this show up on her doorstep in the middle of the night causing a huge drama?” I asked.
He turned his head but did it to tip it so he could rest it against the top of mine (also sweet) before he replied, “My daughter isn’t stupid and she loves her dad. I think the situation is coming clearer to her. Helps that Shaw’s bein’ how Shaw’s bein’ and Mamie too. Can’t say in the last few weeks that she’s come around. She’s been chilly. But she’s a good girl. She knows better than not to be at least polite. Sayin’ that, she’ll get where she needs to be.”
“I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”
He gave me a squeeze. “Baby, she gave you her clothes. It was her idea. I grabbed your dress and coat because I didn’t want you to see them when you woke up in case they brought up bad shit for you. And when I said I had your keys and would stop by your place on the way to get donuts to get you something, she said you could wear something of hers. I don’t know for certain, bein’ a guy, but my take for a teenage girl, letting someone borrow her stuff is a big thing. So she’s already getting there.” His arm gave me another squeeze. “So don’t worry.”
So that was where my dress and jacket had gone.
And as mentioned, I’d never really been a teenage girl. I’d been a teen mother to a kid I didn’t get to have the fun of making beforehand.
I still knew letting someone borrow their clothes was a big thing.
So maybe he was right.
“Babe,” he called when I fell silent.
“Yeah?” I replied.
“Greta,” he said and raised his head when I pulled mine from his shoulder to look in his eyes.
“Right here, Hix.”
He lifted his other hand and curved it around the side of my neck.
“Sweetheart, you okay?”
“About spending the day with your kids?” I asked.
He blinked kind of slow and answered, “No.”
“About Andy?”
“No, baby.”
Oh boy.