Page 102 of His to Love
For the next several minutes, I regaled him with tales of several different headaches I’d had to deal with at work while Tyson listened intently to every complaint and every story. I loved that, regardless of what I was going through, I always had his full focus.
I paused during my story of an exceptionally bitchy client when our waitress stopped by to take our orders, but before I could restart, a familiar feminine voice called my name.
“Hey, you,” I said back and waved to Chelsea as she sauntered up to our table. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Tyson,” she said to him before facing me. He nodded hello and sipped his drink. “Just picking up some food before I go back home and enjoy a Netflix marathon.”
My eyes flickered to Tyson in a silent question, and he nodded.
“That sounds dreadful.” I pulled out the chair next to me and pointed. “Join us.”
“I couldn’t.”
“You can,” Tyson interrupted with a smile. “And you will.”
“Well,” she huffed playfully but listened. “Who am I to say no then?” Then she leaned toward me and mock whispered, “Is he always this bossy?”
“No—,” he started, as soon as I said, “Yes.”
I glared at him. “Always.”
He rolled his eyes and we gave Chelsea time to place her drink and dinner order before I asked her about her week. She’d been busy lately getting ready for school to start back up next week. “Ugh. It’s exhausting and I know Paige is even more tired after spending the week setting up her room for the year. For me, I have all the books and computers set up. I just need to finish my lesson plans and then I’ll spend time helping the other middle school teachers.”
“You sound excited to get back to work,” Tyson said.
Chelsea’s smile brightened. “Yes. I love being around the kids, absolutely.”
She was a librarian in the middle school. I couldn’t imagine being around that many kids for that many hours every single day, but she and Paige both loved their jobs.
Our chatter turned to general conversation about our days and our lives, and then we continued with another round of drinks while we waited for our food.
After Declan personally delivered our dinners, he was getting ready to head back to the kitchen when the front door opened and a man named Aidan and his son, Derrick, walked in. Aidan was friends with both Tyson and Declan, and his son was fourteen years old, going into eighth grade in the fall. I didn’t know the full story of why the mom wasn’t in the picture, but I knew Aidan had become a parent when he was still a teenager and that all three men had been friends since college.
I’d only met Aidan in passing, once or twice, in the last few months. Tyson’s job didn’t allow much time for socializing and he generally tended to be a relax-at-home kind of guy, something I enjoyed immensely. I might not have known Aidan well, but Chelsea clearly did, because I caught the faint blush that painted her cheeks as both guys sauntered toward us.
It was easy to see that Derrick was Aidan’s son: they had the same dark hair, strong jaw, and tall and lean build. He was still a teenager, but I figured it wouldn’t be long until he matched his dad in size and stature.
“Hey, man,” Declan said, standing and grabbing Aidan’s elbow in some sort of manly grip. He pulled him close and slapped him on the back twice. He immediately did the same thing to Derrick but gentler.
Aidan turned toward the table and said hello to all of us. When he stopped at Chelsea, her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink.
I resisted the urge to kick her under the table when she stuttered, “Hello, Mr. Devereaux…Derrick.”
One side of Aidan’s lips quirked into a smirk. “Call me Aidan when we’re not in school, Chelsea.”
She dipped her chin and pressed her lips together. “You got it, Aidan.”
His smirk turned into a grin.
I caught Derrick rolling his eyes and hid my laugh behind my napkin.
“What are you guys up to tonight?” Aidan asked, focusing on Tyson and me.
“Dinner and home,” Tyson said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “Been slammed at work this week and I need to get some damn sleep.”
“Bummer,” Chelsea chirped, “because I was just thinking, I know Paige and Suzanne aren’t doing anything tonight. Or Camden. We could all hang out at my place, have a bonfire.” Her eyes flickered to Aidan’s before she focused on me and with a quieter, shyer voice I’d never heard her use, finished with, “Probably won’t have too many nice nights once school starts.”
I pressed my lips together and gave Tyson big eyes.
