“Stay, Jamie.” I grin, and try a teasing tone of voice. “Why do you think I bothered cleaning in the first place?”
He shrugs. “When I offered to get you guys food, I wasn’t trying to invite myself over…” His eyes go to mine, fix there, intent and serious. “I haven’t forgotten what you said the last time we talked.”
I wince, and play with my ponytail. “Jamie, I—that hasn’t changed. But this is a different kind of…situation.”
He nods. “Understood.”
Aiden is watching us carefully, trying to decipher the hidden meanings in our phrasing. “Is it time to eat yet?” he asks, a little too loudly.
He moves carefully to the edge of the couch and starts trying to get up off the couch; Jamie rushes over to help him. “Whoa, there, kiddo—you have to be careful. Why don’t you just stay there and eat?”
Aiden lets Jamie help him hobble without his crutches over to the dining room table. “Because I’m a messy eater and I’m not allowed to eat on the couch. I always spill something.”
I sigh as Aiden sits down. “I would have made an exception this once, Aiden.”
He rolls his eyes at me as he lifts his foot to rest it on a chair—I prop a pillow under it. “Why didn’t you say something before I got up?”
I laugh. “Because you’d have spilled something.”
So, I find myself at my table with Aiden on my left and Jamie on my right. There’s enough food for a dozen people, it turns out, because Jamie got the mega burritos, which are a pound each, and the three-piece order of chimichangas, on top of the two orders of nachosandtwo side salads. It’s comical, actually, how much food he got.
He laughs as we unbox the food. “I haven’t eaten there yet, so I guess I didn’t realize how big the orders were.”
I nod as he passes a chicken burrito to me, and a beef to Aiden. “His food is more expensive than Vinnie’s or Field’s, but it’s all fresh and homemade, and his orders are massive.”
Jamie takes a few exploratory bites. “And delicious,” he says, around a mouthful.
“If you’re serious about food, you go to José’s. It’s really the only decent place to eat in Clayton. Vinnie’s and Field’s both just have basic bar food to fill up drunk bellies.”
It’s shockingly, achingly easy to sit and eat a meal with Jamie and Aiden. It’s natural. The conversation between the three of us is constantly flowing, changing—Jamie always includes Aiden, speaks to him as if Aiden is an adult, asks his opinion and listens, doesn’t dismiss him as just a kid, and he makes him laugh. His eyes flick to mine frequently, but he’s careful to not let his gaze linger too long, and I do the same. It’d be too easy. Too intimate.
I catch his eyes flicking up to mine now and then, having stolen downward; it makes my belly flip, and my thighs clench. And my heart ache. I like the way he looks at me.
But I don’t dare allow myself to want his gaze, his touch, his presence.
This is just two friends sharing a meal. Nothing else.
It takes us over an hour to eat, and when we’ve all eaten our fill, there are mind-boggling amounts of leftovers. I put some leftovers in Tupperware and stuff them in the fridge, and then make Jamie promise to take the rest to the teacher’s lounge at school the next day.
By this time, Aiden is yawning, blinking hard, and rubbing his eyes.
I squeeze his shoulder. “You should get to bed, buddy. Been a heck of a day for you.”
He nods, and I know he’s tired when he doesn’t wheedle and bargain for a few more minutes. “I’m so tired, Mama.” He peers at me blearily. “Can I brush my teeth in the morning? I’m too tired.”
I laugh gently. “Sure, Aiden. Just get into bed. You need the rest.”
Jamie winks at him. “I have a feeling your principal would suggest you sleeping in tomorrow.”
“What about my coach?” Aiden asks.
“Your coach would also suggest extra rest—it’s the fastest way to let your body heal.”
“Can I sleep in tomorrow? Go to school a little late?”
I roll my eyes. “We’ll see. Just get to bed, and we’ll see what ends up happening. But yes, I imagine I’ll let you sleep for a while.”
He rises from the table unsteadily, hobbling on his crutches, and then hops over to me, and gives me a big, long hug. “Love you, Mama.” He then goes to Jamie and they bump fists. “Good night, Coach.”
