Inked (12 page)

“What are you doing?” he croaked, but made no effort to stop her.

“What do you think I’m doing?”

Brody reached around to the back of her head and fisted her hair, entangling it between his long fingers. He tugged at it gently, forcing Avery to look at him. “Do you have any fucking idea what you do to me?”

“If you let go of my hair and come back to my apartment, I’ll show you exactly what I can do to you.”

Chapter 10

BBQ’d burgers, beer, and gossip, it had been their Saturday ritual for the past five years and counting, and this Saturday was no different. Okay, maybe slightly different. Scott hadn’t given them a second’s privacy since Avery’s arrival, and Chloe was growing more and more impatient and red faced by the minute.

“Shouldn’t you be making burgers, or something,” Chloe hissed, and took a long draw from her beer.

“It’s only three o’clock.”

“I don’t care. I’m hungry.”

Scott quirked his head to the side and a look of recognition flashed across his face. “Ah, I get it, girl talk. All you had to do was say so.”

Snatching up his beer, he hazarded a glance in Avery’s direction and looked at her with a
better you than me
expression plastered across his face before disappearing through the sliding patio doors.

“Okay, spill it,” Chloe blurted out the second the door slid shut behind them. “I want
every
dirty detail.”

Avery sighed as she slouched back in the patio chair and took a long sip of her diet soda. If she had plans of spending the night at her sister’s place, she would’ve indulged in a beer or two, but seeing as she’d made no such plans, her strict non-drinking policy was in effect. But damn, she could sure go for a cold beer right about now. Avery took another sip of her soda and the staring contest between her and Chloe intensified. Judging by the look on her sister’s face, she knew there was no avoiding this question or the million other questions that were sure to follow.

“Well?” Chloe repeated.

“There’s not really much to tell. He took me to dinner and then we walked along the waterfront for a while.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about. I don’t care about dinner. It’s the dessert I’m interested in.”

“We didn’t have dessert,” Avery joked, knowing this would further infuriate her too nosey for her own good sister “but the oysters were amazing. And have you ever had a Caesar? OMG it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted. We should try making them next weekend.”

“You have exactly five seconds to tell me what happened before I jump across this table and torture it out of you,” Chloe warned.

“Fine,” Avery huffed. It would be just like Chloe to make good on her threat. “What do you want to hear first, the part where I accused Brody of trying to take custody of Parker, or the part where we had mind blowing sex in the park after dinner?”

“What??? You didn’t!”

“I didn’t accuse him of trying to take Parker away from me, or I didn’t have sex with him?” she asked, feigning innocence.

“Start from the beginning, and if you so much as leave out one single detail, God help you.”

When Avery finished reiterating their date—dirty detail by dirty detail—including the three times they’d had sex after returning to her apartment, she glanced at Chloe across the table, not at all surprised but the dumbfounded look on her sister’s face or the awkward silence that followed. “Go ahead, spit it out. You must have
something
to say about it.”

“Three times?” Chloe whispered, shell shocked by her admission.

“Four if you include the time in the park.” Avery tried to not appear too smug. She knew from one of their many girl talks that Scott was having a few minor performance issues in the bedroom, so she didn’t want to rub it in, but admittedly, it felt kind of nice to not be the fifth wheel for a change.

“Wow, just wow.” Chloe took another long draw of beer while her mind processed Avery’s outlandish story. When her mind finally conclud
ed its evaluation of this bizarre tale, she launched into a new line of questioning, asking one question after another without taking a breath or giving Avery a chance to respond. “Are you going to see him again if he asks you out? Has he asked you out on another date? Ohh…” Chloe gushed, and took a deep breath. “Have you told him yet? What did he say?”

“No, I didn’t tell him,” Avery replied shortly, knowing full well what Chloe was referring to.

“You know you’re going to have to tell him, right? Brody will eventually want you to tell Parker that he’s his father. He has a right to know what’s going on.”

“I know.”

Avery and Chloe sat in silence and sipped at their drinks. The mid-afternoon sun warmed her bare shoulders, but another cool evening was threatening to settle in. Avery smiled widely as she watched Parker play with his cousins. Rather than sitting alone in the sandbox and playing with his toy trucks as he normally did, Parker was playing tag with the twins, something he’d never done before Brody came into his life. Whether or not she wanted to admit it, Brody was having a positive impact on Parkers life, and Chloe was right, he deserved to know the truth.

“So, what are you going to do?” Chloe asked, snapping Avery out of her reverie.

“We talked about bringing Parker to a carnival down at the waterfront. I’ll start there and see what happens. I want them to get to know each other a bit better before I say anything.”

“That’s smart, but don’t you think you should tell Brody
before
he gets in too deep?”

Thankfully, Scott chose that moment to return with a plate full of burgers and hot dogs in one hand and two fresh beers in the other, saving Avery from having to answer Chloe’s question, but doing very little to wipe the disapproving scowl from her sister’s face.

•••••

Avery sat curled up in her favorite armchair, her hands wrapped tightly around a hot cup of tea as she watched Parker sleep soundly on the sofa. Even with the air conditioner turned off, t
he recent string of unseasonably cool summer nights had left her feeling chilled to the bone.

The corner of her mouth curled up into a smile. For as long as she could remember, socializing had always been a major obstacle for Parker, but ever since Brody had shown up and become a part of Parker’s life—however small that part may be—he’d begun to come out of his shell, and Avery had n
oticed almost daily improvements in his social skills.

Soundlessly, she stood up from the chair and tip toed across the room to
where he lay fast asleep, Kneeling down on the floor beside him, she pulled the blanket up around his shoulders and tucked it in around him before placing a soft kiss to his forehead and whispering, “I love you, little man.”

If it had been any other time, Avery would’ve insisted that Parker sleep in his own bed, but he’d spent the better part of the week playing outside with his cousins. She’d never seen him this exhausted and didn’t have the heart to wake him.

As she stood up and began making her way towards to the kitchen to refresh her tea, the phone on her desk beeped loudly, alerting her to an incoming text message. Not wanting to wake Parker, she grabbed the phone from the desk and hurried to the kitchen as she fumbled clumsily with the volume button. Parker was a light sleeper and even the faintest of sounds would stir him from a dead sleep, hence the reason she rarely allowed him to sleep in the living room.

Avery turned the phone over in her hand and unlocked it. She read the text message that flashed across the screen.

Hey, Boo! Where have you been hiding all week? I’ve tried calling you at least a dozen times and you haven’t returned any of my emails or texts. What’s up?

The truth was, Avery knew why Brody had been so eager to get in touch with her, and it was for that reason that she’d been avoiding him. He was eager to tell Parker the truth, and she wasn’t ready for that yet. Staring down at the message, she read and reread it before typing her lame excuse of a response.

Hey, Slick! I’ve been really busy with school. My thesis is due in two weeks. What’s up with you?

She tapped her fingers nervously against the laminate countertop as she waited for his reply. Since when had they resorted to using tacky pet names for each other? Surprisingly, the sentiment felt natural and comforting, and it scared the crap out of her. Within seconds another text message flashed across the screen and the vibration of the phone caused Avery to jump.

Are we still on for Saturday? There’s a great event going on at the Children’s Museum. Do you want me to buy the tickets online before they sell out?

Avery tilted her head back and laughed, but quickly clamped her hand over her mouth when she remembered that Parker was fast asleep on the sofa. Their date had been about the two of them catching up and getting reacquainted, but Saturday was about Parker getting to know Brody a little better. Despite her reservations—and the fact that she still hadn’t come clean to Brody—Avery knew he had every right to get to know his son. So with her mind made up, she began typing her reply, but the phone vibrated with yet another incoming message.

Well? Are we on for Saturday or not?

“Geez, give me a chance to respond, would ya?” Avery hissed, and tapped the send button with the tip of her finger.

Fine, I’ll pick you up at nine.

I’ll pick
you
up at eight. Breakfast is on me.

I don’t doubt your mad driving skills, but Parker’s booster seat is already installed in my car. I’ll pick
you
up at 8:30. That seems like a fair compromise.

I’m one step ahead of you, Boo. See you Saturday at eight. ;)

What the hell?
Avery thought to herself. It would be just like Brody to run out and buy a booster seat for his car. And what was this whole thing with the Children’s Museum? What did he do, scour the internet looking for activities for them to do this weekend? Admittedly, the thought made her smile. Saturday was certainly shaping up to be a very interesting day.

Chapter 11

The lobby windows rattled loudly as sheets of rain poured down and lashed against the glass. Coffee cups, food wrappers, and day old newspapers littered the street as a strong gust of wind caused a nearby trashcan to topple over and blow away, barely missing the silver Volvo SUV parked at the curb.

The clash of thunder, followed by even heavier pelts of rain, pummeling against the glass, disproved the weatherman’s forecast of sunny with a ten percent chance of rain, and killed all hopes they had of going to the waterfront carnival. Avery toyed with the phone in her hand and weighed her options.  Brody was already ten minutes late and Parker was growing more impatient with each passing minute. If Brody failed to show up after her promising Parker that he would see him today, their son would be crushed and she’d be left to pick up the pieces.

“God damnit!” she cursed under her breath.

“What, mommy?” Parker asked, and looked up at Avery.

“Nothing, little man, mommy was talking to herself.” She readjusted the backpack that hung from Parker’s shoulders and ruffled his hair. “Why don’t we go back upstairs and I’ll make you breakfast?”

“Nooooooo,” he squealed. “Where’s Bwoodie?”

With her patience running thin, Avery turned the phone over in her hand and dialed Brody’s number, and when there was still no answer after her second attempt, she texted him.

Where in the hell are you?

Five minutes passed and there was still no response, no phone call or text to explain his absence. Convinced that he was a no-show, Avery took Parker by the hand and led him back to the elevator. He wasn’t the type of child to throw a tantrum, but the disappointed look on his face and little sobs that racked his chest told Avery that not even a Happy Meal was going to fix this mess.

As they waited for the elevator, Avery scooped Parker into her arms and cuddled him as she brushed the hair out of his tear stained face. “It’s okay, baby,” she assured him. “We’ll do something fun today. Promise.”

With reddened eyes and cheeks, Parker looked up and gave her a half hearted smile, “Okay, mommy.”

God, she was going to kill Brody for this. It was one thing to cancel on her, but you
never
made promises to a child that you couldn’t keep. Avery had to remind herself that Brody was still new to this. He was still learning how to be a father. Parenthood wasn’t an exact science, it was something that you learned over time, and God knows she made her fair share of mistakes.

The elevator chimed and the door slid open at the same time her phone beeped with an incoming text. Balancing Parker with one arm, she unlocked her phone and read the message.

I’m here. Don’t get on the elevator.

Avery looked up just in time to see the door of the silver Volvo swing open and Brody step out into the pouring rain. Turning on his heel, he quickly sprinted towards the building and the dryness of the lobby, and in three long strides he burst through the glass doors. At the sight of him, Parker squealed and struggled to free himself from his mother
’s arms.

“Bwoodie!!!” Parker raced across the lobby and jumped into his outstretched arms, the excitement on his face evident even to Dottie Mitchell, Avery’s over protective neighbor, who was standing nearby collecting her mail.

“Hey, Buddy.” Brody wrapped his arms tightly around Parker and hugged him to his chest.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

Avery walked over to the other side of the lobby and joined them near the entrance, relieved for Parker’s sake that he’
d finally shown up. But as relieved as she was, she couldn’t completely hide the anger from her voice. “Why where you sitting out in the car,” she asked, and looked past him to the silver Volvo illegally parked at the curb. “And why didn’t you answer my call?”

Brody’s response was short and sweet and to the point. “I was talking to Veronica.”

“Ah…” Avery replied. There was no more explanation needed. She knew that Veronica was a major thorn in his side and they were still working out the details of the divorce. Even though she hadn’t seen him wear his wedding band in the two months that he’d been back in her life, it was still a none-too-subtle reminder that Brody was in fact still married. She was sleeping with a married man. Even though they were technically separated, the thought made Avery cringe.

“Are you ready to go?”

The sound of Brody’s voice distracted Avery from her unpleasant musings. “Sure, but I think we can forget about going to the waterfront.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” he teased. “It’ll be cleared up by the time we leave the museum.”

“I thought we were going to breakfast?”

“We are.”

“At the museum?” Avery asked curiously, but decided to just go with the flow. If there was one thing she’d learned over the past month and a half, it was that Brody was full of surprises.

Brody raised his arm and placed it above Parker’s head, using it as a makeshift umbrella to shield him from the rain. He turned to Avery and the corner of his mouth quirked up into an impish grin. “You ready to go?”

She stepped forward and opened the door, motioning for Brody to lead the way. “After you.”

“The doors are unlocked,” he called out as they made a speedy beeline for the Volvo.

Flinging open the back door, Brody rushed to get Parker in the booster seat, but being inexperienced, he fumbled uncertainly with the buckles.

“Get out of the way. I’ll do it.” Avery had to practically yell to be heard over the sound of the rain pounding down on the roof of the car.

Brody stepped out of the way, giving her room to work her magic, and in a matter of seconds, Parker was securely fastened in his seat.

“You’ll get the hang of it eventually,” Avery jeered as she hopped in the passenger seat and Brody slid into the seat beside her.

Drenched from head to toe, he reached across her lap and opened the glove compartment, retrieved a handful of napkins, passed half of them to Avery, and shrugged. “Sorry, it’s all I’ve got.”

Brody started the car and pulled away from the curb as Avery used the last of the napkins to wipe up droplets of water that splattered the interior. It wasn’t until she wiped the dashboard that the realization sank in. This Volvo wasn’t just new, it was brand spanking new, and far more expensive than someone in Brody’s line of work could afford. But the thought was fleeting as he pressed a button on the consol and the DVD player in the back of her headrest sprang to life. The sound of Parker’s laugher filled the air when his favorite cartoon began to play.

The drive to the waterfront passed quickly, but as they approached, it became evident that parking was going to be an issue.

“Where did all these people come from?” Avery murmured. “It’s 8:45 on a rainy Saturday morning. Shouldn’t they be at home in bed, or something?”

“They’re probably here for the same reason we are.” Brody turned left into a parking garage, produced his credit card, and slid it through the automated parking machine.

“You’re still not going to tell me why we’re here, are you?”

“You mean you didn’t Google it?” he asked in mock disbelief.

Avery twisted her face and stuck her tongue out at him. “Of course I didn’t! You told me it was a surprise.”

“Don’t stick that thing out unless you intend to use it.” He growled low in his throat and turned the car off, earning him a grunt of disapproval from the backseat when the DVD player suddenly shut off. Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw Parker slouched back in the seat with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl painted on his face. The corner of Brody’s mouth crooked up into an amused smile. “Don’t you want to go get some pancakes?”

At the mention of the word pancakes, Parker’s face lit up.

“How could you possibly know that’s his favorite food?” Avery whispered.

“Call it an educated guess.”

“Seriously, how did you know?” she repeated.

“Because, pancakes were my favorite food when I was a kid,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“Pancakes at the museum? I must admit, I’m intrigued.” Avery hopped out of the car and opened the back door, dexterously unbuckling Parker from the booster seat.

They ran the block and a half to the museum using the awnings and storefronts as shelter from the storm and arrived at the entrance only partially drench. Crowds of families gathered in the lobby of the museum, all lining up in front of a set of double doors. On the wall above the doors hung a huge, multi-colored sign that read “The Lunchroom”. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this must be the museum’s cafeteria. Avery looked around at the smiling faces of the children, still not knowing exactly what it was they were smiling about. It wasn’t until Parker tugged at her sleeve and pointed frantically to a sign on the wall did she clue in to what all the fanfare was about.

Taped to the wall beside them was a glossy poster that depicted an animated, brown aardvark, and beneath that the bold, orange letters read
Breakfast with Arthur and Friends
.

“You’re unreal,” Avery murmured as they took their place in line.

“Good unreal or bad unreal?” Brody teased.

“I’ll let you know when I figure it out,” she teased back.

The crowd thinned out and the line moved forward as families anxiously entered
The Lunchroom
and found their seats. Staff members scurried around, and when everyone was seated, stacks of pancakes and jugs of juice found their way to the tables. Children squealed with delight when a museum employee dressed in a brown aardvark costume made his way from table to table greeting the children. The look of complete and utter happiness that spread across Parker’s face as Arthur approached the table absolved Brody of his lateness earlier that morning.

As the excitement in the room mounted, staff members clad in green polo shirts bearing the museum’s insignia began to gather the children and whisk them away to the far end of the cafeteria where a makeshift stage had been erected. And to Avery’s amazement, Parker didn’t protest when a young brown haired girl took him by the hand and led him to the stage.

“He’s changed so much,” Avery sighed wistfully as she watched Parker sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the stage. Even when the curly haired boy sitting beside him got overly excited and grabbed Parker’s arm, he didn’t shy away.

“What do you mean?” Brody mumbled around another mouthful of pancakes.

“Parker’s always been so shy, almost borderline anti-social, but since you’ve been in his life, he’s come out of his shell. Just look at him talking and playing with those kids.” She pointed towards the other end of the cafeteria where the kids now formed a large circle on the floor, laughing and singing as they passed around a bright, blue ball. “Two months ago he would’ve run yelling and screaming from something like this, but now, he’s acting like a child his age. He’s having fun!” Avery paused and took a sip of coffee to clear the lump that was forming in her throat. “I owe that all to you.”

“I don’t know if I can take all the credit,” Brod
y laughed, and nudged her leg with his knee. “He’s got a pretty awesome mom.”

The corner of Avery’s mouth curled up into a shy smile and she nudged him back under the table.

The next hour was spent sipping at coffee and watching Parker have what could very well be the best day of his life, both of them laughing simultaneously at the multitude of expressions that passed across his face and gasping in unison when he lost his balance and fell head first into the child standing beside him. Much to their relief, Parker quickly recovered with the assistance of a green shirted staff member. And when the last game was played, and last song sung, Parker came bounding across the cafeteria and straight into Brody’s waiting arms.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yes!” Parker squealed as he climbed into Brody’s lap and wrapped his tiny arms around his broad shoulders in an attempt at a hug.

Brody’s arms encircled Parker and squeezed him affectionately. When he spoke, his voice was thick and laced with emotion. “Anything for you, Buddy.” 

Following breakfast, they spent the remainder of the mourning leisurely touring the rest of the museum; the Science Playground, the Construction Zone, and finally, the Art Studio, where Parker’s simple art project resulted in a paint fight that left both of the boys covered head to toe in blue tempera paint. Avery couldn’t be certain, but she was pretty sure that the green shirted employee’s suggestion for them to change their clothes before touring the rest of the museum was his polite way of asking them to leave. So after a quick stop at the restroom to clean up what paint they could, they obligingly left.

As they pushed through the doors and stepped outside, Avery noted that Brody’s weather prediction had come to fruition. The rain
had subsided and the sun shone brightly overhead.

“I told you so,” Brody said smugly. He picked up Parker and swung him over his shoulders as he continued gloating about how he was right and she was wrong.

Avery stood frozen in place and watched as Brody swaggered along the sidewalk ahead of her while Parker rode piggyback on his shoulders. There were so many similarities between them; the eyes, the hair, the smirk. But there were also subtle differences. Brody was tall and broad shouldered where Parker was petite. Of course, he could always fill out when he got a bit older, but most of the men on Avery’s side of the family were slender and gangly. Brody was outgoing, his presence always demanding attention everywhere he went, and Parker was shy, but even that was slowly changing. Brody’s presence in Parkers life was bringing him out of the shell he’d been living in. So, was keeping Parker in the dark about Brody being his father protecting him, or hindering him? Would Parker look up to Brody and want to be just like his daddy, funny and outgoing? It was obvious that Brody was a very positive force in his life, and after seeing them interact together at the museum there was no doubt in Avery’s mind that the two boys shared something very special, so maybe it was time to tell Parker the truth.