Page 22 of Dad Next Door
I bit back my retort. I’d been honest with him about my current jobs, but I hadn’t told him about my time in porn. I had to be careful not to let anything slip that might trip his radar and lead to a conversation I wasn’t ready to have.
Telling people I stripped or sold jerk-off videos online was an entirely different experience from telling people I used to film porn. Tristan seemed open-minded and chill, but this was our first real conversation. I needed some time to sus out whether he’d be okay with my past before I told him about it.
“Any preference for sauces?” I asked, skirting the issue by changing the subject.
“I like all of them as long as they’re not dill pickle.”
“You don’t like dill pickles?”
“Nope. Not anymore.”
I opened the app for the local pizza place I liked on my phone and settled in my chair to put in our order. “I’m sensing a story.”
“It’s nothing crazy. My sister dared me to eat an entire jar of pickles when we were fourteen. I did it but spent the rest of the night hugging the toilet. That was the last time I ever ate a pickle.”
“Was that Lydia, or do you have another sister?”
“That was her. We have an older brother, but she’s my only sister.”
“You said when you were fourteen. Are you and her twins?”
He nodded. “She’s older by six minutes, and she’s never let me forget it. Do you have any siblings?”
I finished filling my cart with food and hit the checkout option. “I have two stepbrothers, but no blood siblings.”
“Are you close with them?”
I finished putting in our order, then tucked my phone into my pocket. “Yup. They’re both younger, but we’ve always gotten along. I think it helps that our parents were best friends before they started dating, so it wasn’t a big change when they got together because we were already part of each other’s lives.”
“I worry about Leo being an only child.” Tristan toyed with a crease in his jeans. “His cousins are all so much older than him, and he has no interest in sports or any sort of group activities. He doesn’t really spend a lot of time with kids his age when he’s not in school.”
“I was an only child until I was fifteen. It’s not the worst thing for a kid. And he seems well adjusted.”
“True. I just worry about…well, pretty much everything. This wasn’t the life I imagined for us when he was born.”
“Parenting isn’t easy. And I know this sounds empty coming from someone who doesn’t have kids, but my dad always says that as long as you do the best you can with the tools and information you have at the time, then you’re doing your best, and that’s all you can really do as a parent.”
“Your dad sounds like a wise man.”
“He is. He’s taught me a lot.” I motioned to the fridge. “Want a water while we wait for food? It should be here in about forty minutes.”
“That would be great, thanks. How much is my half?” He reached into his back pocket.
“Nothing. You’re saving me from an evening alone.” Standing, I went to the fridge to grab a couple of bottles, some of the restless energy that had been plaguing me for the past few days settling.
I liked Tristan. He was fun to talk to, and he seemed like a great guy.
Maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad now that I had one potential friend on the street.
4
TRISTAN
“Shut up,” I said to my sister, not looking up from the paper I was reading. Or at least pretending to read. She was up to something.
“I didn’t say anything.” Lydia leaned against the counter casually.
“You don’t have to. Your face is saying everything your mouth wants to.”