Page 74 of Alfie: Part One

In addition, I didn’t need to give West another reason to think I was a shitty parent. If the kids picked up a new curse after a week with me at this point, he’d hold it against me.

In the long run, I had no fucking idea what to do with Colby. It was going to be difficult enough to convince West that it would be totally fine for the kid to stay with me for a while, at least when our kids were around, but I had to do it. That said, after a few weeks, a more permanent solution should be in place, and I didn’t know what that might be. Maybe his aunt and uncle could take him in again? Maybe he could stay with JJ?

When push came to shove, I didn’t believe Colby and Tony had left any location due to problems that Colby had caused. I was convinced he’d been under the influence of his brother—so with him gone…

We’d just have to see.

We arrived at West’s house right about when Colby finished the second hoagie like it’d been a snack. He looked out the window and wiped his mouth, and he seemed impressed by the house.

“When I grow up, I’mma get a house like this,” he said.

The kid wasn’t as skittish anymore.

“Didju live here too?” he asked.

“Yup. It wasn’t my thing.” I pulled up next to West’s car, and I killed the engine. “I prefer the city.” Kind of.

I mean, I did. I did prefer the city. I just…missed some perks that came with having a yard. Particularly in this summer heat. Even in the middle of the night, it was hot. We were having one of those brutal summers that would set records.

“Wait here, all right?” It was too soon for me to leave him alone with a set of keys in the ignition, so he’d have to suffer for a few minutes without AC. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“Yessir.”

I climbed out and made my way to the front door, and this part probably made me more nervous than seeing the Connor cousins on their knees in that basement.

I’d fucked up my whole life, from my education to my marriage, just one thing after another. Except Trip and Ellie. It really wore me down to know West questioned my ability to be a good dad.

I knocked on the door and steeled myself, and I pushed back a yawn. Exhaustion and nervousness didn’t mix well. Two things that weakened my filters.

One, two, three…

“It’s so…refreshing getting to know you, Alfie. You don’t play games, and you?—”

“Because I never bothered to learn the rules,” I laughed.

He grinned and threw the covers over us, and he drew a full-body shiver from me as he kissed his way down my neck.

“I’ve only ever played one game,” he murmured against my skin. “For some reason, I never wanted to come off as too eager, so I was careful with my timing. I didn’t text too early—or too late, for that matter. I never arrived at a restaurant early. If a date came over to my place, I counted to twenty before I opened the door?—”

“That’s ridiculous,” I chuckled. But also, more importantly, let’s not discuss past dates. It made me absurdly jealous to know others had been in this bed before me. “For my peace of mind, I wanna pretend I’m the first one in your bed.”

He rolled on top of me, allowing daylight to sneak under the covers, and he smiled down at me.

“You are. It’s a fairly new bed.” He dipped down and kissed my nose, and I smiled back. “With you, though, I can’t even pretend. When you came over last night, it didn’t even occur to me to stand there like an idiot and count to twenty before…”

…seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twen?—

West opened the door, looking as tired as I felt, and he’d changed out of his pajamas. Well, the unflattering shirt anyway. He wore the bottoms, and he’d opted for a tee instead. Muchbetter. Also, there was no way he’d stood there and counted. He’d probably been upstairs or something. Did I want him to count? No, of course not. I wanted him too eager to count to twenty. But at the same time, if he’d counted, it meant he didn’t want me to perceive him as too eager, which might hide the fact that hewaseager—and right about now, someone should shoot me in the face, because what the fuck was wrong with me.

“I take it Trip’s asleep,” I said.

He nodded once, and I noticed he was studying me. His gaze trailed from my neck to my shoulders, down my front, and…was he looking for something?

“Okay. Uh… So I’ll be back early with breakfast,” I said. “Thank you for covering for me tonight.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “Did your criminal outing go well?”

I lifted my brows. “Um, yeah. Killed two people and robbed a bank, so if the cops ask, I was here all night.”