Page 21

Chapter 20

Scuba

S neaking into my son’s room, I had a crazy plan, and I needed his approval.

After three weeks of pining for Annette, I wanted her again. Last night’s conversation was my breaking point. As my anger over the fact that she hid Eric’s existence from me subsided, I realized I wanted to be with her again.

This was so different from all the hookups I’ve had in the last five years. Annie was never someone who did flings. She wanted monogamy. I’d been Mr. Unattached for years, and I loved the one-night stands, though there were a few puck bunnies I continued to visit since we all enjoyed the same thing.

But most importantly, there was my son to think about. My crazy mini-me. I couldn’t hook up with his mom unless he was okay with it. His life had already been shattered apart.

Despite Eric quickly becoming part of my world, he was Annie’s whole world. If he disapproved of me dating his mom, there was no way it would happen.

Eric was angelic when he slept, mainly because his hands were always tucked under his head in a prayer position. Overall, he was a great kid, but he could be super talkative and hyper. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, that was for sure.

I shook him awake, but he didn’t even open his eyes as he used one of his arms to swipe at me. “Mom?”

It was too funny since I also hated waking up, and there were a few mornings when my first roommate Tate used to give me so much shit for doing exactly the same thing. Gavin would just throw a pillow at my face since I wouldn’t be within arm’s reach.

“Not your mom,” I said with a chuckle.

“Sorry, Dad,” he mumbled as he sat up and rubbed the sand out of his eyes.

“Come on. I’m going to make you a special treat that my dad used to make for me on special days.”

“Will I like it?” he asked.

I nodded. Which kid didn’t like pancakes with chocolate chips, fluff, and other stuff?

As we went downstairs, he probed, “But what is it?”

“Mickey Mouse pancakes with some of the best toppings out there,” I told him with a grin.

At that, he practically ran down the stairs. I wanted to tell him to slow down so he didn’t faceplant, but it was a lost cause. He was going to run no matter what I said, and I refused to be like his last father figure and use fear tactics.

I went to the pantry and pulled out the supplies—the liquid pancake mix and the bin of toppings. It was basically the same as the stuff Annie found, except it was kept on a lower shelf, and none of the stuff ever touched my dick.

I added the water and shook the pancake mix. But knowing I needed to heat up the griddle, I handed Eric the pancake mix bottle. “Keep shaking that up for me.”

He eagerly shook the bottle.

As the griddle heated up the little bit of oil, I could hear the sizzle. I held my hand out, and Eric immediately passed the bottle over to me. I squeezed out three interconnecting circles. Unfortunately, two of the circles were massive, and the one was a little more like an oval.

Eric stood up and went, “Nope. That’s not a Mickey Mouse. That looks silly.”

I chuckled. “It’s been a while. Besides, the first pancake never counts.”

When I saw the bubbles forming at the edge of the pancake, I took my spatula and flipped it. Since I had a couple of seconds, I took out three plates and a couple of spoons for the toppings.

Not being able to help myself, I opened up the red lid and stuck a spoon into the fluff. Then, I licked the spoon with one massive swing so I could get as much of the stuff in my mouth as quickly as possible. I was addicted to the stuff.

Eric looked at me quizzically. “What’s that?”

“Marshmallow fluff,” I said. I refilled the empty spoon with just a little bit and held it out to him. He took a tentative lick, and then his eyes lit up, and he stole the spoon from me.

“That’s so good.”

I chuckled and went back to pancake making. With a flick, I quickly tossed it onto my plate since it was about to burn. Eric looked less than impressed, but that was okay. I was going to enjoy it.

This time, I had a much easier time getting the shapes right. It actually looked like Mickey Mouse. Just like my dad’s. I was so careful flipping it since I didn’t want to screw it up. Thankfully, it kept its shape. I held up the golden brown pancake and showed it to Eric. “See, yours is better.”

“Yeah. A real Mickey Mouse.”

I let it cook a little bit longer, so it was perfect on both sides.

After I slid it off, I put three more dots into the pan. Annette would need something to eat when she finally woke up.

“Go ahead and put anything on yours.”

I quickly put some peanut butter on my pancake. Then, I sliced a banana on it. After that, it was the fluff. I was tempted to put some chocolate drizzle on it, but the coaches would kill me if I got too fat. I needed to eat healthy.

Eric followed suit and put everything on his pancake exactly as I did. I didn’t know if he was copying me or if it was what he really wanted, but I didn’t want to ask him. Instead, I grabbed the little container with the powdered sugar and sprinkled some onto Eric’s pancake.

Then, he took some powder and attempted to sprinkle it on mine, but it ended up being more of a throw. Which meant I retaliated by throwing some powdered sugar back since I wanted to hear him giggle and smile like that for a little longer.

I had to act like an adult, so before things got too far along, I put the powdered sugar away to ensure it wouldn’t cause a huge mess in the kitchen.

I leaned on the island and used my fork to cut into the pancake. “So, I wanted to ask something super important.”

Eric leaned in and nodded. It was such a me move that it was crazy. When he did shit like that, it made me wonder if he was a clone rather than my kid.

“Would it be okay if I dated your mom?” I went right in and asked Eric.

“Sure. I like you. You’re way better than my other dad, and I’ve been so happy.”

It was a punch to the gut that he still called Annie’s ex his other dad. I wanted to be his only dad. Eventually, Luke would be a long-distant memory. We rarely even talked about him anymore. At least the therapy was working.

But I wasn’t thinking about that asshole since I was given the okay to pursue a relationship with Annie. Now, I just needed to decide the best way forward with a dating plan.

All of a sudden, Eric asked, “Could we do a father-son day?”

“Hell, yes.” Then I realized I probably shouldn’t have said the word hell. At least it wasn’t a real swear word. “I heard there’s a trampoline park nearby. Want to try it out?”

Eric nodded as he tried to furiously chew through the pancake pieces stuffed in his mouth.

“Okay. We’ll go after we’re done eating and you get dressed.”

Eric shoveled the food into his mouth, not taking any time to savor anything. But it was okay. I loved seeing him so excited.