Page 59 of Rum & Coke

She sighed. “Well, I can’t ask you to do that, but if we’re going to date, I want to be exclusive. Even if it’s for your job.”

“Then we need to start dating after Sunday.”

“Why?”

“Because, I have a date on Sunday with a regular, and I need to keep it so I can tell her face to face that I’m taking a break to pursue a relationship with you.”

“Okay. I can wait a week. I’ve waited this long.”

I grinned. “So, you’ve been wanting this for a while?”

“Maybe?” She smirked.

I brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned down to taste her lips after all this time. My lips were an inch from hers until she turned her head. I blinked, not understanding what happened until she looked down and I followed her gaze. Colton was standing next to us, patting her leg.

“What is it?” Tessa asked him. He was already worked up by the look on his face, and he started to cry as he dropped to the floor in immediate frustration. She looked up at me as though she was embarrassed for his outburst. “I’m sorr—”

“Hey, it’s okay.” I touched the back of her arm. “I’m used to this, remember?”

“Right.”

From an outsider’s perspective, one might think that Colton was having a temper tantrum when, in fact, I knew this to be an autistic meltdown because kids like him weren’t able to express or communicate what they wanted like a typical child his age. When someone with autism reaches a point of sensory, emotional, and information overload, or even just too much unpredictability, it can trigger a variety of external behaviors that are similar to a tantrum. It was clear to me—and apparently Tessa—that Colton needed something. Figuring out the what was the hard part.

“Are you hungry?” Tessa asked.

Colton laid on his back, kicking his legs out and screaming in frustration.

I looked around the small space and saw his sippy cup sitting next to the fridge, and probably just far enough back on the counter that it was hard from him to reach it—and maybe see it too. “Thirsty?” I asked, and grabbed the cup with Superman on the outside.

Colton sat up, reaching for it as he flexed both hands rapidly. He took the cup from me and instantly started to drink from it. “Just thirsty,” I stated and rubbed the top of his head playfully. “I brought chocolate milk too, buddy.”

“Thank you,” Tessa replied.

I smiled at her. “Let’s get you fed before you have a tantrum of your own.” I winked at her, and she laughed.

“Yeah, you better hurry up because I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”

The lobster came out perfectly, and so did the steak, and I mastered the microwaved hot dog. Tessa helped with the salad and garlic bread, and to my surprise, she went for a rum and Coke with dinner.

“I knew I liked you for a reason,” I stated as I watched her take a sip of her drink. Colton sat across from Tessa, absorbed in his iPad as he ate his cut up hot dog with his free hand.

“Why’s that?”

“Because you like the same drink as I do.”

She shrugged. “I don’t really have a drink, but I’m not much on wine unless it’s champagne.”

“Good to know.”

“Are you okay if I stay working at Red Diamond?”

I thought about her question as I stared at her. Would I be okay with other men seeing her tits? Watching her work a pole, wishing it was their dick she was sliding on? But I knew she needed the job because that was her only source of income, unlike me. “I can’t ask you to quit—at least, not yet. How about we play it by ear for a few months?”

Tessa smiled and nodded slightly. “Okay. I was also thinking that since I can’t work there forever, I want to go back to school.”

“Oh yeah? For what?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “I’m thinking hotel management or something in hospitality.”