Page 82 of That First Night

“I bet she has, boy.”

“Gigi, I’m pretty confident that I lo—” my words are cut short when a small voice cuts me off from the sliding glass doors and my head turns to see James standing there with tears in his eyes.

“Daddy,” James cries in the doorway.

My eyes snap back to Gigi. “Go.” She waves her hands to swat me away. “I’m going to get that tea your mom said she was making. It sounds so good right about now.” She walks towards the door and before crossing the doors, she reaches down to plant a kiss to the top of James’ head and my heart skips a beat.

“What’s wrong, JJ?” I open my arms for him to come and sit on the patio chair with me.

“I had a bad dream, Daddy.”

“Talk to me.”

He sniffles as tears come out of his little eyes and I feel my heart cracking. “What if Peyton leaves, Daddy?”

“Oh, James,” I say with a sympathetic sigh. For someone so little, he holds so much emotion in his tiny body. “What makes you think that?” My arms wrap around him as I embrace him in a tight hug.

“My m-mom,” he sobs into my shirt. “S-she left me. I-I don’t want P-Peyton to l-leave us too. I love her so much, Daddy.”

“James, look at me.” I lift his chin as tears form in my eyes too. “I don’t think Peyton is going anywhere.”

“Are you sure?” He sniffles.

“Because…” I wipe a tear from his eye before I wipe the tear from my eye. “Because I feel the same way, JJ. I don’t want to lose her either. I want her around for a very long time.”

“You do?” A mix of shock and excitement crosses his face.

“I do, bud,” I admit with a soft smile. Looking him in the eyes, I run my hands through his messy blonde hair. “I love her, James. A whole lot.”

“So, can we keep her?” he asks with a smile on his face and tears still staining his cheeks. “She does the best crafts. She’s the best dinosaur buddy. She takes care of me when I’m sick. She loves to close the blinds and watch movies with me,” he spits out at a rapid speed. “And she makes the best waffles ever, Daddy. She does the funtetti like I like a whole lot.”

“Woah, slow down, JJ.” I laugh. “She really is a keeper, huh?”

“Weneedto keep her, Daddy!” he screams.

“Then I say, we keep her.”

* * *

The past hour has been running on repeat in my head. The heavy conversation with my mother, the even heavier conversation with Gigi, and James breaking my heart into a million pieces over his fear of losing Peyton. I admit, I have similar fears.

I lost her once, and I just can’t fathom losing her again.

After I put James back to bed, I came downstairs to find Avery, Kali and Emiline drunk off tequila singingBreakfast at Tiffany’s. Marc and Logan were sitting off to the side, fully engrossed in them as they laughed into their glass of whiskey. Marc can’t keep his eyes off Avery and honestly, he’s got to rein that in because she works for him and she doesn’t seem like the type to settle down. She’s a fucking wildcard.

Peyton wasn’t there with the group, so I assumed she had gone up to bed. When I finally make my way back upstairs, I discover I am right when I find her sitting on the balcony of her room with a book in her hand.

As I slide the glass door open, she startles in the lounge chair and smiles. “Hey, you.”

I return the smile as I walk to her. The smile remains on her face as I bend down at the foot of the lounge chair. She drops her book to the side as I spread her legs to lay between them. The side of my head resting on her stomach and my arms wrapping around her as I snuggle into her as far as I can get. She lets out a small chuckle and her hands comb through my hair.

“I missed you,” I whisper. “I’m sorry about my mom.”

“Don’t be,” she says as she runs her fingernails down my back.Fuck that feels good.

“She shouldn’t have said what she said,” I admit. “I’m sorry she said it.”

She reaches for my face to move it off of her stomach so that I’m looking up at her from my position. “Stop,” she says. “I know the truth, Thomas. I know we’re more than what she said we are.”