Page 19 of Too Good to Be True

Rowan

W hen Seth wakes up the next morning, I am already ready to go.

“Good morning,” I greet him as I stand at the living room door.

Seth fights his way up and sits down in the middle of the bed. He stays there for a few seconds, as if in a trance, his eyes half closed, his hand running through his hair.

“Hey, good morning.” He looks around, still groggy. “What time is it?”

“7.00 o’clock.”

“You’re a morning person.”

I don’t really have to leave that early. But I didn’t want to face the embarrassment of the next morning.

Last night was… unexpectedly nice. The chatter in the dark, the smiles that could be heard through the silences.

The desire to know something about him that I don’t yet, and to let him know something about me.

I am not ready to analyse what has happened between us, nor am I ready to let go of him completely.

I thought the best way out was to leave before I had to face everyone.

“I have a lot of work to do.”

“Won’t you stay for breakfast?”

“I don’t eat breakfast.”

“Oh. Really?” He gets up slowly and stretches. My eyes can’t help but fall on his morning erection.

“I’d better go now.” I look away, not wanting to be tempted again. “I don’t know how long it will take me to get from here to the office.”

“Don’t you even have coffee?” Seth asks, but I am already at the door.

“See you tonight,” I say quickly, before closing it behind me and running down the stairs, away from him, but not from my thoughts, which follow me all the way to the office.

And not only that.

PAUL ARRIVES AT the office calmly as usual.

“For you.” He hands me a coffee.

I sneak a look at him.

“I thought you might need it after the night you just had.”

“I’m thinking of throwing it at you.”

Paul laughs as he sits down opposite me. “So?”

“So what?”

He makes himself comfortable, legs crossed and elbows on the armrests.

“I want to know how your first night in your new home with your new partner and your new family went.”

“I’m going to hit you. Seriously.”

Paul is still laughing, and out loud.

What an asshole.

“Judging by your face, I’d say you’ve been up late. I’m all ears. Don’t spare the details. Unless they’re explicit, the kind of explicit your best friend doesn’t need to know.”

“Are you done?”

“Only when you start.”

I snort and pick up the cup of coffee on my desk. I had one this morning as soon as I arrived. And I took a whole wheat scone, too. I hadn’t had my usual protein and multivitamin shake this morning and I was feeling low.

“Seth came home in the middle of the night.”

“And…”

“And I went to bed late. Too late to listen to your bullshit for the rest of the day.”

“Are you telling me you waited for him?”

I take a sip of coffee, avoiding his gaze.

“And when he came home…”

I shrug. “We made small talk and then went to sleep.”

“And you slept in the same bed too?”

“You’re about to take all the hits I never gave you when you were a kid.”

Paul still laughs out loud.

He was always like that. When I first met him, he was annoyingly cheerful and overly positive, just as he is now. He has not changed one bit.

“I suppose things are not as easy as you thought.”

I never really thought they were. I just… I didn’t think too much about the consequences of my actions.

“And living under the same roof will be quite a problem because you are attracted to him.”

“What the hell…” I jerk up, accidentally bumping my cup and spilling my coffee on my desk. “Look what you made me do.” I try to clean up the mess with the tissues I keep in the office for the more emotional clients, but I’m afraid it’s too late for the documents on the desk.

“I can see you are nervous, especially when I mention a certain subject.”

“And you don’t mention it, would you?”

Paul laughs and shakes his head. He hasn’t even bothered to help me.

“Look what a disaster! And all because of you!”

“What has this to do with me?”

I throw the wet tissues in the bin, then go to the bathroom to wash my hands, leaving Paul alone in my office with his bullshit.

I walk over to the sink, wash my hands and dry them under the warm air, but just as I’m about to walk back into the office, the phone in my jacket pocket starts ringing.

I picked it up as I walked towards the office.

Seeing his name on the screen, I pause before going back inside.

“Hey,” I say, a tightness in my throat I have no reason to feel and an anxiety in my fingers I have no right to feel. “What’s going on?”

“I need… er… a favour.”

Another one? I would say. Am I not doing too many already? But then I remember that he never asked me for anything, that I did everything myself with my own hands and my own stupidity.

“If I may…”

“It’s huge,” he says anxiously.

“Tell me.”

“I have to cover a shift tonight.”

“Mmm-uhm.”

“I know it’s not good for me to work at the club, but it’s extra. Well paid.” I hear the embarrassment in his voice.

Right now, his job at the club is the least of his problems.

And mine.

“Besides, they’re desperate. Two of the bartenders at the club have mono. Apparently, they caught it from each other. News that did not shock anyone. Everyone knows that those two?—”

“Seth,” I interrupt before he tells me about his colleagues’ affair on the phone during office hours.

“I’ll get to the point.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“I have to stay at the club. And Mr Yang is having a Poker night with his friends. You may not know this, but Mr Yang has?—”

“Seth.”

“I did it again. Didn’t I?”

I shake my head, even though he can’t see me.

“I was wondering if you could be with the children tonight. I know it’s not in the agreement, although I don’t feel like there’s any real agreement between us.”

“There isn’t.”

“And I understand that you probably have your own agenda.”

“I think I can do it.”

“R-really?”

“I’ll be there, at home. I don’t see why not.”

“Oh God, you are my saviour!”

“Let’s not exaggerate.”

“You don’t know how much everything you do means to me.”

“Don’t think about it.”

“You are… You are a good person… a truly special one.”

I wish I didn’t feel that tingle in the pit of my stomach. I wish I didn’t feel his words pass through me, leaving their emotional mark. But it seems I have no control over myself when it comes to Seth.

Another problem. Huge. And not just for me.

“Can I count on you?”

“I’ll be home by 6 p.m. Is that OK?”

“Mr Yang will be with them until 5 p.m. I can ask Mason…”

“Maybe I can get out earlier.”

“I could never ask so much of you…”

“You’re not asking me.” I take a moment to process what the hell I’m doing. “I’ll be home by 5 p.m.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“I’ll try to be back as soon as I can. And try not to make any noise. The bed is all yours tonight.”

A few more seconds to metabolise the word bed as he said it, in that barely mischievous tone, and that barely held breath.

“OK.”

“I’ll leave you to your work.”

“And I to your day.”

“See you tonight.”

“See you.”

Seth ends the call. I stay for a few more moments with the phone in my fingers, pressed to my ear as if I needed to hear his voice in full.

“Will you be home by 5 p.m.?” The sound of Paul’s voice outside my office snaps me back to reality. “Do you have an appointment?”

“I don’t, but you do.”

“Excuse me?”

“You have a dinner commitment.”

“Is that an invitation?”

I walk past him and return to my desk. “It’s an obligation.”

Paul joins me and sits down again. “You know I don’t back down from anything.”

“Good, because you’re going to help me cook.”

“Cook...?”

“For the children.”

Paul raises an eyebrow.

“Seth has to work.”

“And you offered to stay with the children?”

“I didn’t offer.”

“You look like a real couple already.”

“Fuck off.”

“At this rate, convincing the judge will be a piece of cake.”

Convincing the judge is not the problem that is bothering me at the moment.

“Your friend Paul is not intimidated by three children. Tell me what time and I’ll come over. With ice cream, maybe.”

“And beer.”

“No problem.”

“Let’s say 7 o’clock?”

“7 o’clock. Ice cream and beers. Count me in.”

WHEN I ARRIVE at Seth’s house, Mr Yang is ready to leave.

“I came as fast as I could,” I explain, still at the door.

I am ten minutes late. It’s not easy to get back at this hour, considering my office is on the other side of town.

Mr Yang nods at me as if to cut me off, then turns to the kids. “Remember what we said?”

All three nod and Mr Yang smiles contentedly.

“See you tomorrow.”

The kids say goodbye to Mr Yang, who stops on the landing.

“As for you,” he points a finger at my face. “Don’t make me mention your name to my friends.”

“W-w-what?”

“We understand each other.”

“Actually, no.” I follow him outside, hoping for more explanation, but Mr Yang has already taken the stairs. Confused and worried by this brief exchange, I go back to the apartment where the kids are waiting for me.

“So…” I slip off my jacket and leave it by the entrance. “What are you doing… What…”

They cross their arms over their chests, all three of them at once. Their eyes are on me, their expressions doubtful of my presence here, for sure, but also, and above all, suspicious of my lack of conversation skills.

“You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?” Mason asks.

“Well…” I scratch my head. “I wouldn’t exactly say that…”

“Have you ever dealt with children?” Logan asks.

“Actually I…”

“Do you even know what to cook for dinner?”

I loosen the collar of my shirt in the vague hope of not choking. Now I understand why Seth is so worried.

“I asked Paul to come over for dinner.” That’s my answer to all three questions.

“Oh, thank God!” Logan says quickly. “If Paul is here, we’ll be safe.”

The other two nod, reassured by my information.

And I must admit it, but knowing that Paul is coming makes me feel reassured as well.

“ROWAN?” EMILY calls out while I focus on preparing dinner.

Paul hasn’t turned up yet and I’m running out of topics. I hope to have more success with the dinner.

I thought I would make some pasta. Not a food I usually eat, but I don’t think I can win their sympathy by cooking them one of my low-fat recipes, low-salt, low-carbs—and low-life, as Paul would say.

Not that I really need to win them over, but since we have to live under the same roof, I would at least try to please them.

“Yes, Emily?”

“What… what should I call you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, Uncle Seth is Uncle Seth. He’s Daddy’s brother. And you’re his… boyfriend… I think…” She wrinkles her forehead. “I mean, that’s what you told the judge, isn’t it?”

I thought Seth had decided to be honest with the boys.

“Friend,” I say as I stir the sauce into the vegetables I have prepared. “This is the more appropriate term.”

Boyfriend really seems excessive.

“Shall I call you Uncle Rowan then?”

“I think Rowan is more than OK.”

“Also because they’re not a real couple,” Logan joins us in the kitchen, glancing at the food being prepared, then at me.

“What’s this? It doesn’t smell bad.”

I sigh in relief. “Thanks.”

“What doesn’t smell bad?” Mason also comes into the kitchen. He looks at the pot on the stove, then touches his stomach. “I’m starving.”

I think this is his way of telling me he agrees.

“Not long now.”

I hope Paul is on his way by now. He’s obviously late, as usual.

“Would you mind helping me set the table?”

“Sure,” Logan offers quickly. “Come on, Emily, help me fold the napkins.”

The two of them get to work while Mason stays by my side at the stove.

“Uncle Seth told us you were only doing this to win the case.”

“He said that to you?”

“Not in those words, but that was the meaning.”

“It doesn’t matter why I do it, only the result.”

“Does that mean you will stay here until… until when?”

“I didn’t think of all those things, Mason, just to buy some time.”

“They were going to take us away forever, weren’t they?” His tone becomes serious.

“Forever… I don’t know. For a long time… Yes.”

“And now that you’re here, can we stay with Uncle Seth?”

I don’t answer him. I go back to stirring my sauce. I don’t want to take credit for something I didn’t really do.

“Well, thank you.”

I look at him.

“Uncle Seth… He wouldn’t make it without us.”

“And you?” I ask.

Mason gives me a half smile. “We are his family. And he… He is… A mess, but a positive mess. Everything he does, he does for good.”

I nod slowly.

“He tries hard.”

“I’m sure he does.”

“He reminds me of Dad in a lot of ways. It’s nice to be around someone with a familiar face.”

“I see what you mean.”

He puts his hands in his pockets, a little uncomfortable now.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“Just… don’t mess with him.”

I open my eyes wide, surprised by his words.

“He’s a bit na?ve sometimes, and too good. And he falls for it, and…” He sighs. “Go easy on him, will you?’

“I assure you, I’m not?—”

“Paul’s here!” Logan’s voice interrupts our discussion before I can reassure Mason of my intentions.

“Here I am, with beers and ice cream.” He lifts two paper bags to confirm his words. “What did I miss?”

Nothing. Just your friend getting cornered by a kid.

“You’re late,” I say, spoon in hand.

“I’m here now, am I not?” He puts the bags on the countertop. Then he takes off his jacket. “Tell me what to do. I’m ready for anything.”

Save me, Paul. Pull me out of this disaster; save me from myself and these intense, unknown emotions that are consuming me against my will.

Save me before I hurt myself.

Save me before anyone else gets hurt.