Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
We walked on in silence until the little voice called to me, “Mummy.” A.J. held his legs together tightly and made a face of discomfort. “I need to go.”
When I stepped toward him, Twitch stopped me with, “I’ll take him.”
Before I could say a word, Twitch walked our son to the mall’s restroom. It wasn’t long before they both walked out of the bathroom, and while Twitch looked somewhat red in the face, A.J. peered up at his father wearing an expression of pure distress. “But is it okay?”
My brow lowered.
What was going on?
Twitch put a gentle hand over A.J.’s mouth and spoke quietly. “It’s fine, kid. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”
Okay. What the hell was happening here?
“Mummy, can I go on the ride?” pleaded A.J., and I fished out a coin, watching him rush over to the kiddie ride in the center of the mall. The moment he was out of hearing range, I asked quietly, “What happened?”
Twitch looked mortified. “I think we might have a situation here.”
He looked so distressed that my panic grew, and when he started to explain, I listened intently. “So he uses the urinal, right, and I need to piss too.” He lowered his voice. “So I whip it out and start to go and...” He closed his eyes, and whispered, “He looks over and sees it, right?”
My son had a penis. He knew what a penis was. What was the issue here?
“Okay,” I drawled.
But Twitch looks at me meaningfully. “He sees it, Lex.” When I didn’t catch on, he spoke slowly. “The piercing, baby.”
Recognition dawned on my face. “You still have that?”
He ignored my question. “I mean, he looks at it, then looks at me, and he asks what happened.”
“What did you tell him?”
“The first thing that came to mind.” His brow lowered. “I told him it was an accident.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You told him it was an accident?” My mouth parted slightly. “Why would you say that?”
“I panicked,” he hissed. “Give me a fuckin’ break.” He scowled. “What’s he doin’ looking at other men’s junk anyway? You gotta talk to him about keepin’ his eyes to himself.”
Excuse me?
“He’s your son too, and he’s never been into the men’s room before. He usually comes into the ladies’ with me. I’m guessing he was just curious. He doesn’t know men’s room etiquette, and you want to be a daddy, Twitch, so you talk to him about it.” I folded my arms across my chest and stared at him. “That’s what being a parent is, Tony. It’s answering questions. Uncomfortable questions.” At his sheer discomposure, a bubble of amusement shot up my throat and I laughed. “I can’t believe you told him it was an accident.” My laughter grew. “What were you thinking? He’s probably wondering how he’s going to spend his life avoiding such an accident.” I could barely hold myself up as I continued to chuckle. “Oh my God. He’s going to have some questions for you, Daddy. I hope you’re ready to answer them.”
He watched me laugh a long while before his lip twitched. The word was spoken low and there wasn’t a hint of malice in it. “Bitch.”
The hilarity started all over again, and when A.J. returned from his ride, I finally managed to calm myself down enough to take him into a clothing store. After the men’s room incident, things seemed lighter, and I even sent Twitch a few small smiles of silent support. He was going to need it for the talk that was to come.
After I picked out some new clothes for A.J., we roamed the store and I looked for a new blouse for myself. However, every one I picked up got an unimpressed sound made by the grown-ass man trailing behind me.
“What?” I asked, holding up the simple white blouse. “It’s nice.”
“Yeah,” Twitch uttered. “It’s nice. If you’re a spinster living alone with your forty cats.”
“I happen to like cats,” I muttered, putting the sensible blouse back.
“Now this...” He held up a tight, off-white, low-cut mini dress before looking at me. “This is hot.” He thrust it toward me. “Get that.”
I scoffed. “No, I’m not getting that.” I glared at him. “It’s inappropriate. I’m a mother.”
Twitch nodded. “Yeah, you’re a mom. You’re not dead, angel.” He looked me up and down with heat in his eyes. “You’re hot. Own it.”
A.J. ran into the men’s area and I followed, avoiding that conversation at an expert level. When Twitch picked up a pair of dress pants, I kept my eye on A.J., and said, “You don’t wear suits anymore.”
Not a question, just an observation.
He grinned down at me. “Always did like me in a suit, didn’t ya, baby?”
God, he was infuriating. I could be a jerk too, you know? “I liked you alive.”
As I walked away, his hand snaked out, gripping my hand tightly, pulling me back, and when I was close, he pulled me to stand in front of him as he held up a black suit, and muttered, “I mean, I could get it, but where the fuck would I wear it?”