Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 113741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Those daydreams were dumb, and he knew the intensity of this emotion coursing through him was all one-sided. He also knew the signs of already being too emotionally attached. He lectured himself on keeping it casual and easy going. Gage wouldn’t stick around for any real length of time. But damn, fantasizing came easy after seeing how well Gage handled his children. It did something special to a man’s heart to watch his love interest help his son open a ketchup packet or wipe food from his daughter’s face.
As he pulled into the driveway, Trent grounded all his flights of fancy. He would keep it casual tonight. If this were his one night with Gage, he would enjoy the evening and hold it as a fond memory. Exactly like his dinner at McDonald’s last night.
Regardless of what the future held, Em’s birthday inched closer, and if he played his cards right, he could keep his mind occupied long enough to get through the day without the funk that usually followed.
Em, Hunter, and Rhonny were at the kitchen table doing homework when he walked in with his new suit over his shoulder. The kids jumped down from their seats, running toward him, both hugging a leg before he could make it too far out of the entryway. Em’s homework consisted of coloring and she brought the page with her for his inspection.
“Daddy, I’m drawing this for Mr. Gage because Rhonny said Auntie Crazy’s watching us so you can see him again tonight. I’m doing what he told me to do with the colors. I don’t have two pinks though so I used green and pink,” she said, shoving the hair out of her face as she spoke.
“Very nice work,” he said as she grabbed the paper back and ran to the kitchen table.
“I have to finish before you leave,” she said, crawling back on the chair in the kitchen.
“How was your day at school, Hunter?” Trent asked. The little guy still hugged his leg. “You okay?”
“Thomas said his dad was stronger than my dad, and he could beat you up,” Hunter said. It caught Trent’s attention and he looked down at Hunter a little closer seeing the worry on his brow. He knelt down on one knee, keeping Hunter in the circle of his arms.
“Did he say why he says that?” Trent asked.
“No.” Hunter offered up nothing more as a response.
“How did you respond to Thomas?” Trent asked, hooking his finger under Hunter’s chin, lifting his worried face to where he could see his eyes.
“I told him you were stronger and had bigger muscles and you could beat up his dad,” Hunter said, his voice growing with conviction as he spoke.
“Well, son, that’s one way to answer his question… What happened then?” Trent asked, trying to hide the relief he felt. He worried about the gay thing when it came to the kids; he didn’t want them to be targets of harassment.
“The teacher told us to stop, but, Daddy, I know you can beat him up. Your muscles are bigger than all the dads in my class,” Hunter said seriously.
“Hunt, I don’t want to fight anyone and I think those other dad’s feel the same as I do,” Trent said.
“I knew you were gonna say that, but you can still win. I know!” Hunter said, apparently done with the conversation as he turned and ran back to the table.
“Hi, Rhonny, I’m going to get dressed. I’ll be out in a little while,” he said to Rhonny. Her textbook was open, but her eyes were on him and Hunter. She smirked as they spoke, clearly she’d already heard this story from Hunter.
“Rockin’ haircut, Trent. Lookin’ hot and I agree, your muscles are bigger!” Rhonny said. He didn’t even turn back around to look at her because he knew the wiggly eyebrows and suggestive looks he would see.
“Thanks… I’ll be out in a little while,” he said, making his way down the hallway and shutting his bedroom door behind him.
****
Manscaping took much longer than Trent remembered. He’d spent almost an hour making sure everything was shaved, combed, plucked, and tucked in the right way. His hair took the most time, and he wondered how such a short, easy cut could be so cumbersome to fix, but he followed the stylist’s direction to a tee and it turned out pretty well. Rhonny had come into his room about thirty minutes ago to do a visual inspection before leaving for class. She worked a minute with his hair, fixing a few problem areas that didn’t do what they were supposed to do. Auntie Crazy texted to let them know she was running late but was close by, and both Em and Hunter were on his bed, watching Sponge Bob, chatting nonstop, all excited about his date.
“You look nice, Daddy,” Em said as she started to jump up and down on the bed.
“I want to cut my hair like yours,” Hunter said, standing up on the bed to see himself in the dresser mirror. From the angle of the mirror, they were able to stand side by side. “Can I get my hair like yours?”
“Sure, on your next haircut, okay?” he said, sitting down on the bed to put his shoes and socks on. Both children came to sit beside him.
“I told Gage about Sophia being Auntie Crazy. He said I could call him Gage,” Hunter said. “Did you shine your shoes?”
“Yes, sir, I did. After you went to sleep last night,” Trent said, standing up and turning to the kids. They were so sweet and very excited for him.
“I think I need a kiss for encouragement,” he said, and they both jumped back up on the bed, giving him two giant, wet kisses as the doorbell rang.
“Daddy, he’s here!” Em shouted, climbing off the bed. Hunter jump forward, racing down the hall.
“Let me get my suit jacket,” he called out after them. As he took his jacket off the hanger, he heard Sophia at the door.