“ROB!” MATTY RUNS across the room and straight into my arms.
I have to admit, I like this whole hero ego that comes over me when Matty sees me. In the past few weeks since Paige and I started dating, we’ve picked him up a few times to take him for ice cream, or out to eat. Today his begging to go to the zoo finally worked. Unfortunately, it’s not just the three of us; it’s the whole damn gang. Chrissy got wind of us going, which brought Sadie, who invited Jessa, who asked Trey. The caravan we’re traveling up there in makes me believe I should trade in the damn Mustang for a soccer mom mobile. As if that would ever happen.
“What’s up, little guy?” I throw him up in the air and he yelps. I squint my eyes from the loud noise. After our show last night, and a few too many Heinekens, I may be slightly hung-over. Which is probably where the animosity of everyone coming with us today forms.
“Aren’t you so excited, Matty? What’s your favorite animal?” Chrissy barrels into the room as her wavy blonde ponytail swings from side to side.
“Elephant,” Matty answers and then sits down at the table while I offer to pour him a bowl of cereal.
“Which one, bud?” I position the three boxes in front of him.
He whips around to face me, a smile from ear to ear. “You got me Avengers cereal?” There’s that whole I’m God persona I strive for. As much as I love how much he thinks I’m the coolest thing ever, I don’t forget that there’s no disappointing him, too. Although, I don’t see anything bad happening between me and Paige, if it does, Matty won’t understand if I’m not around.
“I did.” I snatch the credit until Paige comes in and narrows her eyes at me. “Well, your sister may have been with me,” I add and she laughs moving toward the fridge.
Chrissy sits down next to him. “Do you know that people call Dex, Hulk?”
“Don’t confuse the kid, Chris.” I step in front of Paige and she slips by me, but not without my hand cupping her tit. I hate the hiding in front of Chrissy; I’m growing tired of our secret relationship. I want Paige to sleep in with me instead of hightailing it out before Chrissy and Dex wake up. We’ll have to talk about that tonight, because at this point I’m invested enough that Chrissy will understand.
“Hulk?” Matty questions with wide eyes. “He has a lot of muscle.”
“Yes he does,” Chrissy agrees like the lovesick chick she is.
Moving over to the table, I lean over to Matty. “Bigger isn’t always better. Think of Spiderman, he can climb buildings.”
“Are you comparing yourself to Spiderman?” Chrissy arches her eyebrow at me.
“No. I don’t need to be compared to some super hero, I’m original.”
“That you are,” Paige whispers in my ear as she slides in the seat next to Matty. Her agreement spurs another zing of warmth right to my heart.
An hour later, we’re filing into the zoo like a pack of lions, Trey being the papa lion. He’s carting a wagon with Drew and a cooler. The kids are all in matching green shirts and he’s dictating our schedule before we even enter. Seriously, slap on a fanny pack at this point. Trey is all in daddy mode.
Matty hangs around Tara and Chloe, constantly running and laughing. I catch Paige smiling as she watches him acting so carefree, like a four year old should be.
“He really likes them?” Kailey walks alongside Paige.
“He does. Other than day care, he hasn’t had a lot of interaction with kids.” Paige is so honest it’s admirable.
“That’s a shame. He’s welcome at our house any time. Sometimes it’s easier with other kids in the house.” Kailey laughs and then the two of them begin talking about Matty and Paige’s mom. She surprises me that she’s so willing to let people into her business. Another sign she’s so much better than me.
“I’m sensing a secret.” Brady comes on the side of me. Sadie pushes the stroller for Jessa as the two of them chat away.
“You sense nothing.”
“You like her, do I dare say—”
“You don’t.” I end the conversation, looking around to make sure no one else hears him.
Brady laughs and then chats up Trey about what direction to go in.
“Matty!” Chrissy screams. “Elephants.” She points to the dirt grounds with four elephants on their feet with tails swinging and ears moving. I think I need to introduce him to some Tigers and Lions. Animals that run fast and are killer hunters.
Matty and the girls run over to the fence, stepping up on the ledge, peering over. “Whoa!” I yell, lunging over to them. “Don’t lean over. You don’t want to fall.”
Laugher erupts behind me. “Man, what kind of effect have you had on him?” Trey says to Matty, smirking over to me.
I tilt my head and narrow my eyes in a sarcastic movement. I won’t admit it now, but Matty just scared the shit out of me. Paige steps up next to me, her fingers grazing against mine and when I wheel around, she’s smiling. Suddenly, I don’t feel stupid for being overprotective of a kid I’m not even related to.
“Eww . . .” the kids yell in unison as they watch the elephant poop in front of them.
Matty backs away from the fence and scurries over to me and Paige. “Did you see the elephant take a shit?” My eyes go wide and I watch a mortified Paige evolve.
“Matty!”
The kid just stares not knowing what he did wrong. Paige having the intuition she does squats down to his level. “That’s a bad word. Where did you hear it?”
My heartbeat picks up, as I replay every interaction with him. I rack my brain if he heard it from me, because I don’t want the wrath of Paige.
“Daddy.” We all can tell by Matty’s tone he’s confused and doesn’t even understand which word he said that’s bad.
Her shoulders slump and she places her hand on his shoulder. “You can’t say it anymore.”
His head falls down and his shoulders begin to shake. My heart drops to my stomach as I watch the kid losing it in front of everyone. My eyes flip to Paige who doesn’t skip a beat in wrapping him in her arms. “It’s okay, Matty. You’re not in trouble, you just can’t use that word.” As she tries to soothe him, he only wails more.
Tara and Chloe come closer and they each try to cheer him up by swinging their arms around the boy, but damn, this isn’t going to help. The boy is too young for a threesome, so I have no choice but to fix it.
“Who wants a snow cone?” I ask and Chloe and Tara run over, deserting their boy for sugar. Sad really.
Matty picks up his head, wet and splotchy cheeks with red eyes. The interest is there, but he’s still embarrassed.
“Matty, what’s your flavor?” He turns to me, so I’m making progress. Paige’s eyebrows raise, silently asking me what I’m doing.
“They have blue raspberry. Remember the slushy you had last weekend? That dyed your lips and tongue blue?” I pour as much excitement as I can into my inflection and luckily he buys it, running over to join the girls. Gotcha.
Once the four of us evade the hut and I purchase them all snow cones, the three kids lead the way to the next animal.
“If I didn’t know any better,” Brady hints and I shake my head.
“You don’t,” I say and he laughs, slapping me on the back. “I’ve never seen you so happy.”
He passes me by and it’s hard to keep one foot in front of the other and not stop in my tracks. Happy? Have I really not seemed happy all these years? I mean, I knew my insides were gutted, but I thought I performed one hell of an Academy Award act. Guess I was wrong.
The thing is, I’m genuinely happy when Matty’s around and even happier with Paige. Neither one of them sees my faults—they only stare at me with affection and love. The question is, can I overcome my doubt of trust in order to see where this is really going with Paige and me? I know the answer; I just have to gain the nerve to tell her.