AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Cody? Is Sue here yet?” Katie comes walking down the stairs, her hands fiddling with her earring as she goes. Her back is to me while she talks to Cody.
“Nope.” His lips pop when he says the P. He’s grinning at me as if he’s about to see something entertaining.
“Then who—” She finally turns around to look at me. “Oh.” Her eyes drag up and down my body, making me want to puff up with pride. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I grin. “You look beautiful.” Her black jeans are molded to her hips in ways I want to explore in more detail than I can at the moment, and her black lace tank is covered by a black leather jacket. She looks like the princess of a biker club. I couldn’t ache for her more than I do right now.
She glances at Cody and then turns back to me with a cringe. “I’m guessing you didn’t see my text?”
I pat my palm against my front pockets and grimace. “Sorry, I must’ve left my phone in the car.”
She nods her head several times. “Sue is running a few minutes behind. Sooo…”
“Wanna help cook my dinner?” Cody asks me.
“Cody! It’s not nice to put our guests to work the second they walk in the door.”
“I’d actually love to help. My brother Carter’s been teaching me some things.”
Cody grabs my arm and leads me toward the kitchen, leaving Katie behind while she stammers. I’m not sure if she’s opposed because she doesn’t want me to spend time with Cody or if it’s because she doesn’t want me to feel obligated. Either way, I will not be denying this kid anything. He’s my in with his mom.
“Carter is older than you, right?” Cody asks as he opens the freezer and starts to pull things out. “We’re making chicken nuggets and fries, by the way. Mom always lets me have junk when she goes out because she feels guilty that I don’t get to go out, too.”
“Jesus, Cody.” Katie rolls her eyes as she comes around the other side of the kitchen to sit at the counter.
I laugh. “That seems fair to me. Although, I’m a bit partial to green beans with my chicken.”
“Me, too! I love green beans, but only the canned kind.” Cody’s eyes sparkle with excitement.
“Ohh, those are the best. Fresh or canned are my favorite. The frozen ones are fucking gross.” I turn my nose up.
Cody giggles. “Yeah, they are, but Mom likes the frozen ones, for some reason. Also, you owe a dollar to the swear jar.” He points to a large mason jar on the counter with several bills in it. I widen my eyes. I didn’t even realize I’d said a bad word. This hanging-with-a-kid thing is going to take some getting used to.
“You don’t have to do that. Cody, he’s a guest tonight. You can’t get on to someone who is a guest.”
“Ah, so the swear jar is for you, then?” I raise my eyebrow at Katie.
“Yeah, she curses like a sailor. At least, that’s what Auntie Ellie says. I’m getting close to paying for college at this point. Or a car when I’m old enough.”
Katie groans as she drops her face into her hands. I can’t contain my laughter after that one. I pull my wallet out of my pocket and flip through the cash I have.
“How about I make a deposit, because there’s no way I won’t slip up a few more times before we have to leave.” I hand Cody a five-dollar bill, and he grins as he takes it over to his jar.
“Now.” I rub my hands together. “Let’s see about making these the best chicken nuggets and fries you’ve ever had.”
Cody frowns at me as if I’m ridiculous. “They’re just the frozen ones.”
“Sure, but you can still make them fancy. How do you feel about cheese and bacon?”
Katie’s phone starts to ring, and she holds up a finger to excuse herself. When she walks around the corner, I turn back to Cody.
“I like them. This one time, I had them on my fries, and it was amazing.”
“You and I are going to get along famously.”
Cody’s grin makes my heart thump. For the next few minutes, I teach Cody how to make loaded fries in the oven. The whole goal is to get your fries crispy instead of soggy when you melt the cheese. “It’s a very precise science, my man. You cannot take your eye off your food, or it will burn.”
I keep my gaze on his food, waiting for the perfect moment to pull everything out. I’m reaching into the oven as Katie comes back into the kitchen.
