Note – I love Cat Stevens so much. And I love Yousef Islam more, for obvious reasons. Hee.
-Mean-
-11-
Oh, baby, baby,
It's a wild world.
It's hard to get by
Just upon a smile.
-- "Wild World," Cat Stevens
They were horsing around by the pool tables when Jason came in around ten-thirty, and an hour had passed since. He hadn't joined in on a game, he hadn't picked up a dart, he hadn't made small talk with anyone. He just sat at his booth in the back, cold beer in hand, and watched Jake and Morgan play.
They were both piteously underage at fifteen. This sort of thing would never have been allowed back when Jake was running the joint. He still remembered Emily, Lucky, Juan, and Elizabeth trying to sneak in to see Thirty-Two Degrees or whatever that damn boy band was called. Jake only let them in for the show when Jason asked her to, and even then, she wasn't pleased.
Coleman was a lot more lax about it. He was serving up drinks, refilling peanut dishes, and polishing glasses at the bar while the boys played, not even seeming to care that there were underage kids in his bar.
He saw Jake glance at his watch. "Okay, dude, we're cutting it pretty close. Mom said she'd be back from her date around midnight, so we'd better get back to the house."
"It's cool if I crash at your place tonight, right? Mom and Jax are knocking down the wall of Mike's room and adding it to the office, so the place is a mess and smells like shit."
"It's fine." Jake tossed his cue down and waved at the bartender. "Later, Coleman. We're out."
"You guys got a ride home?"
Morgan shook his head. The Webbers only had one spare car for Jake and Cameron to share, and tonight was Cameron's night. Besides, he and Jake were still technically grounded, and their parents thought that the two of them were cooped up in the Webber house since school let out. "We walked here – took the shortcut. Night, Coleman."
"See you little dudes around. Say hi to the folks for me. 'Specially that hot mama of yours, Webber. She on the market yet?"
"She's priced way out of your range," he remarked dryly as he and Morgan headed out the back door. "Better stick to the rent-by-the-hour goods."
"Touché, kid. I'm saving my pennies for a rainy day, anyway."
Jason waited until the boys left the bar before he stood and stalked over to the counter. Coleman, who was polishing a glass, looked up in mild surprise when he sat down on a stool and glared at him.
"What the hell's the matter with you, don't you check for I.D. anymore? Do you have any idea how old they are?"
And besides, those rotten boys were grounded, anyway. They had no business being out in public, having a good time. They were kids: they were supposed to be in their rooms…reading or something.
"They're in high school," he replied. "I know that."
Jason stared at him. "Then why do you let them in here?"
Coleman shrugged. "They don't do nothing. They come in, they hang out, they order some food. I never serve them any booze, anyway. Jax came around once and asked if I could let the boys hang out here sometimes if they wanted to."
"You could lose your license," Jason pointed out.
He tossed him a wink and set the glass down. "Jax also said he'd help if that came to pass. I get a nice tip when he pays his son's tab for the month – buffalo wings and cheese fries tab, that is – and they're good kids, so I figure it's a win-win. Oh, look."
He picked up a white and navy baseball cap that had been left on the counter and brushed off the autographed bill. "Little Jake Webber left his hat here. The bean sprout hardly goes anywhere without this thing. Got it signed by the star pitcher, you know. That's an authentic signature right there, none of that mass-marketed crap."
Jason studied the hat, considering his options, and a little smirk made his lips curl as he reached out and took it from Coleman. "I think I'll return it to him. Thanks."
Coleman shrugged again, not particularly understanding the smug look on the mob lord's face, and figured it was better not to ask. "Whatever. Knock yourself out, man."
The baseball cap was tucked away in his breast pocket, right against his heart, and Jason revved the engine while stopped at a red light. His son decided none-too-wisely to disavow the grounding sentence and sneak out of the house with his best friend while his mother and brother were out, and he chose the exact bar where Jason himself had been around to catch him in the act. And now he had his hat as proof.
This would almost be fun.
And if nothing else, it would give him an innocuous excuse to be under the same roof as Jake and Elizabeth again.
He smiled to himself and revved the engine again, willing the light to turn green. There was no one on any other side of the intersection, for Christ's sake, and he felt like an idiot sitting on a light on an empty street late at night.
It turned green and Jason let go of the brake, about to gun it into gear when two figures darted out into the road almost in front of him. They stopped when they saw him, and in the glare of the headlights, Jason could make out his son and his nephew. Morgan stared at him like a deer in the headlights, his mouth open, but Jake was quicker and up to the challenge. Their identical blue eyes locked, held, and the corner of their mouths kicked up.
The game was on.
Jake slapped Morgan's arm and the two of them raced down the crosswalk to the other side of the street. Jason gunned the gas and turned onto the road that led all the way down to the Webber house, determined to beat them there. The boys would never beat him on foot, and when he glanced to his left he was surprised to see that they'd disappeared from sight.
He handled the curve effortlessly and in doing so, caught a glimpse of the boys tearing through a neighbor's yard and upsetting the family dog in the doghouse. They narrowly avoided being bitten as the animal nipped at their heels and scaled the wire mesh fence easily, hitting the ground on the other side.
Another curve, and this time a stop sign. Jason growled and skidded to a roll, then gunned the gas again. He could see the Webber house now and saw a car coming down the other side of the road, most likely Elizabeth, back from wherever it was that she had been.
The sound of garbage cans clanging and dogs barking followed him as he tore down the quiet street, slowing only when Elizabeth pulled into the driveway. He brought the bike back down from its dangerous speed, knowing the boys were most likely in the back yard already, the little sneaks, and coasted the rest of the way down the street.
She was at her door, purse under her arm, fumbling for her keys under the porch light. Jason could see that she was dressed up, wearing a berry-hued dress with her hair down in fat curls, and drank in the very sight of her as he slowed to a stop, practically colliding with the mailbox because he was too busy paying attention to her. He didn't begrudge Elizabeth her right to date, (after all, they both had been forced to move on with their lives) but he pettily hated that some other man was on the receiving end of her beauty and her spirit and her attention.
Elizabeth had the door partially shut and was inside the house as he bounded up the lawn and rapped his knuckles against it, pushing the door open. She turned and squeaked in surprise when she saw him there, and paled instantly.
"Jason?" Her wide eyes scanned him quickly as he stepped inside. "What are – why – is everything okay?"
He nodded hurriedly. "Everything's fine. Where're the boys?"
"Uh…" Her mouth flapped open and shut like a fish out of water, and it was clear that she was bewildered. "Um, Cam's out on a date and Jake's upstairs, probably with Morgan. Why?"
"Jake's not upstairs," Jason told her, wincing when he heard a dog howl. Those stupid boys… "I mean, he might be, but he wasn't there all night. He was at Jake's with Morgan."
Elizabeth's brows pulled downward and she crossed her arms over her chest, not realizing that the gesture emphasized her breasts more. "What are you talking about? He's grounded for that stunt he pulled at Sonny's. He's upstairs – he hasn't been anywhere tonight. I'll show you."
Jason strode into her foyer as Elizabeth headed up the stairs and then, thinking better of it, walked back over to the door, wiped his feet on the mat, and entered once more. He followed her up, staring rather shamelessly at her bottom and taking in the mesmerizing sway of her hips with unabashed interest.
"Honestly," she was grumbling, "barging into my home and telling me my boy's not where I know he is. Jake? Jake!"
Jason hopped up the last step and heard his son's voice.
"Yeah, Mom?"
Elizabeth looked at him pointedly over her shoulder as if to say, you see? and knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"
His son's voice sounded suspiciously out of breath when he chirped, "Sure, Mom, come on in."
She pushed open the door and held it so that Jason could see into it. Morgan and Jake were sprawled out on the carpet by an open window – the escape and the return route – with a deck of playing cards and an open pack of M&Ms.
"Morgan's here," Jake explained unnecessarily. "I said it was cool if he took the floor here tonight. We'll just walk to school together in the morning. As long as that's okay with you, Mom. Oh, hi, Jason."
The men locked gazes again, and when Elizabeth turned to look up at Jason, Jake smiled wickedly. He had won, but Jason wasn't about to let him go that easily. After all, he disobeyed his mother's rules, broke curfew, and decided to horse around at a bar while underage. And Jason had the proof with him.
He felt bad doing it, almost, but someone needed to show Jake that he couldn't do whatever he wanted just because he was good at covering his tracks. That wasn't the way he wanted his son raised.
"What are you doing here?" he asked politely.
Jason arched a brow. "Just in the neighborhood."
"Huh." Jake clucked his tongue and dealt the dealer a card before putting another face up between him and Morgan. He tossed two M&Ms into the pot and Morgan raised him one, which Jake obliged. "Pretty far from your neighborhood, isn't it?"
"Jake." Elizabeth folded her arms over her chest and looked sternly down at her youngest child. "Never mind about Jason. I want you to be honest with me."
Jake blinked and, with perfectly practiced innocence, set down his cards and respectfully sat up, resting his hands on the knees of the soft plaid pajama bottoms he was now wearing instead of his blue jeans. "Sure, Mom."
She looked up at him and Jason nodded. "Jason says that he saw you and Morgan at Jake's tonight."
The boys looked at each other in open-mouthed horror (personally, Jason thought that was a little contrived) and Elizabeth continued. "I don't know what to think about this, Jake. You know very well that after Sonny caught you drinking, you boys were both grounded for three months. We decided to be nice and let you serve your time in the same house on occasion, and you know better than to take advantage. And I'm sure Jason is mistaken when he says you were out tonight."
"I'm sure he is, too," Jake replied, looking solemnly up at his father. "You might have seen two other guys our age, Jason. Lots of kids from our school like to hang out at Jake's whenever they can sneak past Coleman. Maybe you saw a couple of them tonight and thought it was us."
Jason leaned a hip against the doorjamb. "You're a little out of breath, there."
Jake gestured to the window. "Some idiot decided to burn wood out in his yard at this hour, and the smoke got in here. Nearly coughed up a lung. Morgan, I told you to close the damn window."
"Jake, language."
"Sorry, Mom." His shrewd eyes darted over to Jason. "You never answered my question, Jason. Are you sure it was me and Morgan you saw tonight?"
He tipped his chin toward the bed and ignored the smug question. "That the leg of your jeans sticking out under there? Almost as if you took them off in a hurry when you changed into your pajamas just now?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Jason, he's not that dumb."
"Boys that age can be pretty dumb," he disagreed, turning his attention back to his son. "Well?"
Jake grimaced and reached under the bed, pulling out not only two pairs of jeans but a balled-up t-shirt and exactly seven rolled up socks. "Ew. How long have these been here? …Mom?"
"Oh, for God's sake…" Elizabeth rolled her eyes again and marched forward, taking the laundry from her son. "Why don't you pay attention when I teach you how to use the machine? Your brother picked it up just fine."
"My clothes always come out cleaner when you wash them," he replied, looking up at her so sweetly that Elizabeth just had to smile.
Jason swore under his breath – really, it was unbelievable how Elizabeth was wrapped up around Jake's finger – as both mother and son turned to look at him.
"Well, Jason?" Elizabeth arched a brow at him, trying not to let herself think about how easy it was to fall into this domestic, parenting routine with her ex-fiancé. This could have been the life they shared, instead of a handful of scattered meetings at a safehouse these past fourteen years after their broken engagement. "Anything else? It's getting kind of late."
He glared sternly at Jake and reached inside his leather jacket. "Just one more thing."
The way his son's jaw dropped when he produced his navy baseball cap earned Jason no small measure of satisfaction.
"He left this at Jake's. I told Coleman I'd bring it by."
Elizabeth set the laundry on the desk and took the hat from him, examining it. "…Jake, this is yours."
She turned on him, her expression tight and stern. "You were out tonight, despite the fact that I was very clear about your being grounded. And you went to Jake's?! What business do you have being in a bar, young man? You've got six years to go before that sort of thing is acceptable. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Morgan turned to Jake, careful not to give anything away, and the young man frowned at the hat in his mother's hand. "Mom, I don't know what to tell you…"
She huffed under her breath. "I thought as much."
"Except that…" He gestured to the cap. "That's not my hat."
Jason's lips parted in surprise. "What – what are you talking about? Of course it's your hat. I saw you put it on the counter when you and Morgan ordered food. Coleman recognized it as yours, too."
Elizabeth looked down at it. "And it has the signature on the bill, too. How can you expect me to think that this isn't yours?"
He shrugged and crossed over to his dresser. Pulling out the second drawer, he removed an autographed blue hat and held it up. "…Because my hat's right here. I don't know whose Jason grabbed, but…this one's been sitting right here the whole time."
Morgan's expression was perfectly serene, carefully held in place as Jason gaped at Jake. Elizabeth blinked a few times, then looked down at the hat in her hand and the hat in his.
"Oh."
Awkwardly, she held the clearly inauthentic hat out to Jason. "I, uh, I guess you were mistaken, Jason."
He stared down at it, knowing that it was Jake's, and then looked up at his boy. "But – but -"
"Easy mistake," Jake allowed generously. "I mean, I do wear this thing all the time, so how could you not think it was mine? Especially if you thought you saw me there. Which I wasn't, because I'm grounded and I wouldn't disobey my mom like that," he added, purely for Elizabeth's benefit. "Neither would Morgan."
Jason wanted to kick something when he saw her expression soften, and Elizabeth crossed the room and kissed her son's cheek, affectionately tousling the dark blonde hair he wore just a little long.
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry, I should have known. Tell you what, I'll talk to Carly and maybe you boys can come out to dinner with us when Michael comes home tomorrow afternoon. How about that?"
The boys perked up in practiced excitement. "Wow, Mom, that'd be great. You really think you can get Mrs. Jacks to make an exception?"
"I think I can," she replied, giving them one last smile. "Okay, it's late, and you boys should already have been in bed. That's enough excitement for one night. Morgan, you've got a toothbrush here, right?"
He nodded dutifully. "Yup. And I'll take Jake's sleeping bag. We'll be fine."
"All right." She turned to Jason. "Don't you have something to say to the boys?"
Jason frowned. "No."
"Jason…" She arched a brow sternly at him. "Maybe something you're forgetting? Something that starts with an I'm and ends with a sorry?"
His lips parted in surprise. "You can't honestly expect me to apologize to them!"
"I can and I do," Elizabeth replied stubbornly.
"Elizabeth." Jason planted his hands on his hips and did his best to look equally stern. "You can't pull that Mother stuff on me. I'm not apologizing to them. I don't know how, but they're lying. They were at Jake's tonight and-"
"Obviously, they weren't." She shook her head and flashed the boys an apologetic look. "I'm going to bed. We have work and school in the morning, and it's late. I hope you'll do the right thing, Jason."
He stared at her in complete and utter bafflement as she patted his arm and moved past him, heading down the hall and into her master bedroom where she shut the door. Jason snarled and looked at the boys, both of whom were grinning at him.
Jake pulled the drawer open and pulled out not one, not two, but three extra hats perfectly identical to the other two in every way, except for minor variations in the signature. He and Morgan met up with the star pitcher after an awesome game and the man had been very amused by Jake's reason to get him to sign five identical baseball caps. He did as he was requested and told Jake to live large, and that he liked his rebellious spirit.
The look on Jason's face had been priceless, and Jake half-wished he had a camera handy just then to snap a picture. Jason had better get used to that feeling, because it would sneak up on him with alarming frequency soon enough. And it served him right, too. He had absolutely no right coming into their house and trying his hand at parenting for all of five seconds.
Jake's eyes glittered harshly as he held the hats up to his father's bewildered stare. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that to trip me up, Jason."
He did his best not to smile, but was damned if a little smirk didn't ruin the whole stern effect he was going for. Jason cocked a brow at his son and held up the hat he'd recovered from Jake's.
"Just for that?" He slipped it into his breast pocket as his son's smile slowly faded. "I'm keeping this one."
