Chapter Eighteen
Dating sucked.
Kyle didn't why he bothered. Either he was such an amazing, doting big brother that a girl was anxious to get him into a committed relationship, co-habitation and fatherhood or it was "you should really try and give your mother another chance. You shouldn't love your stepmother more than her."
Fuck off.
The upside of his garage bachelor pad that had just a small bedroom, full bathroom and combination kitchen, dining room and living room was that no date ever wanted to stay there. In fact dates looked at the place with utter horror.
Good. It was his space.
Then there was the coldest thing he was told which ended any date immediately.
"Stop being such a daddy's boy! You're a grown-ass man. But when it comes to spending time with your daddy, you're like a five-year-old!"
That sounded just like…Julia.
Kyle didn't get as much "guys time" with his dad as people thought. He and Horatio valued all their moments. It was a priority for the young man. Yes, he was a daddy's boy and proud of it. Kyle never missed a chance to tell his dad he loved him, a gesture that went both ways. He didn't care if that was a turn-off to dates. Again they didn't understand what he had been through. It had taken him a long time to find his daddy. It was called making up for lost time.
He dare not tell any woman that sometimes when he and his dad watched movies together in the garage abode after the little ones were settled, Kyle would fall asleep on daddy's shoulder. Dad would let him sleep for a while, enjoying the moment even if his boy was a grown man, before waking Kyle and making sure he went to bed. Yes, daddy would adjust his covers, turn off his bedside light and kiss his brow on these evenings. Again it was making up for lost time, lost moments.
Horatio thought he was going to have a heart attack. The brochures on the table were for the military. It was a noble profession but a dangerous one, especially in present times.
Was Kyle enlisting? Why hadn't he said something? Was this about paying for school? They had talked about that. He was doing that. Horatio wouldn't have tried to stop him from enlisting but the constant worry would kill him. Then him being so far away. Horatio's racing thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. He jumped.
"Whoa! Calm down. It's just me," his wife said. "You all right? Did something happen?"
He hadn't heard Aimee enter the room.
"What's this?" He asked.
"You can calm down. Kyle is not enlisting," she said.
"Good," Horatio said, finally exhaling.
Kyle was out bowling with his grandfather and uncle. He had gotten the brochures at work because they were being passed out by a pet owner. He thought it was easier just to take them and not argue. The explanation sounded like his son's logic. Kyle told his mother he thought just paying for school was the wrong reason to go in the army. Now that Horatio was calmed down he could eat his dinner. Rachel wanted to entertain him later with a new song she learned at preschool after. She was going to duet with her sister. Hunter was going to join the audience.