CHAPTER NINETEEN
Mike was just finishing up dinner when there was a light knock on the door. Mike glanced at Ty and motioned with his head that Ty should answer it. Ty got up and opened the door and turned back towards the table. Mike glanced over to see Tom coming in quietly closing the door behind him. Wyatt ran through the kitchen, circled the table making sound effect noises, a piece of pizza flapping in his hand, then ran off. Tom chuckled as he stepped around the little boy and took a seat at the table.
"Glad you decided to join us," Mike said softly. Tom gave him a weak smile and nodded slowly.
"Beats cooking for myself," he mumbled, and Mike laughed. Mike finished up the food and set it on the table so he, Tom, and Ty could eat. Dinner was relatively quiet as everyone seemed beaten by the day. When they were finished eating Ty looked at Mike hesitantly. Mike was clearing away the table and working on the dishes when he noticed Ty.
"Something on your mind?" Mike asked as he washed the last plate up. Tom had helped him clean up and was putting the dishes away. Ty seemed to falter a moment then he looked back up again.
"Can we play a board game, or something?" Ty asked cautiously. Mike smiled as he dried his hands. He glanced at Tom and raised his eyebrows.
"What do you say, Admiral?" Mike asked. Tom bumped his shoulders up and down with a small laugh before he let out a sigh.
"What do you have in mind?" Tom asked and Ty beamed a little brighter.
"Um, we don't have much, but Mom has an old Payday game, and I think we have Sorry. Maybe an UNO deck?"
"UNO is too competitive," Mike snapped quickly. Ty gave him a curious look and Tom laughed deeply. Mike looked over at him. "What?"
"Still? You're still holding that against me?" Tom asked smiling. Mike narrowed his eyes at him.
"Yes," Mike barked back at him. "I'm holding to my word. I'm never playing UNO with you again. You are ruthless," Mike continued. Tom continued to laugh.
"You're such a wimp," Tom chuckled. Mike shook his head.
"I'm down for a few months of Payday," Mike said. His memory flashed on playing the same game with his girls, but he stuffed it down and forced a smile to his face.
"Cool," Ty beamed. "I'll grab it."
Mike felt Tom staring at him and looked over. He could see there was something on Tom's mind as he studied Mike's face. Mike swallowed.
"What?" Mike asked.
"Just…nothing," Tom replied. Mike furrowed his brow at Tom and tilted his head to the side, silently asking for clarification. "Just saw that look pass over. You okay with this?"
"Yeah, just…had a memory of playing with the girls," Mike said softly. Ty came back in, and Mike gave Tom a shrug and sat down at the table as Ty started setting up the game.
"What color do you want?" Ty asked as he palmed the blue one for himself.
"I'll be green," Mike said.
"I'll take red," Tom replied. They set the game up and started playing agreeing on playing four months' worth. They settled into an easy banter, with lots of laughs and easy conversation. Eventually Mike won the game making just a little bit more than Ty with Tom coming in last. Mike left Ty and Tom to clean up the game while he wrangled Wyatt and got him to the tub. After getting Wyatt through a bath, Mike told Ty to go take a shower and get ready for bed. Tom was sitting on the couch watching television while Mike got Wyatt settled in bed. Once the boy fell asleep Mike checked in on Ty. He poked his head in the door.
"Hey, time for lights out," Mike said softly. Ty nodded slowly as he climbed into his bed and pulled the covers over himself. He looked up at Mike, hesitant, something certainly on his mind. Mike wasn't sure if he should push or not. "Okay, well good night, Buddy, see you in the morning."
"Night…Dad," Ty said softly. It caught Mike a bit off guard, even after the talk they had had. He swallowed the instant lump that built in his throat and blinked a few times. He forced himself to smile and nodded slowly.
"Night, Ty," Mike forced, his voice trembly. He pulled the door shut and turned, leaning against it. The emotion rolled through him like magma. Burning his soul. Flashes of his three kids blinded him. He sucked in air, trying to calm his system. He didn't realize it would be that hard to hear that word again. He pulled himself together and walked out to the living room sitting down on the couch. He was in a cloud of memory and emotion.
"You, okay?" Tom asked and Mike shifted his eyes towards him.
"Yeah," he sighed out. Tom stared at him a moment longer, but Mike looked back at the television. Eventually Tom did too. Mike was thinking about everything that had happened today and feeling completely overwhelmed. It seemed to long ago from the morning. He started to think about his relationship with Ginny and how to approach it. He was thrilled to have something again. It had been a long time and he was scared to open his heart again. He felt he was in a safe spot in order to do that now. There was the threat of danger around every turn anymore.
He knew after this morning Ginny was going to want to take it to the next level, but he wasn't so sure he was ready. He wouldn't lie that if Wyatt hadn't come in this morning, they would have gone through with it, but now he realized that…he hadn't even taken her out once. He knew he was going to have to talk to her. He felt something smack against his shoulder and looked over to see a throw pillow sitting in his lap. He glanced in Tom's direction and found him staring back at him with his eyebrows raised. Mike frowned.
"What?" Mike asked.
"You seemed lost," Tom shrugged. Mike looked down at the throw pillow and gripped it. He hefted it feeling the weight out. Without looking he whipped it at Tom. Tom caught it just before he smacked him in the face. He brought it down and smiled at Mike.
"I'm…fine." Mike huffed.
"Ut-oh. I know that line," Tom said softly. "Want to talk about it?" Mike contemplated his question. Maybe he should hash it out with Tom.
"Just thinking. Ty…wants to call me dad already," Mike sighed. Tom pursed his lips. "And I realized I haven't even taken Ginny out on a real date yet."
"Well," Tom drawled out. "How do you feel about being called dad again?"
"I told him it was okay, but I wasn't expecting the rush of emotion when he actually did it."
"And?"
"I don't know."
"Okay. And with Ginny…this is an issue with you?" Tom asked.
Mike looked at his friend and frowned. He worked the problem over in his head. He thought about what he wanted to do.
"I just think I should take her out before I take her to bed," Mike stated. Tom laughed. Mike glared.
"Sorry," Tom chuckled. "I can see why you'd think that way,"
"Oh, so you'd just jump in the sack and not worry about actually dating?"
"I mean, you're already playing house with her," Tom fired back, with a smirk. Mike sighed and shook his head slowly.
"I know it started differently and I'm already entrenched, but I think I want to…do this right," Mike mumbled. Tom nodded slowly and smiled at Mike.
"Honorable," Tom replied. Mike looked at him then down at his hands.
"Something like that," Mike replied. "I hope she sees it the same way. Would you be willing to keep the boys so we could go out some time?"
"Of course," Tom replied with a smile. Mike nodded his thanks. They settled into a quiet as the television droned on in the background.
Mike was worried about how Ginny would react to that after how he had acted this morning. He was also worried about how she had dealt with everything today. He should have insisted she take the rest of the day off. Tom glanced at the clock.
"I'm going to head down to bed. See you in the morning?"
"Okay, and yeah," Mike replied. "I'll be here late, Ginny's closing tonight."
"Okay," Tom replied. He leaned over and squeezed Mike's shoulder then got up and left. Mike sat on the couch thinking about everything and wondering how he got so deep so quickly, without even noticing. He kept nodding off but couldn't get comfortable on the couch. He made a decision and went into Ginny's room and stretched out on her bed. He was almost asleep when Wyatt came in and climbed up on the bed with him.
"What's up, Little Dude?" Mike asked quietly. Wyatt sat next to him fidgeting with the blanket. "Want to lay with me?" Wyatt blinked a couple times and crashed forward onto the bed, settling into Mike. Mike chuckled. "Okay," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around Wyatt. Wyatt's fingers found Mike's shirt, weaving the fabric between. Mike stroked his hair lightly as he watched the boy blink and slowly drift back to sleep. It wasn't long before Mike followed him.
Mike woke suddenly, his arms instinctively tightening around Wyatt as his eyes came open. Wyatt was still asleep but there was movement in the room. Mike groggily picked his head up and looked to see Ginny coming towards the bed. He smiled at her as he settled his head back down and kissed the top of Wyatt's head. Ginny settled in across from him, her arm coming across Wyatt and settling on Mike's shoulder.
"Hey," Mike whispered, his eyes lingering on her split and swollen lip. He sighed and reached up, touching it gently. She winced a little and he dropped his finger. "How are you?"
"Not going to lie, it was a rough day. But it's over. Thank you for what you did."
"Anytime," he breathed out. She leaned in and kissed the back of Wyatt's head. The boy shifted closer to Mike, pushing his forehead into Mike's chest.
"I was hoping you'd be here when I got back," she said, the hand on his shoulder moved to his jaw. Ginny propped herself up and leaned over Wyatt, kissing Mike soundly. He closed his eyes, letting the sensations of the kiss roll over him. She pulled back and settled back against the bed. "Too bad Wyatt's here," she said quietly. Mike smiled over him and sighed. Ginny squinted at him, silently asking him if something was wrong.
"I was thinking today," Mike whispered, his hand absently rubbing Wyatt's back. "Well, a lot happened today."
"How did Ty's school thing go? We didn't get to talk about it because of what happened."
"It went okay," Mike said as he swallowed. His mixed emotions surfacing again. Ginny reached over and stroked his cheek.
"What happened?"
"Ty apparently told some boys I was his dad. They asked if it was true in front of everyone."
"What did you do?" Ginny asked. Mike shifted his head a little and smiled softly.
"I said yes," he whispered. "The look on Ty's face…I had to."
"How do you feel about that?"
"Ty and I talked tonight. He desperately wants me to be his dad."
"I asked how you felt," Ginny said gently as her fingers caressed his jaw.
"I told him it was okay, and he could call me what he wanted," Mike replied.
"That's not what I asked, Mike," Ginny said pointedly. "You're avoiding the question." Mike hesitated. He swallowed and blew out a deep breath.
"I have mixed emotions," Mike said honestly. Ginny nodded slowly. Wyatt shifted against Mike. "But I'll stand by what I told Ty," Mike said. Ginny smiled, pushing herself up again and kissing him gently. Mike watched her settle back against the pillow.
"I like the idea of you being my boys' dad," she whispered as her hand found his hip. Mike nodded slowly.
"It still…hearing that…him say it…" Mike stumbled through the words, unable to articulate what he really wanted to say, as emotions ruptured inside him. He felt his eyes burn and his throat close up.
"Oh, Mike," Ginny said softly as she scooted closer to him.
"I was also thinking about us," Mike said with a sigh. Ginny froze, a look of concern clouding her face. He reached out and stroked her face. "Nothing horrible I promise," Mike chuckled. Ginny relaxed a little, but he could still see the tension in her.
"What?" she asked.
"I realized we skipped a step in all this, and I think I want to fix that."
"Skipped a step?" Ginny asked perplexed.
"Yeah. I want to take you on a date," Mike said as he reached to his hip and took her hand in his.
"A date?" she asked smiling broadly.
"Yeah, what's your work schedule like?"
"I'm working lunch and dinner tomorrow, but I'm off on Wednesday," Ginny said.
"Then it's a date. Tom said he'd watch the boys."
"Okay," she said softly. Her eyes were still searching his. "But there's something else too." Mike smiled and nodded slowly.
"Yes. I think we should wait…to have sex…a little longer," Mike said hesitantly. He was worried what she would think after this morning.
"Okay," she said slowly. "What changed?"
"Nothing really, I wanted to wait before, but this morning, it was just…"
"In the moment?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah," Mike said with a sigh. "I hope you understand. I just…think we should have a few dates before we jump in bed together."
"So, what is this?" Ginny asked as she squeezed his hand and smirked.
"This is different than sex," Mike replied. Ginny smiled.
"So, I can still cuddle you, just can't get you naked?"
"Um, yeah, I suppose," Mike said. He made a decision, scooping Wyatt up gently and moving him to his other side. The boy stirred slightly before snuggling back into Mike's ribs. Ginny closed the gap on the other side and tangled herself with him almost instantly. "You're really okay with this?"
"You'll come around eventually," she smirked at him and nipped at his jaw. He groaned as his arm tightened around her. They settled into each other and were quiet for a while. Mike thought she had fallen asleep. He was about to drift off when her voice reached him again. "Mike?"
"Yeah?" he mumbled groggily as he drifted off.
"Are you happy here?"
Mike's eyes opened and he looked down at the top of her head. She had her ear pressed to his chest, her leg tangled between his, feet intertwined. He wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling but he knew he was where he was supposed to be.
"I'm getting there because of you guys," Mike said honestly. Ginny was quiet again and he hoped she understood what he was trying to convey. It wasn't that they didn't make him happy, it was just that he wasn't in an emotional position to be happy yet. But since he had met Ty, things had been changing inside him. She was quiet then and her breathing was even. Mike let himself drift off to sleep again.
To Be Continued…