Here it is...my favorite part of a story when I can get it in - some Reagan male bonding. :)

Chapter 8

Jamie sighed as he sat back against the soft cushions of his father's living room couch while simultaneously bringing his feet up onto the coffee table. He'd joined his father and grandfather after tour for a home cooked meal and some Thursday night football on TV. Since Sydney had passed, Jamie would pay regular visits to his father's house during the week, often several times per week; to both catch up with the older Reagan men and to escape his quiet, desolate apartment, but Thursday night football with the two older Reagan men had been a long-standing tradition, ever since he'd graduated law school and had moved back to New York.

"Oh, what a pass!" Henry cheered. "I think they're actually gonna win this one," he threw over his shoulder at Jamie and Frank.

Jamie smiled at his grandfather's enthusiasm. "Don't get too excited, gramps. It's only the preseason," he reminded him from his reclined position.

"Maybe they'll carry a winning streak into the season," Henry said hopefully.

Frank sat in his usual armchair and sipped his scotch as he split his attention between the game and the newspaper in his hand. He eventually glanced at his son, taking in the relaxed expression he wore on his face. "So what have you been up to lately, Jamie?"

"Nothing much," Jamie responded automatically while his eyes remained glued to the television.

Henry turned to glance at his grandson. "Nothing, huh?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yeah," Jamie replied. He finally tore his eyes away from the screen when both older men stayed quiet, doing a double take when he found them both staring back at him. "What?" he asked worriedly.

Frank shook his head. "Nothing. We just haven't been seeing you as much during the past several weeks," he explained.

"Oh," Jamie responded as he realized that he had been hanging out less at his dad's lately. "Uh, well, there's work and I've also been helping a friend out," Jamie shrugged.

"Yeah?" Henry asked, hope creeping back into his voice.

"Who and with what?" Frank followed-up quickly as he placed the paper on his lap, more curious about his son's doings.

Jamie laughed nervously and gave each man a look. "What's with the third degree?" he asked.

"We're just wondering what's keeping you busy these days," Henry said as he redirected his attention to the screen for the next play.

Jamie did the same as the Jets got the ball moving down the field. "I have a friend who's going through the academy and I've been helping them out with studying and what not," he revealed nonchalantly.

Frank brought his feet up onto an ottoman and made himself more comfortable. "What's their name?"

"Eddie," Jamie answered, making an attempt to sound casual. It would do him no good to beat around the bush with these two.

"Eddie?" Frank echoed, trying to recall if he'd ever heard the name mentioned in the past.

"Yeah," Jamie confirmed with a nod.

"Oh," Henry said, disappointment clearly evident in his tone and body language as he slumped in his chair.

The two older men gave each other a look that did not go unnoticed by the youngest Reagan.

"What was that?" Jamie asked as he looked from his father to his grandfather.

"What was what?" Frank replied innocently as he met Jamie's eyes.

"The look you two just gave each other," Jamie said and pointed a finger at them accusingly.

Henry shook his head and sighed. "Nothing. We kinda hoped it might be a girl," he confessed.

Jamie let his head fall onto the back cushion with a heavy put upon sigh. "Here we go," he whispered, annoyed at having the same topic raised over and over again. But as he thought about their reactions to the name, annoyance was quickly replaced by amusement as he recalled something Eddie once told him about people expecting to meet a fat, sweaty Hungarian guy whenever her name was mentioned. Jamie brought up his hand to hide the grin that threatened to spread across his face.

"Just saying...," Henry grumbled.

Jamie closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he considered what he could disclose to get them off his back. He knew one thing for sure - there was no way that he was telling anyone that he might be crushing on a girl. When he opened his eyes, the two older men were waiting on him. "Alright, not that it matters, but Eddie is a girl," he admitted.

That made Frank perk up with interest. "Oh yeah?" he asked as his mouth stretched into a smile.

Jamie wanted to make sure they didn't get the wrong impression because there was nothing going on at this point. "But, we're just friends. Like I said before."

Henry gave him a knowing look over the rim of his glasses. "A friend you're spending a lot of time with," he pointed out.

"Yeah. So?" Jamie responded before taking a long pull from his beer bottle.

"Well, back in my day -" Henry started.

"In a galaxy far, far away," Jamie whispered much to Frank's amusement.

Henry scowled at his grandson. "Let me finish, wisenheimer," he admonished. "As I was saying, back in my day, if a guy and a girl willingly spent a lot of time together, it's because there was interest for more than just friendship," he declared.

"Is that right?" Jamie asked, feigning ignorance on the subject matter.

"Yeah," Henry confirmed with a nod.

Jamie furrowed his brows at the older man. "So what is it you're saying? Men and women can't be friends without something else going on?" he asked for clarification.

Henry gave him a pointed look. "Highly unlikely," he stated, leaving absolutely no room for doubt.

Jamie wouldn't admit that was the case with Eddie - at least on his part - but he also didn't think that was true in general. He frowned at his grandfather before turning to his dad. "Do you agree with him?" he asked with a thumb pointed at the Reagan patriarch.

Frank shrugged and nodded. "You know, if there's nothing else that's defined the relationship between the two, like work for instance, it's not unusual for there to be some interest that goes beyond platonic from at least one party," Frank theorized. "And even then, the lines may blur."

"So, she's in the academy? What's she like? Any interest?" Henry asked excitedly.

Jamie looked at the older man, still determined to keep his desire for more with Eddie a secret. "What's she like?" he parroted, not sure what his grandfather wanted to know. "She's just a friend. And she's busy with the academy and there has been no interest for more on her part, so that's that," he stated.

"No interest on her part?" Frank questioned with a raised brow.

"You sure about that? Maybe you're just a little rusty in that department," Henry followed with an exaggerated grimace.

"Grandpa!"

Frank chuckled but he could tell that Jamie was holding back on them. "What about you? No interest on your part?"

Jamie sighed but couldn't stop the light blush that rose on his cheeks.

Henry snickered and turned back to the TV. "I think that answers your question, Francis."

"Things are fine right now the way they are. I don't want to mess things up," Jamie huffed.

"Who said anything about messing things up?" Frank asked.

"Girls like to be wined and dined and I don't think that's something that has changed since way back when I was young and single," Henry declared, daring Jamie to make a comment about his age with a single look. But in all seriousness, he hoped his grandson would make more of an effort to break out of his shell if he really liked this girl. "You should ask the lady out on a proper date before you lose your chance, that's all I'm saying," he encouraged.

Jamie opened his mouth to respond, but closed it quickly as his grandfather's words sank in and he considered his situation with Eddie.

After he left his father's house, Jamie decided he really did need to get off the fence already. He liked Eddie. A lot. They had a certain chemistry and he was ready to admit that he'd like to see if there was something more there.

That's why, when Eddie showed up for their latest study session at a coffee shop near her apartment, he promised himself that he would ask her out. On a real date. To a place that wasn't just a bar or served fast food and there would definitely be no books involved. But he'd spent the whole last hour of their time together trying to figure out a good time to do it and hadn't found one yet. Although Jamie was starting to think that it was actually the courage to ask her out that was lacking.

"You got all of this down pat," he assured Eddie.

Eddie gave him a hesitant smile. "Right now I do. Let's just hope I don't blank out between here and Monday," she grumbled as she reached for her coffee cup, frowning when she found it empty.

Jamie closed the book and leaned on top of it. "You'll be fine and we can have one more cram session tomorrow to get you ready," he said.

Her smile grew and Eddie reached out to gently squeeze his forearm. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you, Reagan. You're a lifesaver," she said.

Jamie's heart stuttered and he figured this was as good a time as any. "Listen, Eddie," he said, as he looked down nervously.

"Yeah?" she asked while putting her books away into her bag.

"I wanted to -," Jamie began before he was interrupted by the ringing of Eddie's cell phone.

Eddie reached for her phone and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the number on the screen. "Oh, sorry, hold up a sec. I gotta take this," she said before slipping out of her seat to take the call. "Hi," she greeted the caller as she stepped away.

Jamie sat there, waiting for Eddie to return and hoped she would be back before he lost his nerve. He practiced what he'd say in his head like some nervous teenager before mentally slapping himself to try to relax.

Eddie returned a minute later with a smile on her face. "We're done here right? Because I gotta run," she said. Eddie went about packing away the rest of her things quickly and missed the surprise on Jamie's face.

Jamie was caught off guard by her rush to leave. "What's going on? You got a hot date or something?" he joked to mask his panic.

Eddie smiled and nodded. "Hot guy from my yoga class. Asked me to meet him for drinks," she said shyly. "We traded numbers a month ago but nothing happened. I'm surprised he called."

Jamie fought to hide his disappointment. The fluttering in his stomach was replaced with a powerful punch to the gut. "Yoga?" he blurted out.

"Yeah," Eddie confirmed and pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

"Ugh, a granola cruncher?" Jamie bantered to hide his urge to throw up.

"No, a commodities trader," Eddie corrected with a grin and a roll of her eyes.

"Where are you going on this first date?" Jamie asked casually as he fought to keep his voice even.

"We're gonna meet up at a place downtown."

"This guy know you're gonna be a cop?" Jamie asked.

Eddie eyed him. "Come on, sport, it's a real romance killer," she told him.

Jamie stood and, somehow, he found it in him to keep their banter going. "But chicks like dating cops, right?"

"No, no, no, no, chicks like dating firefighters," Eddie declared.

Jamie pretended to be hurt by her statement. However, the hurt he was feeling was very real, Eddie just didn't know it. "What?"

Eddie sighed dramatically. "You ever see a beefcake calendar with the NYPD? You don't."

Jamie smirked and raised a brow at her. "Maybe I'll start one," he said smugly as he walked ahead of her, doing his best to hide his disappointment at the realization that she didn't have any interest for more than the friendship they had started.

Eddie bid him a hasty goodbye at the door to the coffee shop. Jamie stood there for a few minutes, watching her retreating form disappear amongst the crowds unable to understand what had just happened. "Had he read her wrong?" he asked himself over and over until the door of the coffee shop hit him in the back. Jamie jumped forward as a rushed customer mumbled an apology and quickly exited with a full cup in his hand.

Jamie took in a deep breath. He could already feel himself wanting to shirk back into the protective bubble he'd created for himself that shielded him from things like this. Defeated, he shook his head and headed for home.

I assume most readers know where this is going...