The three boys walked up the small stair way up to the grassy knoll that was the Cohen's back yard. Seth immediately flopped down a lawn chair, leaning back and propping his feet up comfortingly. Ryan shook his head slightly at him as he got down to kneel across from Aiden, letting his butt rest on top of boots. Ryan actually didn't own a baseball glove and didn't really think he needed one anyways to throw back and forth with the little guy. Aiden pulled the ball back over his shoulder to wind up and whipped it back at Ryan as hard as he could, causing the ball the smack loudly when he caught.
"Wow," Ryan muttered, as he looked down at the ball in his hand and back to Aiden, clearly impressed. "Where'd you learn to throw like that?" he asked as he threw it underhand back Aiden. It tipped off the end of his glove and he had to run around to get the ball before it fell in the pool. The kid could throw but he sure couldn't catch, but that was okay, because at that age usually you couldn't do either.
"Mommy taught me," he explained softly as he threw it back to Ryan.
"Your mom taught you that?" Ryan asked incredulously as he spun the ball in his hand.
"Well yeah," Aiden explained as he tried to prepare to catch it. "Mom and Aunt Summer."
"Woah, woah, woah," Seth spoke up loudly as he sat up in his seat just when Ryan threw the ball, which once again Aiden didn't catch. "Did you just say Aunt Summer?"
"Yeah," he answered as he picked up the ball. "I see Aunt Summer all the time," Aiden explained as he threw the ball back to Ryan and Seth listened on intently. "We slept over at her house before we rode the plane here, and she let me have for ice cream for breakfast. She got mad at me though when I told Mommy about it." The two men smiled widely at the boy's story and even laughed slightly. Ryan threw the ball again at Aiden, this time really soft in an attempt to let him catch it, but it landed about a foot in front of him.
"Your apposed to throw it TO me," Aiden exclaimed with a giggle as he stepped forward and scooped up the ball.
"Is Summer your favorite aunt?" Seth asked as he watched Aiden throw it back to Ryan.
"I guess," Aiden said skeptically, "Aunt Kaitlyn's nice but she doesn't come lots and Mommy gets mad at her for smoking by me."
"Your mom seems like she cares about you a lot," Ryan commented to the little boy with a smile as he threw the ball back to him. He almost, almost caught it but it rolled out last second. "Oh, good try buddy," he encouraged Aiden without thinking, earning him an eye roll from Seth.
"Yeah, Mom is my best friend," Aiden told Ryan proudly. "She does everything with me." Ryan just smiled and gave the little boy a nod in response as they fell into silence. They continued to pass the ball back and forth for a few minutes as Ryan thought over how much he had missed by not trying to keep in touch with Marissa after she left; but he hadn't even tried. He'd been too busy thinking of how she'd basically abandoned him, just like everyone else in his life had to up until then. But as he stood there playing catch with her son, all his resentment washed away. Hell, he'd spent the last five years getting wasted and laid and she'd been doing something more important than anything he'd ever done in his whole life, raising a son. He couldn't be mad at her for that; he actually admired her for it.
"Okay, I think its time for us to do something else.." Seth suddenly spoke up as he rubbed at his eyes and started pulling himself out of the pool side chair, obviously bored out of his mind. "I've got a skateboard in the pool house, if you want a quick lesson, Aiden."
"Really?" Aiden asked excitedly as he threw his last pass to Ryan before stripping off his glove. Seth nodded dully as he motioned for the little boy to follow him. Aiden looked at him hesitantly before turning and looking at Ryan. "You're gonna come too, right?" he asked shyly as he fidgeted with the glove in his hands. Ryan looked from Aiden to Seth, and then back again before shrugging.
"Sure," he answered simply, breaking into grin as he watched Aiden break into a wide smile himself and run to follow Seth. Ryan followed behind, entering the pool house just as Aiden flopped down on the mattress while Seth started digging in the closet for one of his old boards.
"Were you guys friends with my mom in school?" the little boy asked as Ryan sat on the bed next to him. Aiden had propped himself up on his elbows as he lay on his stomach, his feet kicking the mattress absently while his shaggy hair fell in his eyes. Ryan nodded, his classic half smile curling his lips as he thought back to highschool.
"Yeah, we were," he answered, as he heard Seth let out a triumphant noise from the closet, letting him know the board was found as he continued, "You're mom, me, Seth, and you're Aunt Summer were all best friends."
"Really?"
"Oh yes we were," Seth explained with a sarcastic smile as he walked back towards the bed, skateboard in hand. "And boy, do we have some stories for you. Like this one time, in Tijuana.." Seth's words were brought to a halt as Ryan reached forward and smacked him hard in the gut, giving him a death glare.
"Geez man, I was only kidding," Seth shot out angrily as he rubbed his gut in pain. Aiden laughed out loud and brought a hand out to cover his mouth.
"Your funny," he mumbled out between giggles as he pointed at Ryan, who smiled down at the little boy.
"Aww, Marissa's kid likes you. That's not awkward at all," Seth shot out sarcastically with an eye roll. Ryan shot him another death glare, making Aiden laugh even louder.
"You look like a frog," he informed Ryan through giggles, making Seth burst out into laughter too. "Oh my god dude, he hit that on the head, you totally do." Ryan shook his head, as he tried to stop himself from smiling. The three of them made their way back outside and Seth started out his little lesson. He got on the board and made a straight line across the cement, demonstrating for Aiden how to pump his legs and keep his balance. Once he reached the end, he flipped up the board and caught it in his hand before walking back to Ryan and Aiden and handing him the board.
"Okay, your turn," he told the little blond boy as he watched him get adjusted on the board. "Now, just copy what I did and you'll be the next Tony Hawk in no time." Aiden looked up at him and smiled nervously before turning to look forwards again.
"Shouldn't we give him a helmet or something?" Ryan suggested to Seth in a whisper to which he just waived him off.
"Only geeks wear helmets, Ryan," he informed him confidently as Aiden started to slowly move forwards. Seth shrugged, "Besides, I'm sure he'll be fine."
As if on cue, Aiden tried to shift his weight on the board, causing it to fly out from underneath him and making him land awkwardly on the ground, a loud scraping sound filling the air.
"Shit- We broke Marissa's kid!" Seth cursed out, earning him a death glare from his brother before both of them made their way to the little blond boys side. Ryan knelt next to him, wincing when he saw the bloody knee he was cradling to his chest.
"You okay, buddy?" Ryan asked, concern filling his voice as some paternal instincts he never knew he had suddenly came into effect. Aiden just looked up at him with those big blue eyes he knew so well and nodded unconvincingly. The last thing he wanted to do was cry like a baby in front of the first guy friends he'd ever made. So he just scrunched up his face, trying to keep the tears back and bit his lip as hard as he could as he held his throbbing knee. "Why don't we go see your mom so she can clean that cut up?" Again, Aiden just nodded in response. Ryan reached out a hand to him to help him to his feet, but was surprised when Aiden ignored his hand and threw his arms around his neck, signaling he needed to be carried. Ryan was sure what he should have been feeling at that moment was awkward, but it was anything but. He wrapped his arms around Aiden's little back and rose to his feet, avoiding the look he knew Seth was giving him as he turned and made his way back towards the house. He couldn't help but smile slightly to himself as he felt Marissa's son's hands grasp tightly to his shirt, a feeling he couldn't quite pinpoint entering him.
As soon as they made their way through the glass doors, Marissa caught sight of them and was up and out of her seat, rushing to Ryan's side.
"What happened?" she asked full of worry as she made the last few steps to Ryan, inspecting Aiden's knee which was poking into Ryan's white shirt and leaving a rust colored stain.
"Seth decided it would be a good idea to teach him how to skateboard," Ryan informed her as he shot Seth yet another look, to which he shrugged helplessly.
"Skateboarding?" Marissa asked dumbly. Ryan nodded, and Marissa whipped her head around to look at Seth. "Seth! He's four years old. He doesn't skateboard."
"Marissa, this is Southern California. Everybody skateboards," Seth retorted sarcastically before playfully sticking out his tongue at her as he made his way to the living room where everyone else was still sitting. She shook her head at him before turning back to her son, who had still yet to relinquish his grip on Ryan.
"You okay, sweetie?" Marissa asked in a soft, comforting voice as she reached out and cupped the side of his face in her hand. Aiden dully nodded again as Ryan watched on still in awe at seeing Marissa as a mother. "Aww, Aid, come here," she cooed out at his nod, seeing past it to how much pain he was really in. She held out her hands to him and he immediately let go of Ryan, reaching out and letting his mom take him in her grasp. As soon as he was in her arms, he buried his head into her neck and let a few of the tears he had been trying to hold back escape. "We'll get that cut cleaned up and you'll be just fine, okay baby?" she assured him as she rubbed her arm up and down his back and he simply nodded again, his soft sniffles now apparent to both her and Ryan.
"I'll go get some band aids.." Ryan offered up, and Marissa shot him a soft smile and nodded before turning towards the kitchen sink.
A few minutes later, Ryan re-entered the kitchen, and couldn't help but smile as he stopped in the doorway. Aiden was sitting on the counter next to the sink, rubbing at his red eyes, while Marissa carefully finished dabbing at his knee with a wet wash cloth, before leaning forwards and placing a quick kiss on the wound. She turned and threw the cloth back in the sink and caught Ryan's gaze.
"Found a couple band aids," he explained quickly as he sprung to life and started walking forwards again.
"Thanks," Marissa told him sweetly with a smile as he reached her side. She looked through the assortment of bandages and picked a slightly bigger one than normal, so it would cover the whole cut. She took off the wrapping and the backing before carefully smoothing it over his knee and then kissing the top of the band aid, before looking back up at her sons face. "I think you're good as new again, Aid," Marisa told him with a smile as she ran a hand threw his shaggy blond hair, trying to smooth it out.
"That was pretty brave of you," Ryan suddenly spoke up in an attempt to make the boy feel better, sending both mother and son's eyes towards him. "I mean, you took a pretty big spill out there and I was impressed with how you handled it." Aiden broke into a huge grin, his tears completely forgotten. Marissa smiled too, mouthing a thank you to him when he looked her way.
"Can we go play again?" Aiden suddenly blurted out at Ryan, making both adults laugh out loud.
"Maybe later, sweetie I think we're gonna eat soon," Marissa informed him, to which he immediately groaned, making Ryan and Marissa laugh again as she helped him scoot off the counter and back to the floor. Immediately he was off running towards where he knew his grandma was.
"He's really great," Ryan told Marissa confidently once the two of them were alone together. The air in the room suddenly felt thicker; thicker with tension. They hadn't seen each other in five years, let alone been alone in the same room together.
"He is, isn't he?" Marissa responded with a smile as she looked to where she could see Aiden sitting quietly on the floor next to his grandma in the living room.
"You did a great with him," Ryan explained softly as he moved to stand next to her, both of them leaning back against the counter. Her eyes shot up to meet his, and she blushed when she saw how big he was smiling at her, and started to smile nervously. She went to say something back; ask him how he was, what he had been up to; when Seth entered the kitchen again, breaking the tension and ruining the moment, and headed straight for the fridge.
"I better get this meat cooking if we ever plan on eating," he commented to no one in particular as he took out a big plate of burger patties and hot dogs before closing the fridge and heading back towards the grill.
As soon as he left the room again, Ryan turned his attention back to her, knowing she was going to say something before Seth came in. She opened her mouth to begin talking when they were interrupted again.
"Mommy?" Aiden called out cautiously as he stood at the edge of the kitchen. He motioned for her to come out to the living room, his shy nature obviously making him uncomfortable sitting in the room with Sandy and Kirstin and his grandma asking him tons of questions.
"Just a second, sweetie," she told him softly, laughing slightly as he let out a sigh and turned to head back alone. Ryan absently looked out the window and saw that Seth was about to come back in and decided to take the initiative before they got interrupted again. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Ryan did instead.
"How about we have lunch tomorrow? Have a chance to catch up on the last five years?" he suggested with a smile. "I mean if you want to.."
"I'd love to."