now or never

“So she introduces me to her boyfriend, this kid I had in my lit class last year” He started telling the other, the beer in his hand feeling like a salvation after the afternoon he had. “And I’m like, cool, I know him, know his parents, good student, likes to play soccer, and, yeah, also know about his past three ex-girlfriends that he cheated on” Perks of working in a high school where students tell you pretty much everything. “But I’m like, on dad mode, not Mr. Bennett mode so I just smile and warn him that he has to bring her back before midnight because you know, Alma would stop talking to me if I say anything else in front of her new boyfriend”

Kyle nodded along, pulling his beer closer and running a thumb over the glass before taking a drink. He rose his brow at the comment of this kid having had three exes he’d cheated on and he couldn’t help shaking his head with a laugh. “Double edged sword, man. Great to be able to keep an eye out but then no one is gonna be good enough at that rate.” It was too much meddling for Kyle. He tried to give Ryan space in hopes that his son would come to him anytime he needed help or had questions. “Just let teens be teens. I’m sure she’ll make the right choices when it comes down to it, ya know?” It wasn’t like Austin was an absent parent and had zero concern for what happened; Alma surely had a little guidance. “Hell, I’d probably be more protective if I had a daughter myself. My son’s too young to be dating, so I won’t have to worry about that for a few years.”

It was hard to say no to Kyle even all this time, even after all they had been through… well, maybe not even, but because of what had happened. He had that easy smirk on his lips and she could swear it would be the death of her. “This face… this smirk. It has ‘do not trust’ written all over it.” The brunette chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I have been hiding, yes.” She teased. “No, not really… I just needed some time off from everyone, you know? Work has been draining my energy, so I decided to hide for a few days. But what do you ask and I don’t comply, hm?” The brunette poked his ribs as she walked past him, telling herself that his words didn’t mean anything and that just because he hadn’t seen her in a while, it didn’t mean that he missed her. Or maybe he did, but they were friends and she was always at the cafe playing around with Ryan, so maybe he missed that. “Do you want something to drink while I change my clothes? Or do you want to order something and drink here?” 

“You just wanna find reasons not to trust me. When have I ever steered you wrong?” And still, that smirk was on his lips. She could probably come up with a list of things just to spite him but that’s why he, well... enjoyed her company. “I hear ya. But that’s just all the more reason to throw you over my shoulder and drag you out to go do something.” Kyle chuckled, almost jumping when she had poked him in the ribs while passing. “I hate being that person but it’s honestly up to you. I know you said you were drained, so if you wanna crash here, I’m one hundred percent okay with that. Don’t worry about changing.” He probably should try to drag her out of the house if she’d actually been hiding for a few days due to work but hey, Kyle was perfectly content spending time with Lara however she wanted to. He just missed her. And being lazy did sound kind of nice. “If I want something to drink, I’ll help myself. What are you talking about? Manners?” Kyle teased, “I don’t know what those are.”

“At least Ryan got over his ‘where is mom’, phase, right? Or did he ever have that phase?” Maybe Liv shouldn’t rely too much on Kyle for these parenting things. People were different, so of course children would be too. Maybe Ryan’s school friends didn’t ask about him not having a mom or maybe he didn’t miss his mom because she wasn’t there to begin with. Nick, however took a year to show his face and say something to Lucas… and apparently he only knows he is a father when is convenient to him, so of course that would hurt Olivia. “Exactly. I don’t want to be the mean parent who doesn’t let their child hang out with his dad, but his dad is an asshole, so what am I supposed to do?” She sighed running her fingers through her short hair while her other hand rested on her waist. “I don’t think he would have the guts to. But when it comes to Nick, you never know. At least I can still screen phone calls, you know? The older Luke gets, the harder it’ll be.” And again, she didn’t want to be the mean parent. Kyle accepting her invitation to have a few drinks brought a smile to Liv’s lips because she could use more adult time with friends. “Right? We’re human too. And I’ve been needing some adult interaction since most of my activities lately have involved children. “Pick the bar. First round’s on me.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he ever really had one? But I’m really close with my mom and sister, so he’s had them in his life too. A lot. And Lara.” Kyle supposed it was possible Ryan’s friends at school could have said something but Ryan never brought it up. And he always did his best to make sure Ryan knew he could come to him and talk to him about anything. Ever since he’d been close, or closer, with Lara, Ryan never seemed to mind missing an actual mother. “It’s hard. I don’t know if there is a right answer to that. I mean, he’s a dick. He doesn’t want anything to do with his son, so he shouldn’t have that right. Does Lucas actually want to see him or is he just asking about him?” Kyle nodded. “You’ll have less control over him as he gets older. But as long as you’re open with him and not too... overbearing, I’m sure he’ll make the right decision for himself. Not that I’m a professional or anything.” He chuckled. And he couldn’t agree more on the needing more adult interaction. Or maybe just needing to get out with a fresh face instead of being with his family all the time, no offense to them. Kyle grabbed his phone from his pocket and brought up Uber, putting in the location of the bar he had in mind. “Bar picked and Uber on the way, then.”

“I think some people are just miserable and they make it their life mission to make others just as miserable.” Liv shook her head. She felt the same about noisy cars, noisy bikes, and pretty much anything that would make like hard for her. The only good thing about this construction was that it didn’t keep Lucas from sleeping—even though, it had been making her son come to her bed on some weekends, but she couldn’t complain about snuggling with her little nugget. “I wouldn’t call it a hard time, but… the kid’s been asking about his dad, you know? And my ex only seems to remember he has a child when it’s convenient to him, so it’s complicated.” For what was worth, Liv didn’t think her ex was missed… quite the opposite. He was the one missing things. And with her parents also turning their back on her, Liv could only count on her aunt and uncle and also, her friends. “Whichever you want. It’s summer, our kids aren’t around… I feel like we deserve a break, so whatever you’d like.”

“That they are... The life suckers.” Those people existed everywhere and while it may not have actually been intentional, it sure as hell seemed like it. “Ah, yeah. I seem to have the opposite problem. Our exes should have gotten together. Though, her not being around makes things easier now.” And he did kind of have Lara—well, not him, Ryan. Ryan had Lara... She sort of filled that empty place and Ryan never seemed to mind about his real mother. “That does complicate things. You don’t want to let him get attached just for Nick to fuck off again. But what kind of parent does that make you if you keep them apart, right? Do what’s best for the both of you. You think he’d ever try to take you to court over any of it?” If it was only when it was convenient, Kyle didn’t think Nick would do anything. “You put it that way, let’s get a couple cold ones then. Who says we can’t enjoy summer too?” He smiled. 

It wasn’t a lie that Lara had sort of become a hermit as of lately. Work was getting the best out of her and she felt like she needed to keep proving herself to everyone for being one of the youngest attorneys there, so stress was building up, anxiety was building up, and despite having spent her whole life looking after others, this time Lara was taking care of herself for once. She’d just washed her hair and done a facial mask that had left her skin glowing when there were knocks on the door. Sam usually drop by unannounced—Ian too, but she honestly wasn’t expecting to see Kyle there. “I—” She chuckled. “No, as a matter of fact, I don’t.” Lara replied as she stepped aside to let him in. “What kind of something do you want to do? I don’t think I trust this face.”

“What? What’s not to trust?” At least he didn’t seem to catch her at a bad time. Then again, he wasn’t even sure what that would have consisted of. Kyle kept a smirk on his face as he brushed past her, turning towards her and taking a few steps backwards as he spoke: “Well, I think that just means skydiving’s out of the question then... I didn’t really plan this through, so I don’t know.” Kyle gave a little laugh, running his fingers through his hair. “I feel like I haven’t seen ya in a few days. You hiding on purpose, or should I have come barreling through your door sooner?” Of course, he could blame it on work not being so hectic right now and Ryan wanting to do his own thing, so it left Kyle with more free time. Or he just missed her. Same difference, whatever.

Dropping by unannounced? It was... well, a rude thing to do. To anyone. But this was Lara. And come on, when did Kyle ever really behave himself when it came to her? He liked to keep her on her toes. Tease her. Constantly give her a hard time. So, he was already half expecting her to come to the door in pajamas with her hair a mess after knocking. Because that was a possibility. Once the door opened, the corner of his lips slowly pulled up into a smirk. “You don’t have any company or plans, right? Let’s go do something.”

“So..” Ian commented, his eyes fixated on the test that he was holding in his hands. “This is either a mistake, a joke, or a really cruel way to deliver a message” He honestly had no idea of what it meant, but the second he stepped outside his place he had found a positive pregnancy test at his doorstep. 

Kyle’s eyes fell to the pregnancy test in the other’s hands. “For your sake, let’s hope it’s a mistake because even for me, that’s a pretty sick joke to pull on someone. And I love a good joke. You been sleeping around, Ian?” He had to smirk a little.

“Right? Thank you!” Liv giggled, glad to know that at least Kyle agreed with her, because some of her neighbors were actually keeping a very positive attitude about the construction. “I can’t wait for it to be over because I would love to enjoy my weekends in.” Even if weekends were a synonym of cleaning and laundry, especially for Lucas clothes. “Don’t you wish you were back at being a kid again? No bills to pay, no ex not willing to have Facetime chats with your kid, no early morning calls…” Liv sighed heavily, but chuckled shortly after. “Since we’re both unaccompanied adults, how about I buy you a drink?”

“It’ll be nice to have those back. Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re tearing something up somewhere.” Of course, construction tended to happen where it was needed but did it really have to happen in their neighborhood? At least it was summer. Didn’t have to worry about rushing out so early in the mornings to get Ryan to school. “Being a kid again? Noo. It’d be nice to lose some responsibilities, yeah, but I’d pass on that. Your ex giving you a hard time?” That was one thing Kyle came to be thankful for. His ex being out of the picture. Took a couple years to reach that point and convincing from enough people to stop trying to make things work. But this was for the best, for Kyle and Ryan. “See, this is why being an adult has its perks. What kind of drink? The caffeinated kind, or other?”

“I honestly think that construction by the end of our street is making me feel like the whole ground is shaking even when I’m not at home.” Liv sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose before looking over at Kyle. “I’m okay… just didn’t get much sleep because Lucas decided he wanted to wake up at 5am with enough energy to power up a small town. Sorry for the random act of randomness. How’s Ryan?”

“Ohh, yeah. That’ll do it. I think the construction has made me even more active because I’m actually trying to find excuses not to go home. It only works for so long, though.” All of the pounding and yelling, horns blaring from backed up traffic. It was a headache. Kyle laughed, but only because he could relate. “Nah, I’m all for random acts of randomness or whatever. Ryan’s good. Happy to be enjoying summer. We should all get together again sometime. See if they can wear each other out, then maybe you can get some sleep. Looks like you could use the break. Or some adult time. Whatever that may uh, consist of.” He smirked. 

“Shit—-did you feel that? That’s not another Earthquake, is it? Or is my mind playing tricks on me after last week?”

Glancing around, Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m the worst person to ask since I’m apparently one of the only people who didn’t feel any of the earthquakes we had the other day. But judging by everyone else, I’d say you’re safe. You... okay?”

It wasn’t like Lara to question anyone’s parental abilities but her own parents, so even though she teased Kyle about his, she was glad to know he didn’t take it personally because she actually thought he was doing a great job raising Ryan. The little boy was a dream and she couldn’t be happier with the person he was becoming, so props to Kyle and his family for that. “I love your family, that is true, but did you know they’ve invented these things called smartphones? You can even make video calls to people. You better sleep with an eye open, Lee. I’ll steal your boy and you’ll never see us again.” She teased again. When Kyle left to talk to his mother, Lara took the opportunity to pay attention to what Ryan was coloring, complimenting him here and there and reminding him to keep eating some of his fruits. Kyle came back saying he was available for stealing, which made the brunette scrunch her nose at him, poking fun of the term, but she ended up laughing. “Great… that’s all I needed to hear today. Let’s go.”

She couldn’t deny that it had been a while since they spent time alone like that, so she figured they could take a walk and have an adult conversation about adult things because she missed it—talking to Kyle. “Hey… auntie Lara is going out with daddy for a bit, but we’ll be back, okay?” She told Ryan, before kissing his cheek as the little boy nodded. “I love you, you know that right?” Again, Ryan nodded and Lara couldn’t help but smiling. She set him down, then got up and set him back on her previous seat, then she headed behind the counter to give Mrs. Lee a kiss and pay for her coffee, before heading out to wait for Kyle outside. It was such a nice spring day out that she didn’t want to miss out. With Kyle finally joining her, she smiled at him as she adjusted her shades and then started walking. “Thanks for joining me. It would have sucked to have lunch on my own.”

“What’s that all about?” Kyle scrunched his nose in return, laughing. “Yeah, I thought so.” He watched as Lara said her goodbyes to Ryan for the time being, trying not to think too much about her referring to herself as auntie. It just didn’t feel like a proper... title. Not that he could think of a better one but it worked for Ryan’s sake. “I love you too. You know that, right?” Kyle mocked Lara, crouching down and trapping his son in a hug and pressing more of an obnoxious kiss on his cheek. Ryan only laughed and tried to push him away with a whine. And while Lara walked over to his mom, he promised Ryan they could have the rest of the weekend to themselves to do whatever he wanted. Then, after kissing the side of his head and sweeping his hair back, Kyle caught up with Lara outside.

“No... Thank you. It feels overdue.” He ran a hand through his hair, shooting her a smile. “Adult time unrelated to work but also, spending some time with you.” It wasn’t like they didn’t see each other. Between her being best friends with his sister and all these threats to steal his kid. But getting to actually talk to her without anyone else around, that was overdue. “Of course, food is a really good bonus too,” he added, then shifted he conversation a bit. “You know that kid adores you. He’s always asking about you. Feel like I’ll have to start setting up these video chats you mentioned.” Kyle chuckled. “But how’ve you been? Taken over the prosecutor’s office yet?”

“The chef said that I could show him one of my creations for him to judge and see if he can include it in the menu” Shawn explained as he moved around, cutting ingredients, adding some final touches in the plate that was in front of him. Cooking was an art, an experience, every plate was special and unique and he did his best to create things that would make the other travel with memories. “This is not what I will present but tell me what you think anyways” He said as he offered the plate to the one in front of him.

Anytime Shawn had him and Ryan over, he found himself mesmerized while watching the other move through the kitchen. Kyle knew how to cook some simpler dishes of course but he didn’t have a damn clue how Shawn could throw things together and simply make them work. “You know, I think you could serve me just about anything and I’d love it. The real critic is this one who’d happily live off grapes and pizza if I’d let him.” Kyle nodded towards his son as he came over to join them, his little nose already scrunched. “What is that?” Ryan tried to see the plate then looked up to Shawn just as Kyle took a bite. “It’s really good. You wanna try?”

He smiled and nodded “Yeah you are totally right”. Rowan listened to her with a lot of attention trying to catch every word his friend had to offer. It was nice to hear that he wasn’t really doing something bad “Oh no, she has her own bed, actually I’m sleeping in a futon bed at the moment I have to go buy a new bed today, but I will order it online… anyway she has her own eco crib. I mean I had her in my room cause I’m kind of redecorating her room and painting it again, but now I know I can keep her in with me for a little longer then.” He nodded, already asking his doctor, saying that having the rabbit around would make her immune system stronger, but I had to keep check the bunny won’t hurt her or anything, I guess I will let them be closer when she gets little older.” He laughed and nodded making hard to think that a woman who he met in a bar suddenly change his life in only a few months. “You know I always had a garden it keeps me relaxed and people don’t really know but I’m a farm boy.” 

“Ugh, exactly my kind of evening activities, how did you know?” But since Beth didn’t have a steady job, it wasn’t like she did much out of her life to be needing to catch up on sleep, still, she loved sleeping and watching Dal’s korean dramas. She was starting to pick up on some words like hello and thank you, which would always make her so damn into languages and how they worked. “You can get that bottle, but are you really going to drink the whole bottle? Are you?” And then, she leaned closer so that Kyle could be the only one (or mostly he him) to hear what she was going to say next. “Although, let’s be honest… what kind of expensive stuff do you think they would have here?” Leaning back, Beth then followed him to the bar and leaned against it, since all stools were taken. When the bartender showed up, she waited for Kyle to order her vodka cranberry and then went ahead and ordered his choice of drink. “Um… I write a little bit of this and that. Nothing published though, so there’s that. What about you? What do you do besides bumping into women to save them from creepy guys?”

“Feels like a pretty good assumption for most people. Or you know, us normal people. I’m sure you’ve encountered those that have this insane amount of energy and you question what the hell happened there.” Maybe some people just hadn’t had the life sucked out of them yet. Or some of them were just too much of a straight up people pleaser. Kyle’s eyes met hers as she teased about drinking the entire bottle and he could feel his lips curl into a smirk. “I’m feeling pretty generous. I’m sure between two people, we could.” He watched as she leaned in and the second her words hit him, he laughed, nodding along. “Luckily, it all does the same for me.” It did sort of pique his interest though; what that really expensive shit tasted like. Probably shit. Once they each had their drink and were settled in by the bar, Kyle turned back to Beth with a smile. “If you have the passion, the rest will come. I’m sure your little bit of this and that is great.” He took a sip of his drink, nodding with yet another smirk to keep from laughing at how horrible that sounded. “Sounds like I need a new way of intervening if I’m gonna keep this up. But I’m an accountant. Pretty boring stuff. My mum has a bakery, so I help around there from time to time. Otherwise, I’m a full-time dad. Balances out the boring stuff, keeps me on my toes.” he chuckled.