“Oh, I was just thinking about having a pizza party for the boys to celebrate the end of their season,” he said, quickly covering up. She was impressed with him; he must’ve planned a back-up in case she turned him down again. She really felt badly. She shouldn’t have let her temper get away from her and used him to appease her own feelings.
“We should think about that next weekend, I can order trophies for the boys, if you give me a list of their names,” Derek said smoothly.
“That would be very generous of you,” Chuck said with sincerity, if not a bit of jealousy.
“It would be my pleasure. I've missed out on far too much of my son’s life and I plan on making up for that now by not spending another minute without him,” Derek said, making it very clear that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“That’s great, well I better get back over there and coach the boys,” he said, as he rushed off. He knew that Jasmine was off limits and was making his quick escape. She wanted to say something to Derek about his high handed behavior but wouldn’t give the nosy parents the satisfaction of a public fight.
Derek leaned down and kissed her intimately, before letting her go. He was marking his territory for everyone there to see. She knew it was a Tarzan thing to do but she was still slightly light on her feet as he made his way back over to Jacob. She finally realized she was staring and turned away, only to notice almost every pair of eyes in the building on her. She felt her cheeks grow warm as the blush took over her features.
She really had to quit forgetting there was a world of people around her every time the man touched her. She busied herself with the food, only stopping when it was Jacob’s turn to wrestle. She was no longer the loudest fan in the audience, she thought, as she heard Derek encouraging Jacob throughout his match.
After Jacob won, he ran over to his dad, who lifted him up, spinning him around in a huge hug. Her heart tugged as he raced to her next and let her kiss him on the cheek and congratulate him. She loved him so deeply that there was nothing she wouldn’t do to make his life better, even if it meant putting up with her insufferable ex.
The meet ended and all the boys rushed to her table to scoop up the food. She was pleased with all the oohs and aahs as the boys gulped down the food like it was their last meal. It didn’t take long for every scrap to be consumed.
She always stayed to help with the clean-up and it took them about an hour before they were able to leave. Most of the parents had gone home already but she noticed Ms. Flirty mom was still hanging around, along with a few other single ladies.
They all walked out the door together, some of the women being far to flirtatious, in her opinion, with a man who was claiming to be taken. She figured they guessed if there wasn’t a ring on her hand, he was still fair game. Heck, she thought, some of them wouldn’t have cared if she did have a ring on. She was seeing a whole new side to the single parents.
As they approached his car, the mothers eyes widened even further and she could almost see the money signs cha ching in their heads. Vultures, she thought, really irritated. Chuck spotted the car and hung his head a little, thinking he was way out of his league and he took off more quickly than normal.
“I’ll see you all later,” Jasmine said, as she climbed in the vehicle. She just wanted to get away from the women, she’d once thought were her friends. She guessed friendship had a limit and that limit was the impressive Derek Titan.
“Thanks for all the help ladies. I guess I need to study up on wrestling so I know better what my son is doing,” Derek said with a wink. Jasmine looked over at him with a shocked expression crossing her features. He was encouraging the money hungry women. She couldn’t even figure out who he was. He winked at her and then ripped out of the parking lot to the sound of the ladies giggling and yelling their goodbyes. Good riddance! She thought.
Jasmine was still incredibly irritated with Derek several hours later as they made their way back to her house and he parked in her driveway. The Porsche looked way out of place next to her used mini-van. It was just another example to show how very different their lives had become.
She was the one who’d grown up the richest kid in town, while he’d been poor and worked for every dollar he made. Now the tables were turned and not only was he a billionaire but she was the one barely getting by. She didn’t mind that so much but with his new status, also came that arrogance and distance she didn’t like.
They slowly climbed from his car and walked into the house. Jacob could barely keep his eyes open but he was fighting his exhaustion. She knew her son was afraid to go to sleep and then wake up to find his father gone.
To take the man away from her son now would be cruel, since he had a taste of being with his father. She wished she could go back to the morning and have been able to resist his charms long enough to get him out of the house so she could think. She didn’t want her son to be hurt.
“It’s time for bed baby, you can take your shower in the morning,” she said to her son, as she led him towards his room.
“But I’m not tired, Mom,” he said, before a huge yawn overtook his features.
“I would say that yawn says you’re pretty tired,” she gently told him, still leading him towards his bedroom.
“Will you still be here tomorrow?” Jacob asked Derek, with big sad eyes.
“I promise you when you wake up in the morning I’ll be right here,” Derek said, as he bent down and lifted Jacob up into his arms like he weighed nothing. Jasmine had a hard time carrying him around now. He’d just gotten so big. He’d outgrow her in a few more years. She didn’t know where the time went.
“Will you read me my story tonight?” Jacob asked him and Jasmine was a bit jealous. Story time had always been theirs alone and she didn’t want to share it.
“I would love to,” Derek replied.
“You come too, Mom,” Jacob said, with another sleepy yawn.
“Of course, Honey,” she replied fondly.
The three of them went to Jacob’s room. It was filled with his favorite toys and posters of Spiderman all over the walls. He’d been infatuated with Spiderman for about a year and had every poster and action figure she’d been able to find.
“I really like your room,” Derek told him.
“Thanks Dad. Mom and me look for new stuff all the time,” he said proudly.
“That sounds like fun,” Derek said. “What story do you want to hear?” he asked, as he looked over at the bookcase, which was overflowing with every book imaginable.