Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

7 Jordan

It was almost time to head in to work, but Matt and I had already made plans to grab food somewhere else before the shift. That meant driving to whatever godforsaken place he picked this time. Between the avocado-based sandwiches and kale ice creams, I wasn’t entirely sure I could take much more of Matt’s food adventures, but I was lucky enough to have been born with an iron stomach. As I drove up to the address Matt had texted me, I was relieved to see it was just a sandwich shop. A hipster sandwich shop, but a sandwich shop that had a big picture of bacon on the front window.

At least it wasn’t vegan.

I parked and got out, making sure at least three times that I hadn’t left the phone or keys inside the car before locking and shutting it. I was finding myself doing that more and more these days, and I wondered if that was because I’d taken too many shots to the head as a kid or if it was just getting old. Older. Not old yet.

Satisfied that I had everything, I shut the door and went inside, finding Matt already at a table. He looked down at his watch and then to me as if to indicate that I was running well behind schedule, even though I knew I was ten minutes early. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged anyway. He looked upset, and there was no reason to agitate him and make him mad at me. I had a feeling I knew what was bugging him, and it wasn’t my imaginary tardiness.

“’Bout time,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “You order yet?”

“Was just about to. They have amazing sweet potato fries here,” he said.

“The buffalo chicken and bacon sandwich looks pretty g—” I began.

“Can you believe it,” Matt said, cutting me off, “like our lives don’t even matter?”

“Oh,” I said. “So, you’re upset about the suggestion?”

“It didn’t bug you?” I shrugged but my expression gave away a bit more than I intended. “So it did, then.”

“I guess, a little, if I’m being honest,” I admitted.

“See? I’m not crazy, then,” he said as the waitress came up. His ranting paused for a few moments while we made our orders, but as soon as she walked away, he was leaning across the table again, overdramatic fury in his voice. “It’s absolutely ridiculous that he thinks he can just tell us we have to pack up and move.”

“Well, he didn’t,” I said. “It’s all just talk right now. Besides, I get it.”

“What?” Matt asked, his jaw dropping as if I were siding with the literal devil.

“We don’t have families, Matt,” I said diplomatically. “If we moved to Portland, it would just be the two of us. We could even go in on a place together and save some cash. For us it would be an adventure and a chance to get out in a new town, meet some new people. For them, it would be a whole rigmarole.”

“A what?”

“A hassle. A bother. A damn inconvenience. They have kids now, Matt. We don’t. We could make something out of that place, you and me, and maybe find people to settle down with ourselves in a city where we don’t know every damn body.”

“I cannot believe I’m hearing this from you,” he said, taking a big gulp of his ice water and looking away while shaking his head. “Judas. I’m sitting with Judas.”

“Come on,” I said. “You’re getting yourself all worked up over nothing anyway. It’s all just talk so far.”

The food came, and our conversation paused again. Matt seemed to calm a bit in the silence, and when the waitress walked away, we dug into our food without speaking for a few moments.

“Talk or not, it’s just rude,” he said finally.

“Matt, are you ready to go find somebody and settle down right now?” I asked pointedly. He cocked an eyebrow at me and then laughed mirthlessly.

“No,” he said. “I don’t think that kind of life is for me. Could you imagine me being a dad?” Matt shuddered in his seat, and I laughed.

“I don’t think you’d be too bad at it,” I admitted. “Just try to remember not to shake the baby.”

“I don’t think so,” Matt said. “I’m not ready for all that insanity. I can’t even stick with one person too long before I get ants in my pants, you know?”

“What about that girl from a few weeks ago?” I asked. “The local girl?”

“Her?” he asked, waving me away as he took a bite of his sandwich. “Soon as it started getting serious, I bailed. She was doing all that clingy shit like making my bed and suggesting we stay in and have dinner ‘at home.’”

“You mean, she was being a normal human being who was trying to take care of someone she liked?” I asked. “The gall of her.”

Matt snickered. “Shut up,” he said.

I’d seen him with the girl several times. Each time I did, he looked like he was head over heels for her, a little lovesick puppy. Then she up and disappeared, and Matt had been surly ever since. Not that I was going to say any of that out loud, at least anywhere he could hear me. But Matt was a whole lot closer to a domesticated man than he thought he was, and probably a whole lot closer than me. At least he had someone to pine over that might actually turn into something.

We finished our lunches and sat there for a few minutes talking about sports before noticing the time. If we got a move on, we could get there a little early, which would make our day easier. That night was a college-heavy night, which meant the more we had everything in place, the less insane things could get. College kids could be rowdy, but they could also be the biggest spenders. To be young, dumb, and