Chapter Five
Well, he figured that he had been half right.
Adam and Chris had seen them in the hotel restaurant, but Adam had only grinned and stopped long enough to drop a kiss on the top of Christina's head before pulling Chris by the arm and going to their own table. Leaving him along with his daughter and his ex-wife. If he had the opportunity any time soon, he was going to kill them both.
He had heard Andrea's sigh as they walked away, before returning her attention to her cup of coffee. She was true to her word, not ordering breakfast. He understood the rationale behind it, knowing that whenever she did eat before eleven in the morning, she was bound to get stomach cramps that she used to say were only half as bad as going into labor and giving birth. Christina, on the other hand, was eagerly anticipating her waffles, as was Jay, since according to their daughter, they just had to eat the same thing.
The two adults had fallen into an uncomfortable silence, one that even Christina couldn't break. Finally, Jay spoke up, directing his question to his daughter. "So, you haven't told me yet, how are you doing in school?"
She shrugged. "I don't like math. Gym class is fun. We did gymnastics before. Mrs. Scott said I have the best somersault she's ever seen."
Andrea chuckled. "And her reading comprehension is two or three grades above what it should be. They're thinking about moving her up a grade. They said that she's getting bored in her classes, because she knows all the work."
A frown settled on Jay's face, watching as his ex-wife sipped her coffee, her eyes scanning the restaurant. "You never mentioned that before."
Her eyes languidly went back to him, a single eyebrow arched delicately. "That would be because I'm responsible for her. You picked the school, but I'm the one that goes to the parent teacher meetings, and to her choir recitals. You left me to make the decisions, and I'll make my decision as to whether or not she goes up a grade or not."
"I don't like the idea of that. All of her friends are in her class. Can't her teacher just give her extra work?"
"She already is." They remained glaring at each other, the look broken only when the waitress returned. Once the two had been served, and Andrea had refused anything again, she settled back in her seat. She remained quiet, watching Christina and Jay. Whenever he did see her, he was incredibly attentive to the little girl, tuning out the rest of the world. It almost broke her heart, watching him dip the corner of a linen napkin in his water glass to wash away the streaks of syrup on her face and hands. Christina always looked at him with such an adoring gaze, basking in the attention her father bestowed upon her. And it never lasted. He was an absentee parent at best.
She couldn't keep the smile off of her face, however, when Christina began chattering about her friend's upcoming birthday, which was to include a pool party and a barbecue. She started to tell him about everyone who had been invited, including the boys that she didn't like, before he interrupted her. "What kind of present are you getting her?" he asked.
Christina whirled around to look at her mother. "What are we getting for her? It has to be something good," she added, with wide eyes.
Jay nudged her, getting her to turn back to him. "How about...I take you back to the toy store, and you can pick out whatever you want for her." He saw the warning look on Andrea's face and quickly amended his last statement. "Within reason, of course. You have to be able to get it on the plane to fly home. If your mom says it's okay."
Her eyes were narrowed, lips pursed, as she nodded. "Fine. But nothing too expensive. I usually set a forty dollar limit for these things."
"But Mommy, she's my best friend. We should spend...a thousand dollars."
Jay smirked, looking across the table. "Oh, don't worry, Christie. If she's your best friend, she deserves the best." He paused, knowing that what he was going to say next was going to piss his ex-wife off to no end. "Your mom doesn't like the spend too much money, but your dad loves to. We'll get her whatever your little heart desires."
And Andrea could do nothing but seethe in her chair.
Their visit had ended the next day with one small, but explosive argument. Andrea hadn't won, of course, and because of that, both the suitcases and carry-on was full of all the little gifts that Jay had bought for his daughter. Once again, Chris had been the one to stop by and help them with their bags, teasing Christina about how he was going to hide her in his own luggage next time so that he could see her more often. It should have been something that her father said to her, not just a family friend, but Andrea smiled at the sentiment as they went down to the lobby.
Jay had stopped by earlier that morning to collect the key card from her and he had just finished checking them out, putting the credit card receipt in his wallet before turning to look at his little girl. "Come here," he said, beckoning her over to him. He dropped down onto one knee and when she got close enough, gathered her up in his arms, feeling her soft little arms wrap around his neck. "Well, did you have fun? Was it worth missing three days of school?"
She nodded against him, before pulling back to give him a kiss. "I'm going to miss you, Daddy," she told him.
He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smiling at her. "I'm going to miss you, too, but you know what? I'm going to stop by and see you next weekend."
Christina backed away from him, putting her hands on her hips in a stance that reminded him of Andrea. "Promise?" she asked.
"I promise. Now go say goodbye to Uncle Chris and Uncle Adam." He straightened up when his daughter ran off in their direction, catching the look that Andrea was giving him. He simply smiled in her direction, watching as she turned her back to him with a huff of impatience. He still knew how to get under her skin, and it was something that he prided himself on.
His attention was pulled away as he turned to watch his daughter saying goodbye to her "uncles". They each had a different approach. Chris had bent down to give her a gentle hug and a kiss on her round cheek. Adam, on the other hand, picked her up and started to swing her around, with her squealing loudly. He finally put her back down on the ground with a kiss and a ruffle of her long hair. Adam kept Christina's attention as Chris walked over to the woman, taking her hands and dipping his head to speak to her.
Jay narrowed his eyes as he watched the interaction between the two of them, his arms crossed against his chest. He knew that they were close friends, nothing more than that, but he would be lying if he said he didn't mind how close they were, physically. He didn't like the way he winked at her, he didn't like the way that he brushed the hair out of her face, and he certainly didn't like the way they smiled at each other...and where the hell were those thoughts coming from, anyway? She was his ex-wife. He had touched her for the first time in four years the other night, when he had grabbed ahold of her elbow, but he knew he would have felt better if it had been him touching Andrea like that, and not Chris. Because it would just get under her skin and piss her off. And he would tell himself that until he actually started to believe it.
He watched as the two finally broke apart with a final embrace, before Adam came back over to wrap his arm around her. "So, you're all ready to head out?" he asked loudly, looking down at the short woman.
She smiled up at him. "I'd say so. I can't wait to get back home. I have to work tomorrow, and Christie has to go back to school and catch up on everything she's missed," she added, looking down at her daughter. The only response she got was a pout. "It was nice to see you two again."
Adam lowered his voice, pushing her with his hip. "And it was nice to see Jay again, right?" He laughed when she stiffened against him, her eyes darkening. "I was just kidding. Come on, let's go get you in the taxi. It's waiting for you already." He nodded out the doors where the yellow car was waiting, trunk open. He released her and helped Chris with the bags, leaving Andrea only with her carry-on as Jay reached out for his daughter's hand, walking them outside.
They were all quiet as the bags were loaded into the back. Andrea turned on her heel suddenly and looked at Jay, all traces of a smile disappearing from her face. "I'll be expecting your call next weekend. Friday, right, Jason? Make the disappointment stretch out one more day," she said quietly.
He smirked, holding open the back door as Christina climbed in. "Expect my visit. I'll be staying with you two, after all. I have three days off, and I promised my daughter that I would be there."
"I'll believe it when I actually see you standing outside the door," she fired back. Turning away from him, she looked at the other two men. "Have fun without me," she teased, before ducking into the car. Jay closed the door behind her and stepped away from the curb, before walking back into the hotel alone.
Adam grinned suddenly, nodding after his disappearing figure. "So, he's going to stay at their place, huh?" he asked rhetorically, chuckling to himself.
Chris narrowed his eyes as he looked over at the taller blonde. "Why does that amuse you so much? You know something that I don't. What is it."
He shrugged nonchalantly, heading towards the front doors of the hotel. "Well, when I was there two weeks ago, I found out that Christina got a new bed. One of those tiny daybed sort of things, which means that I couldn't stay in her room. I offered to take the air mattress instead, but we decided to have a little fun and use it like a trampoline. We popped that sucker but good."
"So, he can still stay on the couch."
His eyebrows raised, his grin turning somewhat more mischievous. "You mean that tiny little love seat that Andrea wouldn't even be able to sleep on? That only leaves him with two options. He can either get a hotel room, or sleep with Andrea. That's what I ended up having to do."
"Don't you think she would either get it patched, or buy a new one for when he comes."
"Nah, she doesn't believe he'll actually make it, and if I know Jay as well as I think I do, he'll be there, just to piss her off. I just wish I could be there to see the look on her face. And the look on his when he realizes where he'll have to sleep."
Chapter Six
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