Page 3 of Mister Mom

“He’s been twice. He just loves you, man.” Leo’s voice sounds out.

And then a door shuts and two sets of footsteps walk closer to the stairs along with four galloping ones that snake their way into my condo without an invitation.

I’m knocked down on the couch, Cooper on my back and his tongue on my neck.

“Relax, Coop,” I say, planting my hand on my neck to push him away.

“Cooper!” Leo’s authoritative voice rings out and Cooper listens, moving off my back, but sitting down next to me, drool falling from his panting tongue onto my floor.

Jagger moves to the kitchen, opening the fridge and shutting it quickly, plugging his nose. “Fuck, that’s rancid.”

“I probably should’ve cleaned that out for you.” Leo shrugs, patting Cooper on the head as he sits next to him by the chair.

“That’s all right. Listen, guys, great to see you, but I gotta crash.”

Jagger sits in the chair opposite me, showing no signs of leaving.

I purposely stand, because staying seated would be an invitation to stay, which they’re not. Invited, I mean.

“That’s the polite way of saying ‘get the fuck out,’” I continue when neither of them lifts their ass from my furniture.

Jagger’s gaze shifts to the couch and back to me and back to the couch.

“One question,” I warn and sit down, propping my feet on the coffee table in front of me.

“What are you going to do now?” Leo asks.

I give the guy props—he hasn’t asked me once where I went or why.

“I’m going to make my script into a movie.”

Jagger winces, shaking his head. Both have read my script. They know the years I took perfecting it and how much I’ve wanted to put it out there, but how scared I’ve been.

“Are you sure? I mean after…” Jagger trails off.

“I’m sure. I went back home and the one thing I realized is fear is for cowards. I’m not a coward. I wasn’t one when I left Climax Cove to start a new life here and I’m not one now.”

The sad part was I had to learn that I needed to grow a set from my sister. She’s always been so ballsy and take-charge, go after what you want. It was easy to forget being so far away from her all this time.

“Good for you.” Leo, the cheerleader of our group, nods with encouragement.

“It’s going to be hard, but if you want my help, I’m here.” Jagger slides his ass up on the chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “You thinking of selling it to a studio or going the independent route?”

“Independent. We know I have the chops to the produce the thing and I want the freedom that’ll bring. A studio will just fuck it up to make it more commercial,” I say.

Jagger nods and I can tell he’s in business mode. His jaw is set and the deep-set line between his brows is on fully display. “We need to find an investor first.”

“I’d love your help.”

Leo and I stare at him. He pulls out his phone, already scrolling through his contacts. “My dad mentioned someone looking to take on a new project a month or so back. Give me a few weeks and let me see if I can put something together.”

He stands and steps over Leo’s legs and Cooper, who’s now sprawled out on my living room floor. “Get some rest,” he says over his shoulder. Jagger’s phone is already planted to his ear before he leaves the condo. “Hey, Dad. Remember that investor you mentioned…” His conversation trails into silence as the door shuts behind him.

“Let’s go, Coop.” Leo nudges his dog with his foot and Cooper slowly wobbles onto his legs and prances toward the door. “We’ll catch up tomorrow.” He raises his hand in the air and disappears behind the door, too.

If I’d known it was that easy to get my two buddies out of my condo, I would’ve tried that ages ago.

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