Page 134 of Bump and Run

She scoffs. “I am not!”

“Nate, get my sister home.”

“Already on it,” he says, handing Maggie a large glass of water.

“And you…” I point at Eliza’s confused face. “Get in the van.”

“That’s not our van anymore,” she argues.

“It is tonight.”

“No, ours has fully-functional safety features and a car seat for our kid who was supposed to be in bed a half hour ago.”

I grab her shoulders and spin her around. “Get in the van.”

She digs her heels in. “What about Courtney?”

“Courtney will be fine. Get in the van.”

“Junior—”

“Van.”

She grunts with frustration but stomps away towards the van in the driveway.

I turn back around and place one more kiss on my daughter’s head. “Be good, baby.”

“Have fun, you two,” my mother says, unable to look away from the tiny life in her arms. “Drive safe.”

I follow Eliza down the driveway and climb into the van, an experience that actually feels a little more nostalgic than I thought it would. I haven’t driven this thing in months — not since I sold it to Ty in order to upgrade to something a little more baby-friendly.

We drive off down the street and I glance over into Eliza’s withering stare.

“She’ll be fine,” I laugh.

She taps her foot against the floor and I can’t help but trail a line up her bare legs to the hem of her skirt. “Where are we going?”

“Patience, woman.”

“Junior, come on—”

“You don’t remember what today is, do you?”

She pauses with a creased brow. “No…”

“I’ll give you a hint…” I say. “One year ago today, you touched my dick.”

Her eyes go wide. “Oh, my god. You’re right…”

I nod. “So… in honor of that wonderful occasion, you and I are going out.”

“Holy shit…” Her jaw sags. “Has it really been a year?”

“Yes.”

“It feels longer than that.”

“The year or my dick?” She slaps my arm. “Also, I forgot to ask... Do you like pizza?”

---