Page 51 of Revived

Chapter 17

Luke

“Mom, Dad… we’re here!” Strutting into the house I grew up in with my son and Rachel in tow, the smell of dinner hits my nose the second we all get inside.

“There’s my five-year-old grandson! Did you grow again since Saturday?” My mother comes around the corner of the kitchen, reaching down to hug Grayson.

“Yeah, cause I had a birthday, duh!” She scruffs up the hair on his head as he turns to see Brooklyn and Carter come from down the hall. “Carter! Brooklyn! Let’s go play!” The three of them race out back as my dad comes inside.

“Just put the burgers on the grill. Won’t be too long. Can you wash this pan out for me, please?” He hands a glass dish to my mom.

“Need any help, Dad? Or at least a beer?”

He scoffs and then lifts his other hand, clenching a silver can with a pleased grin on his face. “Already got one.”

“Well then, let me catch up.” I reach into the fridge and secure a beer and then head outside, where Tenley and her husband are already parked in Adirondack chairs, watching the kids play. Rachel ran to the restroom as soon as we arrived so she will join us out here shortly.

“You’re drinking a beer? Are you feeling alright?” Tenley eyes me suspiciously from her seat.

“Hey, I don’t have to teach class until four tomorrow afternoon, okay? I can have a drink.”

“Whoa. Are you drinking a beer?” Rachel comes up behind me this time, eyeing me as if I’ve grown two heads. I think it’s safe to say based on their reactions, I rarely drink beer. I’ll have a glass of wine occasionally with Rachel at night, but typically, I’m not a big drinker.

However, it’s a Wednesday night, my sister and her family are in town, and my parents invited us over for dinner so we could all spend some time together while they’re here. So, I’m gonna have a drink.

“Are you ready for the semester to end?” My sister’s husband chimes in while I watch my son make memories with his cousins, climbing up the ladder into the playhouse.

“Yeah. But I’m teaching summer school, which starts just one week after finals. It sucks, but not working during the summer means I don’t get paid year-round. Being a professor at a college isn’t like working at a school in a public school district. You don’t get health insurance and paid time off unless you’re tenured, and you have to work each semester to keep getting paid. I just started, so it’s going to take a while before I get there. But honestly, I really do enjoy it.”

“I bet it’s nice to have a set schedule, not having to work odd hours into the night too,” Tenley adds.

“Yup. And I get to see my son every day, when before, sometimes I would go three days without seeing him.” My mom and dad used to keep Grayson during those sprints, where my night shifts stacked on top of each other and the time I did go home for was used to sleep.

“I know he loves that. He always looks forward to the hour when you get home and we get to eat dinner. It’s definitely nice to see you at the end of each day too.” Rachel comes up beside me and slickly caresses my fingers with hers behind our backs. We’re still keeping our relationship from Grayson, but every adult here knows we’re seeing each other.

We haven’t put a label on things because titles and declarations make me sweat. But I am definitely developing overwhelming feelings for this woman. I stopped trying to fight the smile she extracts from me the second I see her, and I’ve given myself permission to keep pushing our physical relationship. I’m still hesitant to tell Grayson because in his mind, he’d love nothing more than for Rachel and me to end up together. And as much as I feel that could happen, there is still the memory of Hannah that’s holding me back.

“Hey, come inside with me for a minute.” Tenley stands and then flicks her head towards the house. We make our way down the hall adorned with grade-school pictures and memories from our childhood, complete with gangly teeth and bad haircuts, before entering the guest room where she and her husband are staying. The kids have been sleeping on the pull-out couch in the living room for the past few nights since Grayson’s party.

“How’s it going?” She asks as she folds her arms across her chest.

“Good. Really good, actually,” I say, fighting the grin building on the corner of my mouth.

She chuckles. “I can tell. I saw that little hand caress outside.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the shit, Luke. You’re the one who told me about you two.”

I sigh playfully. “I know. So what’s up?”

“How would you feel about Grayson staying over next weekend for a few nights?”

“Here?”

“Yes, here. Where the hell else would we go? To our house in California?” She’s being sarcastic, so I know she’s joking. But when my sister gets riled up, there’s no telling when she might explode.

“Okay, okay… why do you ask?”

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