Page 79 of Castings & Curses

I scanned the play area for Eric. He wouldn’t be hard to spot against a field of moms. I fit in here, not quite thirty, average height, hair swept into a ponytail— okay I put effort into my ponytail this morning, so it didn’t look like a rat’s nest on the back of my head, but it was still a standard issue toddler mom hairstyle— pregnant. Only I wasn’t pushing a stroller, and I didn’t know anyone else. All the other moms seemed to be in groups.

What I needed to do was stop pouting about it, and realize that meeting strangers at the park was rare these days. I needed to get online and find a local mom’s group. At least that way I would have an introduction before walking up to them and saying ‘hi, want to be friends.’

Kids didn’t realize how easy they had it that way.

Liv squealed and began dancing at my side. “I see them!”

I hadn’t caught sight of Eric yet, still mired in my hurt feelings over everything from looking like a basic bitch and still not fitting in, to not wanting to fit in, to being pregnant and wondering how I was supposed to date? And, oh my God, why was I thinking about dating?

And then my eyes landed on Eric. He was exactly all the reasons I wanted to date. He was tall and broad and virile. His dark hair was pushed back, and he stood out like a mountain in a sea of homogeneous Pinterest styling. It was more than that, he got my body amped up. He hit all my hormonal buttons, and then some.

Damn, he was wearing shorts. Now I had to accept that, in addition to everything else attractive about him, he had nice legs.

Dylan had great shoulders. Fantastic abs. The man was the poster child of skipping leg day. He had thin thighs and practically non-existent calves. But not Eric. He clearly never missed a leg day in his life. His shorts didn’t fit him the way they fit other men. Other men would have extra fabric flapping around their legs. Eric’s board shorts caressed his legs. They weren’t tight, but they certainly acted like they wanted to be.

Our eyes met, and his dark brow seemed to lift, and the expression on his face was like sunshine breaking through a storm. He smiled.

Sarina started running toward us when he let go of her hand. I let go of Liv, and the two girls ran across the grass and into each other’s arms. Yeah, kids had it easy, they didn’t have the weight of the world judging them for expressing the emotions they felt. I wanted to run across to Eric and have him spin me around in a hug. But that wasn’t going to happen.

“I said I’d bring everything we needed if you brought drinks,” he chastised me as soon as we were about two yards apart, and he could see that I was also carrying a small box of cupcakes.

“Liv insisted. After all, it's a reunion.”

“It’s been a week,” he chuckled.

“When you’re four, a week is a very long time. Where should we set up?”

Eric pointed to a spot under trees next to the splash pad. “I’ve had some weeks that felt that long. Cupcakes are a great idea. How’s that? Girls!”

We set our things down, and he started to spread out the ground cover he brought.

“A fitted bed-sheet?” I asked.

“You don’t know this trick? Hand me a tote bag.”

I shook my head, and handed him one of the many bags we had brought between us. “Don’t tell me you got it off Pinterest?”

“As a matter of fact, I probably did. There are some really good ideas and hacks on how to handle parenting situations. This was from a beach outing. Put the coolers and the bags in the corners, and it keeps the dirt out of your area. I haven’t perfected it yet. But it works.”

When he was done, we had a mini corral and our food wouldn’t fall out onto the dirt.

“Are you going to join us in the fountain?” he asked with such eagerness, I felt horrible saying no.

“I didn’t have time to find something I could use as a suit. Next time. You go play with the girls, and I’ll get lunch set up.” I knew I had made a mistake. I should have said screw it, and gotten my clothes wet.

“Next time, then. Come on girls!” He ripped his shirt over his head, and I stopped breathing.

Why the fuck hadn’t I insisted he be shirtless in the calendar. No, I thought he was being modest. Cheese and crackers the man was stacked, and ripped, and buff, and any and all words that referred to an exceptional physique. He deserved them all.

I sat on my fat ass and forgot what I was supposed to be doing. I don’t know how long I sat there, stunned, before remembering I was setting up the picnic. I still didn’t move. Eric towered over all the kids out there, but with our little girls he was a veritable giant. And none of them cared. They were all smiles and giggles and having fun.

I turned when a snort behind me caught my attention. It was the blue-haired mom and the group she hung out with. I identified them by her presence. That hair was undeniable. Thursdays must be Spring Mill splash pad days for their group.

Our eyes met. I smiled and nodded. She sneered and sent death rays in my direction. What the hell was that all about? I had gotten very distinct unfriendly vibes from the whole group before. This had ventured into the realm of out-and-out hostile. Note to self, maybe finding a mom’s group online first wasn’t a good idea. How would I know if the blue-haired harpy would be there?

Opening the ice chest, I unpacked. Eric brought sandwiches cut into four triangles. There were small plastic cups filled with sliced strawberries, blueberries and half grapes. Everything was cut up small for little fingers. And there was an insane amount of everything.

I glanced up at the three playing in the water. Yeah, he would eat a lot. It made sense now.

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