Page 51 of Hard Hat Hottie

“Hi,” Alec greets with his mouth wrapped around his straw, giggling as the wispy little strands of pink fluff decorating the flamingo tickle his nose in the breeze.

“Hi,” my quiet, older son says, giving her a small wave. I place my hand on his arm, worried I’ve overwhelmed him with all of this. He’s such an introvert.

“Do you mind if Mom and Joyce join us?” Harrison implores with a hopeful exuberance that makes me fall a little harder for him.

“Of course! It’s nothing fancy. This one’s half cheese, half pepperoni, and this one is half veggie, half meat lovers. Because it cracked me up.” I giggle. “Plus, there’s salad.”

“Veggies on a pizza. Gross!” Alec shrieks as he leans over the table to reach for a slice.

Swatting his hand, I lean in. “Be polite, wild man. Let Harrison’s mother choose first.”

“Sorry. It just looks soooo cheesy.” He lets out a loud, infectious little boy laugh, and I swear for a moment, I can hear her laughing with him.

Joyce comes out to the deck holding two glasses of water, and Harrison jumps up to hold out a chair for her. “No, no. You guys enjoy yourselves.”

“No, ma’am. I want you to meet my friends,” Harrison says. There’s no chance she’s going to win this argument as he takes the drinks from her and places them on the table. “These are Harlow’s boys, Justin and Alec. They’re a couple of years apart, right? Just like me and my little brother, Matthew.” He looks to his mother, whose eyes are twinkling as they bounce between the two boys. Perhaps it was the way we were discovered, or the hour of the night, but she definitely didn’t seem this vibrant when I met her.

“Mom?” Alec whisper shouts.

“Yes?”

“When are they gonna pick theirs? ’Cause I’ve been dreaming about this cheesy pizza since this afternoon?” he whines. And now that I think about it, he’s right.

“Okay, baby, go ahead and pick one.”

“Yes! I want that piece.” He points to a slice opposite to where he’s sitting. It’s large and has a round area near the crust where it must’ve bubbled up as it baked. “It’s got a baseball in there.”

Joyce claps. “You’re right. It does look like a baseball.”

Alec beams with pride as Harrison slides the greasy triangle covered in melty cheese onto a plate and holds it out for him.

“Maybe after this, you guys can hit the pool.”

“Really? Oh, darn it. I’m not wearing a bathing suit.” Alec moans around a big bite of cheese.

“You can always go commando,” Harrison says, biting into a slice of meat lovers.

Alec’s eyes pop wide, his mouth falling open, looking like a cartoon owl. Everyone at the table bursts out laughing.

“We’ll try that some other time. I’ve got our beach bag in the car, boys.”

“Yay!” They yell in unison.

“You getting in?” I ask, my mind already picturing Harrison in nothing but those pink flamingo swim trunks.

He mouths, “I wish.” Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he takes a sip of his lemonade from the flamingo straw with a little extra flourish, causing my children to crack up. “I can’t.” He lifts his bum arm in the sling.

“I wonder why they put you in that old thing. I mean, they’ve come a long way with waterproof splints after surgery. And it’s Florida. I’m sure they could’ve switched you to something a lot more user friendly.”

“Truth? I think it was my little brother. I bet he warned them I’d never leave it on if it was made of Velcro.”

I’ve barely processed what he’s said before my mind is conjuring up our night together, Harrison banging the cast against the deck in his desire to touch me. A blush crawls up my throat, betraying my lascivious thoughts. Turning my face away, I hope the breeze will cool me down until I turn back, and Harrison gives me a devilish wink.

The rest of the evening is a mixture of storytelling and laughter as the boys frolic in the pool. Harrison is so good with them, tossing a football, even getting his mother to take a turn. Once it gets late enough that Joyce and his mom retreat to their rooms for the night, Harrison offers to pop popcorn and put on a Marvel movie for the boys so we can relax a bit before heading home.

As we sit on the couch, stealing touches under a blanket, the boys munch on popcorn and sit glued to the wide screen television like it’s the best night of their life.

“Thank you.”

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