Page 5 of On The Run

“Ok!” Gray took a ridiculously large bite, one that was too big for his little mouth, as his eyes lit up with mischief. I just rolled mine. When he first came to me, I’d have been freaking out that he’d choke, but one thing I learned about kids was that they were resilient as hell. And they were way bouncier than adults. I didn’t even know how many times I’d seen Gray or one of my nieces face-plant in a way that would break every bone in my body, and they just bounced back up like nothing happened.

With his mouth still stuffed with bagel, Gray asked me, “Daddy, are you orHalmeonipicking me up today?”

Halmeoniis the English translation for the South Korean word for grandma. My mom wasn’t particularly strict about her Korean heritage, but she said she refused to be called grandma and decided on this. “Actually, Grampa is. He said the two of you have a date to finish the treehouse in their yard.”

Grayson nearly bounced out of his seat, he was so excited. The bond the two of them had was special. I wasn’t sure where we’d be today if it weren’t for my dad.

“Grampa said I can have a slide in it too! So instead of stairs, I can just slide when I want to come down!”

A wave of nostalgia overcame me. My two older sisters and I used to have a treehouse similar to the one my dad was building for Gray when I was growing up, slide included. Unfortunately, a storm knocked it down a few years ago, but since my dad was retired, I thought he was happy to have a project.

“That’s awesome, bud! Did Grampa show you the pictures of the one Aunt Laura, Aunt Emily, and I had as kids? I think it’s gonna be a lot like this one.”

I wasn’t sure if Gray was going to be upset his may not be unique, but instead, he fist-bumped the air. “I get to have a treehouse just like yours?” he asked excitedly.

“It might be a little different. I’m sure Grampa will let you make it special to you, but I bet it will be pretty similar.”

“Hey, Aiden, guess what!” Grayson suddenly yelled over the low coffee-shop soundtrack and mumbling voices.

I immediately went to shush Gray and reminded him about inside voices when Aiden popped up out of nowhere by our table, one of his genuine smiles on his face. “What’s up, little man?” One of the things that drew me to this man was how he always seemed genuinely interested in what Gray had to say. I thought Gray talked about Aiden more than anyone else, even if we only saw him for twenty minutes or so three times a week.

“Grampa’s building me a tree house!” I saw a flash of sadness in Aiden’s eyes before it disappeared. I wondered what that was about.

I always deliberately did my best not to look too hard at Aiden when he was serving us because when I did, I felt like a lech. I knew that he was at least eighteen and that he was in college, since he’d spoken about his online classes, but still, I had to have at least thirteen, fourteen years on the guy. I couldn’t imagine what he’d think if he knew I had a little schoolboy crush on my barista. Fuck, it was embarrassing to even say out loud.

But now that he was standing next to my table, I couldn’t help but check him out. He was wearing that orange hat again that would be unflattering on just about anyone but looked adorable on him. Pieces of dark brown hair stuck out of the left side of the cap. The few times I’d seen him without, I saw that his hair was longer on the top and shaved on the sides, but he kept all of the length flipped to the left, just below his temple. He always had a nice golden tan to his skin that made me believe he must be Mediterranean by heritage—Italian maybe? Greek? I wasn’t sure. His features were softer, making him more beautiful than handsome. I thought his hairstyle, small hoop in his eyebrow, and septum piercing were supposed to counteract that, but it really didn’t help. He was smooth and clean-shaven with sharp cheek bones. His jaw was just slightly crooked, with the faintest scar that ran along the bottom that I only noticed when he was this close to me.

He was wearing tight black jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt with the café’s name on it, and black Chucks. Despite the Halloween look he had going on, it somehow worked for him.

I was pushed out of my leering of this poor kid by Gray’s voice as he excitedly told Aiden everything he wanted in the treehouse, the features going from entirely plausible to outrageous. Aiden egged him on, of course, coming up with even more over-the-top ideas that I was sure my dad would bethrilledto hear about when he picked up Gray from school later.

I let them talk for a bit, but I saw a few more customers walk in, and Anna, the other barista that was always here, was shooting daggers at the back of Aiden’s head. I felt a little defensive. Aiden was always working his ass off every time I saw him. He deserved a little break. But it was also his job, and from the bits and pieces of conversation I’d heard, he needed it.

“Gray, buddy, Aiden needs to get back to work, and you need to go to school. You’ll see him again on Tuesday, ok?”

Aiden glanced behind him and saw Anna glaring at him even as she rang up a customer. He sucked in a breath, the telltale sign he was annoyed, before he forced a smile at Gray. “Then you can tell me all about what you managed to build.” He glanced at me. “And maybe even show me some pictures?”

I nodded. “Definitely. How does that sound?” I asked Gray.

“Awesome! Bye, Aiden!” And then he shocked the hell out of both Aiden and me by jumping to his feet and wrapping his little arms around Aiden’s lithe waist. Aiden seemed stunned and looked at me again, seemingly for permission. I tilted my head in acknowledgement, and Aiden returned the hug, patting my son’s back.

Anna cleared her throat loudly, causing Aiden to flush. “Alright, little man, I gotta go. You go on with your dad now and have the best day!”

“Ok!” Gray was bouncing as he slipped on his Black Panther backpack and took my hand, ready to move on. I smiled apologetically at Aiden. “Thank you,” I told him quietly. “You’re great with him.”

Aiden seemed genuinely pleased by the praise. “He’s a great kid.”

“Yes, he is.”

Anna was glaring again, so Aiden rushed off then and Grayson led me out of the café.

I took the short drive to Gray’s school, dropped him off, and headed to the office. The rest of the day was just like any other Friday. I worked. I dodged texts from my sister, Emily, who lived in Hawaii and was trying to set me up with some guy who used to be in her husband’s unit but just got stationed here. And, despite my best efforts, I thought about Aiden.

Chapter3

Aiden

“Hey, Pops,”I called as I walked into our small one-story home. There was no answer, but I heard music playing from his bedroom. I closed and locked the door, tossing my bag against the wall and slipping off my Chucks. Scanning the house, I tried to get an idea of how Pops was feeling.

---