Page 67 of Knight

We stop and pick up a few bottles of wine on the way to Will’s house. We arrive at Will’s and park. The door is opened before we even knock.

Will comes out and gives me a huge hug. “Jackson. I missed you, man. It’s been forever.” He turns to Darian. “You must be Darian. I’ve heard so much about you.” He hugs her as well.

“Hey, Will. It’s so good to finally meet you. Jackson speaks so highly of you.”

“Sure he does. Come in. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

We start to walk inside. I notice Will has lost some weight. He was carrying a few extra pounds the last time I saw him. “How are you, buddy? You look good. Finally hitting the gym?”

“I have to keep up with you. You know, the world’s most eligible bachelor.” I roll my eyes and Darian giggles.

We head inside to the kitchen, and everyone is standing there. I kiss Frankie and look at the kids. “Wow, you guys have all gotten so big. Darian, let me introduce you to everyone. This beautiful woman is Will’s better half, Frankie. To her left are their nineteen-year-old twins, Brandon and Brenda.” Darian snaps her head to Frankie.

Frankie chimes in. “Yes, before you ask, I was a big Beverly Hills 90210 fan back in the day. Perhaps too big. Let me introduce you to my other three children. This is Dylan, Kelly, and Donna.”

Darian laughs. “Frankie, you and I are going to be good friends. This is the greatest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. I actually kind of want to call my best friend and tell her. She’s going to freak out. It was her dream in college to have twins and name them Brandon and Brenda.”

“Well, I guess I’m living her dream then.”

Darian looks to the three younger kids. “How old are you guys?

Kelly answers. “I’m sixteen. Dylan is eighteen and Donna is fifteen.”

“Wow, you guys didn’t mess around.”

“Actually, we did, that’s why we had five kids in four years,” Frankie jokes. We all laugh, except the kids.

Donna looks disgusted. “Ugh, Mom. That’s disgusting. We don’t need to hear that.”

Frankie smiles at her. “Why don’t you five go make a TikTok or something. The four of us are going to enjoy this wine that Uncle Jackson and Darian brought with them before dinner. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

Darian turns to the kids. “Are you guys big TikTok fans?” They all nod. “I had a feeling you might be.” She reaches in her purse and pulls out five items that I have no clue what they are. The kids’ faces light up. “One of my daughters owns a store calledTikTok Trendy. They sell all the latest TikTok trends. I thought you guys might like these.”

They all excitedly thank her. I just stare at her. This woman.

Will whispers in my ear, “You’ve got it bad.” All I can do is nod.

The four of us have a blast and kick two bottles of wine before dinner even starts. We’re laughing as Will and I tell stories from our childhood. Frankie has heard them all before, but Darian hasn’t and they’re funny as hell.

We sit down for dinner. Brandon turns to me. “Uncle Jackson. Thank you for all of our new computers.”

“No need to thank me again, Brandon. I got your text. I got all of your texts thanking me. I’m happy you guys like them.”

Darian looks confused. Will notices and jumps in. “Jackson here didn’t think it was enough that he’s practically paying for all of my kids to go to college. He bought them all computers for their first day of school as well.”

“That’s not true. I just helped contribute to what you started.”

“You should check the math on that, buddy. I’m not taking credit for what you did. The kids know what’s up.” I’d have preferred the kids assumed that Will was paying for college for each of them. I guess they know that I am. Darian picks up my hand and kisses it.

We finish off a great evening, tell Frankie and Will that we’ll see them tomorrow night, and head back to the hotel.

During the car ride, Darian looks at me with love. “You’re a good man, Jackson Knight.”

“I wish he didn’t tell the kids. I’d rather they think that Will is paying for college.”

“That’s part of what makes you so good.”

“I know Will feels emasculated by it. But he can’t afford it, and I don’t want the kids to have to take out loans and spend the next twenty years in debt.”

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