PIZZA!

Dylan turned around in a few circles and then flipped Asher over his shoulder. He landed on the couch, laughing and shrieking in delight.

"That was fun! Do it again! You're more fun than my dad."

Yeah, but I am your dad. Ugh, I hate hearing him refer to Cole as his dad. Take a breath, Dylan. To Ash, Cole is his dad. You just can't throw the kid on the couch and think you will be nominated for Father of the Year.

"I'm sure your dad is fun. What did you use to do for fun with him?" Dylan sat down next to him on the couch.

"Well, we used to go for rides in his friend's racecar. He went so fast once that I almost barfed. We went fishing once, but I didn't want to touch the worms. We would play catch. That is my favorite thing we do. He showed me how to keep my eye on the ball."

"How about football? Did you ever throw the ball around?"

"No. Dad said playing for Navy put a bad taste in his mouth. Cough medicine puts a bad taste in mine. Hey, you played football. Would you toss the ball around with me sometime? I mean, if you want to, if you have time," Asher said, playing with his shoelace.

"I would love to if it's okay with your mom."

"I don't think she would mind. Mom's pretty cool."

"She's pretty and cool," Dylan said with a smile.

"Umm, okay. If you say so."

Dylan wasn't sure what else to say. He didn't want to say the wrong thing, so he looked around the living room. "You like to play video games?"

"Is the Pope catholic?"

Dylan let out a small laugh. "Of course."

"Do you play?"

"I do. What's your favorite game?"

"Anything Lego or Mario. How about you?"

"I know what I don't like," Dylan said.

"What is that?"

"Anything first-person shooter."

"I don't have any of those. I'm too young, and even if I wasn't, Mom doesn't like guns. I do have a super soaker, but that's about it. Oh! I have The Adventures of Clutch Powers. It's a Lego game. Do you want to play?" Ash was excited.

"Will you show me how?"

"Not if I want to win."

Dylan couldn't help but fall in love with the little version of himself. He was so funny and intelligent, and he seemed to really care about his Mom's happiness and her opinion. He was exceptional for a kid his age. He wished he could have been there to watch him grow up.

I can't believe I was so fucking stupid. I could have been there from the day Lena found out till yesterday. I could have done all the midnight craving runs, rubbed Lena's feet, cut the cord, and held my son seconds after he was born. God, on the first day of kindergarten, I could have been teaching him Italian. I could have been taking him to practices and recording him at his recitals. She's never going to forgive me.

"Why are you crying, Mr. Dylan?"

Dylan didn't even know that a tear had slipped out.

"I will teach you how to play. No reason to cry about it. Save for tears for when I kick your butt."

Dylan couldn't help but laugh. He loved Asher's personality. "Big talk, Sport. And it's just Dylan."

"I'll start the game and get the controllers. You can use the red one; it's my favorite, but you can use it this time."

"Game on, Sport."

Lena ducked into her bedroom and pulled out her phone. She ordered pizza and then called her therapist.

"Hey Bitch, how are things hanging? How was your day with Mr. Big, Tall Sexy Baby Daddy?"

Lena chewed on her thumbnail. "He knows Greta."

"He knows? Who knows? And what does he know?"

"Dylan, Greta. He knows."

"Ooooohhhhh," she said in a low growl. "When did he find out? How did he find out? Did he quit?"

"He found out about two seconds after he met him. I picked Asher up from Kohl's, and he knew as soon as he got down to Ashes level. He looked into his eyes, and he knew right away."

Greta let out a sigh. "Oh, sweetie, it was bound to happen. So, did he quit?"

"Not yet."

"Do you think he will?"

"I don't know. He's royally pissed at me, but I know he wants to spend time with Ash."

"Sounds like one hell of a day. I used to envy you, but today is not one of those days."

"Between that, remembering what happened at the club last night--"

"Wait. What happened at the club?"

"I threw myself at Dylan, and he left me high and dry and humiliated."

"Dylan was at the club?"

"Yeah, yesterday was his last day. He caught Evan and me, and we ended up in Stefano's guest room--"

"YOU WHAT!" Greta burst.

"You know, maybe I should tell you about this at work tomorrow."

"Alright, I guess. But don't think I'm going to let you forget to tell me, sweetie."

"Oh, and get this shit on top of everything else, Cole is marrying the hussy."

"What? No way! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Way. You should see the iceberg, he put on her finger. I bet it cost five figures. I hope he can return it because he seems to not take into consideration that he was not getting a shit ton of money from the divorce. He also seemed to forget to tell Morgan that the negotiation for a higher settlement didn't go as planned."

"Then how did he get the ring? Does he still have access to your money? What did he end up getting?"

"He still has his personal checking account and makes a salary, even though he hasn't done anything for the past six months. Except hirer, Dylan, and blow up my life. He'll get paid until the sales go through."

"And..."

"He gets 550 thousand. I paid off the BMW and his house, we split the credit card debt, and he gets to keep what is in his personal checking account."

"Are you fucking--- I can't believe you--- Fuck Lena. Well, shit, given the circumstances, you gave him too much. The guy was fucking his assistant in your building and getting paid to do it! You are too nice."

"It was that, or he wanted cash value. Like why would I do that when you can turn around and sell everything and make double the money? He must think I am some kind of twat. I didn't make millions being an idiot."

"How did Morgan take the little bomb you dropped?"

"Not sure. I left before the argument happened."

"You left? How are we supposed to gossip about it if you didn't hear it? Lena, have I taught you nothing?"

"Her voice wasn't dripping with excitement."

"At least something positive happened today."

"I just want a clean break, Greta. I never want to see him or his hussy again."

"Ah, how are you going to do that with Asher still seeing him?"

Lena said nothing.

"Lenaaaaa, you are going to let him continue to see Ash, right?" Greta's voice was firm.

"I... I wasn't going to..."

"You can't do that. He is the only father Ash knows. He's been taking care of him since he was two."

"He has no legal right to him. It's not like he adopted him. He had his chance."

"You are being an idiot twat now, Lena!"

"Jesus, Greta, tell me how you really feel."

"You already kept one father from him; don't take away the only one he knows."

"Things are different now. I don't want that whore taking care of and help raising my son. Nope. Not going to happen. It's bad enough she has been around him for the last six months."

"Have you asked Asher how he feels?"

"I would if he knew what was going on. He thinks everything is going to stay the same. Every other week. I don't need Cole pumping him for information now that Dylan is in the picture. And if I want to make up for the bullshit I pulled, he should be spending more time with Dylan."

"So, you're going to tell him about Dylan?"

"Eventually. I mean, it's not like I can sit him down and tell him over pizza. What am I supposed to say? Hey Ash, you know your daddy? Well, he's not really your daddy, and Mr. Dylan is your real daddy, so he's going to be your life now. It would just be easier if he didn't see him. Maybe I'll wean him off."

"Work something out. Exchange him in the Dairy Queen parking lot like every other divorced couple out there."

"Oh, come on, Greta, I--"

"No. No, I. This isn't about you. This isn't about Cole. This is about that little boy. You need to get your head all the way out of your ass, suck it up, and do the right thing!"

Lena sat on the small white bench at the end of her bed. She hung her head and rubbed her forehead. "I really screwed the fucking pooch, Greta. How did I FUBAR my life so bad that this is where I am right now?"

"I think it's because of your impeccable taste in men," Greta teased.

"You know how much I hate when you're right?"

"I am perfectly aware. I keep you honest, Sugar Tits.

"Fuck."

"What now?"

"Italy. If Dylan stays, he'll come with us to Italy. If he goes, I think Asher should come, but... Hey, bestie?"

"What?"

"Do you want to come to Italy?"

"WHAT! REALLY! OF COURSE! Unfortunately, I don't speak Italian. I can order a Vino and ask where the bathroom is, but that's the extent of my knowledge."

"Yes, but if you are going to know anything, that would be the thing to know. All expenses will be paid if you're willing to help me with Asher."

"Of course, I will help with Ash. He's my godson. But like I said, I can't speak Italian."

"Don't worry. Asher can translate for you."

"Nice. A six-year-old who speaks fluent Italian. I'm not going to look like a moron."

"Maybe he can teach you a little something. We will be on a twelve-hour flight."

"Twelve hours? That's half a day!"

"We're flying non-stop first class. You will be fine. Run it by Caleb and--"

"Don't worry; I'm sure Caleb won't mind. He owes me."

"If you're sure."

"I'm going to start packing."

"Greta, we don't leave for three weeks."

"Point being? What will the weather be like? I'll Google it! I love you. See you tomorrow. Remember, you owe me a story!"

"Good night, Greta."

"Call me if you need me. But not too late. My man is coming home, and as soon as the kid goes to bed, I promised him a sensual massage. My guess is he will be sending you flowers and chocolates tomorrow."

"Have a good time with your loyal husband and the father of your child. Love you, too."

"Love you more!"

"One more thing."

"What?"

"Never call me Sugar Tits ever again."

She huffed as she rose to her feet. She then fell backward and onto her virgin mattress and watched the fan go around in circles.

All I want to do is drink a bottle of wine while soaking in my new clawfoot tub with a few lit candles and a box of Godiva chocolates. And Dylan, naked, sitting behind me, feeding me said chocolates. His cock hard against my back, his hand reaching around to stroke my--- Stop! This is the guy who cheated on you two hours after you left the house! Ugh. But he's still so fucking hot. Even hotter if that is humanly possible.

Lena closed her eyes. She could hear the boys from down the hall. They must have been playing a game by the way they were laughing and shouting back and forth at each other. She couldn't help but smile. She also couldn't help but feel like a heartless piece of shit. She didn't just punish Dylan by not telling him, but she punished Asher.

His deep, muffled voice filled her ears and heightened her senses. She thought back to the night at the club. God, she had wanted him so bad. The last year of her and Cole's relationship was like living in a monastery. It's been over a year and a half since she had last fucked. At first, she wondered how Cole could stand it, but then she learned about his side piece. He had been fucking Morgan for six months before she caught the two of them in Cole's office. If it hadn't been for a wonderful lady named Simone, who worked for the nighttime cleaning service, she would never have known what was happening. Cole had been planning on filing for the divorce, and if Simone hadn't tipped her off, he would have walked with a fifty-fifty split of the business and the shared assets. Thank God for prenups.

She mentally slapped herself for being so stupid again and letting yet another man make her feel like a fool because she was in love. Just once, she wanted to have a stable, loving, serious, monogamous relationship.

When shit goes down in a relationship, a person will romanticize that past. You could have had six wonderful days together and a thousand shitty ones; your mind will automatically go to those six wonderful days. Lucky for her, that was not the case when it came to Cole. She and Cole were over way before she found him bending Morgan over his desk.

It wasn't all bad. At the beginning of their relationship, everything was terrific. He was the greatest guy she could have asked for. They had the same taste in a lot of things. One is that Cole was submissive. He was never a client of hers, but after their first sexual experience, she knew what he liked, and he liked to be dominated. The sex was great till it wasn't.

He changed and kept telling her how he wanted a threesome, and he knew people with open marriages whose relationships were stronger because of it. No matter how many times she tried to remind him of why her relationship went to shit with Dylan, he would still bring it up every time they went out and he saw some hot woman he wanted to bang. It came to the point that he just wanted to sleep around, and if he presented it as an idea of a threesome or open marriage, she would just cave after a while. He wanted a loophole. He wanted some other woman's hole. She was so used to being dominant that she wasn't sure what to do when things started to change. She knew she was not going to have an open marriage because she had no desire to fuck men outside of her marriage. She could have fucked any of her dozens of clients, but she wasn't a whore. She was a professional and stopped when things between her and Cole became serious.

The security business was taking off, and she was able to free herself from that chapter of her life.

Lena finally pulled herself from the bed and returned to the main living area. She watched from the doorway as her beautiful son and his father played like best friends. They high-fiving and bumping into each other to make each other mess up.

When Asher won, he stood up and did what he called his Ash Dance. It was something he did when he was happy or excited, and it always made Lena giggle.

"Mom! I beat Mr. Dylan! He was winning, well, I was letting him win for a while--"

"Hey!"

"Sorry, I didn't want you to start crying again."

Lena crossed her arms. "You were crying?"

"I had something in my eyes."

"Yeah, tears," Ash said, rolling his eyes. "Did you order the pizza, Mama?"

"I did. It should be here any--"

The intercom buzzed. "That might be it now." She pressed the bottom to key the intercom. "Yes?"

"Ms. Baxter, if you ordered a couple of pizzas, they have arrived. Do you want me to bring them up?" Charles asked.

"Can I go get them, Mama? I need to stretch my legs."

Dylan chuckled.

Lena thought about it for a moment. "You are not going by yourself."

"Mr. Dylan can go with me. La tua guardia del corpo e la mia guardia del corpo."

"He's not wrong," Dylan said, standing up. "I think I could use a good stretch myself."

"Fine. But let Dylan carry the pizzas. I don't want to eat upside-down pizza again."

"It was an accident, and it happened one time. Don't keep dragging it up."

"Sorry. But still. Let Dylan carry the pizzas."

"Yes, Ma'am." He gave her a salute.

"Here. I found where Cutler left his key." She handed it to Dylan. "If you think you are going to need it, keep it."

He looked at her, torn. Taking the key, he handed it off to Asher, "Here, it's your job."

"Thank you!" He took Dylan's hand, and they started out the door. Lena watched them walk to the elevator. She noticed they had the same walk, though Asher's stripes were much smaller.

"So, Mr. Dylan, tell me a little bit about yourself." He put the key in the hole and turned it, calling the elevator.

"Well, I played football. I work security and used to know your Mom when she was in the Army."

"You knew my Mom in the Army? So, you used to be friends?"

"Yeah. We used to be."

The two of them stepped on the elevator.

"How about you? Where do you go to school?"

"I don't. I am homeschooled."

"Homeschooled?"

"I am an accelerated learner. I am actually working on a second-grade curriculum. I get my social interactions from my sports and my music. Tell me something else about you."

"My favorite color is red. I drive a Chevy Silverado. My middle name is Guiseppe."

"REALLY! MY MIDDLE NAME IS GUISEPPE!"

Dylan felt his stomach flip a little. She gave him my middle name. He smiled. "Guiseppe was my great-grandpa's name. He was from Calabria, Italy. He was the greatest man I ever knew. He died when I was eight. He was ninety-two when he died. Us Grantiano men live a long time, much to our wives' dismay. At least that's what my dad always said."

"I never meet my great-grandpa. I never met my dad either."

Dylan looked at Asher, feeling confused and a little panic in his chest. "Ah. Umm, I thought that Cole was your dad."

"Come on, Mr. Dylan. I don't look like my dad. I've seen pictures of him when he was a little boy like me, and I have never looked like him. I look like my Mom. "

"Have you ever mentioned this to your mom?"

"No. I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable. I figured she would come to me when she's ready."

"You really are a cool kid. Do you know that?"

"Yeah."

They stepped off the elevator. "Hey, Charlie! Did you meet Mr. Dylan? He's Mom's new bodyguard. Mr. Cutler went on to greener pastures."

Charles and Dylan both laughed. "You could always make me laugh, Ash."

"Do you want some pizza, Charlie? Before the big guy eats it all?"

"Hey."

"What? Look at you! You're the size of a brick sh--"

"Alright, don't finish that sentence. I get it."

Charlie laughed. "No. That's alright. The wife is bringing me up dinner."

Dylan picked up the pizzas. "It was nice to meet you, Charles."

"Call me Charlie. I guess I will be seeing you around."

"I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot of me. Come on. I bet Mom is hungry."

"Bye, Charlie!" Asher waved as they boarded the elevator.

"MAMA! We come with pizza that didn't fall on the floor!"

"I am so happy to hear to hear that! Let's eat at the counter. You can have soda tonight."

"Really! Awesome. Can Dylan have soda, too?"

"If he wants to. But we don't have the kind that he likes to drink." She smiled. "Unless you like a different kind now."

"I'm still a Dr.Pepper man."

"We're a Pepsi Max household."

"How about water?"

"How about wine? I have a really good bottle of I won at an auction."

"I would love some wine."

The three of them sat in the kitchen eating their pizza. Asher told some funny story about a bear and a sloth he saw at the zoo. Dylan couldn't believe how funny and intelligent his son was. When everything was cleaned up, it was time for Ash to go to bed.

"Go brush your teeth, Tesoritto."

"Yes, Mama. Do you think you, Mr. Dylan, can come with you when you tuck me in? Just in case you're not around at night and I need some tucking."

"Oh, I guess that would be alright. Though you know that I am very rarely gone at bedtime."

"I know. I just think it would be cool if maybe he could tell me some stories about football and junk." "He seems a lot cooler than Dad," Asher stage whispered.

"Does he now? Well, what do you say? Would you like to learn the bedtime routine?"

"I think I would love that. Come on, Sport, I'll tell you about when I took your Mom to see her first scary movie. She watched the entire thing through her fingers." He looked at Lena. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Hope you liked it! Sorry for the late update! Comment, vote, rate, and review!