Little Bit Yours 💜

Seventeen

"Why did you sleep on the couch last night?" She glances up at Simon as he enters the kitchen the following morning as she frosts cupcakes for Braeden's party.

He shrugs, crossing the room to plant a kiss on her cheek. "I know you're confused enough as it is without making it worse by sleeping with me. Especially after you were out with another man."

"I appreciate that. It is hard for me, you know. I care about you, Simon, and I don't want to hurt you. No matter what I do or who I choose, someone is going to get hurt..."

Simon sighs and pulls her to his chest. "I know, love. Tell me to step aside, and I will. But no matter what or who you choose, I'm not leaving Boston. I want to be around you and Braeden, even if I'm on the outside."

Before she can tell him how unfair she thought that was to him, Nancy entered the kitchen with presents, and she pulled away from Simon. "Hey mama. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay sweetie. When is Andy bringing Braeden?"

"Soon." As soon as she says the words, she hears the doorbell and checks to find Adam with Samantha and Olivia. "Hey guys. Braeden should be here soon. Adam, Samantha, this is my friend Simon from Washington. He's moving to Boston."

Adam nods, glancing between them but doesn't say anything before walking away. Samantha grins, shaking his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Simon."

A few more of Braeden's friends from daycare showed up before Andy appeared with Jacob and Braeden. Braeden immediately goes to find his friends to play with outside.

Andy holds a bouquet of flowers out to her but before she can grab them, Simon ripped them from his hands. "What the fuck?"

Simon put them behind his back, glaring at Andy angrily. "She's allergic to lilies, dude."

"Oh."

Audrey could see Andy's face visibly fall and turn bright red at Simon embarrassing him in front of everyone. "It's okay Andy, you didn't know."

She rested her hand on his chest, but he just scoffed, pushing her away. "Anything else you're allergic to that I should know about?"

"Strawberries."

She looks back as both Simon and Adam speak at the same time, shrugging at each other, and Andy storms off outside with the kids as Jacob follows him close behind. "The fuck!" She punches Simon in the chest, and he winces. "You didn't have to embarrass him."

Simon shrugs. "You were with him for what? Like six months and he doesn't know that you're allergic to lilies? The fuck him, not the fuck me!"

"Ugh! Just because you have a dick doesn't mean you have to be one, Simon!" She pushes past him to the backyard to see him talking to Jacob while watching the kids. Jacob notices her and walks away, leaving her alone with Andy. "I'm sorry about Simon."

Andy sighs and runs his hands along her arms but doesn't look at her. "Let's not talk about it right now."

"It's not your fault. It's the thought that counts." She wraps her arms around him and he reciprocates lightly and laughs.

"Not really, but thanks for the sentiment."

She groans when he walks away from her again to play with Braeden. He ends up avoiding her for most of the party, only approaching her toward the end with Braeden. She's sitting on the couch talking with Samantha when Braeden climbs into her lap. "Hey bud, having a good day?"

He grins and nods excitedly. "Yeah! Daddy and Simon are both here."

She chuckles and glances up at Andy as he rolls his eyes before looking back at Braeden. "And Jacob? You have a brother now."

He nods again. "I like Jacob. Am I going back to Daddy's tonight?"

She shrugs with a smile. "Only if you want to."

"I do. Are you coming for dinner like you did last night?"

She looks up at Andy and he kneels beside them to answer for her. "Not tonight bud. We won't always be able to spend time together the three of us. Sometimes we'll do stuff just us guys, and sometimes you'll do stuff with just your mom, okay? But you're always welcome to come over whenever you want." He glances at Audrey. "Can I talk to you before we leave?"

She nods and follows him into her bedroom to get privacy. "Andy, I'm sorry about earlier. Simon was out of line to embarrass you in front of everyone."

He shrugs and shakes his head. "He's not wrong though. I didn't even know you were allergic to lilies. I realize that even with all the time we spent together that I don't know you that well. So..."

She shakes her head, placing her hands on his chest as her heart sinks. "Don't finish that sentence Andy, please."

He grabs her hands in his, holding onto them as he shakes his head, "I'm sorry. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe we should just stick to co-parenting Braeden for the time being."

"What happened to last night?! About waiting for me? About wanting to be with me?"

"I do want to be with you, more than anything Audrey. But I realized I don't really know you well enough. I just want to focus on Braeden right now."

"Andy, please." She watches him shake his head through blurry eyes before he walks away, leaving her alone in her room.

***

She feels Simon come up to place his hand on her back once everyone is gone as she stands at the sink doing dishes. She moves away from him as he sighs. "Addie, what is it?"

She turns off the water to turn and face him. "You embarrassed Andy in front of everyone and now he's saying he doesn't want to be with me because he doesn't know me as well as he thought he did."

He scoffs. "How is that my fault?"

"You didn't have to embarrass him! You could have pulled him to the side and said something. You were an ass."

Simons sighs. "Okay. You're right, I was a jerk. I should have handled it better, I didn't think about it, I just reacted."

She nods, drying her hands on a towel before placing it over her shoulder. "You should have handled it better, yeah." She sighs, moving away from him when he tried to wrap his arms around her. "I need you to back off Simon, I'm sorry."

"I see. You want me to step aside?"

"Yes." She crosses my arms over her chest as he watches her for a minute before walking away and she hears the front door slam shut. Now she lost Simon and Andy, which is probably what she deserved anyways for trying to hold onto both of them.