june 24

584 20 39
                                    

the night is as young as ever. or as young as it can be at 7 o'clock. josh drives to ashley's house to pick her up and get to their favorite bar. it's not that far from ashley's neighborhood, so they can take their sweet time getting there. some kids show in disney channel plays on the tv, totally captivating nick with its flashy colors and cute characters.

ashley's finishing her makeup on the kitchen counter while josh fixes himself a sandwich so he doesn't down a beer without any food in his system. he's intending only having a few sips of alcohol, he is the designated driver since ashley hasn't renewed her license yet. it's on josh's to-do list. no, really. on his fridge at home there's a notepad with 'take ash to the dmv' written on it.

"you know that you look good without makeup, right?" josh mentions between bites of his sandwich, "i'm sure that whatever guy or girl you talk to won't mind if your cheeks aren't bronzed to perfection."

"i'm not having this conversation with you again. it makes me feel good. i like wearing it. you don't have to wear the same three shirts all the time but here you are," she snaps at him without looking away from her compact mirror while putting a few coats of mascara on.

"rude."

nick looks away from the tv while commercials play out. he's entertaining himself with his stuffed animals and toy cars. "mommy?"

"yes, sweetheart?" still with the mascara wand near her eye, she glimpses over to the living room to see if her child needs any help or anything in general.

"where are you and daddy going?"

"we're going to have some fun and meet new people, bud," josh joins the conversation before the worried mother can lecture her son on family terminology once again. he washes the plate and knife he used for his food to help out ashley with one less dish to clean. he's always been some type of husband material to her. most people think that josh's the real father, given that nick has curly hair like him and he's helped ashley with all things parenthood without receiving anything in exchange.

some rumors are that they hooked up back in high school, which resulted in her getting knocked up and ashley put the blame on her boyfriend at the time to protect josh. others say that they hookup now, and he just helps her out to get head. it's surprising what people come up with when they have nothing better to do.

"can i go? pretty please?"

"they don't let kids in, honey," she zips up her makeup bag and goes to sit next to her kid on the living room carpet, "it's just for one night. i'll make it up to you tomorrow. how does ice cream sound?" she places a kiss on the top of his head and her heart fills with joy at how excited he gets about the ice cream.

"yes! will daddy go too?"

"...sure. if he's not busy. will you go with us, josh?" her gaze follows him, his tall, slender figure joining them on the floor as the show comes back on the tv. it's not difficult to tell she wants to correct nick on calling josh his dad. for his sake, she lets it go. one night won't hurt.

"i'd be honored." josh kisses her forehead and gives nick a warm hug. he doesn't help his own case of being accused of being a dad. it's just his nature to care for the people he loves. even kids that aren't his own count, and his best friends who are the mother of said kid too.

the babysitter that ashley hired for the night doesn't take much longer to arrive. the couple of friends say their goodbyes to nick, promising that they'll come back home as soon as they can. if the night doesn't go as expected, josh'll definitely sleep over at the house rather than going back to his apartment. he doesn't have to worry about jim, he left him with his neighbor who happens to be a dogsitter. what a crazy world full of coincidences he lives in.

to all the glowing eyes ✎ joshlerWhere stories live. Discover now