Second Love

Chapter 7

Its Monday late morning and I debating with myself to stop by his place or not. I promised the kids I would swing by because they wanted to light sparklers with me. Yet, I haven't talked to him since Saturday morning. I decide against my instincts and get ready to go. I put on cute designer white shorts, teal flats, and a matching teal ribbed shirt. My hair is perfectly curled and my new manicured nails are looking good from yesterday.

I would go every two weeks in New York and their price was definitely double the fee from what the lady charged me yesterday. And yet, they both did a great job.

Feeling hot, I go to his house with a store bought pie in hand. I'm a pro at making it look homemade so I was sure to remove the wrapping and place it on a plate and wrapping it with aluminum foil.

I knock on the front door and of course his mother answers "Hello, Hannah" "Hello, Renee" She waves me in and grazes over me like I'm no good.

Please woman once you mingle and becomes friends with the upper east side of Manhattan and meet incredibly wealthy men from foreign countries who invite you for golf nothing scares me...

I follow behind her and into the kitchen where several people are talking, eating, and coming in and out from the back door into the yard. I'm almost tackled by Crew who wraps his arms around my legs.

"Hey buddy. What are you up to?" I place the pie down on the counter and squat to meet his eyes.

"H, we're playing water balloon games. Come play."

He takes my hand in his. Who can refuse that? And we walk outside. I notice several men around the BBQ and sure enough Peyton is the grill master. Of course he looks incredibly sexy in a button up shirt and shorts. I chose to ignore him but I certainly feel his gaze upon me.

Kids and parents line up across from each other and Crew has a pile of water balloons next to him. "Alright everyone...who ever collects the most water balloons wins."

Crew smiles at me and I wink back. Toss after toss I catch his balloons and place them in the bucket next to me. He's grinning incredibly wide and I can't stop laughing at how competitive he is...I wonder where he gets it from? When it's finally announced that Crew and I won, he runs over to collect his plastic trophy. He runs back over to me and jumps into my arms as I congratulate him.

I look up to see if Peyton has noticed but I'm surprised to see he's flirting with a blonde who has incredibly long legs. I try to keep my composure but I'm certainly annoyed at his point.

More games and food continues on with the evening. Crew and I spend a lot of time together and every so often I see Renee staring at us. I'm sure she's not a fan of me, but more so she's worried. After losing a daughter-in-law I'm sure she's always worried about her grand-kids.

I'm swinging next to Crew when Peyton's dad walks into view. He's a handsome man and you can certainly tell he played football. "Hi, you must be Hannah?" he reaches out his hand.

Wow, I actually receive a warm welcome at this party. Barely any adults have talked to me, more like they've stared and analyzed, but I certainly understand when their golden boy is spending time with an outsider. Please been there, done that.

I shake his hand "I certainly am. You must be Rick."

"Yes, mam. I see that you've captured the attention of my grand-kids, but certainly not my wife or our friends."

I throw back and laugh "Yeah, I've been in shark invested waters too many times and I always seem to pull through. Plus I'm not really worried about them anyway" looking at Crew and smiling.