Fallen

Being involved in Carson’s school wasn’t something I was very interested in, but since I was still considered new in town and I wanted my son to have a good reputation building for him, I did it. Lucky enough for me, the mommy-and-me activity today was pretty bearable, it was what came after that made me want to pull my hair out. All of us moms had to sit through lunch together, and of course, Val was able to escape because she “already had an appointment” with her wedding planner. So now I was stuck sitting here with these moms throwing daggers at me for no apparent reason, while I wished to be home in bed or joining Matt in the studio for a lunch break.

Speaking of Matt, things were going smoothly between the two of us. We had hung out the day after our date and got lunch together while he had a break from recording. It wasn’t romantic, and we didn’t really try to take any advances on one another, we just enjoyed each others company and talked. Carson and I joined him and the boys Sunday night for dinner once Val dropped them off at Matt’s place. He made chili and we watched Gremlins until the kids were fast asleep. Tonight was Wednesday, and it was the night that Cash and Carson usually hung out together. Matt told me that he was going to have to stay late in the studio, but would be at my place a little after six. I figured I would be nice and make dinner for him since he had done it for us the other night, so I went to the grocery store after dropping Car off at daycare this morning. Even though nothing progressed into love from our date, I felt like it brought us closer together as BFF’s parents, and he was just really nice to unwind with at the end of the day.

“So, I heard you’re shacking it up with Matt Sanders,” Julie, a mother of another little girl in Carson’s class smirked at me, wiggling her eyebrows.

I almost forgot about that horrible lie that Matt pushed me into in order to get Kennedy off his back. I laughed awkwardly and put my fork down, no longer wanting to finish my salad, “I wouldn’t say shacking it up.”

“You moved all the way up here and you aren’t fucking him?” She raised an eyebrow, “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re not sleeping with him?”

I sipped my water, deciding to play into everything so that I could give Matt a good laugh later. I smiled at Julie, “Nope. He’s explained to me that he wants to wait until the time is right. I respect his decision because it is what is best for our children right now.”

“I cannot believe this,” Julie scoffed and knocked on the shoulder of the woman next to her, Cristina. “Crissy, she isn’t sleeping with Matt. They’re dating but they’re not fucking.”

Cristina’s jaw was almost on the table as she stared at me, “You’re lying.”

“I am not,” I shook my head with a smile. “Why is this so unbelievable?”

“Because you’re the new, hot, young mom, Liv.” Cristina laughed, “We all figured that Matt was just going to use you and then get rid of you like he did to Kennedy. You must really be something special if he’s so into you without giving him the V.”

“Wait, he was with Kennedy?” I asked in a hushed tone, my stomach starting to turn a little. No wonder she was so excited to see him back home, and he was so quick to come up with an excuse as to why he wouldn’t hang out with her.

Cristina and Julie looked at one another, then looked back at me. Julie gave me a sad smile, “Oh, you poor thing. No one told you?” I shook my head and she sighed, “Kennedy’s engagement fell apart a little less than a year ago, then she immediately fell into Matt’s trap. She always thought it was more than what it was. He would use her for sex, telling her to bring Kenzie over to play with Cash. They’d screw and he’d send her home. After a couple of times, he had enough of her and stopped contacting her. She figured it was because he was busy with the band again since Val was the one that was always picking up the boys. She thought Matt was into her the way she was into him. When she heard the news he was coming home from tour she nearly lost it. Then she found out about you.”

“Oh,” I said quietly, looking down at the table. I felt sick. Was that what Matt’s plan with me was? To use me as Carson’s mom just to try to get sex out of me? He would’ve already tried that, right? He wouldn’t be so nice, talkative, decent… right? He told me that he didn’t like the women that were after sex, but he was after sex? I looked back up at Julie and Cristina, a small smile on my face, “That’s very sad for Kennedy. That was wrong of him to do that to her, but he is a man. I don’t put it past men to do things like that.”

Cristina smiled, “He seems so serious about you, though. I’m happy for you two together, and that Val is so supportive. She hates Kennedy and didn’t like that Matt was involved with her. Just watch yourself around Kennedy and her little brat.”

“Thanks,” I gave her a weak smile. I was grateful that her and Julie were being so nice to me, and were open with me about Matt and Kennedy’s past together. I definitely wanted to get more information out of Val about the situation before anything proceeded between Matt and I, if anything proceeded.

“We should all hang out some time,” Julie said with a smile. “I know Carson likes to hang out with the boys, but maybe he needs a couple girlfriends in his life.” She wrote her number down on a napkin and handed it to me, “Text me. Maybe we can set up a playdate?”

“Yeah, that would be sweet,” I smiled at her and took the napkin, stuffing it into my purse.

I was so thankful when the mother’s lunch was over, as I noticed partially through talking with Cristina and Julie about other topics that Kennedy had been staring me down for the majority of it. When I picked up Carson and Cash, they were talking non-stop on the ride home about some dinosaur show they were watching today. They wanted to play archeologists in the sandbox out back when we got home, and nearly forced me using blood-curdling screams to stop at Target and get the two of them some new dinosaur toys to play with out there. The boys ate dinner as soon as we got home, I made them both grilled cheese and tomato soup, with some cut-up veggies on the side. Then they just played in the sandbox as I cooked something else for Matt and I.

I finished up cleaning the stove after pulling out the baked chicken breast. I just went simple tonight and did chicken breast, green beans and roasted potatoes. I covered everything with tin foil and set a couple forks, knives and plates on the counter. I looked over at the clock and saw it was ten past six. I hadn’t heard from Matt yet, so maybe he was running a little later.

I stepped out back and looked at the little boys still playing in the sandbox, lightly shivering as the evening breeze started to fill the air. I laughed at them making dinosaur noises, their arms tucked into their short sleeves, “How about we take this party inside?”

“But we can’t look for dinosaurs in there,” Carson pouted.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the two boys, throwing an arm around each and carrying them into the house. Just as I walked through the back door, Matt walked through my front door with a smile on his face.

“Got your hands full?” He laughed and walked over to me, grabbing Cash from my arms. “What’s up, little man? How was school?”

“Was good. Mommy came today and then Liv got us dinosaurs on the way home. Then I had grilled cheese. Now you are here,” Cash grinned at Matt, their dimples and hazel eyes mirroring one another. “River staying with Mommy tonight?”

Matt nodded and kissed Cash’s forehead, “Yup, just me and you when we get home, bud.” He took his eyes off his son and looked over at me holding Carson, “Something smells good.”

“Let me go grab a few blankets and get them settled on the couch. The television is already on Nick Jr. Go make yourself a plate, Matt,” I smiled and handed Carson to him. He was now balancing the boys in each arm, but lucky for him, he was able to do it without any struggles. I headed down the hallway and grabbed a couple pillows and blankets out of Carson’s room, placing them next to the boys on the couch. “We’ll be in the kitchen, okay?”

“Okay, Momma,” Carson smiled as he nuzzled into the pillow under his head, his eyes already glued to the television. Cash nodded and sat in the same position, wrapped up in a blanket and his eyelids already starting to fall a bit.

I smiled to myself and walked into the kitchen, seeing Matt waiting for me at the table before digging into the plate he already made for himself. I prepared my own plate and opened the refrigerator, grabbing a Coke for myself and showing him one. He nodded and I brought it over to him, then sat across from him. He smiled before taking a bite of the chicken, then lowly moaned to himself as he chewed.

“How the hell do you keep it so moist? I can’t cook chicken without drying it out,” he laughed after he was done chewing. “This is delicious.”

I smirked, “We’ll have a cooking lesson alongside our anatomy lesson one of these days. I’ll teach you all about keeping your chicken moist.” I couldn’t keep my cool and snorted, causing Matt to nearly choke, “I had to.”

“That was a good one,” he laughed then bit his bottom lip looking at me. He looked back down to his plate and filled his fork up again, this time putting a forkful of potatoes in his mouth, “How was mommy day? Don’t even ask me how my day went… this time it wasn’t Brian and Johnny for once, it was Brian and I arguing all day. I heard Val ditched you at lunch?”

I frowned as I nodded, remembering the information that I heard this morning. I knew it would be best for me to talk to Val about everything before I talked to Matt. “Sorry to hear that. Today was pretty good, or at least the actual activity was good. Lunch was okay, kind of awkward. It’s hard work pretending that I’m madly in love with you and your girlfriend.”

Matt scoffed, “I’m a very lovable guy. That’s offensive. I’m offended.”

I rolled my eyes, “You seriously owe me big time, Sanders. Half of the moms in there give me dirty looks, the other half want to know how you are in bed. I’m going to have you fill out a FAQ sheet so that I don’t get my stories mixed up.”

He chuckled and eyed me from the other side of the table, his tongue darting out of his mouth and wetting his lips. “How about you let me make it up to you Friday night?”

“Without alcohol involved,” I cut my eyes at him.

It was his turn to roll his eyes, “I’ll get you drunk if I want to get you drunk, Liv. It’s not my fault that alcohol turns you on to my amazing personality and good looks.” We both laughed in unison, “So is that a yes? Friday night, you and me?”

“Don’t you have the boys this weekend?” I tried to find a way out of it, not that I truly wanted to. I wanted to know more about the Kennedy situation before I went on any other actual date with him.

“Who said we were going out? Maybe I was going to cook you a nice dinner, serenade you with my singing and somehow talk you into stripping into your underwear in the pool with me again,” he smirked as I huffed. “But really, bring Carson over on Friday evening and you and I can have dinner, a couple drinks and maybe watch a movie. This way you don’t even have to worry about getting pretty. I’ll take you in sweats, tangly hair and no makeup.”

“You know me well already, don’t you?” I laughed at his statement. “Fine. We’ll come over, but this time I am not spending the night, and I’m bringing an actual bathing suit.”

Notes

I wonder what Val will say about Kennedy...
And if Liv is going to push Matt's romance away?