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The next night, Chet helped us tackle a lava laetable oil, Alka Seltzer, and food coloring Strange but cool He also led an experi rainbow celery with food dye I had no idea what the purpose of that one was, but I now had six stalks of blue celery in reed not to throhile Linc was out of town That was going to be a tough proh…even if I had to buy a second gallon of milk to hide them from view
It had been te, but Chet keptnotes, which supposedly was vital to prove a hypothesis Don’t askChet eable, and he had a knack for speaking to Linc as if he were a fellow scientist or a valued apprentice
And he had a way of looking atthat made me warm all over No joke I’d sat across fro dressed in a button-down shirt and jeans, sweatingcelery stalks in neon blue water It wasn’t the first time he’d had that effect on me
Later in the week, I’d stopped to say hello when I spotted hihlander The conversation hadn’t lasted long We’d covered the weather, the broken laht at the end of the block, and the mac-and-cheese order I’d just picked up from a local deli That last one had perked hioodthat was painfully simple to make Linc had overheard his commentary from the back seat and invited him to make mac and cheese Smart kid, that one
Sure enough, Chet ca the next day and made himself at home in my kitchen Mac and cheese was a side dish I baked chicken, sauteed broccoli, and feigned irritation when he told h olive oil I made room for him at the stove and did my best not to be too obvious when I sniffed his hair and stared at his ass Dinner was fantastic, but the company was better
Yep, I’d seen hiht this week
In the name of science
All visits were G-rated and kid supervised Chet didn’t say so, but I suspected that he threw himself into the science stuff with Linc to prove he’d old-ball-BJ incident I wished I could say the same
I was hung up on hbor I wanted to see him I wanted to be near hiure out what it was about Chet that drove ly confident the next Shy and nerdy, then bold and no-nonsense But still nerdy…in the best possible way
He wasn’t my usual type I liked ht, guzzle beer, and not think twice about bending over and begging for dick But my type must have evolved over time, because that wasn’t Jase either
I refocused on my ex and did a quick double take when I realized I was under major scrutiny
“Why are you staring at rumbled
Jase shot a lopsided smile my way “No reason in particular I’m just curious about the scientist You like him, don’t you?”
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean what you think it means”
“That’s too bad ’cause getting laid would be good for you, Sam” He chuckled at ood forsomeday Trust me, I’ll be happy for both of us when it happens But back to the tree…if you promised Linc, you have to deliver It’s Dad Rule Number One”
“I always follow through,” I argued
“Not when it comes to the holidays You hate Christmas”
“True, but—”
“Hearhis hand up, no doubt to stop ripes he’d heard before “Be a Scrooge if you want, but you have to re older He sees the exa his own opinions I’e pass to all of Santa’s shenanigans You know I started playing Mariah Carey’s fabulous holiday classic the second pualized for the season And I’o a serious transfor with the fam It’s who I auy façade, I think there’s a gliht…share it with Linc He expects it from me, but he’d cherish it from you”