Six Like The Number

Texas Roadhouse

*Axle’s POV*

As I’m waiting outside, I feel strangely nervous. What if he doesn’t like me? When I see Six walk out with the little boys hand in hers, I can’t help but smile. They walk up to me and she says, “Theo, this is Axle. He’s going to come with us to the park.”

I kneel down so that I’m at his level and say, “Hi Theo.”

“Hello,” he says back. I can’t get over how much he looks like Six. Up close, it’s even more obvious. He has her same blonde hair and exactly the same greenish-blue eyes.

“Can we go to the park now?” He asks me. I look up at Six and she says, “Yeah, buddy, we’re going now.” I stand up and she starts walking. I look down when I feel a little hand grab my thumb and see Theo holding on to me. I look at Six and she’s smiling at me. My heart squeezes and I can’t help but smile back at her.

Once we get to the park, Theo runs off to a group of kids playing in the sand.

“He’s adorable. And he also looks just like you,” I tell her.

“Thank you,” she says, still watching Theo. The way she looks at him is so incredibly beautiful.

After a few minutes, he runs back over to us and says, “Mommy, can you push me on the swing?”

“Yeah, buddy, of course I can.” I know she told me he calls her that, but to actually hear it come out of his mouth was one hell of a reality check. She’s the only parent he’s ever known and that’s never going to change.

I take a few seconds to compose myself before I follow them over to the swings and she helps him get on and stands in front of him, pulling him forward before letting go. Every time he comes forward, she tickles his belly, making him laugh.

Watching her with him makes my heart swell in a way I didn’t even think was possible. Is this what love feels like? I think it might be. I can’t resist the sudden desire to hold her so I walk up behind her and put my arms around her waist as she continues to push Theo on the swing. We stand like that for a couple of minutes when a small girl runs up and says, “Hi Theo!”

“Hi Kayla!” he shouts back as Six stops the swing for him. He gets down and they run off together. I look up and see a woman walking up to us. She looks straight at me and looks me up and down. “So you’re Axle, huh?”

“I am.” I look down at Six and she says, “This is Shaunice, my neighbour s***h friend s***h life saver.”

“Oh, hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Six has told me a lot about you,” Shaunice tells me, placing a hand on her hip.

“She has, has she?” I ask and look down to find a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.

“Mhm,” she replies. “Should we go sit down? Those two will probably play for a while.”

We follow her over to a bench and she says, “How was school today?”

Six shoots me an amused smile and then says, “It was interesting. Axle here saw me with Jordan on Saturday at the grocery store and thought Theo was mine and his kid, so we had a fun time sorting that out this morning.”

I’m a little shocked by her blatant honesty. Shaunice has probably heard more about me than I originally thought. Definitely more than I wish she knew.

“Well, I mean it’s not really that big a stretch to be fair. He is basically your kid and you were with Jordan for a long time,” Shaunice says.

“Thank you, Shaunice. See? I’m not that crazy,” I say to Six.

“Don’t encourage him,” She says to Shaunice with a smile.

After we spend some more time at the park, Shaunice says that she has to get going. We say goodbye and I ask, “Can I take you and Theo to dinner somewhere?”

She nods and says, “I would like that.” I frown because I realize I have no idea where to bring a kid to dinner, “Um, where is good for like, you know, kids?”

She smiles in amusement and says, “Pretty much everywhere has a kids menu, so pick what you want.”

“Okay, how about Texas Roadhouse?”

“Sounds good to me.”

She drives us all to the restaurant and when we get there, Six grabs Theo from his car seat and he reaches up to grab both of our hands again, which makes me smile. We walk up to the hostess and she does not hide it when she checks me out. “How many?” She asks, fluttering her eyelashes at me.

“Two and a high chair,” Six says abruptly. I notice the hint of annoyance that colours her tone and I know she saw the girl looking at me. The girl nods at her with a clearly fake polite smile plastered on her face and leads us to our table. When we sit down, Theo starts colouring on the paper place mat they give him.

“And you say I’m the one with jealousy issues,” I tell her with a smirk.

“What do you mean?” She asks, feigning innocence.

“I mean that it looked like you were about to bite that girl’s head off.”

“Did you see how she looked at you? I mean come on, you were clearly here with me and a toddler. What did she think was gonna happen?”

“Don’t worry baby, she can look all she wants. You’re the only one who can touch.”

She smiles at that and then frowns a bit and asks, “Is this weird for you?”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean that taking someone on a date with their toddler is not something most teenagers are

prepared for.”

“You know, three months ago, I would never in a million years have guessed that I would be in this kind of situation, but for some reason, it feels very right.”

She smiles and says, “I’m glad you think that. Because this feels right for me too.”

Our waitress comes over and says, “Hi y’all, My name is Candice and I’ll be your waitress this evening. Can I get you started with a drink?”

We both order a beer and she doesn’t ID us. I guess they just assume people with a toddler are over 21. Six asks for a glass of apple juice for Theo. When she comes back with the drinks, we order our food and she orders chicken nuggets and fries for Theo.

After dinner, Six drives me home and I head up to my room, thinking how incredible she is and

how lucky I am to have her in my life. The idea that Theo being in the picture was going to make me leave her is so unimaginable to me. If anything, it just makes me think she’s even more perfect.

I pick up my guitar and a sheet of paper and I start writing a song. Every single one I’ve written since meeting Six has been about her.