Dinner from hell
1251 Words
"Who the hell is this punk?" Warren growled, rising to his feet with a wince.
"I should be the one asking you that," blue eyes narrowed at my ex before swinging to me, "Would you like me to toss him out of here?"
The other man bristled, "If anyone is getting tossed out it's you."
Zaiden took a threatening step forward and I jumped in between them before the whole mess could escalate into a full blown out brawl in my foyer. My head was beginning to pound and I just wanted to lay down and leave them to continue their macho contest.
"Nobody is tossing anybody out," I bit out.
I watched Zaiden drag a hand over his dark hair and felt my mouth go a little dry at the sight, "You want him here?"
If i were being honest, I didn't want either of them here. They were complications I'd rather avoid. But I couldn't exactly shut the door on their faces without giving my son a reasonable explanation.
"West invited him," I said evasively.
"That's not what I asked?"
My ex fiance made a sound of disbelief and i turned to face him, "What?"
The green eyes West inherited from him ping ponged between us shrewdly, "Is this kid your boyfriend or something?"
"No!" I blurted out, "Of course he's not my boyfriend. He's West's friend from school."
"I'm not a kid," the boy- no man- no boy- whatever in question hissed, "I'm an adult and so is she, and that_"
I didn't wait around to hear the rest of what he was going to say. Probably something that would have spelt it out clearly to even a stranger on the road side that he knew what I sounded like when I came.
"Who's hungry!" I cut in with a stiff smile, "Let's all reconvene to the dining room and I'll order something. Who likes Italian?"
I shouldn't have been surprised that Warren chose to continue being a grade A piece of s**t.
He scoffed derisively, "Seriously? Order something? Why did I waste my time coming here if you're just going to get something from one of the restaurants? You couldn't even be bothered to put some chicken in the oven?"
Anger made my spine stiffen and my fingers curled into fists at my sides. How dare he come to my house uninvited and think that he can demean me?
I opened my mouth to give him the set down of his life but at that moment, Weston appeared back at the foyer, brows wrinkled.
"Why is everyone just standing out here? Are we not having dinner anymore?" He asked in clear confusion.
"Of course we are," his father let out a chuckle and moved toward him, bumping his shoulder into Zaiden's.
Just as the younger man made to step forward, I clutched his arm and held him in place with a warning look, "Don't."
He stared down at me for a while and then shook his head with a sigh, "I'm gonna go check on the meatballs."
With that, he disappeared, leaving me standing at the door alone. I groaned and muttered a curse under my breath, wondering how my quiet evening with West had turned into total mayhem.
It took another thirty minutes for the food to be done and when I tried to help set the table, Zaiden pointed at a chair with a look that brooked no argument. I was shocked at how good everything looked and how delicious it smelled. I had assumed he would be a frat kid who lived on pizza and take outs.
As the taste hit my mouth, I couldn't help the moan that slipped out, "Oh my God this is amazing," when I looked over at Zaiden, I found him staring at me with dark, hooded eyes and then one corner of his mouth ticked up.
I ducked my head as I felt my cheeks heat up.
"Zee cooks for all of us at the frat," my son piped in, "You should really taste his Coq au vin."
My pasta went the wrong way and I choked. With a smile, Zaiden passed me a glass of water and I hurriedly gulped it.
"He's right," The dark haired man drawled, "My coq au vin is to die for. Would you like a taste, Mrs. Banks?"
I shot him a glare, "I'm not a fan of meat."
"Hmm," he hummed, "You'll like my meat."
Oh God, I was going to murder Zaiden and then throw his body into a ditch.
"Don't you think you're overestimating him a little bit," Warren's scathing voice cut in, "The sauce is a little dry and the pasta is too soggy."
He pushed his half filled plate away with a look of disgust, "I think I'm just going to order pizza and save myself gastrointestinal problems."
Embarrassed, I looked over at Zaiden and saw him quietly eating his food, face blank. West on the other hand looked stricken.
"You're welcome to leave at any time," I said through gritted teeth, "I would really hate for you to be inconvenienced with a gut problem."
My ex fiance smiled sweetly, "If you're trying to get rid of me, just come right out and say it sweetheart."
"I'm not_" i started to say, but Zaiden beat me to it.
"She's not your sweetheart."
"Woah woah," Warren raised his palms into the air, "I don't like the hostility in this room. I think I'm just gonna leave. It seems I'm not wanted here."
My son jumped to his feet, eyes sad, "Of course you're wanted here."
Warren shook his head, mouth pressed into a thin line, "Your mother doesn't want me here. Isn't that right, Aly?"
West turned to me, "That's not true, right?"
I sighed, "West_"
"Unbelievable, mum," he chuckled humorlessly, "You told me you would try to make peace with him for me. Why are you still trying to punish him?"
Before I could defend myself, he raced out of the room.
"You asshole," I moved toward Warren, "Are you trying to sabotage my relationship with him? What are you trying to gain here, hunh?"
"A son needs his father."
"Then where the hell were you all those years when he needed you?" I hissed, tempted to hit him in the face and break his stupid nose.
"You don't expect me to be changing diapers and s**t. That was your job."
"That's exactly what I expected," I roared.
He advanced at me, "You know the problem here, you think just because you have a high paying position that you spread your legs to_"
"If you finish that sentence, you're going to spend the next few hours picking your teeth from the floor, Warren."
I didn't bother looking behind me to see Zaiden. From the unwarranted sense of security that filled me, I knew he was right behind me.
"I'm getting really sick and tired of you threatening me," Warren barked, "Who do you think you are? Her guard dog? Go back to your keg parties and frat nonsense."
"I will think about it once you're out of my face," Zaiden shrugged.
The shorter man's eyes narrowed and then realisation flashed in his eyes, "Oh my God, now I get it," he threw his head back and laughed.
"G-get what?" I asked nervously, feeling cold sweat break out all over my body.
"It's so obvious," he smirked, "This little college punk is trying to get in your panties."
- Writer
