Enemies with Benefits 2

Chapter 17: In another life

"Dr Rodriguez really suited that pink scarf, wouldn't you say so?"

"Dad-"

"Pink is very much her colour, I think."

"That's very gay of you, dad."

Steven whipped his head around, his mouth hanging open. The car swerved and hit the curb. Thankfully, they were going very slowly. They were only slightly jostled by the bump. His dad struggled to grab the wheel again, steering it to far without putting the breaks on and bumping into the curve on the opposite side. When he finally stopped the curb, he clutched at his chest like a posh Victorian woman clutching her pearls at the indignity.

"Ezra! That's not funny-"

"Hi, are you ready to order?" Chirped the voice of a young girl at drive through window. She had a big smile on her face and a headset wrapped around her head.

Steven nodded his head before he answered. "Yes. I'll have a large iced latte, please." He turned to Ezra with disgruntled look on his face. "Ezra, what do you want?"

Ezra ignored his dad's obvious annoyance and leaned forward in his chair to speak to the drive through girl. "Can I have a hot chocolate, for Colby," he told his dad quietly, "and a regular americano, please."

"Not with regular milk." His dad interjected. "What milk alternatives do you have for the americano?"

"Dad, I can drink milk just fine." Most of the time.

"Shitting yourself isn't just fine, Ezra." He scolded.

The girl smiled nervously. "We have oat milk, almond milk or soy."

His dad turned towards him. "I've heard good things about almond milk."

Ezra spoke past him. "I'll have regular milk, please."

"Ignore him," his dad interjected, "he'll have almond."

"No, I won't!"

"Yes, he will!"

"Um, sirs? If you start having an argument I'm going to have to get my manager."

Ezra leaned back in his chair and zipped his lips.

"He'll have almond milk, please," said his dad. He also paid for their drinks before driving to the next window. "You are lactose intolerant, Ezra, and no amount of moaning about it is going to change that. I thought, as a doctor yourself, you would understand that by now."

"Being lactose intolerant is the most embarrassing allergy though." Ezra leaned his head against the glass. "Nut milks are embarrassing too. They're literally called nut milk. Who wants to drink nut milk?"

"That's not very gay of you, Ezra."

"Huh?"

His dad only smiled, a very smug smile. Although, he did also look a little embarrassed saying 'gay' out loud. Ezra let him get away with the back chat without delivering any of his own back. It was so weird to think about. If he could tell his seventeen year old self that seven years later, he would be sitting in a car with his dad again, a dad who was willingly buying a drink for Colby and who is definitely not the man Ezra thought he was. Well, first of all, his younger self would probably demand to know why Colby and Ezra still knew each other after seven years and what kind of relationship they had. Then, he would probably tell his present self to get fucked because dad was an asshole and nothing was going to change that. Even now he wasn't sure if anything could change that.

It was just so strange to look at his dad, his dad, he'd always belonged to Ezra as Ezra would always belong to him. How could they have that connection with each other without Ezra knowing anything about the man in front of him? Sure, he knew basic things: what music he liked, hobbies he had, what job he did, all things his dad did in the present. His dad's past had always been such a mystery, but for some reason, he'd never considered that the past that Ezra didn't know about might still be effecting his dad today.