Never Say Never

Chapter 6

 "I'm telling you, she couldn't get away from me fast enough, Robs," Steve sighed, grabbing a beer from the fridge before making his way out on the deck, phone tucked under his chin. "Maybe I've been reading this all wrong. Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see."

He sat down, twisted off the top, and took a long pull, wondering how he could have been so wrong. Either Aly was not interested in him at all or the boys had terrified her so badly that she'd gone practically mute on him. If it hadn't been for Eli and Jeremiah's incessant chatter from the backseat, the car ride home would have been as silent as a graveyard and just as depressing.

She had leaped out of the car as if the seat were on fire, mumbling a barely audible thanks before practically dragging Eli into the house behind her. Even Jeremiah had noticed, accusing him of doing something wrong, asking him what he did to make her mad. Those eyes, so like his mom's, had glared at him in the rearview mirror, angry that he was ruining what he'd thought had been a faultless plan. Steve claimed ignorance. He didn't have the heart to tell his son that if anyone had upset her, it had been them.

"Okay, let's backtrack here for a minute. What exactly happened right before she got all weird?"

"I told you, she fell on the ice."

"Okay but what about before that?"

Steve closed his eyes, picturing the way her face had looked just before the boys had interrupted them and bombarded them with their well-intentioned meddling. Her lips parted invitingly, eyes sparkling with what he had thought was the same desire he was feeling, her head tilting just so. All of it invited him in, giving him the impression that she wanted that kiss just as much as he did.

"The boys charged at us asking for hot chocolate," he muttered.

That wasn't exactly the whole story but he wasn't sure how much he wanted to share with Robin. He loved her but she could be just as intrusive as his son, thinking she knew what was best for him all of the time. If he told her about Jeremiah and Eli's wish, about the almost kiss, she would only push harder for him to pursue something and after Thursday he wasn't sure that was the best idea anymore.

Maybe it had been the almost kiss that had her so upset. Maybe she hadn't been ready to take that kind of a step. Maybe she never even wanted it in the first place. Had he seemed pushy? He didn't think he had. He'd even paused, said her name, waited for her to confirm she wanted it. The last thing he wanted to do was push her into something she wasn't ready for. No relationship would have a chance in hell if one person plunged in headfirst without being prepared for it. He didn't want to be some rebound, the guy who was her jumping board to moving on. She'd lost her husband and he still didn't know enough details about that to know if it was too soon or not. Maybe it had been him who'd upset her.

"Steve, come on. You are obviously leaving out details. Details that I desperately need if I have any hope of helping you with your sad excuse for a love life."

"Oh, don't get all cocky. It's not like you have a girlfriend either. You have a crush you can't even manage to talk to outside of asking for extra caramel and whipped cream with your coffee. Which is not even coffee anymore by the time you're done with it. It's just a cup of sugar. You don't even drink coffee like a grown up. I'm not sure I should be taking advice from a child."

"Yeah, well I've never dated the same girl twice even though I knew it was a mistake and my best friend knew it was a mistake and tried to tell me. But I ignored my friend's advice and then married the girl, only to get divorced."

He tipped the beer bottle back, rolling his eyes and raising his middle finger even though she couldn't see him. Whatever. At least it made him feel better. Robin never hesitated to call him out on his shit. Which was probably a good thing because he needed someone to on occasion. Too bad he didn't listen to her when it mattered.