𝖠𝗍𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗑𝗂𝖺 | 𝖬𝗂𝖼𝗁𝖺𝖾𝗅 𝖫𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖽𝗈𝗇

Chapter Two

"Listen kid, I know I'm not your dad. I'm not pretending to be, but you gotta listen to me when I say to cut your mom some slack."

Nothing happened.

It was a peaceful night for both of them. Jo more so than Michael, due to the boatload of information she had dropped on him. He didn't sleep a wink, yet sleeping beside her made his stone cold heart feel oddly warm. A passionate make out session had died down into a small awkwardness, eyes staring into each other's when Jo laid down on her pillow, shyly asking him to lay down with her. He never did get under the blankets. That felt oddly intimate. He watched her for 16 minutes until she fell asleep before his attention went to every single object in her room, studying everything he could about the new life he'd learned about her.

Michael couldn't even begin to fathom what she'd told him. He couldn't stop thinking about. Couldn't stop thinking about him. About the children in the next room. Was it worth all this? The warm feeling he got in the pit of his stomach? Was it worth all this trouble?

Apparently, it was, because when morning came, he didn't want to leave her. He'd left quietly around six o'clock, not able to stay in bed any longer. He felt almost guilty, sneaking out, but if the children had school, he knew she'd be busy. He'd see her at work.

Michael had returned to his lonely mansion for the remaining hours he had left before work, showering and anxiously pondering when he'd see Jo. He didn't know how to move forward. He felt stuck. Just like he always did. But at the same time, his life had suddenly never felt more exciting.

When eight o'clock came, Michael was waiting for her by her desk, arms crossed and back to the wood railing. She was surprised to see him, he could tell that immediately, surprised that after everything he found it, he still wanted something to do with her.

Three days past.

Three days that were a strange bliss for both Michael and Jo. They didn't do much work at the cooperative besides sit in his office and talk, have lunch together and go for coffee in the afternoon. He wanted to know everything about her life that he could find out, and Jo told him everything. She talked more about her childhood, her relationship with Derek, her children. He could tell how proud she was of them.

The elephant in the room was the said status of their friendship, and or relationship. Neither of them would outrightly bring it up. They continued doing what they wanted. They were friends, growing increasingly closer together in bond.

It was a saturday and Michael planned on going over to meet Jo's children, He was unbelievably nervous and he couldn't understand why. They were children. Much shorter and much younger. He had nothing to worry about. But he knew how much those girls meant to her without even had met them yet. And she had outrightly told him that they came first, so if things got complicated, it would be over. So naturally, he wanted to make a good impression.

His first stop was the toy store.

•

"I brought toys." Michael held plastic bags in each hand full of toys, standing nearly five feet away from her door.

Jo covered her mouth to keep from laughing, closing the front door behind her as she stepped out. "You didn't need to do that, Michael."

He swallowed uneasily. "Well," He shifted the bags in hand.

"Thank you." She reached out to grab his arm. "That was sweet of you."

"I didn't have a clue what to get." He said begrudgingly. "I just- uh, wanted to make a good impression, I suppose."

"Well, toys are the perfect way to do that." She chuckled, turning to open the door. "You ready? They're in the living room."

Michael followed her in, though he wanted to turn on his heel and bolt out the door. Her home seemed much more lively in the day time. The curtains were open and the kitchen smelled of pancakes, a mixture of sunlight and syrup in the atmosphere.