Like Real People Do

Yellow Rubber Duck

Furrowing my brow in confusion because as far as I knew, Jaxon wasn't expecting anyone, I told the twins to stay put as I swung my feet to the floor and padded towards the knocking to check it out. I lifted my eyebrows in surprise when I pulled open the door to find Trey on the other side.

"Hey," I said, stepping aside to let him in. "What are you doing here? I thought you were sick."

"Nah," he shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his basketball shorts as I shut the door behind him. "I just wasn't feeling up to going out. I figured I'd come by and see if the kids were still awake."

"You're just in time," I smiled, formulating a plan as I gestured for him to follow me towards the master bedroom. "We're about to get to the best part."

I could tell he wanted to ask what the hell that meant, but I didn't give him the chance as we entered the bedroom and I grinned at the twins. "Hey, guys, look who's here! It's Uncle Trey!"

"Unca Trey!" Finn squealed, squirming beside his sister beneath the covers. "You come to say ni ni?"

"Yep," I replied for him, unable to control the smirk which kinked my lips. "He's gonna sing for you."

If looks could kill, I'd be dead on the spot and I pressed my lips together to hold in a laugh as he stepped towards me and lowered his voice to speak. "What the hell?"

"Oh, come on, dude," I encouraged him, patting his arm supportively. "You're a professional singer."

"Yeah, but I usually have prep time for that," he sputtered out.

Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest and fixed him with a solid stare. "How much prep time do you need to sing a lullaby?"

"It's just a lot of pressure," he sighed, flashing the twins a smile because they were staring at us curiously.

My stare turned into a glare. "You've literally performed to sold out stadiums of thousands."

Deciding there wasn't any point in arguing further, a good move on his part, he let out a heavy sigh and immediately stretched his lips into a smile as he stepped towards the bed. "Alright, who wants to hear a song?"

The twins clapped their hands together excitedly and cheered and half an hour and two Disney songs later, they were fast asleep. Trey and I tiptoed out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar and taking the baby monitor with us as we entered the common area, letting out breathy laughs.

"Thanks for doing that," I said brightly, clutching the baby monitor in my hand. "I know I kind of sprung it on you."

"Yeah," he laughed, shaking his head and reaching up to scratch the back of his hair. "Well, I think they liked it."

"Definitely," I nodded, "Hey, I'd offer you a beer or something, but I don't think Jaxon keeps alcohol in the room."

Trey quirked one eyebrow upwards, a smirk playing at his lips as he turned towards the refrigerator, pulling open the door and reaching into the far back corner to pull out two bottles of Corona and smiling triumphantly. "You sure about that?"

"Oh," I said lamely. "I guess I just assumed because I've never seen him drink."

"He probably just doesn't want to do it in front of you," he laughed, finding the bottle opener with practiced ease and popping off the tops. "He does have a certain reputation to maintain, you know."

"I guess," I agreed with a soft laugh, accepting the beer with a grateful nod and making my way to the couch, wondering if I was breaking all kinds of rules. I shouldn't be drinking on the job, I knew that, but the kids were asleep and they slept like rocks, so they wouldn't wake up until the morning. And if they did, one beer wouldn't be enough to impair my judgment as to what to do if they needed any sort of attention.