Free Reed's Reckoning by Ahren Sanders

holding out. I roll my eyes at him because it’s about the tenth present he’s brought Davis in the last few weeks. They have started out harmless but have gradually gotten more extreme. I open my mouth to tell him he has to stop when Davis turns to look at me. His smile is so big his cheeks are going to be sore.
    “Look, Mama, Weed got me a pwesent.” He runs to me and shoves the box in my hands.
    Tears fill my eyes when I see the Lego set. He’s going to build a Lego ship with his son tonight. I look at him and he’s staring at me worried. I grin and let him know I’m okay and wipe my eyes.
    “Davis baby, this is awesome. Why don’t you go play for a few minutes so Reed and I can talk? We’ll open this after dinner.”
    He takes off running to his room. I get us a drink and motion for him to follow me to the porch. It a safe place for us to talk without Davis hearing everything.
    “Tell me what happened. I’m thrilled, but your phone call took me off guard.” He opens both our beers and sits down on the swing next to me.
    “Travis texted me and asked to meet him outside the daycare today before we picked up the kids. He wanted to talk to me.”
    “What the fuck? Why does he have your phone number?” His body tenses and he glares at me.
    “All the parents share numbers. He’s a single parent too. Miles’s mom had an affair and he divorced her. We rely on each other sometimes and the kids have play dates. What’s your problem?”
    “My problem is he wants you. I see it in the way he watches you at the practices. He basically eye fucks you every time you walk up.”
    “I hardly think—”
    “Ari, I would know because I do it too every time I see you.” He interrupts and scoots closer.
    “You can’t say things like that, Reed. We agreed this is about Davis.”
    “No, you agreed. I didn’t argue. I know what I want.”
    “Anyways, he met me in the parking lot and asked about you. He said he didn’t want to get in my business, but it was pretty obvious who Davis’s dad was. Apparently, the last few weeks at practice people have been watching us and talking about it. Travis overheard a woman tell another mother she couldn’t wait to tell her friends that her son played soccer with an NFL player’s son.”
    “How did you respond?”
    “I told him our story was complicated and dated all the way back to college. I knew you before you were rich and famous. I didn’t go into details, but told him I kept Davis from you. Now that you knew the truth, you were going to be a part of his life.”
    “And that’s why you want to tell him tonight?”
    “Yes, his first game is tomorrow and I don’t want him to hear it from someone else. He’s so young; he shouldn’t have too many questions. If you’re not ready, let me know.”
    “Fuck, Ari, I’ve been ready since he called me the fish man. It hurt like hell. And once we tell him, I want to tell my family and friends.”
    Panic sets in. Reed’s mom was wonderful to me the few times I met her at FSU. I never met his sister but it scares me that they will hate me. Will they hate Davis too?
    “I see the fear on your face, stop worrying. My family is going to be confused, but excited. Hell, I’ll try and hold them off for a few weeks, but I’m pretty sure they’ll drive up as soon as they find out.”
    “Reed—”
    “No, stop. Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. Let’s get through tonight and then let me build a Lego ship with my son. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about what’s next.”
    “Okay.” I shake my head and relax against the swing.
    Once we know what we want to say to him, we go back in and I get the plates for dinner. Davis rushes in but Reed helps him back to the bathroom to wash his hands.
    When we sit down, my phone rings and I see Sophie’s name flash across the screen.
    “Hey, Soph, we just sat down to eat. Can I call you back?”
    “Yeah, but tell me really quick what time is the soccer game tomorrow