I'll Be Waiting up Counting the Stars

I paced around my apartment nervously awaiting the arrival of Janie and Jack.

I dug out my old Gamecube along with some games I thought Jack might want to play. I knew he liked Mad Men, even though Janie forbid him to watch it, so I placed my season one dvd on top of the television. I also purchased a wiffle bat set so we could go out and play a little bit if he wanted to.

I was so nervous about everything. I mean, it's a good sign that she's not leaving him alone with the real dad, right? I pray to God she doesn't get back together with him. I knew that if that happened not only would I lose Janie, I'd also lose Jack. I love the kid, he's so much fun to be around. I kind of wish he belonged to Janie and I. That would make a great family.

But then again, I sort of wanted his dad to be a good guy because Jack deserves to have his real dad be his dad. Then they could be a family. I would probably move on, right?

My thoughts stopped when I heard a knock at my door. I sprang up and ran to it as fast as my boots would take me. My sweaty hands turned the knob and I saw a beautiful girl holding her son's hand.

"Austin!" He squealed as he came running at me. I laughed, picked him up and tossed him in the air once before placing him on my shoulders.

Janie chuckled and shook her head as she stepped inside and placed a few bags down on the counter. I walked over to her as the little guy was talking my ear off and looked in the bags.

"I brought a few things to help you today. I packed a lunch for him and put in some money for dinner, his favorite juice is in his sippy cup, some snacks, movies, coloring books, a change of clothes, and treat for the both of you." She smiled sweetly. I chuckled at how adorable she was.

"A treat? Are you in that bag?" I grinned.

She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" She asked seriously, glancing up at the boy who was using my head as a drum.

"I'll be fine, baby. Don't worry about a thing." I assured her.

"If you need anything don't hesitate to call!" She said.

"I won't! Now get outta here before you're late." I laughed.

"Okay." She frowned. "Hey punk, give your mama a hug." She said as she held her arms out.

I plucked Jack from my shoulders and held him out to her. She took him and squeezed him tight, like she really didn't want to leave him which I could tell she didn't.

"Be good, Jack and maybe we can go to the toy store this weekend." She told him. He grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek and she him.

She set him down and he took off toward the living room.

"Thank you." She said to me as she started walking towards the door.

"Thank you for letting me watch him." I replied with a smile.

She grinned and leaned up to give me a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye to Jack again and telling him she loved him. She walked out the door and it was just the guys.

"Austin, what are we gonna do today?" He asked excitedly from the couch.

"Anything you wanna do, buddy. We can watch Mad Men all day if you don't tell mama." I suggested.

His eyes lit up and he nodded his head frantically.

"Mad Men it is." I chuckled.

I popped in the first dvd before going to kitchen and unpacking Janie's bag. I smiled at the treats she packed us, which were two heart shaped cupcakes. She was the cutest little mom.

I looked down at my vibrating phone and opened my text.

Is he being good? I forgot to tell you he needs a nap after lunch

I rolled my eyes at her worrying. What kind of trouble did she think this kid was capable of? He was perfect.

He's great. Stop worrying or we're going to have to kidnap you from work and you better not be texting and driving!

She never sent anything back which I assume meant she heeded my warning. I slid my phone back into my pocket and went back into the living room. I sat next to Jack and we watched the show in peace. I don't really know why he likes it so much because there's no way a three and a half year old kid could understand this shit, but maybe he did. He was pretty smart.

He looked up at me periodically with a big grin on his face and finally I laughed with an equally big grin. "What?" I asked.

"You let me break mama's rules." He laughed.

"That's what dads are supposed to do." I chuckled, tickling him in the stomach. He squealed and laughed like a tickle me elmo.

After he calmed down we went back to watching the show when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, what's up?" My friend John asked.

"Not much, man. What's up with you?"

"Nothing. Hey, do you wanna come over and work on some stuff with me?" He asked.

"Ah, sorry man I would but I'm taking care of Jack right now." I told him.

"Oh, the kid of the chick you like. Nice, dude."

"Yeah, do you wanna come over and meet him?"

"Sure, why not? I'll be over in about an hour."

"Nice. See you then." I said before ending the call.

"Hey Jack, my buddy John is coming over, okay?" I asked.

"Is he cool?"

"He's very cool." I laughed.

Jack nodded in a satisfied manner and kept watching tv. After a few more episodes John walked in.

"Hey man." I greeted from the couch.

"Hey Austin, who's this cool dude?" He asked sitting on the chair across from the couch.

Jack just looked up at me, petrified of the stranger.

"It's okay, Jackie, this guy is cool, remember?" I encouraged.

He just stared at John.

"Jack say hi." I told him.

"Hi.." He said quietly and shyly. He wasn't like this when he met me at all.

"Hey, I've got a good idea, let's eat some lunch, sound good, buddy?" I asked.

He nodded and we walked into the kitchen. He ate the lunch Janie packed him quietly and then I took him into my guest bedroom for his nap. He laid down and went to sleep and I went back into the living room for John.

"I've never seen that kid so shy." I told him.

"It's cool. It's probably just because I'm more manly than you are." He joked.

"Sure, mama's boy." I jabbed.

"Whatever, my mom's awesome and you're jealous." He smiled. "I like these cupcakes by the way."

"Oh yeah, Janie made them." I smiled.

"Dude, you do realize that if you start dating her, you're an automatic dad and husband. You're gonna have to be some sort of Stepford dad or something." He pointed out.

"No, that's not the way it is with her. She really loves the kid and everything she does is for him but she's not obsessed with being the perfect family." I argued.

"Dude, she packed the kid's lunch, made you guys cupcakes. She's like from the 50's."

"You don't know her. She's just really sweet, okay?" I said forcefully.

He put his hands up in surrender. I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of me winning Janie over. Of course if we were in a relationship I'd have to be a dad. I made that mistake once and I'm not letting it happen again. I want to be Jack's dad. He needs one and he likes me.

After talking a little more I heard the door hinges of the usually unused bedroom squeak and I looked over to see Jack rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Hey buddy. Wanna play some wiffle ball?" I asked, smiling at the adorable kid. He nodded, very tired.

I helped him get his shoes on and I grabbed the equipment and Jack, John, and I walked to a little field near the apartment.

"Alright, batter up. Do you remember how do it?" I asked as I set up the tee for him, figuring that'd be easier for him than pitching.

"Yep." He nodded.

He hit the ball and it popped off the tee and went into the field. John cheered for him and Jack started warming up to the guy. By the end of the game they were laughing and high fiving like best friends.

We went back inside and I fixed Jack a snack as he played some games on the Game Cube. John decided to head out so it was just Jack and I again.

The rest of the day we played video games and I ordered a pizza. We were in the middle of Mario Kart Racing when Janie walked inside.

"Mama!" Jack cried as he dropped the controller and raced to hug her.

"Hi sweetie!" She grinned as she bent down to hug him. She looked so exhausted but she was genuinely happy to see him.

I got up and walked over to them. When Jack took a pause from telling her about the day, I interrupted.

"Hey, how was your day?" I asked.

"It was fine. I hear yours was fun." She smiled and she picked him up and bounced him on her hip.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun, right buddy?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

She gave him another kiss on the forehead and rested her head on top of his. "He was good, though?" She asked.

"Perfect." I told her.

She smiled and walked over to me pulling my shoulders down to give me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted so bad to move my lips to left just a bit.

"Gross!" Jack cried out.

I smiled and poked him to which he giggled.

Janie picked up the bag she packed and got ready to walk out the door.

"Say goodbye and thank you to Austin." She told him.

"Bye daddy!"