After I got Tom to invite me over for dinner, I started devising a plan of how to break the news. Since Jadon and Allie would no doubt be there, we would have to have the conversation and hash this out.

Allie would have nowhere to run. Tom would definitely be mad, but seeing his grandson's father step up when he found out he had a kid would show maturity. Responsibility.

Besides, it's not like I even knew. She knew who I was and apparently cyber-stalked me all this time, she could have told me, but she didn't. That's on her.

How else would she have known that I had a few good experiences in college when I wasn't working or studying? Bet she didn't check on that, though. Only focused on whatever I was tagged in, I'm sure.

I have to hand it to her, though. I probably would have been reluctant at first because she probably had him middle of my freshman year and during that time I didn't care about anybody but myself. I was studying and getting laid at house and dorm parties.

If we met at Spring Break, he would have been made in early April. So he was born... January? December?

I found Tom's house easily and saw the tricycle on the grass in the front. There weren't too many toys outside, the front looked manicured. Tom took really good care of his house. Glad my son has grown up in a safe home.

My son. Yikes.

How is that kind of conversation supposed to even start? I mean, I practiced possible openers, but I'm hoping maybe she'll break first. Or that Tom will notice. I mean, most of our interactions have been outdoors, so Tom hasn't noticed my eyes yet with sunglasses on, but he definitely will inside the house.

I knock on the door and Tom answers with a friendly smile and handshake. "Hey, come on in," he waves me inside, "you're in luck. Allie took Jadon so we can eat real food tonight," he laughs.

That little... So she wants to play hardball. I can play hardball. I excel at a challenge, especially if I see something I want and I absolutely want to have some sort of involvement in Jadon's life.

"Real food?" Vaguely, I remember an affinity she had for cereal or something.

"She and Jadon are vegans. Tonight," he held up some grill tongs, "we get man food!"

It's a good thing I chose not to bring Katrina because even I am still processing this and Tom and Jadon still don't know. Plus, Katrina isn't very subtle and would probably freak out. I need her to freak out when it's just the two of us in my house so no one else will see her probable meltdown.

Also, I don't know that she would hold in her adult language in front of Jadon and he clearly doesn't need to learn Katrina's favorite four-letter words.

"I got the grill on out back; there's beer in the fridge if you want some. Otherwise, there's water, and whatever vegan crap Allie and the boy drink."

I nod and head to the kitchen after Tom showed me the back where he was outside grilling. I walked into the kitchen and looked at all the pictures on the fridge.

There's one of Allie when she was little with a woman, I'm guessing her mom. I'm pretty sure Tom's wife died since I haven't heard anyone talk about her. There's another one of Allie holding Jadon in the hospital after he was born. She looked tired. The labor must have been rough. There's a couple of pieces of paper with crayon all over, drawn by Jadon and then I see something I wasn't expecting. There's a picture of Allie and Jadon with some guy who has Jadon on his shoulders and is kissing Allie on her temple.

They look like the picture-perfect family.

"Hey, you lost in there," I hear Tom call.

"No, just getting some water, thanks, I'll be right there." I grab water from the fridge and head out back to sit with Tom.

Dinner goes smooth, we get to know one another a little. He tells me about his college days at USC, then how he met Allie's mother and followed her home and married her. He started as the assistant coach for the football team and then needed the extra income to pay for his wife's medical bills so he worked double-time to coach the basketball team.

"That's a lot of hard work, Tom. So why are you giving up the football team now?" I asked.

"Well, I got the team into a good position over the years, and have been trying to get the basketball team up so I knew I needed to choose them. But after Allie had Jadon, I wanted to help her out more since the guy wasn't around, and I'm not going to have her pay for daycare and babysitters when she's trying to pay her way through college and everything else. Not after everything she went through."

"Oh, did she ever say anything about him? The guy, I mean," I ask, wanting to see where he stands on the issue and what lies she probably told about me being a horrible person. Granted, I wasn't my best self that night.

"Not much, just that he went to Bear Valley and dumped her out of his car after he was done. She said he never even knew her name before he took everything from her. I swear though," his face got a touch red, "if I ever find the guy, he's getting acquainted with my knuckles in his damn face."

Shit, well, maybe I should work on this slowly with Allie before telling Tom. I know he's not going to be pleased with me when he finds out, but if I can establish a friendship beforehand, maybe he won't go so hard on me.

"Enough about that wasted life, though. Tell me, what have you been up to since you beat us for state championships that year?"

Fuck, I feel lost right now. "Well, I got my degree in communications. But college wasn't that exciting," normally I wouldn't mind talking about all the girls and spring breaks, but Tom probably wouldn't want to know once he found out I was the one he wanted to punch so bad.

"You have a girlfriend or anything or are you just going that bachelor-for-life route?"

"Oh, yeah, I have a girlfriend. We just got serious. She hints at marriage often but we aren't really there just yet." She needs to stop totaling her cars and demanding everything from daddy.

"Ah," he nods and takes a swig of his beer, "yeah, don't put yourself in that until you're absolutely ready. Once it happens, you get kids in the middle, things happen. If you're not fully committed to another person's issues and responsibilities, you'll end up miserable."

"I guess," I shrugged. I think Kat is just the person I know. There are issues, but she'll grow out of them eventually.

"My daughter has had this boyfriend for the past year or so, and he's great. They grew up together and all," he takes another drink. "It took them twenty years to realize they liked one another and even admit to it. Now he wants something serious and she doesn't even see it."

He takes another drink. "He asked me for my permission to marry her the other night when he was here." Great, some guy she will probably allow Jadon to call his dad when I'm right here trying to get to know him.

This may end up being some kind of court battle I'm not ready to handle. I really need to work my charms with Allie so we don't have to go that far.

"I didn't realize men still ask for permission to marry women in this day and age." It's not exactly like we pay a damn dowry or something for them. They have, you know, brains.

I notice the more Tom drinks, the more honest and open he becomes.

"Well, Ted knows how much I love my family and holds a lot of respect. Besides, his dad and I are close so he just wants to do things old-fashioned, I guess. Also, I know how nervous he is about it asking her since it took him twenty years to even ask her out. He won't propose for a while, anyway."

"Dad! We're home," I hear Allie call. Suddenly Jadon comes running outside through the sliding glass door and jumps into Tom's lap. Someday soon, he will be running to me. Just need to get through the hard part.

"Hey kiddo, did you bring me anything?" Tom looks down at Jadon while holding him steady on his lap.

"No, but mommy took me to the bouncy place and jumped with me on all the tramp-leens and then she let me jump in the ball pit!" This kid just beams up at Tom and Tom engages with him like he's a kid too.

"Oh, so what you're telling me is that you're gonna sleep so great tonight, right?"

"Huh?"

Tom laughs at Jadon's confusion. Yeah, hyper kid, alright. If he didn't have my eyes, the energy is proof enough. And the fact he looks exactly like me.

How has Tom not noticed the same eyes?

Allie steps out and jumps at the sight of me. Can't run anywhere now, can we?

"Allie, you remember Lucas."

"Mhm," she avoids eye contact with him and just watches her son. No, our son.

"Come sit with us, we're just talking."