Ideas come to you on their own. Sometimes trying to think of it too hard does more damage than good, then suddenly, your brain fuzzes and the idea is there, so clear and clean that you beat yourself up for not thinking of it before. That's all super and great, but sadly, hasn't happened to me, right now.

There is only a week until Aidan's early celebration, and my only plan still revolves around counting on other women.

Sometimes I am amazed by myself what kind of stuff I think about while I'm driving. I think if I said only a quarter of my thoughts out loud, I'd lose my job, get slapped, have Devon taken away from me, and get jail time.

Well, one of the good things is I remember to get the flowers for Annabelle. It's the safe option to go with flowers since we haven't known each other for that long, and... she's kind of vulnerable. I don't want to show up with teddy bears and plushie hearts with the number 30 on them.

Blue iris bouquet is waiting on the passenger's seat for me to hand it to Annabelle already. I got her blue, purplish flowers on purpose. She's ginger, people probably constantly make jokes by giving her roses that can match her hair.

What I'm more worried about is smoothly pulling this off. She's a grown-up and still heads over heels in love with her ex. So, she won't take this the wrong way, will she? 'Cause even if I specify this is strictly for her birthday, women just have this annoying tendency of 'trying to read between the lines', while there are no lines to read in-between.

By parking my car and going up to the apartment, I don't feel any less nervous, it only gets worse. I really start to panic, because what Annabelle and I have if you can even say it that way, is something nice. She takes care of the baby, I come to annoy her, and occasionally we get dirty.

 That woman can keep up with me.

So, here I am, standing before my own apartment. Funnily, it reminds me after we first did it and what a coward I was to confront her about it. But this time it's worse; I have flowers that are meant for her.

What I can do is to just walk in confidently like nothing in the world has changed because nothing has. I'm still a my-old-self, egoistic sex addict. So, I do that.

I'm a sex addict, and I'm hella confident.

I burst in and stop myself from going all cliche and announcing that I'm home. But then, I can't see her or Devon anywhere nearby. Maybe I should've said something, like 'Hi, I'm home' or, 'Missed me?'.

Then I hear melodious murmuring from Devon's room, and head there after I leave the flowers on one of the stands.

The door is slightly ajar and I push it open only to see Annabelle holding Devon and singing him a lullaby.

"Frère Jacques, frère Jacques, dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines. Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong."

I lean on the doorframe and my American ass is amazed at how she sings in French, and especially how Devon reacts to it. It's as if he was knocked out by pills or a really tough blow at a face.

"Frère Jacques, frère Jacques, dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines. Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong."

I don't know if it's the swaying melody or the gentle high peak of her voice, but it's even putting me to sleep. Devon must be completely powerless against her charm.

She starts singing again, but this time she looks up while she's in the middle of her lyrics "Frère Jacques, frère Jacques, dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines. Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong."

I smile and give her a wave when she just smiles. Without interrupting the lyrics and the melody, she gets up from the floor with Devon in her arms and lowers him down in the crib. While she's detracting from the room, she never stops singing; her voice just gets quieter and quieter, until it's time to close the door and leave Devon be, the melody probably stuck in his dreams.

Just before she closes the door, I go get flowers that I left on a stand and wait for her to finish.

She smiles lightly and speaks in a quiet voice, as if that will wake up Devon, "Hi, you're home early?"

"Uhm, not really. The traffic wasn't that jammed as it usually is."

"Oh, goodie then. There's lunch on the counter. I hope you like pesto pasta with roasted asparagus?" She approaches the topic very carefully in case I might not be for that kind of lunch. Honestly, I don't care what I eat if she's the one cooking. "I think it's still warm, though."

"Okay, fine." God, why is this making me so nervous? "Listen, Annabelle," I make a move like I'm gonna stop her, even though she's standing in one place.

Why am I such an idiot?

She looks at me with hopeful but slightly confused eyes, and for a moment I regret even trying to approach this topic. She's not mad that I didn't know about her birthday or anything, so this is all so unnecessary.

Ugh.

"It's... kinda weird, honestly, but you told me you celebrated your birthday a while back and, I don't know, I thought this would be appropriate." I start and then I shut up like I already gave her the flowers that I'm hiding behind my back. I'm behaving like a teenage virgin, it's embarrassing.

Annabelle lifts both brows and smiles in all the uneasiness. I think I'm beginning to creep her out. "What would be?"

"Oh!" I chuckle, more like whimper, and stretch out my hands and nearly hit her with the flowers, 'cause talent, "These are for you, so... Happy birthday?"

Her eyes widen at the sight of flowers and she grabs them with haste. With disbelief in her eyes, she stares at the flowers and smiles widely "Oh my God, these are beautiful!"

Well, what does a guy say in this situation? Do I just... shut up and creepily stare at her, or do I say something that would make me look even more stupid? It's like Trump-Clinton elections where you gotta pick a lesser evil.

She looks up, blushing of course, but I think every girl blushes when she gets flowers, "And you got me blue ones! I always get red flowers!"

Hah! Got that right!

"It crossed my mind, but I figure it'd be a stupid joke." Why... Can't... I... Just... Shut up!

"No, this is wonderful!" Annabelle buries her face in the flowers, and looks up at me while her eyes, nose and lips are surrounded by blue petals, "Thank you for this, Nathan." Thankfully, she doesn't give me time to answer, because I have no fucking idea what to tell her. "And you got me blue iris, like hope and faith."

"Yeah, I did, huh?" Totally thought about that shit, yeah. At least this one time luck was on my side. "I guess, you could use some of that."

But who cares about me! "I gotta put these in water!" Annabelle runs to my kitchen, gets one of my vases for which I don't even know existed, and pours in the water, then sets the entire package on my table. Have I bought flowers for myself?

I see how excited she is and even though it's a relief to see her be like that, I... I don't want her to take things the wrong way. There are nice ways to explain that, right? I mean, if there are no hard feelings, then no problem, but what if there are?

It'd be great if I stopped sweating, though.

"Annabelle, just this one thing," I interrupt her while she's sorting the petals one way or another, even though it all looks the same. Blue flowers in a vase.

"Yeah, what's up?" It starts well, then she squeals, "I can't believe you got me flowers."

I'm better off dead.

I come closer and lean on the table, but she smacks my hand away. Like I'm bothering her while rearranging positions. Seriously - women! "Look, I don't want you to take things the wrong way, I got you these flowers for your birthday. Getting you nothing would feel kind of douchy, and honestly, I didn't know what else to get you."

She snorts a little and looks down "Jeez, Nathan, l won't turn crazy because of flowers. I'm just excited because it's a really nice gesture, that's all. Especially because an asshole didn't want to look like one." In the end, she winks at me. 

"So, we're... good?" To translate it: we'll still have sex sometime, right? No feelings attached.

"Yeah, of course," her signature bubbly smile appears, then she steps back and admires the arrangement from afar. She speaks like she's half present and half lost in her thoughts, "I rarely got flowers, even when I was with Mason."

So, the jerk has a name!

"Your ex?"

"Mhm," she hums, "I mean, there were other qualities and other ways for him to express his sweet side, but I never got flowers. Even on Valentine's Day, I'd get all sorts of stuff, from keys to his heart to teddybears saying 'I Love You', but never a single rose."

"If I'm completely honest, I think the only time I gave Patty flowers was for my own prom. I don't remember her being excited about it."

Annabelle tilts her head to the side, extends her hand to fix one more petal, or more like caress it, and smiles very bitchy-like, "Well, Patty is kinda a bitch, so... Can you actually use her for any kind of measurement?"

... Accurate.

I snort at her question. That's the thing. She's so bubbly remarks like that coming from her sound so strange but so fresh. "She's the only one I can use as a comparison. She was my only real and, in a way, serious girlfriend."

"I think it was for the best that you two broke up." She just drops a bomb like that. I'm not stunned by it because she's talking about my failed relationship, I'm over that, but for once someone is not just blaming me. It's true she doesn't know the whole story, but it looks like she doesn't even need to hear any of it.

"You think?" I'm not sure why I want her to elaborate this or make her try to think about this some more because frankly, I'm pretty satisfied with her opinion as it is now.

"Nathan, let me tell you something about women like Patty. She is probably great and energetic in all kinds of ways. I mean, I can imagine you two as a power couple."

How Annabelle starts describing us, is kind of accurate. We were all over each other, more usually me on top of her, but let's spare the details. I think people hated us for liking each other so much.

"But, in all honesty, while it may have been exciting, you'd be one of the love-hate relationships. Sorry, but you're a stubborn guy who likes to play with his charms, and not exactly someone who would enjoy following her rules. It'd be more likely for you to get a plate at your face and end up at the E.R. than reel through the relationship with talking about problems and compromising, maybe even with eventual make-up sex."

I just stare at her because it's fucking creepy how accurate her description is. Patty didn't exactly throw a plate at me, but she did spill wax on me once because I forgot about her cat's funeral. I know it wasn't the best of situations, but I don't believe I deserved having boiling wax spilt over me that was clearly meant for a whole different situation and not a fight! 

"I agree with everything you said, except one thing. I'd end up with a bloody face, have make-up sex, and then go to the E.R." I say proudly.

Annabelle wants to give me a stare that could slap the shit outta me, but when she sees me grinning, she just erupts in a chuckle "Of course, you would. You'd charm your way through, huh?"

"It's not my fault I'm that charming." Even though, it kind of is. It takes practice so you know how to put those charms to good use.

"Who should I thank then? Your mother?"

...

"Yeah, no."

Annabelle looks at me strangely, probably surprised how the colour of my voice changed and how snappy I suddenly became. I can take many jokes. Many jokes of all sorts. I can even survive all screwing-your-brother's-girl insults, but when someone compares me to my mother... I always clench my fists at it while the shiver runs down my spine. For one, I'm trying to be a good parent to Devon. Maybe I'm not really succeeding, but I'm trying and doing my best. I make sure he's okay, even though sometimes I'd rather not. The point is, he is fed, he is warm, he is a happy baby with a hot babysitter running after him and wiping his ass, while I play with him. I don't intend to flirt with Devon's girlfriends once he's older, or leave him to take care of himself at the age of nine.

"Touchy subject?" Annabelle asks, her body still turned towards the vase with flowers, while she tries to bring her eyes to look up at me.

"My mother and I don't get along since the divorce." Like on time, my phone rings and saves me from this situation. From knowing Annabelle, she probably wouldn't dig further and let me be, but better safe than sorry. I look at the screen and smile when I see it's Daniel. "Sorry, gotta take this. Keep, er, admiring the flowers, I guess?"

She probably smiles and rolls her eyes, while I answer Daniel's call, "Hey, pal. What's up?"

"Hi, Nate. I'm just calling you to confirm everything about Aidan's birthday if that's fine? I'm not bothering anything, am I?"

"Nope, I'm home and about to have lunch. So, what about the birthday?" I look at Annabelle and see her smile when our eyes meet.

Danny sighs and speaks with a heavy heart "Don't bring the kid, Nathan. Patty doesn't know about your super-evil plan, but don't do this. Just play it cool, okay?"

"Danny, if you like it or not, this child will be a part of the family. It's time I start introducing him to everyone, don't you think? And come on, do you think Patty will really mind it that much?" When I say that, Annabelle in the background scoffs, but not intentionally, since the next moment she's covering her mouth with her hand and trying not to laugh out loud.

"Yes, she would. I think all these months clouded your memory of her." He pauses, more to calm down, and tries to speak normally, "I don't know why is this so important to you. The only thing that will happen is that Aidan's birthday will get be ruined."

"That's not my intention. I want to give him the best birthday he has ever had. I just want to ruin it for Patty for believing she is entitled to everything, cutting my nephew from my life, forbidding my own brother from talking to me, Danny, this is not normal. I'm not gonna play it cool, because it's anything but!" I sigh when I'm finished with a milder explosion. Then I remember how hard was it for him to speak a minute ago. "Is everything okay over there?"

The first thing I hear is static due to short silence, but he's quickly back, probably after deciding what to tell me, "Yeah, just wedding stuff, Aidan stuff and baby stuff. You know, the stuff."

I smirk "Aha, the stuff." I look back at Annabelle who's still looking at flowers and rearranging them again. I don't know what's with that, but all I can think about is math stuff, the good stuff.

"Fine, bring the baby then, but don't turn it into your own parade. If you could have raised me when you were eleven, you can also behave like an adult for a few hours when you're thirty."

"Harsh words, Danny. Where's this all coming from?"

"I'm just a little stressed about the baby deadline and the wedding and everything, so don't make this even worse for me."

"For the record, ruining Aidan's birthday is not on my agenda. I just want to bring Devon with me. Whether you and Patty like it or not, Aidan and Devon are now cousins." If I'm lucky enough to keep him.

Daniel sighs loudly enough for me to know Patty's been probably giving him a hard time about everything. "I'm not the one who needs convincing and you know it. But really, you can't get a babysitter to be alone with Devon? Don't you actually have one?"

"I-" Then it strikes me. The idea. It's here, so obvious, so perfect, provocative and evil... Annabelle turns in that moment when she hears my voice trail off, but I smile when our eyes meet, and probably in that weird villain-kind of way. "I actually do, yes."

"Then just ask her?"

"Yeah, I'll do that. Good idea, though." I smile even wider and by the looks, Annabelle is preparing to run for the hills.

Daniel is more than surprised over the phone. He suspects I'm onto something since I rarely let anyone change my mind. In fact, I never do, I just pretend to do that. "You'll do that? You're suddenly fine with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be? It's a perfect solution to everything." It's your funeral, Daniel.

"Wow, okay. Phew, that's sorted then. Thanks for hearing me out, man." No, thank you, Danny!

"No problem. See you in a week?"

"That's right. 2 o'clock. Will you make it?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." This is gonna be too good, and Patty will lose her fucking shit.

I hang up, and I realise from the moment I looked at Annabelle earlier, I never looked in another direction. Maybe that's why she hasn't run away yet.

"Nathan? You're freaking me out." Her whisper is convinced she found herself in a horror movie in which she trusted the person she never should've probably met.

Slowly, step by step, I walk to her, like she did yesterday when she busted me watching porn. "You, dear Annabelle, are the crucial part of my plan for the birthday party."

She lifts a brow and her mimic changes completely. I guess... She didn't expect the party to be connected to my weird creeper-stare. "I am?"

"Now you're familiar with the story of Patty and me, so tell me, what does Patty hate the most about me?"

"Your ego?"

I stop and tilt my head "Really? Please, cooperate, okay?"

"But isn't it?"

"No! I just wouldn't stay with her."

"Because of your ego."

I take a breath, ready to give her my next grand speech, but then I realise she's kinda right "Okay, you get a point for that. But look, Daniel told me she was completely speechless when he told her about me adopting Devon. She just wanted to have kids with me, but I would always tell her I don't want a family."

She nods "Which is why you're bringing Devon along."

"Correct. But listen, I broke up with her, so I could be commitment-free. Imagine what would she do, if I, hypothetically, showed up with a lovely girl by my side and a baby!"

Annabelle doesn't register it at that very moment, "She'd rip your balls off." Then everything starts sinking in and her eyes widen gradually as seconds pass by "You better not mean me?"

I lift a brow and smile "Well, you are the only lovely girl I see here."

"Oh, no! I won't be a part of your scam! I may have emotional issues but I won't be publicly executed by your psycho ex!"

"Oh, don't worry, she'll go after me, not you."

Annabelle furrows her brows "You really slept with so many women and still know nothing about them?"

Okay, now that's ugly.

"I know that they usually like this," I smile and pull her close until I can lean in and kiss her. Not deeply, not too shyly, but it's a firm kiss, and hell, does she appreciate it. Just as much as I do.

I slowly close the kiss, and she carefully opens her eyes. "This is not fair. I won't let you charm your way through this!"

"Of course you won't." And so I kiss her again, 'cause where's the harm in that. And she's a really good kisser.

She slowly pushes me away, so she ends up breaking the kiss. She's looking at me, kind of pissed, kind of impressed, then she sighs "Fine! But because I want none of your little stallion wiggling around me the entire day!"

I nod like she totally convinced me, and come on, it must've been the kiss that changed her mind! "Ohh, yeah, of course. That's a tragedy."

"I mean it!" She tries to sound angry, or maybe she's just nervous because I dragged her into a battle with my ex. "I better go home and process what I just agreed on."

"Yeah, sure. Just make sure you'll be ready next week, it's gonna be a big day."

Annabelle shakes her head and takes the entire vase with the flowers. I guess if she agreed to do that, I can at least let her take that vase with her. Then she just swings her purse and her jacket over her shoulder and stops in the middle of the apartment. "Were you really worried about me taking the flower thing wrong, but not the kissing part?"

Uh...

"I mean, I-" I don't even know what to say at this point. Isn't giving flowers way more personal than kissing? I freaking slept with other women and they didn't take it as a marriage certificate. If I had given them flowers, who knows what would've happened.

Annabelle chuckles and sighs "Ignorance is bliss, right?"

What's that supposed to mean!

"Bye, Nathan," she smiles and off she goes.

It all ends on a very... weird note, to be honest. What was that thing with ignorance? That I'm ignorant? Well, if that's what she's saying, she can give me those flowers back.

But, man, just imagine Patty's face when she'll see Annabelle with me.

I'll probably regret it, but it'll definitely be worth it!

A/N: Was that anywhere close to what you were expecting? I think Nathan is losing it xD

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