Second Chance(37)

You’ve got this, he told himself. One step at a time.



Monday and Tuesday passed in a stressful blur. Jack was flying solo at work because his predecessor Mike had left. In some ways it was nice to be left to his own devices, but the buck stopped with Jack now. If he messed up, Mike wasn’t around to help him fix things. Somehow Jack got through both days without any major disasters. He left one class without cover on Tuesday afternoon, only realising at the last minute, so he had to sit in with them himself. But fortunately they were a Year Seven class and were reasonably well behaved for the most part.

By the time he got home he was craving some light relief, so he shot Nate a text.

Hey, how’s things?

Nate replied about twenty minutes later with: Not bad thanks. How are you?

Fine. Do you want to meet up again?

Yeah. I’d love to. When were you thinking, and what do you want to do?

Soon? And I’d like to get naked with you again if you’re up for that :)

Haha, Nate replied, shortly followed by: Well that was to the point. And yeah. I’m up for that. Where?

Jack sighed. God he missed having his own place. Deciding it would be easier to talk than text, he hit call.

Nate answered immediately. “Hi.”

The sound of Nate’s voice made Jack smile. “Hi, sexy.” Nate chuckled. “I don’t know when my parents are both out next. Any chance I can come over to yours? If not, we could meet for a walk or something.”

“I’m not getting naked outdoors!”

Jack snorted. “Yeah. I meant just a walk instead of the nakedness.” He didn’t only want to see Nate for sex. He craved his company too.

“I haven’t talked to my mum and Cass yet. But I’ll broach the subject tonight. If all goes well, maybe you can come over tomorrow?”

“Okay, that sounds cool.” Jack was relieved. If they could meet at Nate’s that would make life much easier.

“I’ll chat to them later and I’ll let you know, okay?”

“Sure. Fingers crossed.”

“Right, I’d better get back to work, but I’ll be in touch soon. I’m sure it will probably be fine.”



Nate knocked on Cass’s door after she got home from school.

“What?” Her muffled voice came from the other side.

“It’s me. Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Nate let himself in, closing the door behind him. Cass was sitting on her bed with her laptop open. Books and papers implied she was studying, which was good to see.

He sat on the edge of her bed and she moved her legs over to give him more space. “What’s up?” she asked.

“You know what you said about me seeing Jack… that you were okay with it?”

Cass nodded, looking at him curiously. “Yeah. Course. It doesn’t bother me. Why?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d be comfortable with him spending time with me here sometimes. With our living situations, it’s hard for us to have much privacy otherwise. But I don’t want it to be weird for you.”

“Dad. It’s fine. Isn’t it Gran you should be asking for permission anyway?” Cass smirked. “She might make you keep your bedroom door open.” That had been Nate’s rule before Cass turned sixteen.

“Very funny.” Nate felt his cheeks heat.

“I don’t mind at all. Just make sure you’re safe.” Cass’s grin was wicked; she was enjoying this way too much.

Nate tried to glare, but his lips twitched and he gave into the laughter that he couldn’t hold back. “Cheeky monkey.” That was a nickname he hadn’t used for her in years, but seemed apt now.

Once his amusement passed, he studied his daughter. Her wavy brown hair fell thick around her shoulders and she stared back at him, dark eyes serious again.

“How are things with you, Cass?”

“Fine.”

That was always the response he got. He tried to read more into her expression, but it didn’t give anything away. “Are you sure? You seem settled here now, but you know you can talk to me if there are any problems.” Nate didn’t have any real reason to worry. She’d been keeping to curfews and although she’d obviously been drinking and probably smoking weed sometimes, she was never too wasted when he picked her up after parties. He just wanted to know a little more about her life.

“Everything’s okay, honestly.”

“Any boyfriends?”

“Daaaaaad.” She flushed and scowled at him.

“Or girlfriends?”

That brought her smile back, but she shook her head. “No. I’m not into girls.” A short pause. “There’s a boy I like… but I don’t think he’s interested in me.”

“Well he must be stupid then.”

She shrugged. “He’s already got a girlfriend, and she’s super popular and perfect. So.”

Nate put out a hand and squeezed Cass’s ankle. “I’m sorry. Unrequited crushes are the worst.” He should know.

“Yeah.” She gave a half-smile. “They suck.”

After his conversation with Cass, Nate went downstairs to find his mum in the kitchen. He offered to help prepare dinner and she set him to work peeling and chopping carrots while she did the same to some potatoes.