Dirty Laundry
2
2015-
"Hey babe," Alex greeted, stepping into his backyard.
Riley and Summer had been waiting for Alex to get back from him meeting since Summer had gotten out of school. Riley was laying on a beach chair, doing some work on her laptop while Summer was in the pool.
"Hey you," Riley beamed at the sight of Alex when she looked up from her computer screen.
"Alex!" Summer shouted from the pool, waving her arms at him excitedly.
"Hey kid," he smiled. "Having fun?"
"Of course! I've been practicing my diving," she explained, gesturing to the diving board at the end of the long, rectangular shaped pool.
"Awesome!" Alex nodded, walking over to Riley. "You look relaxed," he pointed out, leaning down to peck a quick kiss to her lips.
"Oh dear, don't let the sun kissed skin fool you. I am about thirty seconds away from a nervous break down."
Riley ran an art gallery in Los Angeles and was in the middle of planning a showcase for a up-and-coming artist. It was a pretty big deal for her and her team and Riley wanted to make sure everything went perfect.
"Well, there's something I needed to talk to you about, so why don't you take a break from almost having a nervous break down for a few minutes, huh?" Alex suggested, taking a seat in the chair next to her.
"Everything okay?" she asked warily, closing her computer and swinging her legs over the side of the beach chair so she faced Alex.
"Everything is fine," he assured her. "Promise."
"Okay, so then what's up?" she pressed.
"Well," he started but was interrupted by Summer calling his name from the pool.
Alex looked over to find the young girl standing atop the diving board.
"Watch!" she shouted before she jogged down the diving board and made an impressive jump into the water.
"Nice job, kid," Alex complimented once Summer had resurfaced.
"Thanks!" she said swimming towards the ledge. "I'm going to start working on my flip now," she decided, which earned a groan from Riley.
"Sounds good," Alex encouraged. "Practice makes perfec- Ow!" He was interrupted by Riley punching his leg. "What was that for?"
"I would really appreciate it if you didn't encourage my daughter to practice things that could potentially lead to her breaking her neck," Riley scolded him.
Alex let out a chuckle that earned him another jab to the leg.
"I'm sorry!" he said quickly. "But you know as well as I do that she'll try to flip twice and by the third go round, she'll look like a pro."
Riley just huffed. She really had nothing to say because she knew Alex was right. Things always came easy to Summer. Even as a baby, learning to walk and potty training were almost effortless.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Riley asked, resting her elbows on her knees and holding her chin in her hands.
"Well," Alex stared again. He was nervous about asking her about the summer but he couldn't let her see it. "I have something of a proposal for you."
"I'm sorry, what?" Riley asked as her whole body stiffened and her eyes more than likely had grown twice their size.
Alex laughed nervously. "Not that kind of proposal, crazy. I wanted to talk to you about our summer touring plans."
"Oh," she let out a long breath. "Okay. What about your summer touring plans?" she asked, taking full account of the way his left leg was slightly bouncing up a down. She knew that was only something Alex did when he was nervous.
"Well..." he paused to take a deep breath. "I want you and Summer to join us on the road."
Riley let out a laugh. "No, really? What about tour plans?"
"Really," Alex looked her straight in the eye. "I want you and Summer to join us on the road."
Riley was quiet for a second while she let his proposal sink in.
"You're insane," she decided, letting her arms fall to her side. "That is so incredibly insane."
"Is it, though?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Is it really so incredibly insane for a guy to want to not be away from his two favorite ladies for the whole summer?"
"Of course not," she frowned. "It's actually the sweetest thing I've ever heard."
"So, what is the problem?"
"The problem is you're spending your summer on a tour bus trekking across the country with a bunch of horny, drunken goofs."
"And..." Alex pressed.
"And... I'm not sure that's the place for an eight year old to spend her summer."
"Okay. I hear you. But what if I told you that bunch of horny, drunken goofs are already on board?"
"I'd call you a liar."
Alex shook his head. "Nope. Not lying. I brought it up in the meeting today, as a matter of fact."
"And they were all just fine with a kid on the bus?"
"At first there were a few that were opposed but after a little while I got everyone to come around."
"Really?"
Alex nodded, holding up three fingers together. "Scout's honor."
"I don't know, Alex," Riley said, pausing for a second to glance over at the pool to make sure Summer was okay.
Alex had noticed her do it a few times already and it warmed his heart, in a weird way. After three years, it was still a kind of odd thing to him when he found Riley doing motherly things to be super attractive.
"Do you even want to come with me for the summer?" Alex asked carefully.
"Of course I do," Riley said almost too quickly.
The truth was, she was dying to just say yes and run home to start packing. The idea of not being away from Alex for longer than usual was super appealing but she knew she had to be responsible and think the whole proposal through.
"Good," Alex smiled, satisfied. "So why the hesitation?"
"Well, for starters, work. I have to make sure the gallery is covered in the time I'm gone."
Alex nodded.
"I have to see if it's something Summer would even want to do. Who knows what ideas she's got in her head on her own plans for summer vacation."
Alex nodded again.
"And, again. It's that bunch of horny, drunken goofs who will also be on that bus that are a cause for concern."
Alex laughed. "I promise the bunch of horny, drunken goofs will not be a problem."
Riley shook her head, narrowing her eyes in Alex's direction.
"Babe, you're included in the bunch of horny, drunken goofs."
Alex laughed again. "Look. We talked about it. We came up with some ground rules that will hopefully keep the debauchery away from the child."
"What kind of ground rules?" Riley asked.
"For starters, all debauchery must be contained to one lounge. For instance, if the bunk Summer sleeps in is closer to the front lounge, all partying happens in the back lounge, or vice versa."
"That's fair," Riley nodded. "But what happens when you have a late bus call or a day off and the guys want to go out? Obviously, I can't go."
"That came up too," Alex nodded. "One of the concerns was that I would miss out on a lot of post-show bonding if I didn't partake in these outings. I assured the guys that I wouldn't miss them all, but they had to be understanding on the nights that I did miss." Riley nodded. "And I'd hope you would be understanding for the nights that I do go out," Alex quickly added causing Riley to chuckle.
"Of course."
"Plus, there are plenty of times we go out as a group and someone hangs back because they're tired or whatever. So, I'm sure there will be times someone else can stay with Summer and you can join in on some fun too."
"Right..." Riley said slowly. "Because I'm sure any one of the horny, drunken goofs are dying to be a tour babysitter."
"Hey," Alex shook his head. "You know they would if they were asked."
Alex was right. Over the time they'd been together, each member of his band, as well as assorted members of their crew, had all developed their own individual relationships with Summer.
"You've really given this a lot of thought, huh?" Riley asked, quickly moving so she was now sitting next to Alex on the same chair.
He nodded. "I really have. And I really want you guys to come."
Riley smiled, resting her hand in his knee. "I'll think about it."
Alex scoffed. "That's such a mom thing to say."
Riley laughed. "As a mom, I feel I should take offense to that."
"You know what I mean!" Alex defended himself. "When you were younger didn't you ever ask your mom to do something she didn't really want to do and she said she'd think about it in hopes that if she never brought it up again that you'd just forget about it?"
"Yes. I hated when she did that," Riley frowned. "And the first time I caught myself doing it to Summer, I felt like I sold out."
Alex laughed and kissed the top of her head. "You promise to think about it? Like, really, really think about it?" he asked.
"I will think about it," Riley looked up at him and smiled, holding up three fingers together. "Scout's honor."
***
"Hey babe," Alex greeted, stepping into his backyard.
Riley and Summer had been waiting for Alex to get back from him meeting since Summer had gotten out of school. Riley was laying on a beach chair, doing some work on her laptop while Summer was in the pool.
"Hey you," Riley beamed at the sight of Alex when she looked up from her computer screen.
"Alex!" Summer shouted from the pool, waving her arms at him excitedly.
"Hey kid," he smiled. "Having fun?"
"Of course! I've been practicing my diving," she explained, gesturing to the diving board at the end of the long, rectangular shaped pool.
"Awesome!" Alex nodded, walking over to Riley. "You look relaxed," he pointed out, leaning down to peck a quick kiss to her lips.
"Oh dear, don't let the sun kissed skin fool you. I am about thirty seconds away from a nervous break down."
Riley ran an art gallery in Los Angeles and was in the middle of planning a showcase for a up-and-coming artist. It was a pretty big deal for her and her team and Riley wanted to make sure everything went perfect.
"Well, there's something I needed to talk to you about, so why don't you take a break from almost having a nervous break down for a few minutes, huh?" Alex suggested, taking a seat in the chair next to her.
"Everything okay?" she asked warily, closing her computer and swinging her legs over the side of the beach chair so she faced Alex.
"Everything is fine," he assured her. "Promise."
"Okay, so then what's up?" she pressed.
"Well," he started but was interrupted by Summer calling his name from the pool.
Alex looked over to find the young girl standing atop the diving board.
"Watch!" she shouted before she jogged down the diving board and made an impressive jump into the water.
"Nice job, kid," Alex complimented once Summer had resurfaced.
"Thanks!" she said swimming towards the ledge. "I'm going to start working on my flip now," she decided, which earned a groan from Riley.
"Sounds good," Alex encouraged. "Practice makes perfec- Ow!" He was interrupted by Riley punching his leg. "What was that for?"
"I would really appreciate it if you didn't encourage my daughter to practice things that could potentially lead to her breaking her neck," Riley scolded him.
Alex let out a chuckle that earned him another jab to the leg.
"I'm sorry!" he said quickly. "But you know as well as I do that she'll try to flip twice and by the third go round, she'll look like a pro."
Riley just huffed. She really had nothing to say because she knew Alex was right. Things always came easy to Summer. Even as a baby, learning to walk and potty training were almost effortless.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Riley asked, resting her elbows on her knees and holding her chin in her hands.
"Well," Alex stared again. He was nervous about asking her about the summer but he couldn't let her see it. "I have something of a proposal for you."
"I'm sorry, what?" Riley asked as her whole body stiffened and her eyes more than likely had grown twice their size.
Alex laughed nervously. "Not that kind of proposal, crazy. I wanted to talk to you about our summer touring plans."
"Oh," she let out a long breath. "Okay. What about your summer touring plans?" she asked, taking full account of the way his left leg was slightly bouncing up a down. She knew that was only something Alex did when he was nervous.
"Well..." he paused to take a deep breath. "I want you and Summer to join us on the road."
Riley let out a laugh. "No, really? What about tour plans?"
"Really," Alex looked her straight in the eye. "I want you and Summer to join us on the road."
Riley was quiet for a second while she let his proposal sink in.
"You're insane," she decided, letting her arms fall to her side. "That is so incredibly insane."
"Is it, though?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Is it really so incredibly insane for a guy to want to not be away from his two favorite ladies for the whole summer?"
"Of course not," she frowned. "It's actually the sweetest thing I've ever heard."
"So, what is the problem?"
"The problem is you're spending your summer on a tour bus trekking across the country with a bunch of horny, drunken goofs."
"And..." Alex pressed.
"And... I'm not sure that's the place for an eight year old to spend her summer."
"Okay. I hear you. But what if I told you that bunch of horny, drunken goofs are already on board?"
"I'd call you a liar."
Alex shook his head. "Nope. Not lying. I brought it up in the meeting today, as a matter of fact."
"And they were all just fine with a kid on the bus?"
"At first there were a few that were opposed but after a little while I got everyone to come around."
"Really?"
Alex nodded, holding up three fingers together. "Scout's honor."
"I don't know, Alex," Riley said, pausing for a second to glance over at the pool to make sure Summer was okay.
Alex had noticed her do it a few times already and it warmed his heart, in a weird way. After three years, it was still a kind of odd thing to him when he found Riley doing motherly things to be super attractive.
"Do you even want to come with me for the summer?" Alex asked carefully.
"Of course I do," Riley said almost too quickly.
The truth was, she was dying to just say yes and run home to start packing. The idea of not being away from Alex for longer than usual was super appealing but she knew she had to be responsible and think the whole proposal through.
"Good," Alex smiled, satisfied. "So why the hesitation?"
"Well, for starters, work. I have to make sure the gallery is covered in the time I'm gone."
Alex nodded.
"I have to see if it's something Summer would even want to do. Who knows what ideas she's got in her head on her own plans for summer vacation."
Alex nodded again.
"And, again. It's that bunch of horny, drunken goofs who will also be on that bus that are a cause for concern."
Alex laughed. "I promise the bunch of horny, drunken goofs will not be a problem."
Riley shook her head, narrowing her eyes in Alex's direction.
"Babe, you're included in the bunch of horny, drunken goofs."
Alex laughed again. "Look. We talked about it. We came up with some ground rules that will hopefully keep the debauchery away from the child."
"What kind of ground rules?" Riley asked.
"For starters, all debauchery must be contained to one lounge. For instance, if the bunk Summer sleeps in is closer to the front lounge, all partying happens in the back lounge, or vice versa."
"That's fair," Riley nodded. "But what happens when you have a late bus call or a day off and the guys want to go out? Obviously, I can't go."
"That came up too," Alex nodded. "One of the concerns was that I would miss out on a lot of post-show bonding if I didn't partake in these outings. I assured the guys that I wouldn't miss them all, but they had to be understanding on the nights that I did miss." Riley nodded. "And I'd hope you would be understanding for the nights that I do go out," Alex quickly added causing Riley to chuckle.
"Of course."
"Plus, there are plenty of times we go out as a group and someone hangs back because they're tired or whatever. So, I'm sure there will be times someone else can stay with Summer and you can join in on some fun too."
"Right..." Riley said slowly. "Because I'm sure any one of the horny, drunken goofs are dying to be a tour babysitter."
"Hey," Alex shook his head. "You know they would if they were asked."
Alex was right. Over the time they'd been together, each member of his band, as well as assorted members of their crew, had all developed their own individual relationships with Summer.
"You've really given this a lot of thought, huh?" Riley asked, quickly moving so she was now sitting next to Alex on the same chair.
He nodded. "I really have. And I really want you guys to come."
Riley smiled, resting her hand in his knee. "I'll think about it."
Alex scoffed. "That's such a mom thing to say."
Riley laughed. "As a mom, I feel I should take offense to that."
"You know what I mean!" Alex defended himself. "When you were younger didn't you ever ask your mom to do something she didn't really want to do and she said she'd think about it in hopes that if she never brought it up again that you'd just forget about it?"
"Yes. I hated when she did that," Riley frowned. "And the first time I caught myself doing it to Summer, I felt like I sold out."
Alex laughed and kissed the top of her head. "You promise to think about it? Like, really, really think about it?" he asked.
"I will think about it," Riley looked up at him and smiled, holding up three fingers together. "Scout's honor."
***
Notes
Chapter two is a go! Let me know what you think.
Also, let me know if you catch any errors. My other story is written in first person POV and since this one is in third person, I sometimes catch myself switching over. I believe I catch all the errors while proofreading, but I'm sure there's some I could miss. <3
If you could come back and update, that'd be great <3
1/23/19