While waiting for August, Casey and Wyatt put their order in at a local pizzeria. Pepperoni and sausage with stuffed crust, Wyatt's favorite. Casey sipped on his fountain coke, checking his phone for new texts from August. He was on his way.

"We're meeting with a new friend of mine," Casey said. "His name's August."

"Is he nice?" Wyatt grabbed a breadstick from the basket placed on their table, taking a huge bite.

Casey nodded. "Yeah, buddy. He is."

Soon enough, their waitress brought the piping hot pizza out to them with two glass dishes and a pizza cutter. Casey thanked her before serving Wyatt his slice first and then his own.

After a few bites, the door to the pizzeria opened and August made his way inside. He removed his hood as he came over to Casey's table and sat across from them.

"Hey, I see you already ordered," August said, eyeing the pizza in front of them.

"Yeah, dig in," Casey told him. "There's enough here for all of us."

"Thanks." August grabbed him a slice. "About that night at the hideout..."

"Don't worry about it." Casey waved a dismissive hand. "I got a little carried away, but nothing like that will happen again. I've put that lifestyle behind me. It was fun while it lasted, but I've got my family to care for."

August raked a hand through his wavy, black hair, reclining back in the booth seat. "Oh, my bad. I guess I read that all wrong."

"What? You thought I'd want to join back with them? My Dad and Lani would kill me. I only stuck around for V." Casey side eyed Wyatt as he ate his pizza. "But if you ever wanna get together for a hit, you can join Xavier and I. He knows a guy."

August frowned. "Casey, I don't think we're talking about the same thing. I'd never expect you to join a gang."

"Then what's this about?" Casey asked, sipping his cola.

"Uh, we kissed. Back at the hideout." August averted his gaze to the window, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"We did?" Casey asked, struggling to pull the memory from his mind. Sometimes he blocked things out when he got high. "Well, I'm sorry if it offended you. I guess I got a little too comfortable around you." He forced a chuckle.

"Are you into guys then?" August asked, then gazed over at Wyatt, who munched on another breadstick as he keenly listened in. "Shit, I shouldn't be talking about this in front of your son. Sorry. I just... I wanted to know."

"Shit is a bad word," Wyatt spoke up.

Casey forced back a grin, keeping a stoic expression. "That's why we don't say it."

"Right." Wyatt nodded, continuing to eat his breadstick.

"And yeah, I like guys too. Don't worry, Wyatt knows that, thanks to some embarrassing middle school photos my Dad took of me and my ex-boyfriend." Casey blushed just remembering them. "We were looking through an old scrapbook and just found them."

"Daddy kissed another boy," Wyatt said as he picked some pepperoni off his pizza and plopped it in his mouth.

Casey wasn't sure how to console the flustered gangster across from him or what exactly he wanted. If he wanted to ask him out, then it made sense for him to meet Wyatt. He knew enough about his family from Veronica. Casey wouldn't dare date someone his son didn't like or someone who wasn't fond of children.

"Do you like Daddy?" Wyatt asked, his curious brown eyes staring August down.

"Well, um, yeah." August picked at the napkin in his hand, tearing it into bits. "But I get it if the feeling's not mutual."

"Look, I'm not trying to diminish how you feel or question you, but have you really thought about this?" Casey asked. "I'm a single parent. Most of my days off are spent with my son. I only bring this up because I feel like you're into the person I was while we got blitzed, and that's not who I am anymore."

"Casey, that's not what I'm thinking. I like you as you are, and I think Wyatt's a cool little dude too," August replied.

Casey glanced over at Wyatt, inhaling a deep breath. He wasn't ready to steer their conversation in this direction, but he had no choice. Things would never work between them.

"Veronica will kill you," Casey told him.

August shrugged. "I'd like to see her try."

Casey groaned. "You need to reconsider this. You should want someone who puts you as their first priority. I could never do that. Wyatt will always come first."

"I don't mind. But if you're not interested in me, I understand."

"It's not that." Casey rested his arms on the table. "I like you too, but I'm not sure I'm ready for a new relationship. I haven't dated anyone since Veronica, and I don't want her getting jealous or think you're her replacement."

Wyatt tugged on Casey's sleeve. "August knows Mommy? He hates her?" His doleful brown eyes teared up.

"We're old friends," August spoke up. "Your mom and I go way back. I'd never hate her."

"Hey, you can tell me how you're feeling, okay?" Casey told Wyatt. "Ask me anything you wanna know."

"When's Mommy coming home?" Wyatt asked.

That wasn't a question Casey had been prepared for, but it didn't surprise him. Trying to keep things a secret about his mom had already proved to be difficult and Casey knew he couldn't hide what happened forever. But before Casey could try to explain the situation, August confessed to something else.

August took a slice of pizza for himself, nibbling on it. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to tell you before you heard from someone else."

"What is it?" Casey asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Veronica plans to file for visitations to see Wyatt on the weekends," August said.

Casey tensed, jaw dropping. "What? Why now?"

August shrugged. "I dunno. I spoke to her earlier this morning and she figured I'd tell you about it. Her lawyer promised to do whatever she could to help."

"That's ridiculous," Casey snapped. "They gave me full custody to keep him safe from her. I don't want to force him to visit her in that horrible prison every week."

Wyatt tugged on Casey's sleeve, brown eyes lighting up. "I can see Mommy?"

Casey sighed, rustling up his son's hair and focusing his attention on him. "I'm not sure yet, kiddo. Remember how Mommy got sent away? She can't come back. She's there to get better."

"I shouldn't have brought this up, I'm sorry." August nervously fiddled with the napkin dispenser.

"Well, a little warning would've been nice. Maybe not in front of my son."

"Yeah, my bad. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Just knew you'd wanna know," August replied.

"Maybe Mommy will call us sometime and you can talk to her?" Casey suggested to Wyatt.

Wyatt grinned. "I can call Mommy! Gimme your phone."

"Sorry, buddy. We can't call her. The place she's at won't let us do that. We've gotta let her call us, when she's not busy," Casey explained. "You understand, yeah?"

Wyatt pouted but nodded. "Yeah."

"Maybe I should leave," August mumbled, gazing back toward the door. "I should've told you this when you were alone."

"It's fine. Don't worry," Casey assured him. "I'm glad you told me. This gives me time to figure out what to do. I think occasional phone calls would be okay, and I'm sure I could get Veronica to agree to that."

"I wanna see Mommy." Wyatt pushed his plate back, pouting.

"I know you do, but kids can't go where Mommy is," Casey explained. "Mommy doesn't realize that, I guess."

"I miss her."

"Yeah, me too." Casey rubbed his back. "I know it sucks not having her here, but you know how you have a "time out" when you break the rules? Well, adults have rules too and when they break them, they have to do their "time out" somewhere else. Like Mommy's doing now."

"How long is she in time out?" Wyatt asked.

Casey sighed. "A long time. Not until you're an adult."

Wyatt slouched in his seat, frowning as he turned his attention to the window, watching the traffic drone by.

Wyatt didn't throw a tantrum or demand to see his mom again, but Casey had a feeling that he thought he would finally see his mother again. Even the idea of a phone call had Casey on edge. He'd rather her never have any contact at all, but with the way Wyatt looked at him, he couldn't outright tell him no.

🧁

Snow flurries fell from the sky, alighting on Casey's face as he helped Wyatt into his car seat, ensuring he was buckled in. August stood beside the passenger side, with his hands stuffed in his coat pockets.

"Are you busy?" Casey asked him.

"Nah, not really." August shrugged. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to see if you'd like to come back with us," Casey replied. "Maybe you could help me get in touch with Veronica and figure out a plan here."

"Yeah, sure. It's the least I can do after letting the cat out of the bag," August said. "I'll follow you in my car, okay?"

Casey nodded, closing Wyatt's door. "Sounds good."

Casey wondered what the hell was going through Veronica's mind as he drove home. Did she really want their son to have to visit that god-forsaken prison every week? It was no place for a child. Even Casey dreaded the few times he had to visit.

Having gained full custody, Casey thought there was no chance she could pull anything like this. The court couldn't possibly reconsider and order visitations with her, could they? When his dad got home, he'd be sure to contact their family's lawyer and see what she advised.

Back at the house, Casey put some cartoons on in the living room for Wyatt. August stood near the front door, awkwardly gazing around the room.

"We can talk more in the kitchen," Casey told him. "Let Wyatt enjoy his shows."

Casey led him into the kitchen, and into the dining room, where he pulled out a chair to sit on. August sat down across from him, keeping his hands in his lap.

"Does he know about his mom?" August asked, peeking back toward the living room.

"A little. I told him what I felt was appropriate for his age," Casey replied. "When he's old enough, I'll tell him everything that happened and where she's at. But until he's eighteen, I won't let him visit her. A child shouldn't be anywhere near that awful prison."

"Yeah, it's no place for a kid," August agreed.

"They can't actually side with her, can they?" Casey asked. "I've got full custody of Wyatt now, but I know how the court tends to side with the mother... They'd take into account everything she's done, right? They can't just suddenly change their mind if they think she's fit enough for visitations, can they?"

"I don't see why they wouldn't," August replied. "Maybe I could even talk to Veronica about it too? Tell her that she shouldn't force Wyatt to come see her after all this time and after what happened."

"I appreciate that, but I doubt she'll listen. Once she sets her mind to something, she'll do everything she can to get her way." Casey sighed.

"You know, she still gets high even locked up," August admitted. "Use that against her. They'd make her take a drug test and she'd fail."

"Yeah, that might work. If it comes down to it." Casey raked a hand through his hair, groaning. "This crap is like reliving her trial. If only my mom was still here to help. She'd know exactly what to do."

"Sorry she can't be with you." August reached a hand out, placing it over Casey's. "But I'm here, whenever you need me."

Warmth heated Casey's cheeks at the touch. While Casey had always liked men and women, he knew nothing good would come out of hooking up with a gangster again. Casey knew he should've pushed August away, but he enjoyed spending time with him, despit how he'd been a spy sent from Veronica.

"Thanks. That means a lot." Casey smiled.

Casey wanted to trust August. Deep within his heart, he wanted him on his side. Surely his family would come around once they met him and got to know him. All they had to do was listen to him, like Casey did. While August associated with that gang, he'd never done anything harmful and he wasn't addicted to any drugs. At least, not to his knowledge.

Leaning closer to August, he got a whiff of his musky cologne. Something about him put Casey at ease. Even with all the chaos going on in his life, August somehow made it easier to get through.

August slid a hand against the back of Casey's neck, gently pressing their lips together. His fingers tangled in Casey's hair, and he didn't want to part. When August pulled back, Casey grabbed the scruff of his sweater and stole another deeper, passionate kiss.

Lost in the moment, Casey let himself get swept away in lust. He wanted August all to himself. It had been so long since another person kissed him like that. He wanted more. But he shouldn't.

Casey reeled back and rose from his chair, sighing. "This isn't a good idea. You should probably leave."

"Did I do something wrong?" August asked, frowning.

"We can't hook up," Casey told him, lowering his voice. "Veronica would want to kill you if she found out and Wyatt is my top priority. You should be with someone who can put you first."

August shrugged. "I don't mind being second in your heart, Casey. And Veronica doesn't scare me. There's not much she can do anymore. Look where she's at."

"I don't know about this." Casey gripped his mug of coffee, taking a small sip. "Are you sure you wanna be with me?"

"Of course." August smiled. "I really like you. I told you that already."

"I'm not sure how Wyatt will feel about this. I haven't dated anyone since his mom," Casey told him. "Plus, my family's still skeptical of you after that incident at the bakery."

"I'm sure they'll warm up to me," August replied.

Casey knew starting a relationship with the gangster would be a horrible idea. It was only prone to stir up more drama. If only his mother were with him now to help him figure out what to do.