Temptation by Justine Elvira Page A

and a wardrobe filled with clothing - tons and tons
of clothing. As I'm shutting the door of the house behind me I hear
Alyssa in the kitchen.
    "Mommy! Mommy! Look at all the stuff Uncle
Theo got me."
    "Uncle Theo? Where did you see Uncle
Theo?"
    I step into the kitchen right behind Cassie
and interrupt their conversation. "I was able to move my brunch
date with her to today instead of Friday."
    "Yes, and I had pizza and ice cream, and I
got all this new stuff for my doll. Wait until I tell all my
friends at school," she yells out, jumping into her mother's
arms.
    "Well, I'm glad you had such a fun day.
Dinner will be ready in a few minutes so go wash up."
    "But I'm not hungry, Mommy. I want to
play."
    "You can play after dinner."
    Molly places Alyssa back on the ground and
then Alyssa runs out of the room to get ready for dinner. Cassie
drops the bags in her hands on the floor next to the countertop so
I do the same.
    "Why the sudden urgency to do brunch today?"
Molly asks me.
    "I just thought it would be nice, especially
since she was bummed that her overprotective mother wouldn't let
her go on the class field trip today."
    She rolls her eyes at me. "One day, Theo,
when you have children, you'll understand."
    No I won't. I have no plans on having any
ankle biters running around my house. I like my life the way it is.
If I were to have children, that's pretty much a guarantee for
little to no sex with my wife, which would mean I'd be cheating on
her with women half her age in order to get my dick wet.
    That is not the life I want.
    I do not want to become my father.
    Cassie sits down on one of the stools and
starts to assist Molly in making a salad. The level of comfort she
has in this house still amazes me, but I guess it makes sense
because she's been Alyssa's nanny for a while.
    "Molly, is your husband around here
somewhere?"
    "He's in his study, Theo."
    I leave the ladies to make their salad and
walk up the flights of stairs to Chris's study on the second floor.
A normal person would knock to make sure they weren't interrupting
something, but I haven't knocked on a door inside one of Chris's
homes since eighth grade.
    He's sitting behind his desk drinking a glass
of whiskey, while watching the news from the plasma TV mounted on
the wall across the room. He glances my way when he hears me walk
in.
    "Hey, T. I didn't know you were stopping by
tonight."
    He starts to get up but I hold my hand out to
let him know he should sit back down.
    "I spent the day with your princess and just
dropped her off."
    "I thought Cassie was with Alyssa?"
    "She was. We took her to a late brunch and
then she went on a shopping spree for her doll."
    "We... as in you and Cassie?"
    "Yeah, about that. That piece of shit she
drives broke down outside the health club so I had to give her a
ride in order for her to pick Alyssa up from school in time. Why
the hell do you let her drive that thing? You trust Alyssa in
it?"
    He drags his hand through his salt and pepper
colored hair before pushing his reading glasses up and off his
face.
    "No, I don't trust Alyssa in it and normally
Cassie switches to the Escalade when she picks Alyssa up, but the
Escalade is getting detailed today so we had no other choice."
    "If you have a vehicle for her to drive, then
why do I always see her driving that piece of shit to the
club?"
    "I don't know, T. I think she feels weird
using our stuff. She has a room here, too. It comes with part of
the job description of a live-in nanny, but half the time she stays
at her place. She's not dating anyone and she doesn't go out at
night, but she likes the comfort of using her own things, I
guess."
    I move over to the desk and sit down in one
of the chairs opposite of him.
    "I had the tow truck bring it over to
Miguel's but he texted me an hour ago saying it needs to be sold
for parts. Her car is not worth fixing. I haven't told her yet
because I know she's worried about money, so I wanted to come in
here and talk to you first. You