“Shite,” Jax groaned. “I’m so sorry. I know all this ... it’s just ... hard. Literally. All the damn time.”
Any other time, I would laugh and tease him, but not now, not about a situation as serious as this one.
“You’re grounded for a month,” I stated. “You’ll pick up more chores and extra nights to babysit your brothers and cousins. No phone. No laptop. No iPad. No Xbox or PlayStation. No soccer games or practice. I’ll deal with your coach. Unless it’s for school, you don’t leave this house, do you understand me?”
Jax looked gutted but took it like a man. “Yes, sir.”
“And bottom line, no sex in this apartment. Ever.” I raised an eyebrow then. “From now on, I’ll keep a box of condoms stocked in the bottom drawer in the bathroom for you. Put one in your wallet and replace it every single time you take it out for use. This isn’t permission to go out and have sex with every female in sight. It’s a precaution, a safety net so that if you ever get into a situation where you’re going to do something where you know that you’ll need it, make sure you use it. Be smart. Be safe. And for God’s sake, kid, make good decisions. Please. I’ll go old school and beat you bloody if I find out you’re playing girls and breaking hearts. I don’t respect a man who has no respect for women. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir.” Jax straightened. “I understand.”
“Good,” I said, then gestured Jax closer. “Now give me a hug and go comfort your mama. She works herself into a fretting state because of you and your brothers.”
Jax moved closer to me and gave me a quick hug before slapping hands with me and bumping fists.
“Hottest girl in school, huh?”
Jax’s lips twitched. “You saw ‘er. What d’you think?”
“I think she forgot about you the moment she walked out of the room. Did you not see how she stared at your old man?”
“I’m better lookin’.” Jax glared. “I look like you, me Slater uncles, me Collins uncles and me ma. I’m a genetic marvel.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“God really didn’t want me to have sex today,” he then said with a sigh. “First Uncle Nico phones me earlier when I was kissin’ Daisy then you and Ma come bustin’ in like the guards on a raid.”
I snorted but said nothing.
“Can I go to Uncle Nico’s house? I need to speak to Georgie. I’m important.”
I mulled it over for a moment, then said, “Go there, talk to her, then get your ass home. I meant it when I say you’re grounded.”
Jax nodded. “I got it.”
“Get dressed then.”
He disappeared into his room, rapidly finished dressing, then went in search of his mother. I leaned against the doorway and looked into my son’s room, glaring at the messed-up bed and shaking my head before I scrubbed my face with my hands. I used to think when my kids were toddlers and kindergarten age that they wore me out, but that was only a taste of the stress that the teenage years brought.
After I went to the bathroom, I found Aideen in the kitchen. She was cleaning the countertops even though they were already clean. I slanted against wall and folded my arms across my chest. Watching my wife, I knew she was hurting without having to ask her. I was in tune with everything about her. I always had been.
“Baby doll.”
Aideen burst into tears, then turned and rushed into my arms. I hugged her body to mine, waiting until she was all cried out to lean down and plant kisses on her face. She clung to me like she needed me to get through this moment.
“If we didn’t interrupt ‘im, he’d have lost his virginity. I heard ‘im say that.” She sniffled. “He’s too young, Kane.”
“I know,” I said, smoothing her hair back from her face. “He knows he fucked up.”
“I couldn’t even look at ‘im when he came to apologise to me,” Aideen cried. “I’m so mad at ‘im. Doesn’t he realise how easy it is to catch a disease? Or to get a woman pregnant? I don’t want his life to be—”
“Baby, relax,” I said, squeezing her tight. “He knows he messed up, and he’s grounded for it. We can both sit down with him later and discuss it, but please, don’t worry about him. We caught him before anything could happen.”
Aideen’s shoulders slumped. “He told me he’d tell me when he started likin’ girls. I had it all figured out in me head. You would have a one-on-one talk with ‘im. Not the brief facts of life ye’ gave him a few years ago, but somethin’ proper so he would be aware of the responsibilities that come with havin’ sex.”