I walk down the aisles, looking for a decent brand of chips. I pick up a bag of 'Chicken and Waffle' and scrunch up my face. Who comes up with the flavors? I settle on a bag of classic lays and put it in my basket. I grab some sausages for breakfast.

It's been 5 years since Adam, Clare and I graduated and I haven't talked to Clare since. Adam and I share an apartment and I do most of the grocery shopping. Like I'm doing right now. And every week, Adam wants some idiotic flavor of chips, which I always get and end up hating. So this time, I'm getting a normal bag. And I know Adam will excitedly reach for the grocery bag when I get home and pull out the plain bag of chips, with disappointment.

The very thought makes me groan and walk back to the chip aisle. Some would get both bags of chips but it's not in the spirit of being 'bros' to have separate bags of chips when we watch movies.

I switch the bag with the Chicken and Waffles and hope it won't be horrible. Going over the list once more, I see I still need soda and icecream. I trudge to the drink aisle and pick up a 12 pack of pepsi, figuring Adam's weird taste in soda, chips, icecream-well, just about anything-won't ruin drinks for me. He wanted me to get 'Jones' soda. Chocolate 'Jones' soda.

Considering I chose out both the soda and breakfast, I get Adam's ice cream choice: coffee. I walk towards the front of the store, looking through my basket to make sure I have everything. "Eli?" I look up slowly and see a girl with short blond curls. "Clare?" I ask, walking over to her, "Clare Edwards?" She smiles and hugs me, "Hey, Eli."

I pull away, "Hey. How long has it been?" She shrugs, "Almost 7 years. I've been fine. What about you?" I shrug, "Good. Good, living with Adam. What about you?" She shrugs, "We should catch up."

"I'm not busy now. I just have to drop the groceries off at my apartment. We could meet somewhere." She nods, "Alright. Why don't we meet at The Dot for old times sake." I smirk, "Okay. See you in an hour." Quickly paying for the groceries, I rush home and toss the bag at Adam.

As he looks through it, I rip off my shirt and grab a grey polo shirt. "Whoa, Eli. What's going on?" I grab a tie and a sleeveless hoodie, "I'm going to see Clare." He stands up, "Whoa...you talked to Clare?" I nod, "Yup." I run the the bathroom and get some cologne, which Adam sprays on me.

"Good luck." I start to leave but turn to him and blurt out, "In high school, when I won Clare at the bachelor auction, we had some wine and stuff and had sex but she doesn't know. She forgot and I;m gonna tell her tonight. Any advice?" I asks. He puffs his cheek out and blows out a long breath of air, "Uhh-"

"Never mind. Bye!" I drive through the after-work traffic and get to The Dot. I find Clare sitting at our old table. I go over to her, "Hey." I say. She smiles and stands up to hug me. We sit down and I put on a small smile, "Clare, before we, uh, catch up, I need to get something out. Do you remember back in high school when I won you in the bachelor auction?" I sit up a little and lean over the table so I can speak softer, as to not have any one else hear our conversation.

"And we had some drinks that nice and I said we kissed?" She starts to answer, but I cut her off, "We had sex. And I know you're probably not gonna wanna see me, but I was afraid to tell you and-and-" I stop talking to see Clare with an amused expression, "I know that, Eli. I've known for years."

I raise my eyebrows, "Excuse me?" She shrugs, "I've known for all these years. It didn't take long to figure it out."

"And you're not mad?" I ask. "No. I'm not. But you may be." I crinkle my forehead, "What are you talking about?" She pulls out her wallet and pulls out a piece of paper. I picture. It's of a little boy, maybe 4 or 5. He has light brown hair that's spiked up and he's wearing a red polo.

"He's cute." I say. The background of the photo is blue, so I know it's a school photo, "Who is it?" She smiles glumly, "Guess."

I look back at him and begin to piece together the puzzle. "He's...he's my...son?" I ask, looking at her. She nods slowly, "That's how I found out we had sex." I look back at the picture of the little boy. He's not smiling at the camera. Just a monotone, plain, expressionless face.

I close my eyes and try to process this and suddenly realize this could be a ticket back into Clare's life. I look up at her. She purses her lips, "Are you mad?" I shrug, "No. I'm...surprised. I assumed we were safe. I mean, we were safe, so-"

"His name'sDavid." She interrupts. I nod, "Can I see the picture again?" She hands it to me and I stare for a while, then say, "He's not smiling." I look up at her, waiting for a response, which she promptly gives, "He says he doesn't 'like' smiling."

"Do I get to meet him or anything?" A smile spreads over her face, "Yeah. Yeah, of course. I should've brought him." I smile and look at the photo, "How could you, uh, how could you not tell me about this, though? I mean, did it ever cross your mind to contact me?" I ask, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"I didn't want to ruin your chance at NYU. And at the time I guess I was a little mad about you lying. I got over it, though. I have an amazing son."

"Did you ever finish college?" She nods, "I did online classes." A waiter comes to us and we order 2 burgers and some fries. Sitting awkwardly, I say, "So, you're not...seeing anyone?" I ask. She shakes her head, looking amused again, "No. It's hard to date when your already a mom."

I frown, though, inside, I'm relieved, "I really wish you would've told me. I could've helped. I can help." She smiles, "That's sweet, Eli. But...you don't need to do that. We're actually starting to do really well on our own." frown, "Ah. I see. Well, uh, do you wanna get dessert?" She nods cutely.

We order 2 slices of cheesecake. When Clare least expects it, I take a dollop of whipped cream and smear it on her nose. "Eli!" She cries, laughing and wiping the whipped cream off.

"Goo, you still have a sense of humor. Having a son didn't drain you of all life." A waiter drop the check off at our table and I snatch it before Clare can. "I can pay for mine, Eli." I shrug, "Nah. That wouldn't be very gentlemanly, now would it?"

I pull out my wallet and take out the single check I keep in there, filling it out quickly. We stand up and walk out to where our cars are parked. "Can I see you another time? Maybe we could hang out?"

She pulls out of piece of paper, "This is my address...I'm not busy Saturday." I smirk, "Alright." I lean in for a hug and hold her for a second before driving home.

Saturday soon comes and I arrive at Clare's with a bag containing vanilla icecream, sprinkles, chocolate and caramel sauce and cherries. I plan to become friends with David and try to be in his life. I knock on the door and Clare appears in seconds. "Hey." I smirk. She hugs he and invites me inside, "I'm just finishing lunch: pasta."

I hold up the bag, "I brought some ice-cream sundae stuff for you, David and I. Where is he?" As if on cue, a small child comes out of the closet. I look over at Clare, who only shrugs. "Hi. I'm Eli." I tell him. He points to the bag, "What's in there?"

"Icecream." I say, setting the bag down on the counter. He runs around me and tries to reach the bag, but I block him with my arm and, in a completely monotone voice, I say, "I'm sorry, Dave. I can't let you do that."

"What'll you do, embalm me?" He asks. I raise my eyebrows, "Herbert West?" He smiles, "Space Awakening?" I look up at Clare, "You let your 6 year old watch Re-Animator?"

"I didn't let him watch anything. He figured out how to use the remote." David looks up at me, shaking his head, "She's gonna be uncontrollably spastic." I laugh, pleasantly shocked by his taste in movies. "What kind of icecream?" He asks. I reveal it, "Vanilla. We can eat it after lunch."

"Will there be syrup?" He again tries to hoist himself onto the counter, but fails to do so. "Oh, yes." I say, "There will be blood." He stares at me, clearly not understanding the reference. "It's, uh, it's from the second Saw movie."

Again, he fails to understand. "I'll show it to you some time." Clare intervenes, "I don't think 'Saw' is a good idea for a 6 year old to watch. And now i have to start hiding the remote." I chuckle. We gather at the table and eat the spaghetti quickly, then rush to the kitchen. Grabbing 2 bowls, David and I sit on the floor and scoop icecream. Sauce, whipped cream, cherries and sprinkles pile on the mounds and we eat it right there, on the floor.

David stands up when he's done and goes to Clare so she can wash his face. I stand up, a smirk on my face, "Yeah, me too." She rolls her eyes, "I'm sure you can manage washing your own face, Eli." I chuckle and begin cleaning up the mess David and I had made. He soon went to sleep, leaving Clare and I alone. "He's a cute kid." I say.

She smiles, "He gets his looks from you." I smirk, "Trying to tell me that I'm cute?"

"I didn't say good looks." I grip my chest and feign pain, "Ouch, Clare. You're hitting me where I live!" She laughs, "You haven't changed a bit." I smirk, "I hope that's a good thing."

She nods, "It is. So, what's living with Adam like?" I chuckle, "Uh...interesting. Especially the flavors of things he chooses out."

"Oh, please. You were into weird flavors in high school." I raise my hands slightly, "Yeah, but that was like, Pizza flavored. Not Chicken and Waffles." A cute smile spreads over her face, "I've missed hanging out with you."

I nod, "Yeah. Me too. There's, uh, there's this restaurant that I heard is pretty good. Do you wanna, maybe, possibly go out to dinner with me sometime?" I ask nervously.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Clare asks, with a playful tone. "Maybe. Depends on your answer." She smiles, "Yes. I'll go to dinner with you." I smile "Cool."