Never Say Never

by Rachael Sommers

  Because Emily was framed in the light from the bathroom, her face in shadow but her eyes bright, her damp hair curling at the nape of her neck, and she was wearing Camila’s clothes, clothes that were too tight, that clung to every muscle in the most delicious way, and maybe she had some clothes in her closet that would have fit Emily a little better, but no one needed to know that.

  She was so beautiful. Camila could hardly believe that she was real, that she was there in her apartment, that Emily was in her life, and yet she couldn’t have a taste of what she so desperately wanted.

  “Feel better?” Camila asked, because she had to say something, because she had definitely been staring just a few seconds too long.

  “Much better, thanks.” Emily’s face was flushed from the hot shower, and Camila wondered what she looked like first thing in the morning. “Should I leave this in the bathroom?” She was still holding the towel.

  “I’ll take it,” Camila replied. She stepped toward Emily, trying to ignore the way she dropped her gaze to take in Camila’s black silk slip, her teeth dragging across her bottom lip, and oh, Camila thought how easy it would be to reach out and kiss her.

  The air between them was electric, and when she reached to take the towel, their fingers lightly brushed. It almost made her shiver.

  “Do you know where the guest bedroom is?” she said to break the spell. Emily nodded, and she breathed, “Goodnight, Emily,” in a voice too low, too obviously affected by her closeness.

  “Sleep well.”

  Camila knew she wouldn’t, knew that she’d be tortured by visions of Emily just down the hall, knew she was in for a restless night, but she appreciated the sentiment all the same.

  “You too.”

  The guest bedroom door clicked shut a moment later, and Camila let out a long breath.

  God, she was so screwed.

  Chapter 12

  Emily woke early the next morning and slipped out of bed to use the bathroom. She was careful so as not to disturb the sleeping boy who had crawled in beside her in the middle of the night.

  When she noticed that the light in the kitchen was on, she changed course. Camila stood at the counter, mug in hand as she waited for the coffee to finish brewing. She wore a huge fluffy dressing gown over her sleepwear and slippers on her feet. She had not yet made up her face. The image made Emily wish for her sketch pad so she could memorialize it.

  Because bathed in the glow of the rising sun coming through the window, Camila was stunning, a vision so utterly captivating that Emily could not look directly at her.

  “Emily.” Camila turned, and Emily hoped that she hadn’t been caught staring. “You’re up early. Are you feeling better?”

  “Much,” she said, and grateful for it. Yesterday had been brutal, and she didn’t want to feel that way again anytime soon. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”

  “You’re welcome. Do you want some coffee?”

  “I think I’ll pass on the coffee,” she said, retrieving a bottle of water from the refrigerator instead.

  “I assume my son is in your room?”

  “Oh yeah.” Emily looked sheepish. “He knocked on my door early this morning, said he had had a nightmare. I couldn’t say no.”

  “He can be very persuasive,” Camila agreed. “You can wake him, if you like.” The coffee machine beeped, and Camila filled her mug. “I’ll go get ready for the day ahead.”

  Emily got dressed, painfully aware of the fact that she was wearing Camila Evans’s underwear. Then she gently roused Jaime and helped him into his clothes before ushering him into the kitchen for his breakfast.

  They were eating cereal when Camila reappeared, dressed in a sinfully tight pencil skirt and blouse. Emily tried not to stare.

  “Do you have a busy day today?”

  “Mm. I have a thrilling day of viewing pilots. We need to decide which shows should be made into series.”

  “That actually sounds kind of fun.”

  “The novelty wears off after a couple of hours. At least the seats are comfortable.” Camila reached for her handbag, then leaned down to kiss Jaime’s head. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart. Have a good day, Emily.”

  “You too.”

  Camila’s heels clicked down the hall, the front door shutting a moment later. Emily gathered up the breakfast dishes while Jaime bounced impatiently on the stool behind her.

  “So, buddy,” she said when she was done, “what do you wanna do today?”

  * * *

  Jaime spent the next Saturday morning with Emily while Camila promoted her network’s upcoming shows on a local television program. She called Emily as soon as she was back in her car.

  “Hey.” Emily answered breathlessly, and Camila ignored the way it made her heart flutter. “You all done?”

  “I am. I can come pick Jaime up now—are you at your apartment?”

  “Uh, not exactly.”

  Camila heard Jaime whoop gleefully in the background.

  “We’re at the gym near my apartment, but if we head back now, we can meet you there.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’ll come to you.”

  It sounded like Jaime was having fun, and she was curious to find out what he was doing at the gym. Besides which, Camila couldn’t resist the opportunity to see Emily in her workout gear again.

  “Are you…are you sure?”

  “What’s the address?”

  Emily texted her where to find her when she got there, and though the receptionists at the front desk eyed her curiously, they made no move to stop her. She pushed open a door that led to some kind of training room.

  One wall was mirrored, and the rest had weights and gym equipment pressed up against them. The wooden floor was partially covered by thick mats, which is where Camila found Emily.

  She was doing push-ups with a giggling Jaime on her back. Her arms were bare, and God, Camila couldn’t look away from the muscles tensing and flexing as she raised herself up again and again.

  Camila was staring and she knew it, but she didn’t know how to stop because Emily was always beautiful, but in leggings and a tank top that clung to her in all the right ways, sweat glistening over her skin—that was something else entirely.

  She managed to look away when Jaime noticed her, and he scrambled off Emily with a cry of “Mama!” and raced toward her as fast as his little legs could move, a huge grin on his face.

  Then she realized there was someone else in the room. Leaning against a punching bag a few feet away, a stopwatch in her hand, stood the brunette who had been in Emily’s apartment the other day. Camila had just been caught staring by Emily’s girlfriend.

  Wonderful.

  “Twenty-three in just under two minutes,” Megan called out as Emily climbed to her feet, breathing slightly labored. “Not terrible.”

  “Not terrible?” Emily feigned outrage. “I’d like to see you do any better.”

  “Okay.” Megan shrugged. The two of them were clearly competitive, and when she beckoned to Jaime, Camila didn’t know how to feel when he trotted over to the other woman. “You ready, kiddo?”

  “Yeah!” He climbed onto Megan’s back, crossing his legs and holding tightly to her shirt.

  “Okay, go.” Emily clicked the stopwatch, and Camila watched Megan energetically start her push-ups. Emily came to stand by Camila, though her eyes never left Megan and Jaime. “I hope this was okay. Megan texted this morning and said her client canceled, which meant the room was free if I wanted to come by and train. I said I had Jaime but when she suggested I bring him too, I thought it might be fun for him.”

  “It’s fine, Emily—he looks like he’s having the time of his life.”

  Jaime giggled uncontrollably, easing the pressure that had been in Camila’s chest ever since she spotted Megan nearby.

  “I’m sorry to interr
upt your day with your girlfriend.”

  “Megan’s not my girlfriend,” Emily said quickly. “We’re not dating anymore—she’s just a friend.”

  “Oh. Sorry to hear that.” Although it didn’t look like there was any animosity between them.

  “It’s fine.” Emily shrugged, and just as Camila was about to ask her why it ended, the stopwatch beeped and Emily called out for Megan to stop.

  “Twenty-six,” Megan sang, and the pout on Emily’s mouth told Camila that Megan had counted correctly, and she shouldn’t think it was cute how much of a sore loser Emily was, but she did, and she’d already fallen so far she didn’t know how she’d ever surface again.

  “You lose.”

  “Shut up,” Emily muttered, scowling, and both Camila and Megan laughed. The scowl disappeared when Jaime bounded up to her.

  “Can you flip me again?” he asked, his eyes bright and excited. Camila would have been alarmed if she didn’t know that Emily was as careful with Jaime as Camila was. “That was fun!”

  “All right, bud. You remember what I taught you before?”

  He nodded vigorously. Emily led him to the center of the mat and knelt down in front of him. In one quick movement, Jaime was flat on his back and laughing loudly, Emily balancing herself carefully above him.

  “Again, again!”

  Emily used a couple of different moves on him before he had enough, and Camila couldn’t stop smiling as she watched the two of them together—she loved seeing Jaime so open and unguarded, so happy that he was practically bursting.

  “One sparring session before we finish?” Megan suggested, once Jaime was back at Camila’s side. “Give the kid a show?”

  “Is that okay with you?” Emily asked, glancing toward Camila.

  “By all means,” Camila replied. Emily swigged some water from her bottle. Camila watched a bead of sweat slide along Emily’s neck as she tipped her head back, and she wanted to trace the same path with her tongue.

  They circled one another, hands raised. Megan moved first, and Camila tensed as the swing came in, but Emily dodged it easily.

  They were evenly matched and it was absolutely breathtaking to watch them dance across the mat, both of them maneuvering to gain the upper hand. Emily’s muscles rippled whenever she moved, her strength even more impressive when Camila considered how meek she had been when they first met. At one point, Emily did a backflip, her shirt riding up, and good God, the sight of those abs nearly stopped Camila’s heart dead in her chest.

  The image of Emily in black workout clothes, sparring fiercely and slick with sweat, was going to haunt her, waking and sleeping, for days and weeks to come.

  They called it quits after a while, and when Jaime applauded, Camila was tempted to join in too, because what a show that had been.

  “You enjoy that, buddy?” Emily asked, ruffling his hair as she stepped in closer. Camila felt the heat radiating off her and allowed herself a brief fantasy of Emily pressing Camila hard against a wall, lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around her waist and—

  “Camila?”

  Emily was looking at her with concern, and she hoped that was the first time Emily had tried to get her attention.

  “Would that be okay?”

  “Hmm?”

  “If I taught Jaime some karate. I have a black belt and I used to teach kids when I was in college, so I know what I’m doing.”

  “Oh.” She glanced down. Jaime was looking up at her hopefully. “Of course, as long as you’re careful.”

  “Always.”

  “Yay!” Jaime bounced up and down. “You’re the bestest. Can we start now?” He asked Emily, his eyes pleading.

  “I don’t think so, bud—we gotta leave here soon.” She glanced at her watch. “Now, in fact.”

  “Oh shoot, is that the time?” Megan frowned as she checked her phone. “I’m meeting a friend in, like, ten minutes, and I need to shower.” She slung her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll see you around, Walker. Nice to see you both again.” She waved at Camila and Jaime before disappearing out the door.

  “Anything else planned for today?” Camila asked as Emily gathered up her own things.

  “Nah.” Emily shrugged, leading Camila back the way she had come. “Probably just catch up on chores I’ve been neglecting for too long. A real fun day ahead. Don’t grow up, buddy,” she whispered to Jaime as if it were a secret. “It’s really boring.” She turned to Camila. “What about you guys?” She looked stunning in the midday sun as they stepped outside, and Camila quickly looked away.

  “Whatever this one wants to do,” Camila replied, nodding at Jaime.

  “Ice cream!” Jaime exclaimed.

  “Ice cream it is.” Her car arrived from around the corner, stopping in front of them. “Do you want a ride back to your apartment?”

  “No, it’s only a couple of blocks away.”

  “All right, then. I’ll see you on Monday.”

  “Have a good weekend—and enjoy your ice cream!” She waved to Jaime, waiting until they were in the car, then turned and walked away.

  * * *

  The next week passed quickly and without incident. Despite Jaime’s newfound excitement about karate, the two of them managed not to break anything in the apartment during their lessons. But when Emily arrived on Friday morning, Camila looked more stressed than usual, her mouth pinched into a thin line and her fingers tapping on the counter where she stood nursing a cup of coffee.

  “Everything okay?” Emily asked when Camila didn’t greet her. Camila startled at the sound of Emily’s voice, like she hadn’t even noticed the front door opening. Her coffee sloshed over the side of her cup and onto the counter. “Oh shoot, sorry.”

  “It’s all right, I was miles away.” Camila batted away Emily’s hands as she tried to clear up the mess but acquiesced when Emily held her burned hand under the tap.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Jaime was coloring at the breakfast bar, too engrossed to pay them any attention.

  “It’s nothing,” Camila said, though she sighed heavily. “Chris wants to take Jaime for the weekend.”

  Emily understood then—Camila was facing a weekend without her son for perhaps the first time since he was born. That couldn’t be easy.

  “I think he feels guilty about London, realizes he’s been an absent father lately.” Emily squeezed her shoulder sympathetically.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, it’s fine.” Camila tried to brush it off but her eyes were troubled. “He’s entitled to see his son, and Jaime should have his father in his life. It’s just…not something I wanted—to have him split between two homes.” Her love for Jaime was clearly written on her face. “But we’ll just have to adapt.” Her phone buzzed, and Camila scowled at it. “Well, I’d better get going. Chris should be picking him up at seven—I hope I’m back before then, but in case I’m not, I’ve packed his overnight bag. It’s in his room, if you think of anything else he needs.”

  “Of course.”

  Camila glanced at her gratefully before gathering up her things. She managed to tear Jaime’s focus away from his coloring long enough to say goodbye.

  “Have a good day, Camila.”

  A moment later, she was out the door.

  Emily peered over Jaime’s shoulder to see what he was working on. It was mostly squiggles and splotches of color, but Emily could make out the outline of a dinosaur.

  “Do you like it?” Jaime asked, peering up at her.

  “It’s really good, buddy,” she told him.

  He gave her the drawing when he was done, and she slotted it into the giant folder she had of his drawings, ready to present to Camila at Christmas.

  “You want to go to the park today? And maybe the library too?”

  “Yeah!”

  She threw some
things into a bag along with the books he had finished since their last trip to the library.

  The chill of fall was in the air. The leaves had started to drop off the trees, littering the sidewalk, and Jaime stomped through them, delighting in the crunch they made.

  As early in the day as it was, the park was already filled with children and their caregivers. Jaime quickly claimed one of the swings, squealing as Emily pushed him higher and higher. Next, he raced over to the jungle gym, Emily watching lest he fall, knowing Camila wouldn’t forgive her if he hurt himself.

  After that it was on to the slide. Jaime zipped down several times before bounding to her, almost colliding with her legs.

  “Hey, little man, you had enough, or do you want to play awhile longer?”

  “Li-bary!”

  “All right, bud.” She led him out of the park. “Let’s go get you some books.”

  “Back again?” The librarian greeted them as they stepped inside. Emily dropped Jaime’s finished books into the return slot. “You’ve been a busy boy! We have a couple of new books I think you’ll like—they’re on that shelf over there.” She waved to one side. Emily barely had time to say “thank you” before Jaime dragged her over to them.

  Jaime found some books on space and dinosaurs, and one with a dragon on the front. Before they checked out, they curled up on cushions in the kids’ reading corner to read one together.

  When they were done, they returned to the apartment to spend the time playing and watching cartoons. The afternoon soon fell away, and when her phone buzzed, Emily knew that it was a text from Camila and what it was going to say.

  Won’t be home by seven. Kiss Jaime goodbye for me.

  Emily made a quick decision. She found Chris’s phone number and typed it into her phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, this is Emily Walker, Jaime’s nanny.”