by Randa Lynn
He shuts the truck door and we walk towards the skating rink, the gravel crunching beneath our feet.
We rent our skates and get changed from our street shoes before we make our way to the rink. We’re the only adults in here that aren’t accompanying children. It’s quite comical the looks we’re getting, but Wes seems to be oblivious. He even seems oblivious to the hungry gazes he’s getting from the moms that litter the place. I smile, somewhat proud that he brought me here. Me of all people.
I look over to Wes, who is skating like he’s been doing it his entire life. He’s smiling, so free, without a worry in the world. White Christmas lights are hung along the wood paneled walls, causing a glow around his body. Watching him, I truly see just how beautiful he is. He’s all manly and rugged, yet he’s got a gentleness about him. A gentleness I’ve never seen before.
He turns his head and looks at me as he spins in a circle, startling me. I lose my balance, falling down in an extremely un-ladylike fashion. “Ouch,” I laugh, trying to hide the fact that my knee really does hurt from the impact.
Wes hurries to my side, crouching down beside me. “Shit, are you okay?” he asks, looking me over. When I nod my head yes, he stands and helps me up. We make our way to the side of the rink and sit on a worn padded bench, shaking the discomfort off. Wes brushes the glisten of sweat off his brow. “I think I just got in enough of a workout that I’m good for the rest of the week,” he laughs.
I laugh, “Week? I was thinking the year.”
He smiles, and once again, I’m left weak. “Nah, I can’t go that long or my muscles will turn to flab.”
At the mention of muscles, my eyes avert to his arms, working their way up one, across his chest, and down the other. He must catch on to their path because he clears his throat. My eyes snap away from him as a blush creeps up my neck and across my face. I bite the inside of my cheek, waiting for him to say something, but when I finally look back up to him, he’s looking back at me with a carnal look in his eyes. The shade of pink covering my face turns a tinge darker.
“So, what do you have planned next?” I ask, trying to divert from the feeling that’s creeping its way throughout my body.
He grabs his phone out of his pocket and looks at the time. “Our food should be ready, soon.”
“What are we eating?”
“What is the universal favorite food of children?”
“Universal?” I laugh.
“Yeah. If you don’t like it as a kid, you’re un-American,” he states seriously.
“Universal means the whole universe, so that accounts for even the non-American children,” I tease.
He rolls his eyes jokingly. “That’s beside the point.”
I rack my brain for a minute. I look around at the kids skating on shaky legs as they hold their parent’s hand. “Hamburgers?” I ask.
He shakes he head no. “The other hand held food.”
I sit there in silence for a minute, seriously thinking about what kind of food every kid should like, then it hits me. “Pizza!”
He beams. “Ding, ding, ding.”
“I haven’t eaten pizza in months,” I admit. “I could go for a huge slice right now, though.”
He loosens the strings and slips his skates off, and I follow suit. We walk to the check-out counter and discard the skates into the return bin. Once we get changed into our regular shoes, we make our way back out to his truck and head out to get the pizza.
“Where are we going to eat this?” I ask, holding the box of pizza, as Wes pulls out on the highway.
He gives a small smile. “When I was little, my mom would always buy us a pizza and we’d go to the riverbank and eat it.” He shrugs, “I don’t know. It’s my little throwback portion of the day. I think I need to do this with Elli one day, so she’ll get a piece of her grandma.”
Before I realize what I’m doing I reach over and place my hand over his. “That’s sweet. I bet your mom was amazing.”
He looks down at our hands, and for a second I think he’s going to pull away, but he flips his hand over and grasps mine. When our fingers interlace I feel it—the strange connection we share. I haven’t known him long, but I feel this uncanny pull towards him, like maybe fate is aligning something in my life. I’m not saying it’s him, I’m just saying maybe he’s the something that will help show me that there’s so much more to life than what I’ve been through. Maybe he’s here to prove to me that not all men are bad in this world.
Maybe, just maybe, he was put in my path to show me that life isn’t always so ugly.
Chapter 8
WES
I watch as Lenni takes the last bite of her pizza, trying to keep myself from reaching in and kissing her right now. She’s so beautiful. The way her brown hair shines in the evening sun, the way the light bounces off her hazel eyes, the way there’s a hidden sparkle behind her smile. There’s something in her, something I want to explore.
She’s graceful, she’s honest, but she’s guarded. I wish I knew why she was guarded, but I won’t ask. I’ll hold back, because I know sometimes there’s a part of our lives that we don’t always want to share with people.
“What do you do?” I ask.
She wipes her face with a napkin. “I’m an attorney.”
I cough, nearly choking on my drink. “An attorney?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “Yeah. It’s nothing special. I work at my father’s law firm in Atlanta. I’ve been there for about a year.”
I look her up and down. She’s hotter than any lawyer I’ve ever had to deal with, that’s for sure.
“Something wrong with that?” she asks, seemingly annoyed.
“No,” I assure her. “I just wouldn’t have thought you were a lawyer. You don’t seem uptight. And you’re not a prude.”
She laughs nervously. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.”
She leans back on the blanket I have laid out on the the grass, crossing her legs at the ankles. “So what do you do, Wes…? What’s your last name?”
My profession is a far cry from hers. I’m not educated, and I’m damn sure nowhere near a lawyer’s social grade. “Weston Charles Taylor,” I wink. “And I work at a coal mine. Heavy equipment operator.” I’m a bit embarrassed, and I don’t know why, because I’m proud of my job. I make good money and am able to be at home every night with my little girl. If you want to find a blue-collar job that makes as much or more money as the coal mine does, you’d have to go off and work somewhere. That’s just not an option for me. Time with Elli is way more important to me than making more money.
“That’s scary,” she breathes out.
“Nah. Not really. Safety precautions are top priority to every man out there.”
She nods her head. “That’s good. I’d still be terrified.”
“I get it. But I’m not,” I say. “So now that you know my full name, what’s yours?”
She looks up at me and blushes, looking so damn cute. “Lenora Jade Blackmon.”
I smile, “Beautiful. Just like you.”
We finish the pizza and continue to make small talk. Nothing seems strained or awkward. There’s an ease about being around her, an ease I’ve never felt before. Not even with Vanessa.
“Thanks for this. I’ve had a great day,” Lenni says, tugging at the bottom of her shirt.
“Me, too.”
She stares out at the water, watching the ducks float along the surface before bobbing under, then looks back at me. “Can I ask you a question?” she asks.
“Sure.”
“You don’t have to answer, but it’s been on my mind.” She pauses. “Where’s Ellison’s mom? She said the other day at the lake that she didn’t have one.”
I’m shocked by her question, and I really don’t know how much I want to divulge. It seems a little too deep for a first date topic of conversation. I’d at least wait until the second to get into any sort of details. I decide to just graze the surface. “I
t’s just been Elli and me since before she was one. I don’t know where her mom went.”
She gazes up at me, giving me a small smile. “Well, she missed out, didn’t she?”
I laugh, “Yeah, she really did.” I take a deep breath and look into her eyes. She didn’t pry, she didn’t drag the subject on like so many other people would have. She said the simplest, yet truest statement out of anyone I’ve ever talked to. She missed out…
God, this woman is incredible and she doesn’t even realize it.
“I’m pretty sure the cardio I got in while roller skating wasn’t enough to burn off the calories I just consumed,” Lenni says, patting her stomach.
Oh, but there are things running through my mind that would burn off the extra calories. I shift in my spot, trying to hide the bulge I’m now sporting. “I’m pretty fucking sure you don’t need to worry about burning any extra calories,” I say. “You’re perfect.”
The last part comes out of my mouth before I can stop myself. I don’t regret it though. The girl needs to know it. She covers her face with her hands. “What’s wrong?
She removes her hands and looks up at me, a section of hair falling in her face. “I’m just not used to compliments.”
I’m about to answer her when my phone goes off, breaking the thickness of the air. I retrieve it from my pocket. “It’s Elli’s grandma, I’ve got to answer this.”
She motions for me to answer it and I do. “Hello?”
“Hi, Wes. Elli is crying for you to come get her. I’ve tried calming her, I’ve tried doing your hand over heart thing you showed me, but I can’t get her to calm down,” Mrs. Clark says.
“Let me talk to her real quick.”
“Daddy,” Elli says on the other end.
“Hey Scooter. What’s wrong?”
I can hear the whimper in her voice before she speaks. “I miss you and want to come home.”
I sigh before looking at the time. It’s almost her bedtime. “Daddy isn’t home, baby girl. Why are you so sad? You love staying over there.”
“I know, but I want to sleep with you tonight and eat popcorn.”
God, why does she do that to me? I can picture her puppy dog eyes right now, batting her eyelashes in hopes she’ll get her way. “We’ll do that tomorrow night. Daddy is eating with somebody right now.”
“Eating? With Aunt Zoe?” she asks.
I laugh and look over at Lenni who’s watching me intently. “No, not Aunt Zoe. I’m with Miss Lenni.”
I hear her gasp. “Miss Lenni! I want to see her. Please!”
I smile at Lenni and mouth she wants to see you. As soon as I do, Lenni holds out her hand asking for my phone.
Handing her the phone, she puts it up to her ear. “Elli?” I can hear Elli through the phone when she yells Lenni’s name. “Hey, sweet girl. Why don’t you go get ready for bed and sleep tight? Tomorrow your daddy is bringing you over to see me.” She pauses for a second, smiling. “Yep. And if you go to sleep now, you’ll be able to see me faster.” Lenni laughs lightly. “I promise I’ll have cookies.” She looks over at me and says, “I can’t wait for tomorrow either.” Something inside of me twists, knotting up and I don’t know what to do with it. “Goodnight, pretty girl.”
Lenni hangs up the phone and hands it back to me. I grab it and look down at it shocked. “She didn’t want to talk to me?” I ask.
She giggles, “She said she was going right to sleep so it would be tomorrow already.”
I look at her, and I feel like an entirely new Lenni sits in front of me. Or maybe I’m just seeing things with a new set of eyes. Whatever it is has got something stirring inside of me that I haven’t felt in so long. She just calmed my daughter down with a two minute phone call, a feat that’s virtually impossible. Elli is headstrong. When she’s set her mind to want to do something, she’s going to get it, but Lenni talked her down. She calmed her emotions with a single conversation.
I just want to grab her face right now, and kiss her. I want to feel her lips on mine, feel her body wrapped in my arms. But I don’t. I’m too much of a chicken.
Here I am, a grown ass man, afraid of a woman. Afraid of what she could do to me. If I’m being honest, I’m afraid that if I kiss her right now, she’ll run away, and I don’t think I’m ready for that.
I wasn’t expecting anything out of this date tonight other than to spend it with a beautiful woman. It turns out, her beauty runs much fucking deeper than on the surface.
Chapter 9
WES
This might be a bad idea. No, this is a bad idea.
Scooter attaches to people real easily. The last thing I need is to break her fragile little heart when Lenni goes back to Atlanta, leaving me with a little girl who’s wondering why she isn’t here anymore. Shit.
“Daddy, I’m so excited. Miss Lenni is really nice, ain’t she?” The enthusiasm jumps out of her little voice. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little excited. Let’s cut the shit, Lenni is beautiful. She’s got curves in all the right places. I could see myself pulling her hair while I…
Why am I thinking about this again? I told myself I couldn’t get wrapped up in her. But her perfect little body, those perfect little lips, they just beg to be touched, to be wanted, to be… dammit. I am not helping matters here.
The second I saw her carrying my little girl, my heart stopped. I forgot how to breathe in. My hands got clammy, and I’m not the kind of guy to get clammy hands. But I did. Dammit, I did. But knowing she cared enough for my Elli, a kid she didn’t even know, to make sure she was okay and could find her dad shows what kind of person she is. Then she had to go and talk her down on the phone, calming her so she’d go to bed. I thought I could take her on a date and just be friendly, but I was fooling myself. She’s not the type of girl you can just remain friends with. It took everything within me last night not to kiss her. I managed to keep enough will power to only kiss her on the top of her head when I dropped her off. That took a lot of fucking self-control.
I haven’t stopped thinking about her since I saw her at the lake, and last night only amplified that. Now, here I am digging myself a deeper hole. A hole I might not be able to crawl my pitiful ass out of.
“Yeah, Scooter. She seems nice.”
I make a left off the gravel road and start driving down the winding, paved driveway when I finally spot the lake house. Holy hell. This place is three times the size of my house. I haven’t even stepped out of my truck yet, but I feel like a fish out of water.
Here goes nothing. I put the truck in park and kill it, hopping out.
I unbuckle Elli from her booster. “You ready?”
“Sure am, Daddy!” She gives me a kiss on the cheek as she jumps in my arms.
We walk up the well-manicured path, full of perfectly cut shrubs that are being watered by the automatic sprinkler system. I get to the front door and am about to knock when the door swings open.
“Oh, hey Mr. Savior and little Miss Ellison. I’m Amber, in case you don’t remember me.” She holds her hand out for us to shake. We do.
“Come on in,” she says, motioning with her arms.
I follow her down a long hallway with stark white walls and dark wood flooring. When we get into the living room, Elli spots toys sitting in the corner. “Elsa!” she yells, when she spots a life size Elsa doll.
I look around at my surroundings. This place is incredible. The entire back of the house that’s facing the lake has floor to ceiling windows. The furniture alone definitely costs more than my house. To the right of the living room sits the kitchen with a small eating nook. I’m pretty sure I’m standing in a house straight out of Home and Garden magazine. It’s huge. The huge kitchen with its black, granite countertops is a far cry from my Formica countertops at home.
“Hey there, beautiful girl.” I spin on my heels as Lenni walks in the back door wearing blue jean shorts, a tank top, and bare feet. Her brown hair is up in one of those twisty up-dos. She doesn’t have a lick of makeup o
n. And, fuck me, she is perfect. The prettiest little thing I’ve ever seen.
I lose all rational train of thought. Her toned, tan legs are on full display, begging for me to notice them, and notice them I do. I stop myself before I get a hard on like last night.
Snap the fuck out of it.
Wiping her hands on the rag, she bends down to embrace my daughter and the doll I’m sure I’ll have to pry from her hands later.
Okay, seeing my kid is a sure way to calm my fucking self down about ten thousand notches.
“I love Elsa, Miss Lenni.”
“Do you, now?” she asks, full of sincerity.
Running back to the corner full of toys, Elli yells, “Uh huh.”
“Four year olds have the attention span of Dory,” I joke.
Lenni looks at me, her eyebrow raised in confusion. “De,” I say. “She loves that movie. I’ll shamefully admit I know every line.”
She smiles, her eyes crease at the corners. “I don’t think it’s shameful at all. I think it’s sweet,” she admits.
“Ellison, do you want to come play with me while your daddy helps Miss Lenni with the food?” I turn around and see Amber squatting in front of Ellison. She leans in closer to her and says softly, “Between me and you, Miss Lenni isn’t the best at grilling.”
She scores a loud laugh from Elli, and they make their way to the next room.
We get up and I follow Lenni outside. Guilty as sin, I watch her ass bounce with every step she takes. When I finally stop staring at her perfect derrière, I notice the large outdoor kitchen that sits underneath the patio. Stone wraps around the entire front of the bar with stainless steel appliances built in. A huge TV is mounted on the back wall with patio furniture placed around it.
“This is amazing. I could live out here during baseball season.”