by Delisa Lynn
I listen to her voice mail. She whines that she wants to spend time with my boy. The thing is, she has to have supervised visits and she hates that. She’s called child protective services on me several times, but they know she’s lying. She’s nothing but drama and trouble. My son knows some of how she is.
I hate that he can’t see his own mother, but I’m not allowing my son around the shit she does. We’ve been staying with my cousin, Liam, and his family, but I finally bought a house across the street from theirs. It’s huge. My son deserves nothing but the best.
Today he’s starting second grade. I can’t believe how much he’s grown. My big seven-year-old. He’s such a smart kid. No thanks to his mother, of course.
“It’s time to get up, little dude,” I say, moving his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles blanket. I remember when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was popular. I loved that show when I was a kid. “Come on, buddy, wake up. I made you breakfast.”
“Morning, Dad. I get to see my new teacher today.” He smiles, rubbing his green eyes.
I give him a little fist bump and laugh. “Yes, you do. Miss Dolce, right?” I ask, knowing damn well I could never forget her name or the fact that she is a hell of a pool player.
“Yep, I think so. She’s the pretty lady we met last week, ’member?”
“Ahh, you think she’s pretty, huh? Of course I remember her.” That’s my son, for sure.
He tilts his head to the side. “You think so?”
“Yeah, little dude. All women are pretty. They each have certain things that make them beautiful.”
“Did you make peanut cakes?” he asks, referring to pancakes with peanut butter on them. That’s what Miss Sophia always makes him.
“I did. I hope they taste okay. Go ahead and get dressed, okay?” I say as I head downstairs.
***
I walk into the kitchen and stare at the beach. I love living here. Someday, I’ll meet someone so AJ and I can have a real family. I place his plate on the small oval table and pour him a glass of milk. He walks into the kitchen, smiling.
“Thanks, Dad. I love peanut cakes and milk.”
“Eat up or we’ll be late. We can’t be late the first day of school.”
“Can we see Aunt Addie after school today?”
“Yeah, we’ll go afterward.”
“Cool. I want to tell her about my pretty teacher.”
“Okay, I’m going to put my shoes on. I’ll be back.”
Addison’s my twin sister and she was killed seven years ago. I take AJ to visit her grave often. That’s the only way he will ever know her. He’s always full of questions, and I can honestly say he gets that from her. She was a damn firecracker, full of life. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Life hasn’t been the same without her.
***
I see my son’s teacher as soon as I walk my son into his classroom. She’s pretty, just like he said. She still hasn’t called me. I knew I should’ve gotten her number two months ago. AJ spots one of his friends and runs over to him, leaving me standing there with a Ninja Turtle backpack in one hand and a matching lunch bag in the other.
“Mr. Ellis, right?” She grins.
“Hi, Miss Dolce. Please call me Ashton. Remember, Mr. Ellis is my father.” I wink. “So, did you lose my card?” I ask. I feel like a dick as soon as the words leave my mouth.
“Sorry we didn’t talk much last week. I’ve been busy. AJ is a sweet kid. I’m honored to have him as a student. I’ll see you around.” She smiles nervously. Yep, I fucked that up quick.
“Ansley,” I call out.
“Yeah?” She looks back.
“I won’t bite…hard, anyways. We should have another night of pool and dancing.” I laugh. The smile that spreads across her face makes my dick twitch.
“Sounds good,” she says over her shoulder.
I sit AJ’s stuff on his desk and head the other way, then hear him calling my name. I turn to see he’s with a friend. “Bye, Dad, see you later.” He waves.
“Bye buddy.” I wave back.
As I walk away, I can’t stop thinking of Ansley.
Chapter Five
Ansley
I can’t believe Ashton’s son is in my class. I’ve fantasized about that man for two damn months. I thought I’d never see him again. I’ve never seen him with a woman, just him and his fine body. I’ve never been much to gawk at men, but him? I can gawk all day.
Something about his charm and all of his tattoos intrigues me. I’m more of the conservative type. I have no tattoos…yet. Hell, I don’t even have any piercings other than my ears. I’m so damn boring. That’s all going to change today.
I walk into Gill’s Wine Store and grab a bottle of wine. Gill’s is the only place near my house where I can find the Strawberry Passion. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere but here. Walking to the check out, I bump into a hard chest.
“Oh, excuse me,” I say.
“Ansley?” he asks.
“I’m so sorry, Ashton. How are you?” I ask, cradling the wine as if it were a baby.
“I’m good. You come here often?”
“Yes, this seems to be the only place I can find this wine.” I squeeze my legs together and close my eyes. Something about his presence makes my sensitive spots warm, and I mean very warm.
“Well, here, take this card and go to that address.” He hands me a business card. I look at it and back to my bottle of wine, quickly noticing the name—Ellis Winery.
“This is your wine?” I ask.
“Yes, I own…Well, my family owns the winery. My father owns this store also.”
“I’m so blind, I never even put two and two together.” Embarrassment spreads across my face.
“It’s all good. I have to run. Make sure you go stock up. It’s all on me, so get whatever you want.” He smiles, then rubs my arm. “You still haven’t called. Look, that night at the bar, I was shocked. I really do like you. Please, call me.” He walks away.
I pay for my bottle and head back to my car. I see Ashton on a red motorcycle. I can’t help but stare at the way his body molds to the beautiful metal. He has on a black muscle shirt and the tattoos covering his arms are shining. His body looks as if it’s a canvas for an artist. You can barely see his skin. I know some people don’t like stuff like that, but he’s definitely got my attention.
I start my car and plug the address on the card into my GPS. It’s ten miles from Gill’s.
When I park in front of the building, I feel a little nervous. I look around before exiting my car. I walk through the large doors and see a lady standing at a counter. She smiles pleasantly before speaking.
“Welcome to Ellis Winery. What can I get for you today?” she asks.
“I’m Ansley. I ran into Ashton and he gave me this card.” I hand the card to the older lady.
She smiles. “How do you know my son?”
“I’m actually your grandson’s teacher,” I say, chewing on my lip.
“Oh, I see. Well, don’t be shy. Come on in. I’ll show you our best.” I follow her into a huge wine cellar. There are a ton of my favorite wines.
“Please forgive me. My name is Nancy Ellis.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ellis.”
“Please, that was my mother-in-law. I’m just Nancy.”
“Thank you. I’m in wine heaven.” I giggle.
“I like you,” she blurts. “Why don’t you come over for Saturday dinner tomorrow?”
“Oh, Nancy, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Of course it is! Don’t be shy. My son must like you. He doesn’t normally send women here, and he knew I’d be here today too, so this was his doing. He’s a good man, Ansley. AJ’s mother isn’t in the picture and that’s not my business to tell, but he’ll tell you, dear. Just give him time. For now, I want you at Saturday dinner, so be there at six o’clock. Here’s the address. Now, let me grab you a box for your drinks.”
***
Ashton
<
br /> Running into Ansley at Gill’s had to be a message from heaven. I’ve been wanting to ask her out, but she never called. I gave her my number almost two months ago. Today, we were both in the right place at the right time. I hope my mom sees her and likes her. I guess that depends on if she shows up for dinner tomorrow or not. Thinking about my mom meeting Ansley makes me laugh. I can see mom now, telling her she has no choice and better be there. Giving Ansley the card for the free wine would definitely let my mom know I’m interested in her. I don’t give my card to just anyone.
“Hey, what are you over there thinking about?” my cousin, Kade, asks as he rounds the corner.
“Remember the chick from the bar? The one I’ve been thinking about since June? The one I asked you to look into for me? Well, she’s AJ’s teacher.” I scratch the side of my face. “I think she’s afraid of me.”
“Shit, I forgot about that. I’m sorry. Dude, you can’t bang his teacher and then expect things to go well for him at school. Why would she be? You’re just a normal tatted up guy that turned her down.”
“Nah, it’s not like that, bro. I like her.” And I do. I would love to get to know her, the real her.
“Ask her out. Maybe we can go on a trio date. The six of us. But that was a while ago. Maybe she isn’t interested.”
“When are you and Meg going to call yourselves a couple?” I laugh. He’s been sleeping with her for months.
“She isn’t giving in, man. We fuck and I want more, but she has a past and I’m not sure, with my past, that we can have anything other than our midnight house calls.”
“Give her time, she’ll come around. Well, if I know my mother, then I bet she invited Ansley to Saturday dinner.”
“Shit. Knowing Aunt Nancy, she sure did. Did you get her last name this time?”
“Ansley Dolce. I did a little digging on her myself. She moved here from Little Rock, just went through a divorce. She’s been a teacher for five years. She’s originally from Pittsburgh. She has a lot of loans and credit cards all in collections. It looks like her divorce screwed her.” I also saw that there were hospital records from March 2006, but I didn’t read why. I didn’t want to pry too much.
“At least you know she likes kids.” He laughs. “I didn’t get a good glimpse of her that night. I was a little wasted. What does she look like?”
“She seems very conservative. She has long, black hair and blue eyes. There are a few freckles across her nose.” Damn, thinking of her has me adjusting my jeans.
He looks at his phone and gasps at the time. “Shit, I need to go. I’ll be at dinner tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll get to meet her again,” he says, giving me a man hug.
“I’m going to lock up. I need to run to the shop. Lila has AJ so I can get some ink in on a few clients.”
“Later.”
***
I lock up Ellis Investigations and head over to my tattoo shop. I rarely work there, but there are a few people that will only allow me to do their ink. Felicia is one of them. I hate that I let her suck my dick. Now, every time she sees me, she thinks we’re on a good level. Nope, strictly business, and she doesn’t seem to get that.
When I walk into the shop, I see that she is already there. I look at Taz and nod. He knows how she is. I walk over to my area and start getting my equipment ready. I see she is eager to start, so I finally acknowledge her.
“What are you getting today?” I ask as I sit next to her.
“I’ve been waiting to see you all week. You never call me anymore.” She pouts.
“Look, like I told you, I’m not interested in what you’re offering. I’ll continue to shoot your ink. That’s it, though. Got it?”
Looking like I just killed her cat, she sighs. “Yeah, I think I changed my mind about the ink, though. I’ll let you know when I want more.” She grabs her purse. I hear her mumble, “Fucker” before walking out the door.
“Well, that went over well.” Toom slaps my shoulder.
“Damn, I should have done that shit a long time ago.” I grab a beer, pop the top off and laugh. I can still see the look in on her face.
“She’ll be back. I can guarantee that,” Taz says from behind Toom.
“I’m sure she will, but hopefully she got the hint.” Then I see my fate walk through the door. “Hang on, I’ll be back,” I tell the guys as I walk toward the front. She doesn’t notice me because she’s rummaging through her oversized purse.
Still looking down, she says, “I would like to get my nipple—” She looks up and gasps. “Ashton?”
“Damn, twice in one day? This is fate.” I laugh. “What would you like to get done?” I lean on the counter. I try looking into her beautiful eyes, but she turns away from me, clearly embarrassed.
“Shit, I had no clue you worked here. I’ll, umm, just get my navel pierced. Yeah, my belly button, that’s what I want pierced.” She smiles.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Yes. I’ve been wanting to for a while, and I was just passing by, so I thought I would stop in. I had no idea you worked here too. Do you own this also?”
“I own half of it. My buddy, Taz, and his brother, Toom, over there own the other half. You met them at the bar that night.”
“Oh, I see. Yes, I remember them. Can we do this before I change my mind?” she asks as she crosses her arms. “Do I need to sign something?”
“Follow me, I’ll set everything up for you. Did you go get your wine?” I ask, knowing she did. My mom sent me a text while I was on my way here.
“I did, thanks. By the way, your mother is sweet as pie.”
“Did she invite you for dinner?” I ask.
“Yes, how’d you know?” she asks.
“I knew she’d like you. I knew she would be there when I sent you.”
“Oh.” She looks away.
“Fill this out for me. Do you have any other piercings?” I ask, knowing she more than likely doesn’t, but I like to watch her squirm.
“Nope. Well, other than my ears.” She moves her hair back. I see three perfect holes. One held a small, silver hoop. The other two had small diamonds studs. “See, I’m not that boring.”
“I didn’t think you were. To be honest, I’d like to know more about you. I hope you are attending dinner with my family tomorrow.”
“I, umm…shit, I’m not sure. I have so many papers to grade, and I have tons of laundry. I also have a dog and he hates to be alone.”
“Ansley, it’s okay. If you don’t want to, just say so.” I smile. “Which one of these do you want?”
“It’s just that…I just went through a divorce. I don’t know anyone here. I moved to Cali because it was the first place that popped in my head. My life is a mess right now.” She sighs. “I like the small silver one.”
“We all have crazy exes. Don’t let it hold you back. Maybe next weekend.” I smile at her, hoping my smile will reassure her that everything is fine. “Okay, sit back for me.” I watch her face as I slide her shirt up. There’s a twinkle in her eyes.
“Will it hurt?”
“Not too bad. I can numb it a little with ice, if you want me to.” I reach for some ice. I always keep it handy.
“Okay, please do.” She closes her eyes and places her hands behind her head. I take in every inch of her. She’s wearing a pair of black capris. Her top is a pale blue and her heels are the same shade of blue. Her and these fucking heels. Every time I see her, she has a different color pair of heels on.
She shivers when I rub the ice along her navel. I swear a moan escaped her mouth. “Okay, are you ready?” I ask as I pick up the needle and forceps.
“Yep. Don’t tell me, just do it.” She inhales sharply. Clamping her skin together, I pierce her belly button. I quickly place the forceps on the table and twist the small silver ball on the stud in her navel.
“Was it that bad?” I ask as I see her peek through one eye.
“Nope, not at all.” She sits forward. “Thanks for all of your h
elp. I better go.”
“Will you be joining the Ellis crew tomorrow?”
“I’ll let you know.” She faces me with an awkward look. “Thank you for your help. You do take Visa, right?”
“Anytime, no worries. It’s on the house. Welcome to Cali.”
“I can’t let you do that. You’ve already stocked my wine cabinet.”
“Maybe you can buy me dinner Sunday evening?”
As she fidgets around with her credit card in one hand and her gigantic purse in the other, she clears her throat. “Maybe. I’ll call you.”
“Okay, well, here is my number again.” I slide my card in her purse. She smiles and turns to walk away.
“Oh, wait, you’ll need these.” I hand her a small plastic bag with gauze and cleaning solution.
“Again, thanks for all of your help.”
I smile and nod. With that, she walks out the door.
Chapter Six
Ansley
I can’t believe I finally get the courage to get my nipple pierced just to find out that sexy tattooed dad happens to work at the tattoo shop I decided to go to. I had no clue he worked there.
As soon as I slide into my car, I feel a sting shoot through my belly button. Darn it, I did just have a needle jabbed through it. No wonder it hurts. Part of me wants to attend the dinner Ashton’s mom invited me to. I turn my radio on and realize it’s Flashback Friday on the local station. The lyrics of “U Got it Bad” by Usher blare through my small speakers. I sure do. 97.9 nailed this song and my mood.
Times like this, I wish I knew someone here. At least in Little Rock, I had Nina. I’ll have to call her up to come out for a visit. There are a few teachers at work that I wouldn’t mind hanging out with from time to time, but, then again, they’re all a lot older than me. I think I’m the youngest teacher in our school. Most of them are married with families.