by Tawna Fenske
Ellie snorted into her wineglass, fanning herself as she set it down on his desk. “You’re the most creative curser of anyone I’ve ever met,” she said. “I can’t believe you learned that from your grandmother.”
“She was British,” he said. “I think that’s where some of it came from.”
Ty shoved a cardboard-tasting cracker in his mouth and chewed, fighting back the wave of nostalgia that made his stomach churn. Or maybe that was the cracker. He took a sip of kombucha to wash it down, then made a face.
“God, that’s awful,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Ellie set down her own glass and grimaced. “But now that you mention it, the flavor profile is…um…interesting.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“It tastes like Rice-a-Roni mixed with raspberry jam and bubblegum.”
Ty laughed as he turned the bottle around and peered at the label. “Apparently they were going for Sageberry Sunrise, whatever the hell that is.”
“Huh.” Ellie took another sip and grimaced. “Maybe it’s an acquired taste.”
“Let’s try another flavor.” Ty emptied both glasses into an empty Big Gulp cup on the edge of his desk, then pried the top off another bottle. He poured smaller servings this time, having learned his lesson.
That’s the only lesson you seem to have learned, his subconscious chided. You weren’t supposed to get attached here, remember?
Ty shook his head and focused on pouring the kombucha. He wasn’t falling for Ellie. Just sleeping with her, that’s all.
“Gah!” he muttered as the bubbly beverage foamed over the edge of the glass, spilling onto a stack of papers. “Filthy wank stain.”
“Exactly,” Ellie said as she grabbed a wad of tissues from the box on his desk and sponged up the mess. Ty relocated the paperwork to the opposite corner, while Ellie sat back down and picked up her glass.
“So your grandma had British roots and the world’s most creative swearword vocabulary,” she said. “What else did you get from her?”
Ty mopped the corner of his laptop with a Kleenex, only half focused on his answer. “The knowledge that everyone either leaves you or dies, so there’s no sense getting attached to anyone, ever.”
Holy shit. Did he just say that out loud?
He glanced up to see Ellie looking as stunned as he felt. Embarrassed, Ty picked up his glass and took a big gulp. He tried to laugh, hoping to convince her he’d been joking, but all he managed to do was inhale an extra-big helping of foul-tasting kombucha.
“Wow.” Ellie took a dainty sip of her own drink. “I was thinking more like eye color or the ability to touch your nose with your tongue. That’s—I’m sorry, Ty. It sounds like you had it rough.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” He cleared his throat, wanting to convince himself as much as he wanted to convince her. “I’m fine now.”
He shook his head and set his glass down, feeling like the biggest dumbass on the planet. Why had he said that? He didn’t share personal details with anyone. Anyone. Why was he blurting out his deepest secrets to Ellie?
Because you like her. A lot more than you meant to.
The thought left a funny taste in his mouth. Or maybe that was the kombucha.
“Ugh.” He took another tentative sip, but the flavor hadn’t improved. “This one tastes like feet.”
“No, not feet.” Ellie took another dainty sip, seemingly unfazed by Ty’s inability to have a normal human conversation. How did she do that?
She gave him a thoughtful look and set her glass down. “More like cheese mixed with mud.”
He peered at the label and grimaced. “Earthflower,” he muttered. “What the hell does that even mean?”
Ellie smiled, then reached out and rested a hand on his. “I’m sorry, Ty. For everything you went through as a kid. For the things you’re probably not even telling me. Not that you have to—I know we’re only sleeping together, but it means a lot that you shared that with me just now.”
Something knocked against the tender edges of his gut, and it wasn’t the kombucha. It was the warm sympathy in Ellie’s eyes and the softness in her voice. It was the slow, subtle shifting of the walls he’d built to protect his stupid, battered heart.
“Thank you,” he murmured, meeting her eyes again. Their startling blueness made his breath snag in his lungs. Ty cleared his throat. “How about you?”
“What about me?” Ellie shifted in her chair, bumping his knee with hers. Ty wanted to reach out and stroke her bare leg, but he focused on keeping his hands to himself. He wasn’t experienced with conversations like this, but something told him groping her wasn’t the right approach.
“What’s your reason for just wanting a casual fling instead of happily-ever-after?”
Ellie laughed, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes. Sadness, maybe. He wanted to understand why someone like Ellie Sanders, who could have any man she wanted, would be in a sex-only relationship.
“Well,” she said, giving a small shrug as she looked down into her glass. “I already tried the whole happily-ever-after mess. It didn’t exactly go like the fairy tales.”
“So, you’re giving up?”
“I’m not a quitter,” she said. “I have a successful career, a healthy son, hobbies I love—”
“I didn’t say you were a quitter,” Ty said, smiling a little to let her know he hadn’t meant anything bad. “I just wondered why you weren’t interested in trying again with relationships or love or—whatever.”
“Are you?” She gave him a pointed look, holding his gaze a few beats longer than he’d expected. He understood that she wasn’t asking if he was interested in a relationship with her. She was talking about the bigger picture.
“No,” he said. “I’ve had enough disappointment to last a lifetime, thanks.”
She smiled. “So, it sounds like we’re in the same place.”
“Right.” Ty nodded, part of him wishing they didn’t have heartbreak in common. That things could be different for them.
Ellie looked away first, picking up both glasses of kombucha to empty them into the Big Gulp cup. She popped open a third bottle and dumped the contents into the wineglasses, then nudged one in front of him.
She picked hers up and took a sip, then made a face. “Ugh. Apricots and mustard with a hint of beef jerky.”
Ty snorted and turned the bottle around to study the label. “Spring Essence.”
“Yuck.” Still, she held up her glass and gave him a hopeful look. “Well, Ty. Things haven’t gone the way either of us expected in life. I think that’s pretty clear.”
“Right,” he said, and tried to swallow back the lump in his throat.
“But cheers to having fun with each other anyway.”
“Cheers.”
He picked up his glass and clinked it against hers with an unidentifiable ache in his chest. He wasn’t sure what to call it, but he was sure about one thing.
He was falling for Ellie Sanders.
…
A week later, Ellie was in the kitchen with Miriam, putting the finishing touches on a lasagna for dinner. Jason had taken Henry with him to the hardware store to pick up some more plumbing supplies, leaving the two women alone to drink grape juice out of Ellie’s best wineglasses.
“If I swirl the glass and don’t sniff too deeply, I can alretend it’s Bordeaux,” Miriam said.
“Just a few more weeks.” Ellie gave a supportive nod and laid the last noodle atop the thick mound of spinach and ricotta and Italian sausage. “It’ll all be worth it, I promise.”
“I can’t see my toes.” Miriam peered toward her feet with a forlorn expression. “Are they still down there?”
“Yep,” Ellie assured her as she spread a handful of shredded cheese over the top of the casserole dish. “Your shoes even match.”
“That’s a relief,” Miriam said. “Jason had to help me put them on this morning. I
could be wearing soccer cleats for all I know.”
“They’re very cute ballet flats,” Ellie said. “Green ones.”
“To go with my blue skirt,” Miriam muttered. “Leave it to my husband to dress me in Seattle Seahawks colors.”
“You look great.”
Miriam grinned and plucked a carrot stick from a bowl on the counter, pausing to swirl it in a bowl of ranch dip. “So, things are still going well with Ty?”
Ellie had wondered how long it would take for the inquisition to start. “Yeah,” she said, doing her best to sound nonchalant. “Thanks again for keeping Henry the other night.”
“Hey, anything to give you a shot at a sexy sleepover.” Miriam leaned back against the counter and took a sip of grape juice, then made a face.
“He didn’t actually sleep over,” Ellie pointed out. “I was worried about Henry being just down the street and needing to come home early for some reason.”
Miriam rolled her eyes. “Hon. You know I wouldn’t do that to you. I’d have locked the kid in a closet before I’d let him come barging in on your sexy times.”
“Remind me never to let you watch him again.”
Miriam laughed and grabbed another carrot stick. “I thought it was sweet watching Ty with him,” she said. “Jason’s been the only guy in Henry’s life for so long. It’s good for him to see grown men come in all shapes and sizes and personalities.”
“I’m not looking to Ty to be a father figure,” Ellie said. “I’m not even sure how much I should have them around each other.”
“What do you mean?”
“What if Henry gets attached?”
“It’s not like you’re introducing him to Henry as his future stepdad,” Miriam pointed out. “He’s mommy’s friend. Mommy has plenty of friends, and it’s good for him to see they can be any gender.”
“I guess so.” Ellie focused on making a foil tent over the lasagna to keep the cheese from burning. She didn’t like admitting that she’d pictured the stepfather scenario a time or two in the last week.
Like when she’d opened another shitty letter from her ex. Chuck had gone on for ten pages about all the reasons she should ignore the state-mandated child support requirements and cut him some slack. She’d stared at the words a long time, wondering how he managed a hundred paragraphs about his money woes, but hadn’t managed a birthday card when Henry turned six.
Instead of responding, she’d crumpled the pages and shoved them into the recycling bin. No matter how much it had stung when Chuck decided not to be part of her life, it hurt ten times more knowing he didn’t want to be part of Henry’s.
All the more reason you shouldn’t get too attached to Ty, she reminded herself. No one should have to go through that again.
Miriam grabbed another carrot from the bowl next to Ellie, jarring her back to the moment. “How did dinner go Tuesday?” she asked. “You said Ty was coming over?”
“Yeah,” she admitted, smiling a little as she remembered how sweet he’d been with Henry, bringing him a pair of Batman sunglasses that made the boy whoop and shriek with joy.
“I like spending time with him,” Ellie admitted.
“He seems to like you, too.”
Like. Is that all this was? Things had seemed a little muddy lately, and Ellie felt hopelessly out of practice. Did casual hookups bring gifts to your kid? Did friends-with-benefits text you at night to make sure you made it home safely from your Madame Butterfly sales party? She had no idea, but Ty Hendrix was a good guy. A guy she liked a helluva lot more than she’d expected to.
Ellie’s phone rang on the counter beside her, and she glanced at the screen.
Ty Hendrix, the readout said, making Ellie wonder if she’d summoned him with her thoughts. She reached for the phone while Miriam gave her a knowing look and sipped her grape juice. “Hey, Ty,” Ellie said as breezily as possible. “What’s up?”
“I was just thinking about you,” he said. “You and Henry.”
“Oh?” She picked up the lasagna and headed toward the oven, determined not to read too much into his entrée to conversation. Miriam turned and opened the oven door for her, and Ellie slid the dish inside and pushed the door shut with her hip.
“Yeah,” Ty continued. “Speak Up just got a new RFP for Great Wolf Lodge, so it made me think of you guys.”
“I know what Great Wolf Lodge is,” she said. “It’s that big water park in Washington that I’m always hearing about from other moms. But what’s an RFP?”
“Request for Proposal,” he said. “They want a bid on some video work. TV commercials, some things to embed on their website. Promotional stuff.”
“That sounds exciting.”
“Yeah, it is.” Ty cleared his throat, and Ellie wondered if he was nervous about something. “I was hoping to submit a rough video with the proposal. Something to give them an idea what we can do.”
“Seems like a smart idea.”
“Yeah. I thought I’d do a little filming at the park. Spend some time checking out the waterslides and pools and things like that.”
Ellie set the timer on the oven, intrigued by the tense edge to Ty’s voice. What was on his mind? “I’ve heard great things about the place,” she said. “That sounds fun.”
“You know what sounds like even more fun? If you and Henry came with me.”
“To Great Wolf Lodge?” Ellie dropped her oven mitt on the floor. Miriam made a halfhearted attempt to grab it, then gave up, resting her juice-filled wineglass on her belly. “That’s a couple of hours away.”
“I think Henry would love it,” Ty continued. “Maybe it would make up for the disappointment over the paycheck thing.”
“That was really a non-issue, Ty.”
He cleared his throat again, and Ellie got the sense he wasn’t convinced. “Well, anyway, I think it would be a kick,” he said. “Now that you’ve mastered your camera shyness, I was hoping you’d let me use you for a little footage.”
“You mean filming us? Henry and me?”
“Yes. Exactly, yes.” His anxiousness made sense now, and something about that charmed her. “It would save me the hassle of hiring models or getting releases signed at the park.”
Ellie stepped back from the oven, not sure how to read his invitation. “So, this is a work trip?”
Miriam quirked an eyebrow at her, but Ellie looked away, doing her best to stay cool. She grabbed a rag from the sink and began wiping down the counter.
“Work and pleasure,” he said. “I don’t mean pleasure pleasure,” he added quickly. “The company offered to comp us one of their Grizzly Bear Suites, so everyone would have a separate bed to themselves. You, Henry, me—”
He trailed off there, and Ellie smiled because he’d thought this through so thoroughly. “When did you want to go?”
The relief in his voice was practically palpable. “So, you’re up for it?”
“Of course. You’re right; Henry would love it. He’s seen commercials for the place, but I’ve always told him it’s too expensive.”
“Are you free this weekend?”
“I think so,” she said, wondering if she had a bathing suit that would be presentable for something like this. She’d have to go shopping. Henry probably needed new swim trunks, too, and maybe she ought to lose a few pounds before—
“Ellie?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really excited about taking this trip with you,” he said.
Ellie gripped the phone tighter, grateful he couldn’t see the big, goofy smile plastered on her face. “Me, too.”
They said their good-byes and hung up, with Ellie still grinning like an idiot. The second she set the phone down, Miriam pounced.
“I knew it!” Miriam said.
“What?” Ellie bent to pick up the oven mitt, doing her best to look nonchalant. She went back to wiping a section of counter that was already spotless.
“I knew Ty had a reason for wanting that RFP.” Miriam grinned and popped a carrot
stick in her mouth. “He likes you. And Henry, too, of course.”
“He just wants people to be in the footage,” she said. “So he doesn’t have to get model releases signed.”
Miriam laughed like that was the funniest thing she’d heard in years. Shaking her head, she set her grape juice on the counter. “Honey. There are three other videographers under him who would have gladly taken the project. Every single one of them has kids of their own.”
Ellie looked at her, startled. “So, he could have pawned this off on someone else?”
“Most certainly. The man’s smitten.”
“The man’s getting free sex,” Ellie said, then frowned. “Actually, I guess that’s not true. Not on this trip, anyway. Apparently, he booked us some fancy suite where we’ll each have our own room.”
Miriam grinned. “He wants to spend time with you, no sex required. I think you’ve got yourself a relationship.”
Ellie shook her head, even as her heart tilted a little at the thought of it. Was this turning into something more than a hookup?
Did she really want that?
“I don’t think so,” Ellie said, even as the flutter in her belly built to something more like rippling waves. Was it possible? No, of course not. But maybe—
“I do love spending time with him,” she admitted.
“He’s a great guy.” Miriam eyed her with a serious expression. “I would have chased him away from you weeks ago if that weren’t true.”
Ellie smiled and adjusted the dials on the oven. Was it possible for a fling to turn into something else? Was there any chance Ty might want that?
“I didn’t want to like him this much.” The second she’d blurted the words, heat flooded her cheeks. She might as well have confessed to peering through the men’s room door or something.
But Miriam only laughed and grabbed another carrot stick. “Believe me, honey—I know exactly what that’s like.”
She turned to her sister-in-law, keenly aware that Miriam did know. She’d had her own reasons for not wanting to fall for Jason. Reasons that involved a past heartache not so different from Ellie’s.
“Should I say anything?” Ellie asked. “I mean—I don’t even know if I want more than a fling, so it seems stupid to just blurt out what I’m feeling without knowing if he’s on the same page.” She bit her lip, softening her voice a little. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”