by Joz Maxel
"You two need a room? There's a few vacant in the back I could hook you up with."
Manny turns a few shades redder. "I, uh...I gotta go." Turning on his heels, he marches down the hall, his massive collection of keys clamouring against his side as he heads toward the coffee machine. Giggling, Gloria falls back in her chair and rolls it under the desk. "God, I love messing with that man."
"Awe, he's a sweet guy. Lisa said I have a visitor. You know anything about that between your flirting tactics?"
Smiling to herself, she points to the man standing by the bank of windows. She leans on the desk, putting her hand under her chin and resting her elbow on the stack of papers she has yet to file. "Now that is someone I can abandon my husband's spirit for. Mmm, that man is nice looking, girl."
I roll my eyes at her. There's no mistaking who that man is. I can pick him out in a dark room just by his stance alone. Leaning over the desk, I whisper, "That's my dad, Gloria. He'd only break your heart."
"Good Lord, Nova! That tall drink of water is your dad?" she asks as she fans herself. "You tell him Gloria says to come by more often."
Laughing, I pick up a paper clip on the counter and throw it at her. "I'll be sure to do that."
Seeing my reflection in the darkened window, he turns around, his crossed arms unfolding to welcome me into his fatherly embrace. He's still the tall and strong man I knew growing up, only a little greyer in his hair, and wrinkles around his dark eyes. "How's my girl?"
"I'm good, Dad." I give him a tighter squeeze before I let go and take a few steps back. "What brings you all the way here?"
He takes the toothpick out of his mouth and asks, "Is there somewhere we can talk?"
"Yeah. Everything okay?" Conversations are never pleasant when they start off like that. Coming from my father, I know this isn't good.
"Let's go somewhere quiet." He puts his hand around my arm and gives me a quick flash of a grin.
"Is Angela okay?" I can usually read my dad pretty well, but tonight, I'm getting nothing.
"Honey, she's fine, still riding my ass." He takes a deep breath and looks down at his boots. "Dane got out yesterday."
Looking at my watch, I note the date, almost fifteen years to the day. Interesting how a few words can make you feel like you just swallowed a handful of sand. "Shit."
My dad moves his hand to the middle of my back and urges me forward. "Nova just needs a few minutes to regroup. Is there a room we can use for privacy?" he asks Gloria, while pushing me toward the back hallway.
Gloria takes a look at me and purses her lips at my dad. "The family room, third door on the left."
Before I can say anything, my dad thanks Gloria and walks us to the quiet room. Once we are both inside, he locks the door and sits me down on the couch before taking up residence on the coffee table in front of me.
The room is decorated in monotone hues—from the beige walls, to the cream coloured furniture my ass is currently sitting on. The only light in the room is from the lamp that's humming, probably from being on all the time. It hits me that we're in the one room that no good news is ever delivered in.
Placing his elbows on his knees, he rubs his hands through his hair and down his face. My father clears his throat, taking my hands in his. "Dane came to see me yesterday after he was released. Almost didn't recognize him. He asked if he and I could talk." His eyes meet mine, and where his are tender, mine are furious. He clears his throat again. "He wants to see you and Rourke."
"Is this a joke?" I look at my father's mouth, his nose, then his eyes. Still no telltale sign. Fuck. I stand up and start pacing the room. It's safe to say I've gone from shocked to fucking livid. This man, my ex-husband, beat me senseless all because he was having a bad trip. And now my dad is sitting in front of me, telling me in a not-so-subtle way that I should let him see me and Rourke. I had to forgive him in order to have the life I wanted with Corey, but never considered seeing him again.
Awesome.
"No, honey, this is not a joke. But my fucking woman and her bleeding heart said I should listen to what he had to say. " He turns around on the table to see me pacing from one end of the room to the other. "Kiddo, please, sit down so I can talk to you."
I stop. "Don't call me that."
"He's had no choice but to deal with what he did to you. I wanted to kill him that night. I even thought I could get to him on the inside. He wants a chance to make amends with you."
I laugh at him, void of any humour in the situation. "Seriously? You want Dane to come and visit me so he can say he's sorry? Did you hit your head on the way here?" I stop pacing to lean against the locked door. All of a sudden, I feel like I can't catch my breath.
Standing from the table, he places both hands on either side of my neck so I can focus on him. I look everywhere else but him. "I'll tell him it's not a good idea. If that's what you want then I'll keep him away from you." I'm not sure if his look of concern is for me, or for Dane.
I put my hand on the door knob to ground myself. My head is pounding, and my stomach feels like it's ready to expel its contents all over my father. I try to slow down my erratic pulse by taking in deep breaths. After a few seconds, I can finally concentrate on my dad. "Why now? After all these years, why now?"
"I don't know. Prison changes a person, Novalee. Maybe it was the time he needed to come to grips with all he lost." He leans in to kiss me on the forehead. He no longer smells like leather and motor oil, but of Dove for Men soap and Old Spice aftershave. Looks like Angela finally got her claws into the unattainable Randall.
Pushing myself off the door, I turn my back to my dad and unlock the door. The Misfits tattoo on his forearm appears as he rests his left arm beside the door-jamb.
"Corey's aware of Dane's release. Talk to him, see what he thinks about it," he advises as he gently places his hand on my back, between my shoulder blades.
He can't see me purse my lips, but he can see me shaking my head. Of course, he would go to Corey first. Corey respected my father growing up, but they were never close, not like they are now. "Dad, I have to go." His hand slides down my back as I walk through the door, holding my head up high like everything is okay. My dad and I are usually on the same side, but tonight, we're worlds apart.
Corey
Glitter.
Whoever it was that decided to introduce glitter to a four-year-old should be fucking shot. How much glitter does said four-year-old need? Apparently, copious amounts. I can't fault her. It’s Nova's birthday today, and my daughter just wanted to make her a card.
"Daddy, do you like it?" I finish the remnants from my glass of water and turn to Lola, who’s dressed in her signature tutu and tiara.
She holds up the glittered birthday card at an angle, so as not to lose the colourful globs that decorate the pink construction paper.
With her eyes wide, she says, "I did it myself!"
"I see that, baby girl. Where did you get the glitter?" My focus lands on her ten-year-old sister, Maybelene, who’s looking at me with a blank stare.
"Mayberry, what happened to no more glitter in the house?"
She gasps. "Oh my God. Dad, please, stop calling me that! I'm ten. I'm too old for that name."
I only use that name to get a rise out of her.
I lean down to kiss the top of her head. "Leni, throw out what's left before your mom sees this mess."
"Are you gonna stop calling me that name?"
"Lola, help your sister clean up."
I smile at my girls before turning around in search of my birthday girl. Shaking my head, I revel in knowing that Maybelene's attitude comes from me, but Lola is her mother, glitter and all.
The smell of vanilla invades my senses, making all of me take notice. I grin, knowing exactly what my woman will get for her birthday surprise, and that she's as hot for me as I am for her.
Anytime.
Anywhere.
I go to reach for our bedroom door when Metallica's "Sad But True" floods the hallway.
"Hey, Corey. How was the run?"
"Good. You should come with me next time," I return, knowing full well that'll never happen.
"Are we still going for a ride after school?"
I taught Rourke how to ride when he turned fifteen. His mom wasn’t too happy with us, but she's accepted the fact that he is his father's son, and riding is in his blood. Every generation before him rod—I rode—so it was just a natural progression when he expressed interest in learning.
Looking over my shoulder, I nod. "You're still looking after your sisters tonight."
"Yeah, I remember. I'll meet you at the shop after school."
"Don't be late. I got plans with your mom."
"Dude, that's my mom. I don't wanna hear that shit."
"Rourke, go take Leni to school. And your mother would shit if she heard you say that."
Not mine by blood, but in every other way that matters, he's an archetype of me.
Closing the door behind me and making sure it's locked, I make quick work of stripping off my clothes as I make my way to my girl. Steam billows out of the almost closed bathroom door. I can see her feminine form stepping into the shower, a sight that never fails to make me hard.
As I slide my boxer briefs down my fully inked legs, my cock springs to attention. She sticks her hair under the water first, then turns around to face the stream as I enter the shower. My hands slip around her waist as I kiss her shoulder, then move up to her ear.
"Mmm. My husband will be home soon. He's a very jealous man," she says as she extends her neck and smiles.
I grab the hair at the base of her neck to turn her head to me.
"Saying things like that can get you in to trouble."
Before she has time to come up with a smart-ass comment, my lips connect with hers and our tongues collide in a lazy dance. As her hands caress up the back of my thighs, toward my ass, I glide my hands to her wonderfully heavy breasts. I find the hardened buds and give them a little pinch. Not too hard, but enough for her to pull her lips away from mine. She closes her eyes and moans.
"Eyes on me, birthday girl. Always on me.”
I lightly kiss the tip of her nose and turn her around to face me full-on. With both hands under the curve of her ass, I push her up against the grey tiled shower wall, lifting her legs to place around my hips.
"Corey...the kids—" Her breath catches as I slide into her. Her chest and cheeks flush just the way I like when I fuck her.
"You save the world last night?"
"Husband, do you really want to talk about my night, or do you want to get to the job at hand?"
She bites her bottom lip to control the smirk she's trying hard to stop, but fails miserably.
Shaking my head, I smile as I start to rock deeper and faster into her.
"Is this what my girl wants?"
"God. Fuck, yes!"
Her breaths are coming quicker, and that's her tell. She's climbing to the edge.
The deeper I am inside of her, the less need there is for words between us. The connection says it all. I lift her hands above her head and lock our fingers, all the while, nibbling down her neck and up again.
"God, Corey, I love you!" she cries as I release into her, feeling her walls pulsate around me.
Her eyes connect with mine, and I can't help being reminded that the girl I always knew was my future is mine.
Body.
Heart.
Soul.
"I love you, too, wife. Happy Birthday."
Nova
As I openly ogle Corey's bare ass while he decides what Saxx underwear to put on, I try to stir up enough balls to talk to him about last night.
God damn, that ass.
Jesus, I need to get my shit together if I'm going to have this conversation. He picks the black pair with red roses, my favourite. Just as he pulls his dark wash jeans over that delicious ass of his, I clear my throat. "Dad came to see me last night."
Corey stops doing up his button fly jeans and sits down at the foot of the bed. "I know," he says as he looks down at the floor. "Randall was here before he saw you."
My walk across the room is slow and deliberate. I don't need this turning into a fight, but this can't be pushed under the rug either. He finally looks up at me as I take root in front of him, leaning on the dresser.
"Were you going to say anything?" I bite my bottom lip, waiting for his response.
"Babe, you really wanna do this now?" He stands up and starts making his approach toward me. One touch from him and I'll lose my resolve. "It's your birthday..."
Wrong response.
I hold up my hand to stop him. He tilts his head a little to the left, giving me a smouldering look.
"Don't give me that look, Corey. It's not gonna work on me today," I tell him, shaking my head. "Should we save this talk for when he's sitting at our dinner table?" I fold my arms across my chest, so he knows I'm serious. He puts both hands up in a sign of surrender.
"That's not what I meant, Nova. Permission to engage?" His smirk is all it takes for me to lose the tension I've felt since seeing my dad. The loud sigh and eye roll answers his question. He takes up space right beside me, shoulder to shoulder, leaning on the dresser and folding his fully sleeved tattooed arms, mirroring my stance. "We both knew this day would come. It's been fifteen years."
Looking at my feet, I take in a deep breath. "I don't know if I can see him."
"Nobody's expecting you to. But, if what your dad said is true about him being clean then maybe you could finally get the answers you've been waiting for." I feel him looking at me, but I can't take my eyes off the floor.
"He wants to see Rourke."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Corey nod his head. "I would want the same if I was him. Rourke is a part of him, there's no changing that."
I finally raise my head to look at the family picture hanging over our bed. It's not your traditional posed family portrait. The girls are in the middle of the picture, sitting Indian style on a pile of leaves, pulling each other's hair. I'm standing behind them, off to the right, shaking my finger. Off to the left, is Corey holding Rourke in a headlock, his million-dollar smile plastered on his face. I smile with the memories of that day. It truly captures our chaotic life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"Doesn't any of this worry you? Dane is going to want a relationship with his son, and I'm not sure..."
Corey spins on the ball of his foot to cage me in. With each arm on either side of me, his towering presence gives me no choice but to look into his crystal blue eyes. He kisses the tip of my nose, and both corners of my mouth before he speaks. " Novalee Spencer, you and the kids are my entire world, and I will do whatever it takes to keep any of you from harm. Rourke is no different. We may not have made him together, but we sure as fuck raised him together. If he wants to meet Dane, I'm not gonna stand in the way. If he gets hurt in the process, ex-best friend or not, I will put Dane in his place."
"You'd be okay with him meeting Dane?"
"Right now, I'm not sure how I feel about it. Right now, I'm making sure my sexy as hell wife is okay with this." His hands caress my arms, starting from the elbow, and work their way up, past my shoulders to rest at the base of my neck. He tips my head up so he can take my bottom lip between his teeth. I gasp as his teeth bite into my lip, but is quickly soothed by a slow flick of his tongue. "Okay?"
Sliding my arms around his waist, I pull him closer to me. "You and your god damn charm—" His lips crash against mine. As his tongue slips past my lips, my hands find the globes of his perfect ass. Our make out session is cut short with a quick knock, then a parade of glitter, tutus, and smiling faces.
Corey leans his forehead to mine and closes his eyes. "I'm buying a dead bolt for this door." He sighs as I giggle. When he pulls away, he gives me a wink and an air kiss.
Rourke is first in line to give me a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, Mom."
I gently pat his cheek. "Thank you, baby.
"
"Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you, and I'm not to blame for the mess," Maybelene declares as she shrugs her shoulders at her dad.
I kneel down to Lola's level to ask her what mess, when a mountain of glitter is shoved in my face. "Oh my goodness, baby girl. Is this for me?" Not a second after I have the card in my hands, Lola crashes into me and wraps her little arms around my neck, knocking all the unglued glitter down inside my bathrobe. "HappybirthdaymommyIloveyou!"
To no one in particular, Rourke asks, "Is that the look animals get before they eat their young?"
"Leni said my card was ugly. You like it, don't you, Mommy?" She backs up a few steps to stand by Corey and hooks her left arm around his right leg. He absently rubs her on the head, staring at me like he's waiting for me to have a breakdown.
"Mmhmm," is all I can manage to say as I try to gather as much of the glitter in my robe as I stand. "I love the card. I love you all. I'm just going to go take a shower, again." Before I close the bathroom door, I hear Maybelene ask Corey if animals really do eat their young.
Dane
Sitting on the hood of my car, halfway through my fifth cigarette, right knee bouncing wildly, I stare at the house attached to the address Angela gave me. The house is dark grey in colour, with black shutters adorning each window. A front deck, complete with a porch swing, takes me back to my childhood.
We must have been about seven or eight when the three of us sat on Corey's parents' swing in the backyard. We swung so hard the springs broke off, sending us flying into the air and landing on our backs. Corey and I walked away unscathed, but Nova wasn't so lucky. It wasn't until a few days later her mom took her to the doctor when the swelling wasn't going down on her arm. Turns out, it was broken. Me and Corey got ripped a new one by Randall, and Nova spent the rest of the summer in a cast up to her armpit. But my girl took it like a champ. She made us boys do everything for her. We even taught her how to ride a skateboard with one arm. Wasn't easy, but she begged us to teach her, so we did, gladly.