by Steph Nuss
“Yep,” she said with a proud nod. “It’s amazing how many times those tables fill up. Which means we should probably get out there and get ready to serve.”
“Right.” Neither of us moved though as I searched her eyes, silently begging her to share more details about her personal life. I needed to know more about the amazing woman standing before me.
She stared back at me calmly, not giving an inch of her soul away, and mused, “You look like you have a million thoughts flying around inside your head right now.”
And they all concern you, woman.
***
Two hours later, after the last person was fed, the volunteers were given the opportunity to make themselves a plate and sit down and eat. It floored me how many people we’d fed tonight. I bet each of the tables filled up at least three times, if not more. Many of them filled with mothers and kids. The last group of folks surrounded us, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Whitley right now. She’d finished eating and momentarily floated around the room, graciously greeting everyone she knew, carrying small children who weren’t hers, and making sure everyone was satisfied with the meal. The only people who’d recognized me tonight were the kids, and that was only because Zane pointed it out to every boy that came through the line. Now, they were drilling me with questions about the movie.
“Have you guys started filming the next Secret Warriors movie?” Zane asked eagerly, a posse of friends surrounding him.
I laughed. “No, not yet. We’ll start in a few weeks.”
“What’s a movie set like?”
“How long does it take you to get into costume?”
“Is the costume itchy? My Halloween costume was itchy last year.”
“Boys,” Whitley chastised, resting her hands on my shoulders. “Your mothers are looking for you.”
Zane’s shoulders slumped in defeat, but he said good-bye to his friends and then looked over at me and smiled. “She does this every time, makes my friends go back to their moms.”
I looked up and found her grinning at me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome!” A laugh fell from her lips as her name was called from across the room. “Be right back.”
Faced with Zane across from me, a mischievous idea formed in my head. I rested my elbows against the table and leaned across it. “Do you know your mom’s phone number?”
“Yeah,” Zane responded unquestionably.
“Would you mind giving it to me?”
“Depends,” he said, mimicking my posture, setting his tiny elbows on the table like we were about to negotiate a major deal. “Are you going to call her?”
“Yes.”
His bright blue eyes pierced mine as he continued. “Are you going to ask her out on a date?”
“Would that be okay with you?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he said with a shrug. He rattled off Whitley’s number, and I programmed it into my contacts list. “But Mom told Oma that if she dates, she’s a selfish, slutty mom. I don’t know what that means, but it sounded bad.”
Laughter shook through my chest, but I masked it with another question. “Who’s Oma?”
“My grandma,” he said, furrowing his brows in confusion. “You don’t have an oma?”
I shook my head.
Horror crossed his features. “Who gave you cookies and ice cream as a kid?”
I leaned further across the table and he met me halfway. “We weren’t really allowed cookies and ice cream back when I was a kid.”
“Oh, man, that sucks!” he exclaimed.
“Don’t say ‘sucks,’” Whitley lashed, ruffling his blond hair with her hand as she walked by.
He fixed his hair and made a funny face at her back. “I swear she has supersonic hearing!”
My grin widened, watching her work the room. “All supermoms do.”
***
It was a little after ten by the time Zane and I walked into our apartment that night after helping out at the shelter. Meeting Max and hanging out with some of his friends who regularly visited the shelter energized Zane, so he’d insisted we stay longer than usual. But it was summertime, so at least I didn’t have the added stress of helping him get homework done before Monday.
“I can’t believe we got to ride in Max Waters’ truck!” Zane declared on the way to the bathroom. “How cool was that, Mom?”
Max’s driver had ended up giving us a ride home tonight, even though I’d told him we’d get home just fine on our own. Zane had gotten the final say, so of course, he wanted to ride home with his new friend.
“Yeah,” I said, following him down the hall, “that was pretty awesome.”
Once in the bathroom, both of us commenced our nightly routines. We brushed our teeth and flossed, and then Zane changed into his jammies. I washed the makeup off my face, and then pulled my hair out of its knot and brushed the tangles out of it. I combed Zane’s hair once before we headed to bed.
He entered his room with his back to me, rubbing his tired eyes. “I hope he calls you.”
What. Did. He. Just. Say?
It was late, so for a moment I thought I misheard him. Leaning against his doorjamb, I eyed him suspiciously. “What did you just say?”
He jumped up on his bed and pulled the covers down. “I said, ‘I hope Max calls you.’”
What’s he up to? I crossed my arms over my chest. “I doubt that will happen, bud. He doesn’t have my number.”
“Yes, he does,” he retorted truthfully, resting back against his pillows. “I gave it to him when he asked me for it.”
Gah! I’m going to kill Max Waters!
“He asked you for my phone number?” I asked, completely shocked that Max would go to such lengths to get my phone number.
“Yeah,” Zane said with a shrug. “He said he would ask you out on a date.”
So, this is what it feels like to be pimped out by your child?
Utterly embarrassing!
Part of me wished the wood flooring would open up and swallow me whole, but that’d leave Zane parentless and I couldn’t do that to him. He had no idea what he’d done tonight would embarrass me. He didn’t fully understand the concept of embarrassment yet, but I was definitely saving this moment in my brain to remember when he started dating. I’d get out every cute, naked baby picture of him I owned.
“He said that, huh?” I asked rhetorically, my voice shaky as I walked over to him.
“Yep!” he stated proudly, crawling under his sheets.
I ran my hand over his short, sandy locks and then bent over and kissed him on the forehead. “Sleep well.”
“Love you, Mom,” he said, hunkering down further in his bed.
I turned off his nightstand lamp. “Love you, too.”
Grabbing the doorknob, I pulled the door shut behind me but kept it cracked a little.
“Oh, Mom, I almost forgot!”
I peeked back into his room, smiling. “Yes, Zane?”
“Max didn’t seem to mind the whole selfish, slutty mom thing either. Whatever that means.”
Oh, sweet baby Jesus!
“That’s great …” I said uneasily, sarcasm thick in my voice. “Thank you for remembering that.”
“You’re welcome, Mom,” he said innocently. “Good night!”
I continued down the hall to my room in a flustered daze. I hadn’t even realized he could hear Julia and me talking the other night, but he obviously had if he knew the phrase “selfish, slutty mom.” Why would Max want to date a mom who clearly wasn’t that great of a parent if she was letting her son use phrases he didn’t even understand?
He wouldn’t.
So, he wouldn’t call.
I was probably worrying for nothing.
Spotting my bed, I fell back on the soft mattress and took a deep, relaxing breath and then let it go. I kicked my shoes off toward the closet and shimmied out of my jeans. I pulled my phone out of the back pocket of my jeans and plugged it into the charger on my nightstand. Then I crawled under
the covers, turned off my lamp and sighed.
Finally, I thought. Time to sleep.
But sleep didn’t come as easily as I’d hoped. I tossed and turned. One minute I was too cold, the next I was too hot. I shed my shirt, opting for just my panties and bra, but I still couldn’t get comfortable. I closed my eyes, but an image of Max greeted me instead of darkness. He’d been great tonight with not only my kid but with all the kids. He’d been genuinely nice to the men and women we fed tonight, listening to each of them as they told him their story. None of them acted like they recognized him, but when one of the women flirted with him, he’d flirt right back. It was refreshing to see him help others outside of the hospital. He’d spent the last few weeks helping those who couldn’t change their health or conditions. Tonight, he’d met people who’d had a hard life and were struggling to stay afloat, and he’d handled them just as well.
And then he used my son to get my phone number.
Goddammit, Waters.
Zane came from a family of givers. He saw the good in people and never questioned if they might carry some bad. Listening to him tell Max about Adam had been hard, but it warmed my heart at the same time. He spoke so proudly of not only Adam but me as well. At eight years old, he wasn’t ashamed of the fact that his mom had met his dad while she had been bunking at a homeless shelter. Someday, his thoughts could change, so for now I relished his innocence.
Even if it embarrassed me from time to time.
Staring up at my ceiling, I noticed a light flash from my nightstand before my phone started ringing. I quickly grabbed it and swiped right to answer the call, more concerned about not waking Zane than anything else.
“Hello?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
“Whitley, it’s Max.” Max’s voice sounded sexy and hoarse on the other end. “I know it’s late, but I—”
“You what?” I said, interrupting him sharply. “You wanted to use the number you got from my son? I cannot believe you did that!”
He laughed. “Are you more mad that I asked him for your number, or the fact that he said he was okay with me asking you out on a date?”
I groaned internally. “I’m equally mad about both!”
He laughed harder, and my body grew hotter, causing my thighs to clench together. The phone amplified his voice in a way that made my body needy.
How have I not noticed how sexy his voice is until now?
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice more tender. “I saw an opportunity and I took it.”
“You could’ve just asked me for my phone number,” I stated.
“Really?” he asked incredulously. “Would you have given it to me?”
I thought about it for a moment and rolled my eyes.
“No,” he chuckled. “That’s what I thought. Zane followed me around like my shadow tonight, so I just—”
“I’m sorry about that by the way,” I interjected, silently chastising myself for interrupting him again.
“About what?”
I sighed and relaxed back into my pillow. “Zane is one of your biggest fans. He loved the Secret Warriors movie, and he can’t wait for the sequel. He loves comic books, and he’s actually started working on creating his own. So, I knew when the two of you eventually met—whether it was at the hospital or the shelter—he would react that way. He’d follow you around and never shut up, and that’s exactly what he did tonight. So, I’m sorry about that. I should’ve talked to him about you.”
“You have nothing to apologize about,” he said kindly. “I got to know you a little bit better through him, though I would’ve loved hearing it directly from you. It’s obvious he loves you, and he’s proud of where he comes from.”
For now, I thought.
“That’s actually why I called though,” he continued. “I know there’s more to your story than what Zane told me, and I’d love to hear about it over dinner sometime. Would you be interested in going out on a date with me?”
The idea of going out with him, and possibly being followed by the press and stared at by fans, scared the ever-loving shit out of me. I knew he had security; they came with him every day to the hospital. But I was more concerned about Zane and me. I didn’t need our lives in the press, too, simply because I went on a date with him.
“This is the part where you’re supposed to say something,” he added nervously.
I laughed lightly. “Max …”
“Look, I know I come with my own baggage that isn’t going away anytime soon, but we don’t have to actually go out. We could just have dinner at my place. It will be low-key and comfortable.”
“You’re going to cook me dinner?” I asked skeptically.
“I can cook,” he insisted. “How does next Saturday night sound?”
The ache at the apex of my thighs urged me to give in. One Whitley sat on my shoulder in a sexy, pink teddy, flipping through an outdated calendar, reminding me that it’d been years since I’d been kissed or touched by a man. The other Whitley on my opposite shoulder sat in old sweats reading a tabloid with Max’s picture on the cover along with the headline, Waters Kisses Another Woman Who Isn’t His!
“Whitley, are you still there?”
“Yes.” I shook the image of both Whitleys away and took a risk. “Yes, I will come over for dinner next Saturday.”
“Great!” he said confidently. “I’ll have Manny pick you up around six. Does that work?”
His driver? Really? I rolled my eyes. “If you give me your address, I think I can find it on my own.”
“Manny already knows where you live.”
“Was that also part of your little plan?” I pushed.
He laughed heartily, sending a shiver down my spine. “No, but it worked out pretty well, didn’t it?”
Oh, isn’t that just perfect!
Chapter Seven
We were one shot away from beating the young, college guys who’d been whooping our asses for most of the game. Saturday mornings were officially basketball game day with Maverick and the rest of the guys. It felt great to be part of their team, their competitiveness fueling mine. The guys we were playing this morning were faster, more agile, and they had a Chinese guy who had to be at least seven feet tall. None of us had that kind of height, but when he posted up, turned into me and tried laying in a two-foot shot, I jumped with him, swiped the ball out of his hands, and passed it to Cash Donovan at the perimeter.
He dribbled down the court fast, going one-on-one with the fastest guy on the opposing team. The rest of us chased them down the court, but before we could get a play set up, Cash faked left and then sprinted right to the basket for a layup. He ran underneath the goal, twisted his body and lobbed the ball up the left side of the basket. It danced around the rim, and the rest of us stared as the scoreboard buzzer rang out, announcing the end of the game.
The ball dropped down through the net, and we completely lost it, taking home the win.
“Cha-CHING!” Cash rubbed his fingertips together and smiled at the other team. “You boys just got ROBBED!”
“Fuuuccckkk yeah!” Fletcher cheered, pulling Cash into a headlock in excitement. The six of us huddled together and high-fived, watching as the young guys gathered up their stuff and stepped off the court defeated.
“That’s right! Go home, fellas!” Maverick ribbed, waving good-bye to them. “This is OUR house!”
One of the kids glared back at us and shouted, “You guys are old as hell!”
“And we still beat you!” Drake quipped, flexing his right arm.
I laughed and followed the guys over to our bench. We rehydrated with water and caught our breaths as we came down from the high of winning a hard-fought game.
“Dude,” Fletcher Haney complained, grabbing his right side. “Does anyone else feel like they have a knife stabbed into their right side?”
Justin Jameson took a deep breath and chuckled as he exhaled. “I’m so winded right now. My lungs can’t get enough air.”
Maverick laughed and
patted him on the back. “Guys, our age is our weakness. We can’t let it show.”
Most of us were in our late twenties or early thirties, and no matter how often we worked out and ate healthy, age still factored into our stamina on the court. Old sports injuries hindered us, and new events in our lives disabled us from fully immersing our hearts and souls into sports like we used to back when we were younger.
“I’m just glad we have more subs now,” Cash said, nodding at me. “It’s nice to get a break once in a while.”
Maverick laughed. “Max is one of the older ones but probably in the best shape out of all of us, with his current workout regimen.”
I nodded silently and then sat down beside Carter Jennings, who’d been benched for most of the game. He was sitting with his head tilted back, sleeping, despite all the commotion that resulted from our victory.
I nudged him but he didn’t wake up. “What’s wrong with Jennings?”
“What?” Carter asked abruptly, stirring at the sound of his name. “I’m awake. What’d I miss?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Cash asked, furrowing his brows. “You slept through most of the game.”
Carter rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. “It’s Cooper. He’s finally sleeping through the night, but for the past few months, he had Elly and me up at all hours of the night. That’s why I’m still sleeping. It’s like he’s trained me to be up all night, so I’m sleepy all goddamn day.”
“Ahh,” Maverick said, staring off into the distance. “I miss those days where I felt like I could drop into a nap at any given moment.”
Maverick and Carter were the only two with children in the group, at least for now. Carter and Elly Jennings had just welcomed their son, Cooper, a few months ago, and parenthood was kicking his ass.
“Just wait until he’s crawling everywhere and putting everything he finds in his mouth,” Maverick continued, shaking his head. “Seghen got into Harper’s purse the other day and found her lipstick. The girl had it all over her face, and I think she even ate some of it.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Gross.”
“Right?” he agreed. “And you know how hard lipstick is to get off. Harper thought it was cute.”