From Ice to Flames

by Hargrove, A. M.

  “Yeah.”

  “Not tonight because Miss Milly has company. Maybe some other time. We’re going to eat dinner and then go home and watch a movie. Okay?”

  “Yeah!”

  We went to one of Wiley’s favorite Italian restaurants close to the apartment. The kid adored Italian food and then afterward came home and watched Cars. He’d only seen it a hundred times and could even recite lines. He said he was going to be a race car driver, God help me. He especially loved that it had a character named Doc Hudson in it.

  Tonight, he didn’t make it halfway through before he fell asleep. I watched him as he peacefully slumbered. This child owned my heart. He was so precious, it killed me every time I looked at him. I simply could not understand how his mother had walked away and signed her custody rights over without so much as a second thought. She had carried him in her body for forty weeks, birthed him and when he was only eighteen months old, turned away, and never looked back. No phone calls, letters, emails, texts, nothing. No requests for pictures, videos, anything. She did contact me on occasion, when she wanted money. I never sent her any.

  When he asked about her, I had to tell him the truth, but in an implied way. I told him she had to go away. It hurt me and still did. How do you tell a kid his mom didn’t want him? That was why I’d never get involved with another woman. Letting one into my life would be letting her into Wiley’s. I could not allow him to be hurt again, even if it meant sacrificing my own happiness.

  Picking him up, I carried him to bed. He was such a sound sleeper, he never moved an inch. He wouldn’t wake up until morning. I smoothed his soft hair off his forehead and stared. Sometimes I saw his mother in him, but as he aged, he was looking more like me. He had my dark hair and blue eyes. I hoped he shared my personality. I didn’t want him to grow up and be a back-stabber and cheater like her.

  I found myself asking the same question—had she always been like that? Was I so blinded by her beauty that I’d missed the clues? This train of thought sent me straight to the bar where I poured myself three fingers of Johnny Walker Blue. Yeah, this should be saved for something special, but damn, thinking about Lydia always soured my mood so why not drink something great to pull me out of it? Thank God I had a lot of money in accounts she hadn’t been aware of or Wiley and I would be living with my parents right now. She could’ve totally put me in severe financial distress. I don’t know what I would’ve done without Pearson. His legal team handled everything, which was how I was able to obtain full custody. I’m not sure how he did it and we never really discussed the finer details. I was so blindsided by everything, my only concern was for Wiley.

  Swallowing my bitterness, I switched my focus to the new neighbor. I needed to figure out where she lived. Then again, she’d probably want to sink her claws into me and I’d end up the same way I did with Lydia—minus a ton of money and divorced again. No thanks. I’d stay single for the rest of my life before I ever ventured down that path again. Marin had good intentions, but that’s what the road to Hell was paved with and who the fuck wanted to end up there?

  Emptying the rest of my glass, I got up and poured another. This shit was smooth and going down way too easy. Flimsy jumped on the couch after I took a seat and rested her head on my lap.

  “Good girl. You’re a sweet one, aren’t you? Not like Dick, who knocks people over.” I laughed just thinking about that episode in the lobby earlier. Milly had Dick’s slobber everywhere. Did she not think about the size factor when she got that dog? A chuckle rose out of me again. I couldn’t even imagine Lydia with a dog like that. She wouldn’t go near a chihuahua. And married to a veterinarian at that. I should’ve seen the light on our relationship long before we ever hopped in the sack. Damn, was I ever stupid. She sure knew how to turn on the charm when she wanted, the conniving bitch. So much so that she charmed me out of half my investments. Fuck my life.

  I needed to stop thinking about her. This was not a positive thing.

  Milly. Now that was at least a brighter thought. Maybe I could invite her over and get to know her. She might be interested in being a fuck buddy. Who knows? And then I could get Wiley to stop pestering me about playing with Dick and she could play with mine instead. Yeah, I liked that idea. A lot. The only thing standing in the way might be her. I wouldn’t know unless I tried.

  Chapter Five

  Milly

  One glance at Ava told me she was enamored with my gorgeous neighbor. Other than laughing, my chatterbox of a friend, hadn’t said much. It was good to know I wasn’t the only one he had that effect on.

  When that deep voice had asked, Are you alright?, heat boiled up inside of me. With Dick’s slobbery tongue so close to my mouth, I didn’t dare answer. My hand pushed his head away and all I could say was, “Uuugggghhhh.”

  Ava cracked up along with Hudson. She was now a confirmed traitor, along with Dick.

  He didn’t just help me up. He lifted me off the floor and set me firmly on my feet. Heat intensified where his hands had touched my hips. I swear I still felt them there. Too bad he had to leave to go pick up his adorable son.

  We both watched him go and sighed.

  “Now that is one glorious man.”

  “I agree,” I said.

  Her brow creased and she said, “You know, he looks vaguely familiar to me, but I just can’t place him.”

  I looked down at myself and groaned, “I hate to break it to you, but I can’t go out like this. I have Dick slobber all over me, which spells s-h-o-w-e-r. I have to get that out of my hair.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “Wanna come up and we can have happy hour at my place?”

  “Sure. Let’s go.”

  I gave her Dick instructions for while I was in the shower. “Whatever you do, do not let him on the couch. Furniture is off-limits for him.”

  “Got it.”

  I took the quickest shower possible and threw on some comfy clothes. When I joined Ava in the living room, she was sitting on the couch and Dick was sitting on the floor staring at her.

  “Does he always do this?”

  “Pretty much. He likes to watch the news. Oh, and he absolutely loves American Ninja Warrior. If someone falls or doesn’t make it to the end, the dog whines.”

  “That’s bull. I don’t believe it.”

  “I swear it’s true. He’s a huge fan.”

  I poured us some wine and we gossiped about work. Ava spilled her guts on how lazy Linda was. I hadn’t any idea.

  “Why would you? It’s not your responsibility to handle the catering and events side of things, but there you were having to do her job this afternoon. It happens every year. Last year, she did nothing. Absolutely nothing. In the end, James from marketing had to handle everything. It was ridiculous. We all thought she’d get fired, but no. She’s still here and doing a shitty job of it. I think she’s sleeping with someone on the board, but I can’t figure out who. It’s not Glenn.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Have you ever seen him with his wife?”

  “No.”

  “When you do, you’ll understand. That man is completely devoted to her. And it’s not Rick West. He and his wife have been together forever, and they are the most wonderful couple ever.” She named several other people, convinced it wasn’t them either.

  “What about women? We have two of them on the board.”

  “Well, fuck me. I never thought about that.”

  I snapped my fingers. “Get with it, lady. It is the twenty-first century you know.”

  “True. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”

  By this time, we’d gone through the bottle of wine and I said, “How about a shot of vodka?”

  “Oh, my. Lemon drops?”

  “Let me check.” I went to see if I had any lemons and we were in luck.

  “Woohoo,” Ava yelled.

  We made a couple of toasts to the dynamic fundraising duo and downed our shots.

  Out of the blue,
Ava said, “You need to hit on your steamy neighbor. I mean, go for it.”

  “Huh?”

  “Did you look at him?” she asked.

  “Of course I looked at him. I mean, how could one not? Those eyes. Did you see those eyes?”

  “Eyes? I never got past his ass. Did you check out his ass?”

  “I did the first time I met him, after I checked out his eyes. How could you not notice them? I’ve never seen eyes that color of blue before. Frosty, except they heated me up instead of chilling me.”

  “Hmm. I still can’t place where I’ve seen him before and that’s bugging me. But on to you and him. I think you should use Big Dick to get to him.”

  “Ha ha, very funny.”

  By this time, the alcohol had totally slammed into us.

  She held up her palm and said, “Noooo, I’m serious. I think your Dick could be the door-opener.”

  “That’s what he said.”

  She stared at me a second then cracked up and almost fell off the couch. I giggled.

  “But seriously. He seems to have a handle on Dick.”

  Now we cracked up again.

  “I’m gonna say we need to eat. That sushi place doesn’t deliver so what about Thinese or Chai.”

  “Oh. My. God. Did you just hear what you said?” She fell onto a pillow on the couch.

  “I’m smashed,” I admitted. “I’m not sure I can order the food. You do it. I’ll pay.”

  She grabbed her phone and after several back and forths with the restaurant, we got it figured out. The food would arrive in about thirty minutes.

  “Do we dare?” I asked.

  “Dare what?”

  “Have another shot? Or open another bottle of wine?” My words were slurred. “God, I’m glad tomorrow’s Saturday.”

  “Same. And I vote for wine.”

  “K. Lemme get some.”

  “I’m gonna have a water first.”

  I grabbed her shoulder. “You are smart. Did you know that?”

  “No, but I’ll take it.”

  We went into my teeny tiny kitchen and fixed glasses of water. I actually guzzled down mine. “I may need one more. Good thing I didn’t drink the wine like that.”

  When our food arrived, we decided not to bother with plates. As we chowed down on our food, Ava surprised me when she asked, “What happened that you got divorced?”

  It was so completely unexpected that I nearly choked. Coughing, I drank water to help it pass.

  “Sorry I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s fine. It just took me by surprise.”

  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.”

  “I’ll give you the abbreviated version. We were married almost twenty years.”

  “No shit!”

  “Yeah. And his best friend since elementary school suddenly died several years ago. It threw him for a loop because it was so unexpected. He became seriously depressed and it totally killed our marriage. He changed, and everything changed. No matter what I tried, it didn’t work, and we grew apart.”

  “Wow. That’s really sad.”

  “It is and was super hard on me. So, here I am in Manhattan in a foreign country.” I fake laughed to pretend I was happy.

  “It is, sort of. When I first got here I was like, ‘what the hell have I done.’”

  “Me too. The truth is I’m in that stage right now. It’s so different from Atlanta. And the weather, gah, I’m constantly freezing my ass off.”

  “Wait until summer when the heat is scorching.”

  “I love the heat,” I said, sighing. “I can’t wait.”

  She set a food carton down and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s plan.”

  “Plan?”

  “To get you and, what did you call him?”

  “Who?”

  “Your neighbor!”

  “Oh! McLuscious.”

  “Yes. Him.”

  “I don’t want to get together with him. What if it doesn’t work, Then I have to see him all the time and it’ll be awkward.”

  “No, it won’t. Just pretend it isn’t and hurry up to your apartment.”

  “What if he’s doing laundry when I am.”

  She leaned back and gaped. “Do you honestly think a man like that does laundry?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “He has people.”

  “People?”

  “A laundry service doing it for him.”

  “Really. There is such a thing?”

  “Oh, my God. I have to train you for New York life. You have so much to learn. Like grocery delivery too.”

  “You’re shitting me. I mean they have that in Atlanta, but I always thought it was for the lazy people.”

  “Have you ever shopped here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And isn’t it a pain in the ass?”

  “Sure is.”

  “So now you know.”

  She brought me up to date on other things, like liquor store delivery service, dry cleaning, etc., and then we went back to McLuscious. It was getting late when Ava announced she needed to leave.

  “Are you sure? You can stay here if you’d like.”

  “Thanks, but I want to sleep in tomorrow.”

  “I get that. I’ll ride down with you because I need to walk the dog.”

  I waited outside with her until she was in a cab and then I headed around the block with the pooch. With all the alcohol I’d consumed, my walking was more like weebling and weaving. I rounded the corner and spotted McLuscious with his three dogs. I remembered what Ava had said, and all the alcohol had taken my inhibitions away, so I actually flirted with the man.

  “Hello there.”

  “Hello yourself.”

  “I see you’re taking in some fresh air too.”

  “The requirement when you have three dogs.”

  “Dick here was getting impatient. I’d imagine you experience that from time to time.” Oh, shit, did I just say that? His brows shot up. “That’s to say, your dogs, not you personally. I mean, they get impatient. To walk. You know, like in have to go out.” I needed to shut my mouth.

  “Yes, they do. It sounds like you had a good time tonight.”

  Was it that obvious I’d been drinking? Of course it was. I tried to wave my hand, but it was attached to Dick’s leash. Shit. I snickered at myself. “Yeah, we ended up staying in because of all the dog slobber.”

  “What?”

  “You know, when Dick licked my face and hair. It was impossible to go out without taking a shower after that. So, we downed some wine and lemon drop shots.” Did that make us sound like lushes? “God, that sounded awful. We don’t usually do that.”

  “No, it’s fine. Just two ladies having a great time.”

  “Haha, yeah. So, what are you up to tonight?” Oh, my, God. That totally sounded like a come on. It was almost midnight and he just said he was walking his dogs. Shut your mouth, Milly.

  “Just out walking the pups.”

  “Uh, yeah, me too. Where’s your son?”

  Now I’d really done it. He looked at me like I was a total moron. “He’s sleeping. In fact, I need to get going. I don’t like leaving him alone, even if it’s just for a few minutes.”

  My mouth formed a gigantic circle. “Oh. Right. See you around. Happy night.” Happy night? Who in the fuck says happy night? I needed to make a point of never drinking again. Or at least not doing shots and wine. Ugh. What an idiot.

  Dick and I finished our walk and I went in. But when I got to the lobby, he was standing there.

  “Hey, would you mind it if we took our dogs to the dog park together some time? My son, Wiley, has been really after me about playing with Dick.”

  “He has?” Oh, my. A dog date with McLuscious. The wheels immediately started spinning about what I would wear and how I would behave. But as soon as he spoke again, my plans crashed to the floor.

  “Yes, and maybe if we go to the park, he’ll get it
out of his system and will stop with his annoying behavior.”

  “Oh. Sure. Yeah.”

  “Which apartment do you live in so I can get in touch with you?”

  “I’m in 12D.”

  “Great. Thanks.” I stared at him as he walked toward the elevator.

  “You coming?” he asked.

  “Right. Yes.” I followed him into the square box and stood there silently with the four dogs. When we got to the twelfth floor, I got out, saying goodbye. He got out too.

  “You live on this floor, too, don’t you?”

  “Yep, I’m your next door neighbor.”

  Wasn’t this perfect. There was only one wall separating McLuscious and me and I kept making a fool out of myself in front of him.

  Chapter Six

  Hudson

  “Where did you say Pearson was?” my brother Grey asked.

  “I didn’t,” Mom answered.

  We were sitting around the table, eating Sunday dinner at my parents’ house. Everyone was there except for Pearson. Again.

  “Hudson, have you seen him lately?” Grey asked.

  Every eye in the room landed on me. I hated throwing baby brother under the bus but what else could I do. “No, I haven’t. The last two times we were supposed to meet for dinner, he stood me up.” The pinched look on Mom’s face hurt.

  “Do you know what’s going on with him? He won’t even respond to my texts anymore,” Grey said.

  “No. He’s sort of doing the same with me. Mom? Dad?”

  “We’re having the same problem. Your mother and I want to get to the root of this issue. But then he calls and acts like everything is great. You know Pearson. He can persuade anyone to his side, which is why he’s such a great attorney. But I think there’s something going on with him.”

  I dished out some mashed potatoes for Wiley, along with some roast beef and vegetables.

  “I don’t want any of that,” Wiley said, pointing to the vegetables.

  “Wiley, you have to at least try it. You know the rules,” I said.

  “Okaaaay,” he answered back. “But can I spit it out if it’s icky?”

  Mom and Dad tried not to laugh.

  “No, you have to swallow it. There will be no spitting anything out at the dinner table. That would be considered bad manners.”