The Fix (Carolina Connections #1)

by Sylvie Stewart

  I told her it was no problem and got the information I needed from her, including the spot where she hides the spare key to her house – on the top of the door jamb, if you can believe that. That particular hiding spot would be changing tonight.

  Now that I knew she was feeling better and all was well, I thought a little bit of ribbing was in order. “I have to say I’m a bit surprised you called me, Laney. We’re not even dating or anything.”

  “Shut your face, Sparky.”

  ***

  I drove up to Cornerstone Daycare around the same time as every other parent in town, it seemed. I showed my I.D. to the woman in the front office as Laney had instructed, and I found Rocco’s classroom right where she said it would be. At least the teacher had told him to expect me instead of his mom or I’d be more apprehensive than I already was. It wasn’t like the kid and I were super tight yet.

  When I walked in the room there was a guy about my age directing his kid to get his belongings from the lockers across the room. “Tucker, grab your stuff – we’ve got to go!” The kid was wearing a bright pink shirt with the collar popped and dark blue shorts with – were those fucking flamingos? I looked back to the guy expecting to find the mortified look any man whose kid was dressed like that should be wearing, but no, nothing. This guy’s wife must either have his balls in a vice or be a champion at blow jobs.

  I looked around for Rocco, confident that whatever he’d be wearing would be cool because, let’s face it, his mom was awesome. I wasn’t disappointed. Rocco was sitting at a table building a giant Lego skyscraper and wearing a t-shirt that said “Support Our Troops” and had a Stormtrooper on it. Classic. I also noticed he seemed to be humming to himself and his nose was doing that twitching thing again.

  “Yo, Rocco!” I called so he’d know I was here. Before he could acknowledge me the pink-shirted kid approached him.

  The pussy-whipped dad motioned to the Lego table. “Is he yours?”

  For some reason I didn’t want to think about too much, I replied, “Yup.”

  The guy crossed his arms and nodded. “It’s really great that he’s in school with all the other kids…you know.”

  What. The. Fuck.

  “No, I don’t know. Please enlighten me.” My voice grated and my body turned to stone.

  He could not have looked more uncomfortable if a dozen Playboy bunnies had been pointing at his dick and laughing. “Just, you know, he’s got some issues, right?”

  And just then, out of the corner of my eye I saw the little flamingo bastard swing his hand and knock over Rocco’s skyscraper.

  We were done here. I used what I like to think of as my Bruce Banner pre-Hulk voice and laid into him with the perfect level of quiet power. “The only issue he has is that he’s at a school with a bunch of stuck up pricks like you and your kid. Tell your kid if he ever messes with Rocco again I’ll be giving my kid free reign to punch him in the nuts. And while you’re at it, try growing a set of balls yourself and tell your wife to shop where they sell boys’ clothes.”

  I stalked over to where Rocco sat dejectedly staring at his ruined masterpiece. “Hey kid. Wanna get out of here and get some ice cream?”

  His watery eyes came to mine and he twitched his nose. Then he nodded and took my hand.

  One stop at SweetFrog (by the way, what ever happened to DQ?) and another at Home Depot and we were headed back to Laney’s. Rocco remained pretty quiet but I’d gotten a few smiles out of him and we’d exchanged a couple jokes. His were clearly made up and made zero sense but I laughed anyway. I’m no idiot.

  I retrieved the “hidden” key and after unlocking the door I placed the key inside the fake rock I’d purchased at Home Depot and set it in an inconspicuous place by the side door. I thought I would see if Rocco wanted to throw a ball around or play something outside so I went in search of outdoor toys. The coat closet by the door seemed to be the best place to start looking, however, when I opened it an avalanche of purses, coats, shoes, and, oddly, magazines spilled around my feet. Hmm. What to do now? Since I didn’t spot any sporting equipment I decided to shove everything back in and pretend I’d never been there. It seemed Laney didn’t mind a bit of clutter, to put it nicely. After that I thought it best to enlist Rocco’s help and we located a soccer ball in his bedroom.

  I was no soccer player and it was safe to say Rocco was even less of one but we still had a good time kicking the ball around the yard and we made up our own game, the rules of which he changed every time he started losing. I didn’t care one bit. The kid and I were having fun. Rocco ran to the big tree in their backyard declaring himself the victor and I finally lay on the ground in submission. I stayed there for a minute looking up into the branches of the tree and then Rocco came over and lay down right next to me. I put my hands behind my head and noticed that he mimicked my movements. It may have been the single most adorable thing I’d ever seen and I felt a tug in my chest. Then a thought occurred to me.

  “You know what you need, Rocco?”

  “What?”

  “A treehouse.”

  “For real?” His voice was filled with awe.

  “For real. Let’s build one.”

  His little fist punched the air. “Yes!”

  And that’s when I lost the first piece of my heart to that little kid.

  ***

  When 6:30 rolled around we were both starving and nobody else was home yet. We’d gotten dirty playing soccer so Rocco’s solution was to shed all of his clothes. I opted to keep mine on, despite the aforementioned “pants optional” policy in place at Laney’s house. I fixed us some peanut butter sandwiches and threw in a banana to make myself feel like a more responsible guardian.

  Laney and Gavin both got home around 7:00. They walked in the door at the same time and I heard Laney tearing into Gavin about keeping his phone charged. He threw an insult back at her and it reminded me so much of Bailey and me that I had to smile. Rocco and I were on the couch watching some asinine show about a bald kid with some weird-ass name I can’t remember and his overly touchy-feely family. I don’t even think Rocco liked it but it was the only cartoon I could find.

  “Hey Nate,” Gavin greeted us first. “Sorry about the daycare thing. I didn’t realize my phone battery was dead.”

  “No problem. Hey, things are looking good at the new site. I hear you’re picking things up pretty quickly.”

  Gavin scratched his head a little self-consciously. “Yeah, they’re going pretty well. I’m learning a lot.” He walked over to the couch and put his fist out for Rocco. “Hey dude.” They exchanged a fist-bump and he turned and headed for the hall. “I’m gonna hit the shower. I’ve noticed my luck with the ladies hasn’t been so great when I head straight from work to the bars.”

  “It’s a learning curve, my friend,” I shot back.

  “Hey Rocco,” Laney said quietly as she approached next. She was wearing a sheer blouse with some kind of black tank underneath and her ass was perfectly showcased, yet again, in a pair of tight black pants. It took everything I had not to pull her onto my lap and cop a feel. “I am so sorry I couldn’t come get you today, buddy, but I promise I’ll be there tomorrow.” The guilt was plain on her face. Now I felt like a perv and instead wanted to pull her in for a hug. “Did you have fun with Nate?”

  Rocco’s head swiveled from the TV and his eyes were bright. “Mommy! Nate and I are gonna build a treehouse!” Laney cocked her head at me, eyebrows to the sky.

  Maybe this is the kind of thing you’re supposed to discuss with the mom first.

  ***

  Even though I may have been in trouble with Laney, my mood was sky high when Rocco gave me a hug on his way to bed. I waited on the couch and switched the TV to ESPN while Laney put him down. She emerged from his room fifteen minutes later and sat down beside me. I turned to give her my full attention.

  She cleared her throat. “First of all, I want to thank you for picking up Rocco and taking care of him. I really don’t know what I wo
uld have done if you hadn’t come through for me.” She placed her hand on my arm.

  Before she could continue I said, “But I shouldn’t have made plans to build a treehouse without conferring with you first. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but I get it. I’m new at the whole kid thing so you’re required to cut me some slack.” I went with my most charming grin.

  “Goddamned dimple,” I heard her murmur.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. Yes, you’re right. You should have asked me first but it’s mostly just because I don’t want you promising him things that don’t end up happening for whatever reason. I can’t handle him being disappointed any more than he already is.”

  I was sensing a much bigger issue at hand here but I chose to let it go for now and try to tackle it later, once we’d gotten to know each other better. “You don’t have to worry. I am 100% on board with the treehouse. In fact, I can’t wait. I promise.” I crossed my heart.

  “I believe you. And thank you, Nate.”

  Well if that wasn’t an invitation to go in for a kiss I don’t know what was. But like a complete imbecile, I didn’t. Instead, I chose that moment to fill her in on the little incident at daycare.

  “Come here,” I beckoned and made a space right in the crook of my arm. She didn’t hesitate to fill it. Warm supple woman cradled against me, I could be happy here for a long time.

  “I take it things went well with Rocco,” She said.

  “They were actually awesome,” I responded and I’m sure my excitement was reflected in my voice. “But I’ve got to tell you I was a little pissed about some things at his school.”

  Her body stiffened against mine. “What things?”

  “Laney, I don’t know if these people are your friends or if you just happened upon this daycare but I did not get a friendly vibe, no offense.”

  “Crap.” Her hand went over her eyes.

  “It may have been a random one-off kind of thing but some little prick was messing up Rocco’s project and his dad was spouting off some bullshit about Rocco being somehow ‘different’ than the other kids. The whole thing just pissed me off and I told the guy to go to hell and I may have even threatened his kid…” my voice trailed off as I realized for the first time how utterly ridiculous this all sounded. Shit.

  “You threatened a child?” Her jaw was slack and her eyes were on fire.

  “Well, maybe not so much the child but I’m pretty sure I insulted the father’s manhood and threw a threat or two in there.”

  Silence.

  “In my defense, the kid was wearing women’s clothing and still had the nerve to knock over what I personally considered to be an inspired Lego masterpiece that Rocco had worked hard on.”

  Laney looked down to her lap and then suddenly brought her eyes to mine. “Was the little fucker by any chance named Tucker?”

  Suddenly feeling somewhat vindicated I responded, “Why yes, yes he was.”

  “Okay, I can agree that I didn’t get a good vibe from a lot of the moms there, his included. But, Nate, you can’t go threatening people at daycare. Who knows how these things operate! They could call the cops or something. Or at the very least we could be kicked out for violent threats. You know they have these zero tolerance rules now?!”

  “Well where are those zero tolerance rules when the pink shirted kid is bullying Rocco and his dad is insulting him along with it? I don’t know a lot about kids but Rocco’s skyscraper was at least fourteen stories high and I believe an elevator was being installed. Sounds to me like the simpletons couldn’t compete so they resorted to sabotage. Have you never seen a movie like this? Rocco is the brilliant inventor and Tucker is the underachieving mama’s boy with something to prove.”

  She put one hand on my arm again and another behind my neck. “Nate, I need to hear the following words come out of your mouth: ‘I understand these children are five and we are not in a Martin Scorsese movie.’”

  I started to laugh but her facial expression remained deadly serious so I recited her ridiculous statement. Sheesh. But I added my own addendum. “Laney, I promise you there is nothing to worry about. Flamingo kid’s dad was humiliated to the point where he will never utter a word of our conversation to another soul. Still, maybe shopping for a new daycare isn’t the worst idea, huh?” Hoping I hadn’t gone too far I waited.

  The next thing I knew I was being straddled by the hottest girl on the planet and I finally had her ass in both of my hands. Sweet Jesus, my life was good.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Scarlett O’Hara Had an Excellent Point

  Laney

  His hands were on my ass and I was throwing caution to the wind. Every inch of my body was straining toward his and each firm line of his chest, arms and thighs was colliding with my body. My immediate thought was that we had too many clothes separating us, but we were in my damn living room so I had to stop my thoughts from careening that way.

  His hard thighs were a dream and I wanted to strip his jeans off to caress them with my hands and mouth. Muscular thighs were a huge turn on for me and Nate had them in spades. I don’t know if it was just the physical labor from his job or if he did additional working out on the side but his body was a thing of masculine beauty. I ground down on his pelvis from my straddled position and I was not disappointed by the rigid evidence of his desire that I encountered through the denim. It was obvious that his body was as eager as mine, but I wasn’t sure how far I wanted to go tonight. I was still freaked the hell out by him popping up in our lives only to disappear in a few months, so I knew I should be careful. I just had a hard time communicating that message to both my heart and my hoo-hah. He was so freaking hot. And he was so freaking into me. That was a collision of fates that didn’t happen in my world. I was too weak to resist.

  I ran my tongue around the shell of his ear and sucked his earlobe and apparently that was the last straw. Nate physically picked me up and headed to my bedroom with his hands on my ass, and I had no choice but to hang on for dear life. This was shocking and a bit embarrassing on many levels, the least of which being the chronically untidy state of my bedroom.

  Let me explain.

  In all of these romance novels the buff guys pick the girls up all the time and throw them on the bed or have vertical make-out sessions all while not straining a single muscle. I am not that girl. I have tits and I have ass and I’m not saying that in some cute little “oh, look at her perky booty” kind of way. I have double Ds and a very proportionate ass to match. That very often puts me into the plus size department and then on to a tailor to fit the smaller parts of me. Everyone loves to talk about boobs and booty like they are thrilled the old bombshell figure is back in style but I can tell you two things – 1) A rack like this wreaks havoc on your back, and 2) tailors are not inexpensive.

  So Nate carrying me to my bedroom, an event which should have been a romantic milestone complete with “Up Where We Belong” playing in the background, was instead an episode that filled me with self-doubt and imagined trips to the emergency room. A hernia, at the very least, was a distinct possibility in this little scenario – how romantic can you get.

  Amazingly, though, we made it without injury and he deposited me gently on the bed. He honestly didn’t look any worse for wear, and his lustful look implied that I’d better kick my insecurities to the curb because shit was about to get real. Yowza!

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” he growled while gazing at me from his elevated viewpoint at the side of the bed. “Lose the pants and the blouse. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Holy shit. It seemed someone was putting on his alpha pants.

  His gritty voice and confidence were such a freaking turn-on that I couldn’t comply fast enough. Clothes went flying and, laying there in my panties and black tank top, I looked up at him from my bed and couldn’t quite believe this was happening. To say it had been a long time since I’d had sex would be a crazy understatement. I couldn’t even remember my
last sexual encounter which I’m sure I should have found depressing but at the moment my mind was very much otherwise occupied.

  “You’re so fucking spectacular.” His pupils were large in his intense blue eyes.

  Was this real? Nobody had ever looked at me like this before.

  Still fully clothed, Nate leaned down and kissed my belly. He pushed the material of my tank up with his nose and began to run his tongue along my stomach, over my belly button and then across the top of my panties. “You smell so good,” he murmured and then lifted my tank to reveal my black lace bra. He pulled the shirt over my head and then returned to hover over my breasts. “I can’t believe how perfect you are,” he said almost reverently. His eyes shifted up to mine, and burned through me. “May I?” he asked and I felt so stunned and unsure, my hands just rested at my sides while he explored my body. I think they were as shocked as I was.

  “Y-yes,” was all I could manage.

  His fingers grazed gently over my lace covered nipples and they pebbled at his light touch. His lips then replaced his fingers and he began to lick and suck me through the lace. I couldn’t stand it any longer and had to reach to my shoulders and pull the straps down so he could gain full access to my aching breasts. He groaned at the first sight of my dark rosy nipples before he covered them with his lips and tongue. I cried out when he lightly bit each one.

  My hands, finally recovered from the shock of Nate’s laser-focused attention, reached for him and I was beyond frustrated when I realized again that he was still dressed. Determined to remedy that, I clutched onto the hem of his t-shirt, skimming the dusting of hair on his lower belly in the process. I quickly stripped the shirt over his head and within a millisecond my hands were tracing every hill and valley of his shoulders, chest and abs. Perfection. God, he was firm and smooth and his skin was incredibly sensitive if his occasional shivers were any indication. I could caress him all night and never get bored. Of course I’d have to invite my lips and tongue to participate as well. I circled one of his nipples with my tongue and he responded with something between a groan and a laugh. God, I loved that.