If Only for the Summer

by Alexandra Warren

  I could tell the information was all news to Nova as her eyes went wide with shock before settling into a more neutral expression. And while it was also news to me, it honestly made me excited since that pretty much meant getting to know more about Nova by default. Then again, it almost seemed impossible that I wouldn’t have met her by now if she and Kaylin were as close as they seemed.

  As I tried to make sense of that, Jaxson’s little giggles stole the conversation when he said, “We’re not buddies, Auntie Kaylin. She’s my friend.”

  “It’s the same thing, sweetie,” Nova quickly explained before turning to Kaylin with tight eyes to add, “It didn’t. I mean, it did, but… not like this. ”

  “Well it’s not going to be a problem, is it?” Kaylin asked, her eyebrow piqued as if she was really communicating something else.

  Nova was dead silent as if she was saving her real answer for when the two of them were alone. And since things seemed way more tense than necessary, I answered, “Not a problem at all, Kay. It’s always a pleasure to meet new, beautiful women.”

  Kaylin rolled her eyes while Nova avoided eye contact altogether, though I could see her cheeks flush to a deeper shade of pink than they were already painted. If she blushed anymore, I’d be even more tempted to really try my hand at her. But now that I knew she’d be around all summer long, I figured it might be wiser to take my time.

  Still, that didn’t mean Jaxson was at all interested in patience when he blurted, “Miss. Nova, can you come see Uncle Lamar play basketball with us?”

  The question seemed to make her uncomfortable as she stammered, “Uhh… I mean…”

  “Of course she will, Jax. We’ll all go together,” Kaylin answered, snapping her eyes at Nova before grabbing his hand to lead him towards the exit, leaving Nova and I to fend for ourselves.

  I wasn’t sure why the coincidence had changed her energy so much, her warm appeal a lot colder now that we were meeting for a second go-round under altered circumstances. But since it seemed as if there would be plenty of time to figure that out, I extended my arm as I told her, “After you, beautiful.”

  She gave a polite nod before taking the bait, following in Jaxson and Kaylin’s footsteps out towards the blacked out SUV that was obviously another one of those special privileges. When the driver opened the door for us, I was glad to see Lamar had remembered to snag a car seat for Jaxson to use throughout the summer. But its placement against the window also meant Nova and I would be forced to squeeze into the backseat together since Kaylin had already taken the front seat next to the driver.

  Of course, I didn’t mind the closeness. Nova, on the other hand, waited on the sidewalk for me to get Jaxson situated before asking, “Aren’t you gonna sit by him?”

  “You mean, sit in the middle?” I asked, my eyebrow almost reaching my hairline as I watched her nod before continuing, “Uhh… don’t you think I’m a little too big for that?”

  The question seemed to make her uncomfortable like Jaxson’s did earlier the way she diverted her eyes before replying, “I just figured you’d… want to keep him close. You know, since he’s your son and all.”

  I immediately brushed her off, leaning against the car door as I told her, “Same car is close enough. He ain’t goin’ nowhere. Now come on so we can make a Thompson sandwich outta you.”

  The slightest smile finally broke on her lips as she slipped past me to climb into the truck, the wind blowing at just the right moment to give me a spectacular view of her upper thighs. They were thick, strong, the kind of thighs you could fall asleep on, or bury your head between like two pillows.

  “Damn,” I whispered to myself as I shook my head before joining them in the truck, squeezing in as close as I could without making her too uncomfortable so that I could shut the door. But even then, my legs were already feeling cramped when Nova suggested, “We’d have a little more space if you’d close your legs.”

  “I can’t.”

  Her face was pulled into a confused scowl when she turned my way. “What do you mean you… oh. Nevermind,” she said, her cheeks flushing with heat as she realized the answer to her own question.

  I could only chuckle as I wrapped my arm around the back of the seat to stretch out as much as I could just as Kaylin was turning around in her seat to ask, “So, Guy. What all are you and Jaxson getting into while you’re here? It must be top secret since Lamar had no idea when I asked him about it this morning.”

  A grin immediately grew on my face as I answered, “Three b’s, Kay. You know how we do.”

  “The three b’s?” Nova asked quietly, so quietly that I wasn’t even sure if she meant to say it out loud.

  But even if she didn’t, I had no problem explaining, “Yeah. Beach, basketball, and bi…”

  “Uh uh,” Nova interjected, snapping her head back to look at me just as Kaylin and I began to laugh.

  Since Kaylin was usually the one shutting down the pretend plans Lamar and I came up with whenever I came to the city, she took great pride in telling her friend, “Relax, relax. He’s just playin’, Nova.”

  I backed her up when I added, “Yeah, I’m just toyin’, sweetheart. Jax will be going to school three times a week, but on his off days we’ll definitely be out exploring the city. Learning the culture, take the boat out a few times, check out the Everglades, check out the art. So a little bit of everything.”

  Kaylin nodded in understanding and Nova seemed relieved as Jaxson screeched, “Daddy, you forgot basketball!”

  I reached over to give him a teasing tug on the ear, brushing against Nova by default when I told him, “That’s a given, little dude. Everybody already knows we’re going to see your Uncle Lamar hoop whenever we can.”

  He giggled as he dodged my attempt to pinch his cheek before sharing the rest of his summer plans with his new friend. “Miss. Nova, Daddy said I get to watch Netflix when we get to Uncle Lamar’s!”

  Even though she had been struggling through her smiles with me as of late, it was full blown when she told Jaxson, “That’s wonderful, honey. I like Netflix too.”

  “Jax, maybe you should invite Miss. Nova to Netflix and chill with you,” I suggested, Nova quickly turning my way with a shocked expression as if she couldn’t believe what I had said; something she’d definitely have to get used to if we were going to be around each other at all this summer.

  And it didn’t exactly help that Jax doubled down on my suggestion when he said, “Yeah, Miss. Nova. Netflix and chill with me.”

  While she was obviously torn between her hostility towards me and her sweetness with him, she took the easy way out and focused on him as she explained, “Honey, don’t listen to your father. He’s just being silly.”

  “Yeah. Netflix and chill is for grown-ups,” Kaylin added like the responsible adult she was.

  I figured that would be enough to put us back in the clear, but boy was I wrong when Jax decided to put an extra two cents in, turning in his seat with an inquisitive expression before he blurted, “Miss. Nova, Daddy’s a grown-up. You can Netflix and Chill with him.”

  I immediately burst out laughing as Nova’s eyes went wide and Kaylin released an audible, “Oh my God.”

  Tears were already seeping out of my eyes by the time I shouted, “Whoaaaaa! Take your time, little buddy. We have all summer.”

  And since he obviously didn’t understand the joke, he only shrugged before moving on to tell Kaylin about his plane ride which was a bunch of bullshit since he had been sleep most of the time. But I let him hoop, putting his imagination to use as Kaylin hyped up his details. Still, I couldn’t help but notice that Nova had fell especially quiet as if… damn, I know she’s not really offended?

  Instead of letting any tension linger, I cleared the air when I leaned into her to get her attention before I said, “It was just a joke, Nova.”

  She nodded convincingly. “Oh, I know. I was just… sending a text.”

  “Just got in the city and you’re already lining up the
potentials? Damn. I feel you, shorty. I gotta get like you. Step my game up or somethin’,” I told her teasingly as I pulled my own phone out, planning on doing nothing more than shooting Mariah the text she had asked for to let her know we had made it.

  Apparently that was the exact kind of message Nova had been working on as well when she replied, “What? No. It was just… my boyfriend. Wanted to let him know I made it safely.”

  The mention of a boyfriend made me tense up for a split second, crushing any and all interest I might’ve had since that was just something I didn’t fuck with. But once I peeked down at her phone I couldn’t help but notice, “That’s an… interesting way to tell him,” nodding towards her screen that was covered with a four page letter ass text. A text I knew was sharing a lot more than just a simple update. And she knew it too, quickly covering the screen before turning her attention to Kaylin and Jaxson’s conversation.

  Since she obviously didn’t want to talk about it - and I shouldn’t have expected her to since I was really just meeting her - I decided to tune in on the conversation as well, shaking my head as I listened to Jaxson go deeper and deeper into his imagination about what he was going to do on our trip. But if this was a preview of what our summer was going to look like, then I was down for the cause.

  Nova

  Sugar had gracefully turned to shit.

  One second I was already imagining myself strolling through Kaylin and Lamar’s Bayfront condo naked, taking full advantage of the wall-to-wall glass windows as I looked out onto the city every morning. But the next second I was watching Guy unload his and Jaxson’s suitcases that were immediately taken by a doorman before they led the way into the same place I thought I’d be calling home.

  Kaylin was slow to get out of the truck. But when she did, I quickly pulled her to the side by the arm, keeping my voice as low as possible when I asked, “Umm… Kaylin? What’s going on?”

  “What do you mean, Nova?” she asked, completely oblivious as she stared at me with a confused expression.

  Instead of answering with words, I nodded my head towards Guy who was moving along without a care in the world, baby boy a few steps ahead of him as if he knew exactly where he was going. And apparently I was the only one who wasn’t in the know as Kaylin nonchalantly replied, “Oh, they’re staying here too. There’s plenty of room up there, you’ll probably never even see them.”

  She took off again, but this time I legitimately yanked her back, making her yelp and drawing the attention of Guy and Jaxson just as they made it the door. I gave an awkwardly polite smile and Kaylin gave a wave to tell them everything was okay. But once they turned back around, I whispered through my teeth, “Kay, I don’t know these people.”

  “I thought Jaxson was your new friend?” she teased, making me roll my eyes.

  “Yeah, Jaxson is. Not that damn daddy of his. And speaking of parents, where the hell is Jaxson’s mother?”

  It really wasn’t any of my business. They weren’t any of my business. But I couldn’t help myself in asking since she was the only piece of the puzzle that was missing.

  Kaylin’s face went from playful to… unreadable, something I wasn’t used to when she sighed, “Girl… I’m not even gonna get started. Matter of fact, I’ll leave it to him to tell you. You guys have all summer right?”

  While I could hear the hint of amusement in her voice, I still wasn’t ready to actually join in on whatever fun she called herself having with this. So instead, I gave her a little shove when I scolded, “Quit playin’ with me.”

  She tried to play innocent when she squealed, “I’m not! I just knew you could use some new… energy.”

  “New energy? What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, having an idea where she was going with things since it seemed to be a place we visited every time we talked.

  But instead of confirming she was talking about getting rid of David, she only sighed before she replied, “It doesn’t mean anything, Nova. You just had a really long school year and now it’s time for you to relax. That’s why I brought you here, mamas. Remember?”

  I shrugged but couldn’t hold back the grin that came to my face as I told her, “Yeah, that’s what you say. But I’m starting to wonder if that wasn’t your only motive.”

  Not that I could really blame my girl for what she had done. Guy was a fine piece of manly, strong, thick without being sloppy ass. I mean, the man was just straight up… girthy. And he couldn’t close his legs which meant that probably extended to other places. But since that was the last thing I needed to be thinking about, I followed Kaylin into the building, focusing my attention back on Guy and Jaxson as they browsed the kiosk of brochures for different activities to do.

  When they noticed we had finally joined them, we all headed towards the elevator together, Kaylin using a special keycard that gave us access to the top floor before handing it over to me and telling Guy, “Lamar will bring the other key by when he gets out of practice so you two won’t have to be stuck together.”

  “Wait, we’re staying together?” Guy asked, his expression a mix of shock and amusement as if the news was actually a pleasant surprise.

  But his reaction was also authentic enough for me to ask, “You didn’t know either?”

  He was already shaking his head as Kaylin interjected to explain, “Look. If y’all wanna place blame, put it on Lamar. He’s the one who didn’t give me exact dates on when you guys were coming down. And I had already extended the invite and condo to Nova so…”

  “So we’re staying together,” Guy finished for her.

  “Exactly,” she replied with a short nod, the reminder making me feel a little uneasy though Guy didn’t seem bothered at all.

  In fact, he was already busy squatting down in front of his son to tell him, “You hear that, Jax? We gotta be good roommates to Miss. Nova so she won’t kick us out. That means you gotta be quiet sometimes, and follow her rules, and clean up your toys after yourself. Oh, and you gotta remember to flush the toilet every time you go, like you do at Mom’s house.”

  While the mention of the mother I still didn’t know much about already had my ears buzzing, I was a little caught off-guard when Jaxson added, “And I gotta wipe good too!”

  Instead of being embarrassed by the outburst, Guy only laughed as he stood up and agreed, “That’s right, kid. Boo-boo stains are not the wave, and I don’t think Miss. Nova wants to be friends with someone who can’t do it all by themselves.”

  Jaxson turned towards me, his eyes wide with excitement when he insisted, “Miss. Nova, I wipe real good. I promise!”

  Since the kids I worked with had their share of gross tendencies, I wasn’t at all bothered by the poop talk, nodding as I told him, “Me too, cutie.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see about that…” Guy muttered, making me cut my eyes his way even though he diverted his elsewhere. And before I could really dig into him about his little comment, the elevator doors opened up, leading to the place that pictures and videos definitely didn’t do any justice.

  The condo was just as spacious as Kaylin had insisted, given an even more open feel with the wall-to-wall windows which gave the perfect view of the water; a sight that I could easily get lost in. In fact, I was already doing so when Guy’s voice startled me from behind.

  “We’re pretty lucky to have such bomb ass friends, huh? I mean, what a blessing to be able to have this place for the whole summer.”

  I honestly couldn’t have expressed it better myself, Kaylin’s phone call to invite me down alone giving me the sort of the joy I didn’t realize I was missing out on. But since gushing about it to Guy like he was already a friend felt completely out of place, I only gave a short nod when I told him, “I’d have to agree.”

  We stood in silence, me observing the view and him… shit, he’s looking at me. His gaze was just as heavy as everything else about him, making me squirm as I felt him take me all in. And he held nothing back, not even bothering to play it off or back down like most men
would when I finally worked up the nerve to turn his way. In fact, he almost seemed amused when he finally got my attention, letting out a low chuckle before he said, “Look, Nova. I promise we’ll stay out of your way as much as possible. I mean, if we gotta set up a schedule to split living room time or whatever, I’m down. I just want this to be as enjoyable as possible for you; for us. And I understand having a busy ass three-year-old around doesn’t exactly scream paradise, but…”

  “Guy, it’s fine. Really. I’ll be fine,” I told him with a wave of my hand.

  “And if you’re not fine, you’ll let me know?” he asked, his eyebrow piqued as if he was legitimately concerned about keeping our communication open, something I could appreciate.

  In fact, I appreciated it so much that I offered him a smile when I confirmed, “If I’m not fine, I’ll let you know.”

  What I thought was a simple compromise turned out to be so much more when Guy took a step closer to me, leaning towards my ear to say, “Let’s be real, sweetheart. You’ll never not be fine to me, but if you say so.” Then he walked away, heading towards the room on the other side of the condo that Kaylin was already busy getting Jaxson settled into.

  I was torn between being stunned that Guy had been so forward and, being completely honest, turned on by how forward he had been. Somehow it was already clear that Guy wasn’t the type of dude to play games. He was straightforward, willing to the set the tone and let his thoughts be known at all times unlike David who hid behind text messages and talk to you laters.

  “Am I really comparing the two of them already?” I thought to myself just as Kaylin joined me, an extra pep in her voice when she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and asked, “So, what do you think? You’d still rather stay at the Motel 6? Beach bum it out all summer?”

  “I never said that was an option, silly. But to answer your question…” I trailed, peeking over my shoulder towards the hall Guy had walked down before telling her, “I think we’ll be just fine.”