I focused my attention back on Jaxson just as he was stammering, “It was so… so… scary.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Jax. But I’m sure it won’t happen again if you just go back to sleep,” I assured him, hoping that would be enough to get the both of them out of my room.
It wasn’t, Jaxson’s eyes glossing over as he whined, “But I don’t want tooooo.”
“Well how about we… turn on a movie? Will that make you feel better?” I asked, peeking up to Guy who only shrugged as if he didn’t care what we did as long as it meant no more crying and he could go back to sleep. Jaxson on the other hand wasted no time climbing up onto the bed, crawling towards the side opposite of me as if the spot had his name on it. “Oh! Okay,” I said with wide eyes, startled that he had overrode my original plans to go in the living room.
Once again, Guy didn’t look to care either way, tossing a wave at us as he said, “I’m going back to bed.” Before stepping to close the door behind him.
“No he didn’t just…”
“Miss. Nova, I wanna watch Home! It’s my favorite!” Jaxson shouted, his tears instantly replaced with excitement that I couldn’t help but consume.
“Home it is,” I replied with a smile as I turned on the Smart TV and navigated to the Netflix app, making me chuckle as I thought about how different watching it with a kid was. And to be honest, I was a little pumped to see the animated film which featured a character voiced by one of my favorite singers, Bad Girl RiRi.
Jaxson was surprisingly silent as the movie started and even throughout, only laughing when appropriate and gasping at the close calls of trouble for the two enemies turned friends. And you would’ve thought the movie was made for me the way I was doing the same, becoming so absorbed in it that I even found myself on the verge of tears the closer we got to the ending. In fact, I was so into it that I hadn’t even realized Jaxson had fallen asleep until the credits were rolling.
His sleep looked so peaceful that I couldn’t imagine disturbing it now. So instead I simply adjusted his head into a better position for his neck and covered him with the comforter, the California King mattress being plenty of room for the both of us.
At least that’s what I thought until I woke up with a foot in my face two hours later.
Through my slumber, I was somehow able to find the space to get far enough away from him so that I could get back into a deep sleep. And by the time I woke up again, the bed was empty.
“Hmph. Didn’t even leave a note scribbled in Crayola on the nightstand,” I thought to myself with a smile as I stretched my arms before climbing out of bed, following the sounds of Jaxson playing coming through the door he must’ve left cracked from his escape and the smells of breakfast being cooked by who I could assume was his father. And while I was already convinced the sight would be reminiscent of heaven, my cheeks turned hot as hell once I saw what was resting on the kitchen counter.
“What the… how did you… where did this…”
“Good morning to you too, Nova. You sleep aight? I’m sure that probably helped,” he said teasingly as he nodded towards the counter.
“Why is this out here?” I asked through clenched teeth, completely mortified.
Guy shrugged, transferring the blueberry pancakes he had made from the griddle to a plate as he explained, “Jaxson brought it out with him this morning. Thought it was a toy. And I mean, I guess it is a toy but…”
“Shut it,” I snapped as I snatched it from the counter and stormed back towards my room.
But I had only made it a few steps when Guy shouted, “Nothing to be embarrassed about, sweetheart! I’m sure it came in the long-distance relationship care package!”
“Not exactly,” I thought to myself as I made it back to my bedroom, putting the toy in a much more secure place before returning to the kitchen to find three plates on the counter.
“Lamar’s coming back over for breakfast?” I asked as casually as possible, hoping it would ease us past the humiliation I had faced a few minutes earlier.
My ears perked up as I watched him carry the plates to the table and answer, “Nah, the third one is for you. Well, if you want it. I didn’t wanna be rude. And I mean, you cooked for us the other night so I figured I could return the favor. Carry my weight around here.”
I tried to play down my excitement at that fact, nervously crossing my arms over my chest when I replied, “Oh. Umm… thank you. But I don’t really like pancakes much these days.”
He didn’t seem fazed by my words, using a knife to cut Jaxson’s pancakes into smaller bites as he insisted, “I bet you’ll like mine. And I used all fresh, organic ingredients if that’s what you’re worried about. Even the syrup is organic.”
“Miss. Nova, Daddy makes the best pancakes!” Jaxson added, backing up his father’s claims as he shoved the first bite into his mouth and groaned in appreciation.
While I probably shouldn’t have been relying on a three-year-old’s palate to determine if I liked something, the way he dived back into his plate to grab another piece was way too convincing as I finally agreed, “I guess I can have a little taste. So we don’t waste them.”
Guy only smirked in response as he passed me on his way back to the kitchen to grab the cups of apple juice he had poured for each of us, returning just as quickly and placing one in front of me. “Don’t worry, lightweight. This one isn’t spiked.”
I rolled my eyes at his teasing, borrowing the knife to cut my pancakes and spreading some of the organic syrup on top before using my fork to do an official taste test. And I would’ve been lying if I said the bite was anything short of amazing, reminding me of something my mother would make on a Saturday morning when I was a child. In fact, I was already digging into my plate for another bite when Guy asked, “Good, right?” An arrogant grin on his face since he already knew the answer to his question.
Instead of answering, I focused on the food, peeking over to Jaxson who happily had his toy car in one hand and a sticky pancake piece in the other, then peeking up at Guy who was busy getting his own pancakes in order. The whole scene felt… comforting, like something out of an ABC sitcom, or something I’d want to do every morning with my own future family whenever time allowed for it. But I suppose I was really only imposing on their family time, Guy using the opportunity to ask his son about our night together.
“So, what movie did you end up watching with Miss. Nova? Do you remember?”
Jaxson nodded, chewing his pancake. “It was Home, Daddy.”
Guy shook his head knowingly as he replied, “Of course it was that. Your favorite.”
“It was actually a really good movie. I enjoyed it,” I chimed in, trying to find my place in this whole arrangement.
But it felt as if I had somehow overstepped when Guy replied, “Yeah, I bet you were in there crying like a baby the same way Mariah did when we saw it in theaters.”
“You two went on a date to see a kid’s movie?” I blurted, my face twisted with what must’ve been envy since I knew that was something I could never talk David into doing. And since I didn’t have kids around other than my students back home, I never had a viable excuse to go to the theater to see the animated films I knew were riddled with adult jokes.
Guy matched my twisted expression, though his seemed more confused as he clarified, “We took our son to see a kid’s movie as a family, yeah.”
“Oh. Right. Of course,” I replied through my nods before shoving more pancakes into my mouth, feeling silly for jumping to the conclusions that still hadn’t been determined; conclusions that had me torn on letting my feelings about being around Guy bloom. On one hand, there was my ever lingering situation with David. And on that same hand, there was his… baby mama.
Guy ventured back to the discussion with his son, making me feel a little left out even though the question involved me. “How was it sleeping in Miss. Nova’s bed? Was it comfy?”
“Her bed is so big, Daddy. You can fit too!” Jaxson
insisted, making me cringe since I had already pictured us doing just that without his son’s company.
I braced myself for some sort of joke or tease about Jaxson’s innocent suggestion, but was surprised when Guy shut the idea down completely. “Nah, I think I’ll stick to my own. And I bet Miss. Nova wants her bed back to herself which means you’ll be sleeping in your own tonight. Understood?”
“But Daddy...”
“Jaxson…” Guy scolded in a voice reserved exclusively for parenting.
Once again, I found myself jumping in. “It’s really not that big of a deal, Guy. I mean, I hardly even knew he was there.”
“Well it’d be the exact opposite if it was me. I can guarantee you that.”
And there it was.
The charm, the flirt, the man who had managed to give me wet panties more times than the one I had spent the last few years with. And I absolutely believed his claims, was all but ready to test them out when Jaxson asked, “Daddy, can you watch a movie with me and Miss. Nova?”
“Daddy, can you make a movie with Miss. Nova?” I thought to myself as I listened to Guy spew his responsible, non-definitive answer. “We’ll see, son. Now let’s get you washed up so we can head down to the beach for a little while before Uncle Lamar’s game later on.”
Jaxson was already climbing out of his chair by the time I asked, “The beach? You should’ve warned me before I stuffed myself with pancakes.”
While I was sure my high-waisted swimsuit bottoms could accommodate the food baby Guy’s pancakes had given me, I still wasn’t thrilled about being out on the beach for the first time without feeling in tip-top shape. But my worries were only replaced with more humiliation when he stood up and replied, “Uhh… I didn’t exactly invite you.”
My lips were just parting to respond when he let out a laugh that interrupted. “I’m just messin’ with you, girl. You’re more than welcome to join us if you want. You know I’d never turn down an opportunity to see your cute ass in a swimsuit.”
I probably should’ve been snapping back at his comment, but the only thing that came out was, “I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of real beach bodies for you to look at. You won’t even notice mine.”
It wasn’t even realistic for me to think I could compete with the literal works of art that were waiting for us at the beach - South Beach. The girls with bodies that matched the ones he’d be throwing dollar bills at later when him and Lamar went to the strip club, the kinds of girls I was sure he lusted over via social media and claimed as his #WomanCrushWednesday.
Just the thought had me ready to turn down his non-invitation until he stopped right next to my chair, putting his heavy hand on my shoulder as he insisted, “Trust me, Nova. I always notice you, even when I don’t want to.” Then he walked away, leaving me to read way deeper into his words than reasonable.
Guy
I shouldn’t have invited her to come.
My attention was supposed to be on my son as we worked on building a sandcastle together, but I couldn’t keep myself from checking Nova out from behind as she stood ass deep in the ocean, the water splashing against her cheeks with every wave that passed. Her locs were pulled up into a bun so they wouldn’t get caught in the water which only gave me a better view of her backside. And while I wanted to continue simply being appreciative, there was something about her comments that I couldn’t let go.
“I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of real beach bodies for you to look at. You won’t even notice mine.”
Naturally, I wondered if this went in sync with the “issues” Lamar had talked about, wondered if she felt self-conscious being out on the beach in a two-piece even though her body was A1. In fact, I wanted to assure her that she should be proud of the body she was touting, soft and curvy in some places while still displaying tone and strength from her training and eating habits. But she had a man which meant I was supposed to be falling back, supposed to be staying in my place, even if I had already slipped up a time or two.
“Daddy, we need some more water,” Jaxson mentioned, knocking me out of my trance.
I nodded my head towards the ocean as I told him, “Go take your bucket to Miss. Nova. Have her fill it up for you. And make sure you ask nicely.”
Jaxson quickly snatched up one of his empty buckets as I shouted Nova’s name to get her attention before letting him go to her since she was standing in water deeper than he could reach. She met him halfway, bending to catch a bucket full of water before handing it to him and instantly realizing it was too heavy for him to carry which made her laugh. But watching the way she interacted with him continued to warm my heart, only making it harder for me to fall back. And her slow and sexy stride up the sand only made me harder in other places as she carried the bucket to our workspace with Jaxson in tow.
She placed the bucket of water in the sand before dusting her hands and putting them against her hips to check out our creations. “These actually look really good. I’m impressed.”
“You’re impressed that an art teacher can mold and sculpt sand? That’s pretty basic, Nova,” I replied as I drew a moat around them with my fingertip.
“Wait… you’re an art teacher?” she asked, obviously surprised by the mention.
“Yeah. Middle school,” I answered, assuming that was the follow-up question.
This time, she really drug it out as she put it all together. “You’re a middle school art teacher? How didn’t I know this?”
I shrugged, offering her a teasing smile when I replied, “Guess you haven’t stuck around me long enough to find out.”
She rolled her eyes as she plopped down onto one of the towels we were using to sit on while I continued to work. “A middle school art teacher. Wow. My teachers never looked like you. And in middle school too? Jesus, that’s a Lifetime movie crush waiting to happen.”
“Is that your way of telling me you think I’m fine?” I asked, my eyebrow piqued as I fetched for her compliment.
A compliment she tried to avoid giving when she diverted her eyes and stammered, “No… Yes… I guess. I mean, you know that.”
I shook my head with a grin, getting back to my moat and the original topic at hand when I asked, “What do you do back home?”
“I’m a first grade teacher,” she replied, forcing me to peek up at her to make sure she wasn’t bullshitting.
“No shit?”
“No. Shit.”
I immediately put two and two together to say, “So that’s why you got a whole free summer to visit Kaylin.”
“And that’s why you have a summer to visit Lamar,” she added before continuing on, “I still can’t believe you’re a teacher.”
“Why not? What does it look like I do?” I asked, curious to see what she had come up with in her mind as my occupation.
She seemed to be in deep thought about it before she blurted, “Work… security, or something. I don’t know.”
I bursted with laughter, hardly offended that her opinion was obviously based on my build when I fired back, “Well I assumed you performed at open mic nights for a living so there’s that.”
Her face scrunched as she repeated, “Open mic nights? Doing what? I can’t sing, I don’t write poetry, I don’t rap. Wait… the hair?”
I nodded with a grin. “The hair. The tattoos. The whole Bohemian swag you got goin’ on.”
The comment seemed to offend her even more as she snapped her head back to defend, “I do not have Bohemian swag. It’s just… comfortable, free, my own thing…”
“Bohemian.”
She tossed a hand my way as she shouted, “Whatever! Can I help?”
I shrugged. “Gotta ask Jax. He’s the leader of this operation.”
Nova turned her attention towards my son who was working peacefully as hell, concentrating intently on packing enough sand into his bucket when she interrupted. “Jaxson, can I build a sandcastle with you?”
He stood up and dragged the bucket her way before advising, “Miss
. Nova, you gotta be careful. And flip the bucket super fast so all the sand don’t fall out.”
“I think I can do that,” she replied as she moved over to where we were building our little town, jumping right in to help Jaxson flip his bucket over and creating the perfect sandcastle.
Jaxson clapped excitedly, making Nova laugh and making me smile even harder than I already had been as I watched them celebrate. “It all makes sense now. You being so good with him. It’s those damn teacher instincts kickin’ in.”
She was already busy packing sand into another bucket when she insisted, “What can I say? It’s my thing.”
“And you obviously do it well,” I told her, earning myself a solid grin as she went back to work.
Watching her go back and forth with my son had my eyes locked on the two of them, admiring their interactions as if they had known each other for months and not days. But apparently I was staring too hard as Nova insisted, “Take a picture. It’ll last longer.”
“Can I?” I asked, dusting my hands off so that I could reach for my phone.
But her hand against my arm was enough to stop my reach when she asked, “What? No! That’s… weird.”
Shrugging, I insisted, “Can’t blame me. You’re the one out here lookin’ good as hell.”
Better than good.
Fine as fuck.
Since I was sure those additional comments would’ve warranted some over the top reaction, I kept them to myself, instead hitting her with an expression stern enough to let her know I was serious. An expression that had her gnawing on her lip before she replied, “I actually do want you to take a picture of me. So I can send it to David.”
Wait, what?
While my instinct was to turn her down, I was reminded that it wasn’t my place to hate on her relationship. If she wanted to send her man a pic, that’s just what it was. And at least I got to be the one on the other side of the camera, experiencing it in real life instead of through a phone like he would.
She pulled her sunglasses on and pulled her hair from the bun as I stood up, dusting off my hands to grab her phone that was resting on the towel nearby. And after navigating to her camera, I waited until she got in whatever pose she called herself doing before I snapped the picture and showed it to her.
If Only for the Summer Page 9