Scalding Hot Chocolate

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  That talk seemed to improve their mood, and they stopped bickering with each other over every little infraction. They even behaved when it was time for bed.

  “Sissy?” Lawson asked before I had a chance to close their bedroom door.

  “Yeah?”

  He was quiet for a few heartbeats before he finally whispered, “Can you tell us a story about Mama?”

  My heart twisted. “Of course, Oats.”

  I sat between their beds as the two of them turned to face me. Sure, they were separated now, but I had no doubt when I checked on them in a few hours, they were going to be squished in the same bed.

  “Let’s see. I met your mother when I turned sixteen. I had moved into her home to live with her and your grandparents.” I scratched at my chin, trying to put a happy twist on this story. “It was weird to meet my sister when I was already so old. My nerves were crazy. I thought I was going to pee my pants!”

  That got some giggles from them.

  “I knocked on their front door and this beautiful twenty-year-old woman answered. Her black hair hung over her shoulder in a cute braid I was jealous of. She smiled at me, all warm and welcoming, and I swore my heart was going to jump out of my chest. She made me all nervous and shy. Your mama was welcoming from the start. She stared at me, blinked maybe twice before she yanked me into a hug and nearly squeezed me to death.”

  “She gives the best hugs,” Lee said.

  Lawson agreed. “Yeah. The best.”

  “I’ve always been jealous of her hugs.”

  Lawson smiled. “Your hugs are good too. Not as good as Mama’s, but they’re good.”

  “Aw, thank you.” I reached over and patted his head. “There was a reason I liked you.”

  “Tell us more,” Lee said through a yawn.

  “More.” I tapped my chin. “Hmm, okay. So she hugged me real tight and said, ‘Maddie, I’m so glad to meet you. I’ve always told my parents I wanted a little sister, so I’m so glad you’re moving in with us.’ She was a whirlwind when we met. She refused to let me go, and dragged me up to my new bedroom and helped me unpack. I swear, she talks more than the both of you combined.”

  “I don’t talk that much,” Lee said. “Lawson talks more.”

  Chuckling, I said, “I agree.”

  “Hey!” Lawson managed to look indignant as his eyes fought to stay open.

  Lee and I laughed.

  “Your mother was a breath of fresh air who wasn’t afraid to face the world. She didn’t shy away, not from me, despite not knowing me, and never from the idea of becoming a mother. When you guys came into the world, she said, ‘Maddie, everything is perfect in the world. It was like I was incomplete, but now that I have these two, I’m full again.’ She was so happy to have you guys that she cried, holding the two of you, telling the both of you how perfect you were, even as you screamed your little butts off.”

  “I miss her,” Lee mumbled.

  “Me too,” Lawson responded, his eyes closed.

  I tilted my head back and stared at the ceiling. “Me three.”

  Slowly, their breathing deepened, and I sat there arguing with myself. I needed to get my butt up and out of the room. It was my deal with Dr. Adam. No more sleepovers with the twins.

  I made it to my feet, but it took me another ten minutes of standing there and listening to their breathing before I made it out of their room. They were okay. They’d be okay. I’d make sure of it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Instead of watching the twins disappear into the school, I walked them to their classroom. The moment I saw Dayton, I took the signed paper and shoved it in his face.

  “Done.”

  He jerked back and blinked, trying to switch gears into the right direction. It took him a moment to grab the permission slip and look it over. The twenty bucks was clipped to it.

  “This is great. Thank you, Maddie!”

  I smiled at his excitement, realizing he was genuine about wanting Lawson and Lee to go. “It was nothing.” I shrugged, pretending I didn’t save the world from another crisis. “And it’s your suffering.”

  He chuckled. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a hike. You’ll be lucky if they don’t try climbing trees and attempt to fly.”

  He raised an eyebrow, and I smirked. He didn’t need to know I was the one attempting to fly while they tried to get me down.

  “You know—”

  “Uh oh.”

  “What?”

  “The way you said that, and starting with a ‘you know,’ I’m not going to like this.”

  He chuckled.

  “Just hit me with it. What are you going to make me do?”

  “I doubt I can make you do anything.”

  I gave him a quick once over. “You can make me do a whole lot,” I said, and he let out a surprise bark of laughter.

  Shaking his head, he said, “I was just going to say that we are still looking for chaperones to help keep an eye on the kids.”

  “You want me to come on the field trip?”

  “I do.”

  “Aren’t there bugs?”

  “Usually.”

  “Bears?”

  He chuckled. “Black bears to be specific.”

  My eyes widened and then narrowed suspiciously. “You’re not feeding me to the bears. I’m a fast runner.” I wasn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.

  He leaned forward, close enough so I could get a whiff of his delicious, manly scent. Why did men always smell so good? His scent reminded me of autumn. Could a man smell like autumn? “Never, ever run from a bear.”

  I had to force myself out of the gutter. It took a moment. “I don’t need to run from a bear, I just need to make sure you trip.” Was my voice too soft? Too wispy?

  He laughed and flashed me that crooked smile of his that told me he was completely amused by me. “You won’t need to trip me. I’d still put myself between a bear and you.”

  Heat filled my cheeks at his words.

  “So?”

  “So what?” I asked.

  “Are you free on Friday?”

  Uh…” I blinked, surprise and warmth spreading through me. My stomach began fluttering around, butterflies instantly born in them. “Is this you asking me out on a date?”

  “What? No! Not at all.” He waved his hands around the air as he frantically tried to drill into me that he was doing no such thing. “This is strictly for the field trip. I swear. I wouldn’t ask you out…” He trailed off, seeing my expression.

  I had blown out my cheeks to look like a chipmunk and glowered. His eyes widened.

  “Wait, no, it isn’t like that. That isn’t what I meant. I mean, I’d love to take you out on a date. But not Friday. Or well, that wasn’t…” He trailed off and hung his head.

  Releasing the air slowly, I tried to give him a break. “It’s okay. I understand. My answer would be no anyway, so stop worrying yourself sick.”

  His eyes met mine, his eyes darker. “It’s not that I don’t want to ask you, it’s just…” He looked around at all the children.

  “You’re my kids’ teacher. I get it. What were you going to ask me?”

  He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, mumbling something I couldn’t pick up. “Let me try this again without sounding like a bad pickup line.”

  I giggled, and he responded with a smile.

  “Maddie, will you be a chaperone for the children on Friday? We need one more person.”

  Laughing, I tried to bury the small flash of hope he had instilled in me at the beginning. He wouldn’t do that, ask me out. There was too much going on. And did I even want a date from him? Could I stand by a man like Dayton, all handsome and nice—and fit. Besides, he had more class than asking me out on a date in the middle of a first-grade classroom. And why the heck were my thoughts going in this direction?

  “I have work,” I finally managed to answer.

  He nodded. “I understand. I thought I’d at least try asking. I think
all the kids would have fun with you there. You have a way of making everyone around you excited, no matter what they’re doing. And I’m sure the twins will love it too.”

  I played with the zipper of my coat as I glanced at the two of them. They were currently by a little bookshelf, looking at its offerings. “They asked me last night.”

  “I see.”

  Biting my lip, I hated that I couldn’t say yes, that I had to be a responsible adult. That thought alone made me shiver. I hated adulting. “Hold on.” I pulled out my phone and pulled up the calendar.

  There weren’t any meetings on my schedule for that day. I did my best to never schedule meetings on Fridays to give me a day of straight work without having to travel around the city to meet people. And from experience, I learned businesses didn’t like to have meetings on Fridays either. Maybe I could give myself a personal day. I hadn’t taken a day off in a while.

  “You know what, I’ll do it.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t have to force yourself. Work is important too.”

  I shook my head, dismissing his concern. “It’s fine. I can handle it, and if it’s possible, I’d rather be hanging with them instead of staring at numbers all day.”

  The smile Dayton sent my way grabbed my heart and lungs and squeezed. I was breathless with how happy he looked. Apparently, my presence on Friday was going to make more than just the twins happy.

  Unable to help myself, I smiled back, feeling giddy and looking forward to the trip. He didn’t ask me out on a date, but it felt like we were about to go on one. I tried not to think too hard about how that really made me feel. Not having Felix around still hurt sometimes, but that relationship had gone downhill since the twins began living with me.

  But Dayton. He never batted an eye, knowing that the twins were my responsibility, even though I was their aunt. It was nice.

  I had received so many weird looks from strangers when they realized Lawson and Lee didn’t come out of my vagina. The school was the biggest pain of them all as they took a righteous stance, thinking a single young woman couldn’t possibly handle twins. Especially since I didn’t have a ‘real’ job. At least, that was how the principal thought. He did shut up pretty fast when I threw the term lawyer out there and bringing this to the attention of their Board of Education.

  Dayton had been accepting of the situation since I’d first met him. It was nice.

  On my way to the door, I was humming, filled with giddiness for Friday. I felt like I was more excited about going on the trip than the twins. They didn’t even want to go! It was a travesty. I was going to make them regret trying to hide this from me. I was going to fill them with so much fun they were going to be too tired to walk back to the bus at the end of it.

  I nodded in approval. That sounded like a solid game plan.

  Stopping at the door, I turned to Dayton. “I’m looking forward to Friday now.”

  “Great, I’ll add you to the list, and I’m sure your nephews will be thrilled to have you there with them.”

  “Unless a bear eats me.”

  “You won’t get eaten by a bear.”

  I huffed. “They would be lucky to even get a nibble of my delicious self.”

  His eyes darkened and my stomach did flip flops at his expression as his eyes scanned me. I knew that look.

  “Hmm, maybe I should give you a taste,” he said in a soft husky voice. “You might just be too sweet for them.”

  My mouth popped open, and he blinked, the heated look going away. “Sorry, that was inappropriate of me to say.”

  “N-no, that’s okay.”

  Dayton looked at the twins over at their cubbies, digging through their things. “They look happier.”

  I shook off the random comment he had said and watched as they argued over something. Lawson pointed at his brother’s cubby and said something I couldn’t hear over the yelling of the other children. “They didn’t want to be a bother to me. Someone said something that has them thinking they’re a strain on me personally and financially.”

  Dayton’s expression reflected my own as he glanced at them. “And by your expression, you’re mad about that.”

  “I’d give the universe if I knew the secret in capturing all the stars to give to them.”

  “Really?” Dayton’s lip curled into an amused smile. “Capturing the stars? There may be a way.”

  “Don’t mess with me, Mr. Killison. I’ve been trying to capture those slippery things for years now.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll look into it for you. Who knows, maybe you do have a chance at capturing the universe.”

  “You’re messing with me.”

  “Maybe.”

  I huffed. “Right, well, I need to get going.”

  “Bye, Maddie.”

  “Bye-bye.” I gave him an awkward wave and practically ran out of the room. I didn’t stop my pace until I got into my car. I sat there for a moment, trying to go over everything that had happened.

  Dayton had a way of pulling everyone along with him, and if I weren’t careful, I’d become that crazed stalker woman who craved the soul of her love interest. He was an addiction, almost as bad as hot chocolate. He was fun.

  I headed back to my apartment to get to work, working to push my twins’ teacher out of my mind. There was no reason I needed to remember his blue eyes and the way I felt like I was flying through the sky when I looked into them. Or that crooked smile when he was amused with me. He smiled a lot, and I loved it.

  It took a while to get into the groove of work, but once I did, the morning went by quickly. By the time lunch rolled around, I was starving. My intercom buzzed just as I was making a sandwich.

  “Yeah?”

  “Hello, Maddie, it’s Rick from Orsana Tech. I’m here to install the new software for you.”

  “Oh. Oh! Let me buzz you in.” I hit the button to let him through the front entrance. It only took him a couple of minutes to get up to my apartment.

  “I didn’t think you were going to come out,” I said, opening the door.

  He gave me an itty bitty smile. For him, that was the equivalent of a massive grin. “I want to make sure it’s done right.”

  “Okay. Come on, I’ll show you to my office. How’s Lauren?”

  “She’s furious someone is trying to do this to you, but other than that, fine.” Rick took everything in as we walked to my makeshift office. It was the room closest to the front door. The room was large, my desk taking up an entire side. File cabinets and bookshelves filled the rest of the space.

  “This should take about an hour to get set up,” he said as he eyed my computer system. “This is actually a good one, so it should be faster than that.”

  “Great. Do you mind if I go get some lunch?” I asked as I got him signed into my computer.

  “No, not at all.”

  I left him to it. He was already in his own little world by the time I walked out of the room. It was so weird to have him in my home. He was an intense man, and I felt like he could see into my soul and spot all my secrets.

  Not wanting to leave him alone for too long, I quickly finished making my yummy sandwich. I was of the belief that sandwiches didn’t need to be boring. So I made my favorite combo of peanut butter, banana, and finished it off with a delicious layer of bacon. I paired it with a cup of hot chocolate. Best lunch ever.

  As Rick worked away on my computer, I leaned against the wall by the window and munched on my food.

  “Why do I smell bacon and peanut butter?” he asked, finally looking over at me as white words scrolled up the black screen in front of him.

  I looked down at my half-eaten sandwich and then back at him. “Because it’s my sandwich?”

  Both his eyebrows rose as his gaze went down to my sandwich. He didn’t look like he believed me. Making a grunting noise that I had no idea how to interpret, he turned back to the screen, letting his fingers fly across the keyboard.

  “Done,” Rick said long after I was done eating. He l
eaned back and stretched out his shoulders. “You’ll need to report the data breach. I was able to find where the hole was and emailed you a report with all the information that was breached. You’ll need to reach out to your clients to let them know. You should also tell them the steps you’ve taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

  I winced. “Will I really need to do that?” I asked.

  “Unfortunately. The report I sent you will have all the information you’ll need. Send it over to the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations, along with the Office of the Attorney General. Also, because of the malice behind it and what is going on, let your lawyer and the police know. I wasn’t able to trace it. Whoever got in knew their shit.”

  I groaned, already prepared for hell to rise and flood my professional world. “What information was taken?” I asked, dreading the answer.

  “Their contact and financial information.”

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  He shook his head.

  “Okay. I can work with that.” Clients were going to be pissed, but there wasn’t much else I could do. By the time Rick left, I was already putting a game plan in place before everything I worked so hard to build crumbled to the ground.

  Not wanting to drag this out, I called Koen.

  “Maddie? Is everything okay?” he asked. It was starting to feel like that was how all our conversations on the phone began—him asking if my world was ending.

  “I had a data breach. Someone hacked into my computer and got the contact information of all my current clients, along with some financial information.”

  I filled him in on everything that happened and what Rick told me to do.

  “Okay, this is good. Send me the report, and I’ll make sure the right people get it. This will also give the police more to work with. Draft up a message you want to send to your clients to inform them of what happened and send it to me. I’ll make sure it has everything it needs.”

  “Thank you,” I said, feeling relieved, knowing I had someone on my side.

  “Don’t worry, Maddie. We’ll get this figured out. I was able to escalate this issue with my contact at the police force. It’s his priority to get this resolved before there are more repercussions. I’m also sending you details for the meeting on Wednesday.”