Maxed Steel

by Fields, MJ

  “Never a dull moment around your family, is there, Isabella?” Pam laughs.

  “Yeah, and about that. Carly doesn’t need the stress of—” She snaps her mouth shut.

  “Of me?” Pam finishes.

  Before Bella can respond, I tell her straight-up, “She’s my family.”

  She doesn’t look at me. She stays looking at Pam. “Just, no games.”

  “It’s been years, Bella. Lifetimes. I am no longer that girl.” Pam laughs. “I’m literally twice the woman with half the moves. And besides”—she looks at me—“I have a man.”

  “Are you talking about Jesus again?” I ask.

  She gives me the look, the one that says bitch please without saying bitch please. “I love my relationship with my Lord and Savior, but I’m dating Pastor Davis.”

  “No way? When did this happen?”

  “Been a minute. But he knows you girls—my girls—come first.”

  Bella laughs. “Gotta tell me how he reacts when you two get it on and you scream out to his boss.”

  Pam laughs. She looks so happy. God, it’s good to see her happy.

  But inside, I’m terrified of what’s in store for Saylor, Cia, and myself.

  * * *

  Standing in the middle of our apartment complex’s lobby, I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t get more shopping in this weekend. Then again, I didn’t have as much money to spend, knowing I’ll be paying a mechanic to put a Band-Aid on Becky, as I thought I would, and Saylor was a bit wound up by the third trip to Target. Couldn’t blame her. So was I. Taking Aunt Pam’s Kia instead of Becky sucked, but it is what it is.

  “Once again, Mila, you’ve done the Lord’s work.” Pastor Davis smiles as he looks around at the tables filled with food and health and beauty products.

  “And once again, Pastor Davis, I’m happy to help, but I do get a kick back.” Most of the time, I earn rewards in the form of coupons or actually make money off my coupon stacking ability, which enables me to buy fresh produce and meats so that Saylor, Cia, Aunt Pam, and I can eat healthier food than we could normally afford. We used to have a big stock pile in our tiny two-bedroom apartment, and some things would even go to waste. It feels good to do this, and it alleviates stress for so many living off a system that was never designed to help them succeed, let alone eat properly to stay healthy.

  “Those are the Lord’s blessings.” He winks.

  Pastor Davis is in his early sixties and is a tall, slightly overweight, balding man with the kindest eyes and smile. He was reassigned from his church in Canada to this one. It was a big transition for him to preach here, as opposed to the small town he had been in for years, but from what I learned over the past two years, his wife had passed away and he trusted God put him where he was needed and needed to be to grow and heal.

  “They sure are.” I look down at Saylor, who’s asleep in her snuggly that’s attached to me.

  “We plan on expanding your garden next season, as well.”

  “That was mostly Aunt Pam’s idea.”

  His cheeks pinken, and he says, “She’s a wonderful woman.”

  “She seems to think highly of you, as well.”

  “Yes, well, whatever becomes of that, she’s made it clear you girls come first, and I’ve made it clear I’d like it no other way.”

  “I appreciate that, but don’t throw away something good on our account.” I don’t say much more, because I don’t know how much she has told him about our situation, but …

  My thoughts are interrupted by two words.

  “Hey, Mila.”

  I look to my other side, and by the look in his eyes, he appears to know I’m not all that put off.

  “Thanks for coming and all. I could have—”

  “Hush your mouth, Blue,” he winks.

  Pastor Davis clears his throat, and I steal my eyes from Max’s.

  He steps forward and introduces himself. “I’m Pastor Davis, a friend of Mila’s family.”

  “I’m Max Steel, a friend of Mila’s and hoping to become something more.”

  Seriously! I think and glare at him.

  “Can’t lie to a man of the cloth, Blue.”

  “Shouldn’t lie at all, son.”

  “No plans on doing so.” Max smiles at him in that Max Steel way of his.

  “Good to hear. Mila is a great person and an asset to this community.”

  “I’m sure she is.” He looks around at the people shopping then back at me. “Coupons?”

  I nod.

  “Epic.”

  He looks down at Saylor. “So, is she going to wake up or—”

  “She’s had a busy day, so probably not without a lot of prompting. She’ll wake up grumpy, and that makes it harder to leave her.”

  “Any chance I can go with you to”—he scratches his head—“wherever she goes when you’re at school?”

  “I can take it from here, Mila. Have a good week and safe travels.”

  “Thanks, Pastor Davis.”

  “Give me a minute. I need to grab something from the new ride.”

  Before I have a chance to say a thing, he’s gone.

  “He a good man, Mila?” Pastor Davis asks.

  I really hope so.

  Gloves Off

  Max

  Walking back into the building, carrying a couple bags, I see her roll her eyes as she begins to walk down the hall.

  I had some hope that she was going to be chill, but apparently, that only happens in the presence of men of God, not a man with the last name Steel.

  Hurrying to catch up with her, I walk past a woman in a chair with a cane who laughs. “Apartment 117.”

  “Thanks, beautiful.” I wink as I pass.

  I hear her laugh out loud as I hurry down the hall and catch up with Mila.

  “You’re such a flirt,” she snips.

  “Am not. I’m a nice guy,” I defend myself.

  “Yeah, well, guys who look like you can’t be nice guys. It attracts women like a—”

  “Moth to a flame?”

  “I was gonna say a vulture to roadkill, but whatever makes you happy.”

  Saylor’s eyes flutter open, and I smile. “See how she talks to me, Saylor girl?”

  “Do not wake her—”

  “Max,” Saylor says sleepily, and my heart melts.

  Mila cranes her neck and looks at Saylor. “Hey, Saylor, Mommy has to leave soon. Go back to sleep, okay?”

  “Max stay?”

  “He has to go to school, too,” she says, digging into her back pocket.

  “With Mommy?” Saylor yawns.

  “Yeah.”

  She rests the side of her face on Mila’s shoulder, still looking at me. “I go school, you go with me?”

  “You bet your blue eyes I will.” I make her the first of many promises I will never break.

  “Don’t make promises like that.” Mila pulls out a key then drops it. “Shit.”

  “Come here, Saylor. Let Momma get the key.” I hold my hands out, and she immediately starts climbing her momma.

  I unhook the straps like a pro, because I am when it comes to littles. Years of practice. Then I shoot up a silent prayer that practice does indeed make perfect and laugh, thinking it obviously does since I made something as perfect as Saylor.

  I hold her against my chest, and she melts into me. I place one hand on her head and hold it against my shoulder as I start swaying to see if I can get her back to sleep, not wanting her to cry when Mila leaves. I close my eyes and give her the first of many kisses on top of her head, wishing I had a picture to post to show the world what really matters.

  “Sweet Jesus,” slips from Mila’s lips, and it’s obvious it was unintentional.

  “Hmm?” I say as I pick up the bags that I dropped then walk past Mila into the tiny, cramped, but also clean apartment that my girls live in.

  “Now, let’s get you down for your nap, yeah?”

  “My bed?” Saylor yawns.

  “Of course.
”

  “It’s kind of a mess,” Mila calls after me as I make my way down the hall. “Room on the left.”

  As soon as I open the door, blankets and clothes fly, and I see a naked ass, close my eyes, and turn around.

  “Shit,” a kid, who seriously needs some protein shakes and a few million squats a day, says.

  “Cia trouble?” Saylor asks as the little shit flies past me and down the hall.

  “Yeah, she is,” I tell her.

  “You don’t know me,” Cia snaps from behind me as she storms down the short hall, tossing on a shirt.

  “Seriously, Cia?” Mila snaps at her.

  “Oh, please, like you and he weren’t banging at my age.”

  I call down the hall, “Not all cautionary tales end with an HEA like ours.”

  “Cia,” Mila says as she heads out the door.

  She spins around. “What?”

  “I’m leaving here soon and—”

  “Yeah, thought I had twenty minutes, and now all I have is the female equivalent of blue balls. Thanks for that.” She steps out.

  “Cia,” Mila calls after her again.

  “Don’t worry; I’ll be back. I always freaking am.”

  Mila tries to remain calm as she says, “I know you will, but that kid isn’t who just broke up—”

  “What can I say? I learn my lesson and move on quickly.” Cia glares down the hall at me then rolls her eyes at Mila. “Unlike you.”

  “That’s not okay.” Mila steps forward, and Cia slams the door behind her, in Mila’s face.

  “Sleep, Max?”

  “Yeah, Saylor girl, sleep.”

  Inside the room, there is a set of bunk beds and a toddler bed.

  “This princess bed yours?” I ask, forcing myself to lay her down in it.

  “Mmhmm.” She scoots over and pats the bed beside her. “Sleep, Max?”

  I reach in the bag and pull out a stuffed sailboat and a teddy bear with a little sailor outfit on. “Think there’s room for these, too?”

  “For Saylor?” she asks.

  “Yeah, the boat’s from me. The bear is from your momma.”

  “Thank you,” she says, hugging them both.

  I kneel down beside her bed and watch as she fights to keep her eyes open. I push her hair back from her face and lean over to kiss her chubby little cheek. “I’m gonna let Momma come in and snuggle a minute, okay?”

  “See you later, Max?”

  “You can bet on it.”

  * * *

  I walk past Mila and to the door. “I’ll meet you down there. Take your time.” I don’t wait for a response as I hurry down the hall.

  I stop in front of the lady with the cane and ask, “Hey, beautiful. Did you see Cia Miller walk past here in hot pursuit of a kid whose ass was hanging out of his pants?”

  “Check Water Street, the old strip mall, back parking lot, and if you see her, tell her Aunt Pam said to get her butt home now.”

  I smile and hold out my hand. “You’re Mila’s aunt.”

  She shakes it. “One and only.”

  “I’ll make sure she gets back here.”

  “Thank you, Sunshine.”

  To that, I hurry out the door.

  I jump in the Volvo XC90 that I bought used from Mom, who said she was ready for an upgrade. I know damn well it’s because the dealerships that I visited didn’t have this model in stock and she could sense I needed to do this. Then I punch Water Street Mall into the navigation system.

  It is right around the corner.

  I hit the ignition button and attempt to burn rubber. Let me just say that this vehicle was not made for that and, as disappointing as that is, I will get over it when the two back rows are filled with little Steelettes.

  As soon as I pull around back, I see a group of little thugs around Cia.

  I punch the accelerator then slam on the brakes as soon as I get close enough to them.

  As they shit their pants, I throw it in park and hop out. “Miller. Car. Now.”

  “Oh my fucking God, you are not my father!” she yells at me.

  Walking toward saggy-ass, I tell her, “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just use those two words like that as you climb your ass into the car.”

  As I get closer, I swear the kid’s about to cry.

  I point a finger in his face, stopping a centimeter from it. “You ever try to get laid in a bedroom that Mila and Saylor sleep in, I’m gonna have someone kick your ass, you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir.” He nods like a bobble head.

  “For fucking real?” Cia screams.

  “You look in her direction again, you better be acting like a man, bringing flowers and taking her on a date and shit, and not just trying to nut, you feel me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Shut up!” Cia yells at me and, again, I ignore her.

  “You grow up enough to figure out how to pull your pants all the way up, you ask permission to take her on a proper date or you stay the fuck away from her completely. Those are your only two choices.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I hear the car engine rev and try to remain calm, but if she does what I think she’s doing, I’m going to flip.

  “Now, go home and take a shower. You smell like you pissed yourself.”

  “That’s because I did, sir.” His lower lip quivers.

  I’m two seconds from laughing my ass off when I yell, “Get the fuck out of here!”

  When I turn, I see Cia glaring at me from the driver’s seat.

  “You might want to move your ass over now!” I yell.

  “You might wanna kiss my ass!” She revs the car again.

  Clearly, I’m not making any friends here, and I should probably rethink my approach.

  When she reaches down for the gear shift, I yell, “You and I are gonna have to become friends, Cia. And let me tell you something, kid, grand theft isn’t the second chance at a first impression I was hoping for.”

  “What do you care? You’re just gonna take Mila away, and I’m gonna be the one who has to take care of Aunt Pam until she dies, too.”

  Walking slower toward the car, I tell her, “It isn’t like that, Cia. I know you and your sister are a package deal, and I can tell Saylor loves you.”

  Tears fall down her cheeks. “Yeah, so you’re gonna try to act like my dad now?”

  I open the door and squat beside the car. “I was thinking more like a big brother. But, even so, if I see that kind of shit, I’m gonna react the same way.”

  “Until I do something bad enough that you hate me and won’t let Mila see me anymore.”

  “I see you’re trying to do that now, and look, I’m right here.” About to piss my pants, but whatever.

  She huffs, “Whatever. Mila won’t be when she finds out I’m not smart like her. That I won’t get into college like she did, and work, and help people in our building, and—”

  “You’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself for no reason right now, Cia.”

  “She has you now!”

  “I’m not sure she actually likes me all that much, but I’m trying. So, if I promise you all the things I said a second ago are true, prove it over the next few weeks, maybe you could be that friend.”

  Wiping the tears from her eyes and her face with the back of her hand, she says, “Friends don’t try to run over their friend’s friends.”

  “Just giving them a little scare.” I nod for her to move over. “I’ll try not to do that again.”

  She scowls at me, and I smile.

  “Oh my God, stop smiling at me,” she groans as she climbs over the console into the passenger seat.

  “I literally am incapable of frowning,” I say, sliding into the car.

  “If you had a jacked-up grill like I do, you’d be able to frown.”

  “Lemme see.”

  “Hell no.”

  A light bulb goes off in my head. “How about you and I make a deal?”

  “What’s that?”

>   “Keep taking good care of Saylor when Mila’s at school and doing what you need to at your school so you can get into college, and I’ll hook you up with braces.”

  “Are you insane? Do you know how much they cost?”

  “I get hundreds of people wanting me to promote their products on IG. I think I got one for those invisible braces.”

  “Shut up. For free?”

  “Yeah.” I put the car in drive.

  “Like lots of stuff?”

  “Yep, but I don’t promote anything I wouldn’t need. So, you keep it together, I’ll make a deal with them.”

  “Will you tag me in it so people give me free stuff, too?”

  “When you’re old enough to know the difference between good content and understand the impact of promoting other people on your platform.”

  “I have good content.”

  “At your age, I didn’t. Killed that page when I went pro.”

  “Pro in what?”

  “Surfing.”

  “Can you teach me to surf?”

  “Sure can. If you can promise me that a dude who pisses his pants doesn’t get anywhere near yours.”

  “Did he really piss his pants?”

  Laughing, I nod. “He sure did.”

  And then Cia, who minutes ago was crying, starts to laugh.

  * * *

  Waiting in the car for Mila to come out, I look at the clock. Three hours to class, and I’m already thinking of dropping it.

  Scratching my head, I look down at the online classes still open, hoping something has changed.

  “Shit,” I groan as the door opens. I look up as Mila starts to get in. “Hold on.” I open my door and begin to get out.

  “Not necessary,” she says, getting in.

  “I’m not half-assing us, Blue. I’m in this. The details are important. I wanna show you that you’re important enough for me to care about them.”

  She pulls her seat belt on and continues looking forward.

  “Yeah?”

  She swallows hard and looks out the window.

  “Talk to me.”

  “I have a really hard time leaving her.”