by Naomi Niles
She crossed one leg over the other. “Well, I know how to look for things. But you are lucky. I am so mad that she sent you those pictures, though. Why would she do that? Does she still want to be with you or something?”
“Tanya? I never know with her. One second, she is trying to take my boys from me and the next, she is blasting me out to all of her friends about how much of a loser I am because I keep doing low-budget movies. Now, I’m getting flooded with pictures.”
“Well,” she folded her arms over her chest, “you are going to have to let her know that those pictures are inappropriate, especially for you.”
“Yeah, baby, I will do it face to face once we get back home.” She glared at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her facial expression.
“This is not funny, Ezra! Face to face? After that woman has sent you naked pictures of her body?”
“Listen, babe, OK? And listen to me closely.” I leaned closer to her. “I do not want that woman. No part of me wants any part of her. None. Zero. Nada. I have to see her anyway because she is dropping the boys off to me later this week.”
“The boys?”
“Yeah. Apparently, she was bullshitting the whole time, and she never planned on taking me to court. She was just trying to get me riled up, and it worked. But, she said she was going to drop them off to me in a few days.”
“Oh. Well, that is good for you. I was kind of hoping you would take her to court so they could put her behind bars where she belongs!”
I laughed out loud. “Baby, you are so cute when you have no idea what you are talking about. They were not going to send her to jail over a custody case. You are hilarious.”
“Well, they need to! I should write a letter to the judge!”
We snuggled together for the rest of the trip back to the States. I wish I knew what Tanya was trying to do, because right now, I was confused as hell. Either way, I was just happy that I didn’t have to go through another grueling custody battle and that my boys would be able to come see me regularly like they did in the beginning. I was anxious to get to them, though. I hadn’t seen them in a few weeks, and that already felt like it was much longer than it should’ve been.
We got back to California five hours later, and the security team dropped us off at our homes. They stopped at mine first since I was closer to the airport. “So, are you sure you don’t want to go in with me?” I asked, sitting in the back of the car with her.
“I’m sure. I need to go home and get some rest. I feel a little jet-lagged, and on top of that, I want to shower, and I know if we end up together, the only thing we will do is fuck.”
“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “You’re right. Well, I guess I will see you in a few days, then?”
“Absolutely. Probably sooner than that.”
We kissed each other, then I got out and grabbed my things and headed to my door as the security guards drove away with Hannah. The house was bone quiet when I stepped inside. Everything was in the same way that I left it. The remote control sat in the middle of the living room table, and three magazines were spread out like a stack of playing cards. I figured Jeff would have stopped by and messed up some things while I was gone, but when I checked the cabinets, all of my protein shakes and bars were still stacked one on top of the other. I walked back into the front room and plopped down on my couch, leaving my bags scattered on the floor. I’ll clean that up later. I grabbed the remote control, flipped on the television, and leaned my head back onto the couch. In moments, I was asleep.
I woke up later with the television flashing the same commercials I saw before I went to sleep. I pushed my hand into my pocket to grab my phone. The clock read 1:43 am, and I had a string of text messages from Jeff, Hannah, and Tanya. Tanya asked if she could drop the boys off a few days earlier, Jeff wanted to know how my trip was, and Hannah just wanted to talk. I called Hannah. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey.” Her voice was groggy like she was still trying to wake up out of her dream world. “What happened?”
“I fell asleep on the couch. It was completely unintentional though. One second, I was watching television, and the next, I woke up like five hours later. I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“Yeah, so was I. I am still tired now.”
“Well, I don’t want to interrupt your rest. Go ahead and go back to sleep. We will talk again tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Get your rest. I love you.”
“I… I love you, too.”
I didn’t intend on saying that to her while we were on the phone. I saw the words leave my mouth and it all looked foreign to me, but I didn’t feel the urge to stop them. I said it and everything felt right. I didn’t regret it, and I could tell from her response that it took her by surprise, too. Maybe she will just think the she was dreaming. I shut the TV off, went to my room, and fell asleep for the night.
The next day, I called Tanya back. She wanted the kids to come by later today. I was tired, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to see them after we had gone so long since our last visit. “Yeah, Tanya. Bring them by. That’s fine.”
“I’ll be there around 1 pm.”
“OK.”
I hung up the phone, then went downstairs to fix something to eat. Before I could get into the kitchen, my front door opened and closed shut. Moments later, I heard Jeff’s voice. “Where the fuck are you at, man? You upstairs? Ezra? Yo, Ezra!”
“I’m in the kitchen.”
He walked into the room with a protein bar in his hand. He ripped off the paper, tossed it into the trash, and then shoved the whole bar into his mouth. His muffled voice escaped through the cracks of food. “Man, how was your trip?” Small bits flew out of his mouth and onto the ground as I watched them in disgust. He followed my eyes to the floor, then glanced up again. “What?” he asked with his hands out.
“That’s nasty, man. I’m barefooted. I don’t want to walk on your chewed pieces of food.”
“For crying out loud, man. You went to Amsterdam and turned into a little pansy!”
“Whatever, bro. And it was New Zealand, not Amsterdam.”
“Yadda, yadda, ya. How was it, though?”
I grabbed a bowl and a box of cereal, and sat down at the kitchen table. “It was good, man. Real nice. It kind of reminds me of New York, you know? Just not as busy and the people are much nicer. The weather was nice, and so were the women. I was on my best behavior, though, because I was with Hannah most of the time, but you’d love it out there, bro. Without a doubt.”
“Hannah, huh? I guess you two are getting pretty serious.”
I thought back to when I told her that I loved her. I didn’t want to tell Jeff what I said because I wasn’t ready for him to rag on me about it just yet. “Yeah, I would say things are getting pretty serious. I don’t want to jinx it, though, you know? Just take it slow… or… slower.”
“Yeah, I hear ya, man.” He stood up. “Well, I was just stopping by to check on you. I had a few minutes to spare before I headed downtown to meet with another athlete I am trying to get on my team. That guy out of UCLA.”
“The Stanson kid? Point guard?”
“Yeah, him. If I get him, I will be rolling in dough. Hell, fuck New Amsterdam, I might just buy my own island.”
“New Zealand, bro.”
“Yeah. That too. But I’m headed out, man. Call me tomorrow though, so we can get back on that workout routine. You had a week off; now it is time to get back to business.”
“All right.”
I finished my breakfast, then hopped in the shower so I would be ready for the boys when they came by. Tanya showed up just after 2 pm with Tanner and Nolan. “Daddy!” They rushed to me as soon as I opened the door, one on each leg.
I kneeled to wrap my arms around both of them. “Hey, guys! Daddy missed you! Have yall been taking care of each other?”
Tanner was the most vocal. “Yeah, Dad! We have! Oh, and Nolan tried to fight this kid at da
ycare, Dad. The kid was way bigger than him, too!”
“He did?” I looked at Nolan as he turned his head away from me.
“Yeah, Dad. He beat that kid up, and Mom had to come to daycare and take him home! It was soooooo cool!”
“No, Tanner, it was not cool! He got in trouble for that, do you remember?” Tanya interjected.
“In trouble? Why? What if the kid was messing with him first?”
“Yeah, that’s what I–.'
“Tanner, quiet. As a matter of fact, you take your brother to your room so I can talk to your father. Alone.”
“But, but–”
“No butts, Nolan. Go!”
I nodded at him. “Just go ahead, champ. I’ll be in there in a little while.”
“Come on, Nolan!”
The two of them sprinted to their room as their laughter trailed behind them like a cloud of smoke. It felt good to have them back around. I was just upset that it took so long for it to happen. I leaned against the wall with my arms folded over my chest. “Well, what is it?”
“Is that how you want to speak to me?” she asked, smiling flirtatiously. I didn’t realize how low her shirt was cut in the front until now. I could see the middle of her breasts easily as she walked by me and headed into the front room. “Can we sit and talk? I’ve been standing all day, and I just want to get off my feet.” She switched her hips as she walked into the front room. I tried to keep my eyes off her behind, but I found it hard to do at the moment. After she sat down, I quickly averted my attention away from her, but I know she caught me at the last minute.
She crossed her legs as she sat on the couch. I made my way to the chair across from where she sat. “What is it?”
“To the point, huh? All right. Well, as you can see, I was just messing with you about the boys, and I know I told you before, but I apologize for that. Sometimes, you piss me off so much, and the only way I can get to you is when it involves the boys. I know it is childish, but hey, all I can say is that I am sorry.”
“Is that all you wanted to tell me?”
“And,” she stood up, her full-figured body calling my name the same way it did during the times that we were dating, “I am kind of horny right now.” I laughed out loud at her advance, but she paid no attention to it. She continued walking in my direction, her breasts shaking with each step she took. Her smile was seductive. She licked her bottom lip and lowered her eyes, and it was that look she gave me that always turned me on.
“Horny? First of all, the kids are in the other room–”
She straddled onto my lap and untied the back of her shirt, “They will not step foot out of that room. I told them to stay put, and that’s what they will do.”
“Second,” she started kissing me on my neck, “I’m sure you have… I’m sure… I’m sure you have other guys that can handle that for you.” Her soft kiss made me forget how to put my words together. She always had a way of finding the softest spots on my body.
“No, Ezra. No guys this time.” She leaned in for another kiss, and this time, her breasts rubbed against my chest. I glanced down the hallway to our kids’ room. The door was closed, and there wasn’t a sign of either one of them coming down the hallway. I closed my eyes as her soft kiss sent tingles down my spine. “I realized,” she continued, “that I made a mistake. I let something go when I should have held on. I know we both did a lot of bullshit in the past, but I want to start over, Ezra.” She kissed me again. “Don’t you? I know you miss this,” she said as she took my hands and placed them on her backside.
Her cheeks were soft as I wrapped my hands around them. She giggled as she started a slow grind. I wanted her. I would be lying if I said the thought didn’t cross my mind a few times, especially after I saw the pictures. The pictures?! The words sent an alarm off in my mind that instantly regurgitated thoughts of Hannah. My heartbeat sped up as if she were in the room with us, watching everything unfold. “No, get up, Tanya,” I said as I grabbed hold of her hips. She laughed as if I were joking, so I said it again, only this time, I stood up and popped her off my lap.
She looked offended. Her lip curled up. Her brows wrinkled like an English bulldog. “What the hell, Ezra?”
“I can’t do this, Tanya. I can’t.”
She quickly copped an attitude and threw her hands on her hips. “And why not?”
“Because I am with somebody now. This is not like the old times when you could just come back around at any given moment and get some dick. I’m committed to this woman right now, and that’s how it is.”
“Oh, really? So, you can commit to this whore, but when it came to me, you were sleeping around like nobody’s business. Really, Ezra? You get this fuckin’ movie deal and then all of a sudden, things aren’t like they used to be? Really?”
“Yeah, really. With age, comes maturity. Well,” I gave her a once-over, “usually, that is how things work, but I don’t know where the fuck you came from, so your species might not adapt the same way.”
“What? The big breasts species?”
“Yeah. The one that sacrificed brain power for larger breasts. That one.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Fuck you, Ezra, and I swear if that whore comes around my boys, there will be hell to pay. I was joking around before, but this time, you’ll see how it ends for you, and it won’t be pretty. Trust me.”
I smirked. “Well, that makes two things in your life that won’t be pretty.”
She didn’t utter another word as she stormed out of the house and slammed the door shut behind her. I exhaled and sat down on the couch, knowing that I was just minutes away from falling into another one of her sexual traps. She was good at what she did though, and I couldn’t lie about it. She was good in bed, but that was about all she was good for. Just then, Nolan ran out of his room with Tanner right behind him. “Hey, was that Mom? She told us to stay in the room until she left.”
I grabbed him and put him in a headlock. “Yeah, she’s gone! Now it’s time for the fellas to hang out! What do you boys want to do?” He struggled to break free from my grasp, and when he finally pulled himself loose, he socked me in the chest. “Nice punch, Tanner! I might need to put you and your brother in some boxing classes. Teach you how to use that punching power correctly.”
“Yeah. I wanted to join some classes at the gym they have after school, but Mom said no.”
“Oh yeah? Well, Dad says yes. A lot of things are going to change around here for you and Nolan, and your dad is going to have a lot more say in what happens in his boys’ lives. It’s time for some changes.”
I kissed them both on the tops of their heads. They screamed out, “Yuck,” then ran back to their rooms as I called Hannah. I wanted her to come over and meet the boys, and I couldn’t care less what kind of threats that Tanya made. She wasn’t going to stop me from moving forward in my life with the woman I loved.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hannah
I heard them running around inside the house as I stood on the other side of the door. I could count the number of times on one hand that I had been around children. Ezra was the first man I’ve ever dated that had kids from a previous relationship. Just before I knocked on the door, I heard a loud boom from inside. “Tanner! Tanner, you and Nolan settle down in there before you break something!” Ezra’s voice traveled through the door as I hesitated before going inside. Break something? It sounded as if they already did.
I knocked on the door a few times before Ezra finally opened it up. “Hey, baby,” he said, embracing me as I walked inside. “These boys have been here for almost two hours, and they are determined to turn my house upside down.” Inside, there were action figures and sports equipment scattered around in the front room. The television set was turned to some cartoon that I hadn’t seen before. The last time I saw one of those was on Saturday mornings when me and my cousins used to get up early just to watch them while we ate cereal. I held my purse close as if somebody was going to run up and snatch it out of my ha
nd for fun.
Just then, in a blur, two boys sped past me, nearly knocking me to the side in the process. Ezra grabbed both of them by the arm. “Hey, hey, what did I just tell you two? Settle down. Didn’t you see that there was a woman in front of you while you guys were running? You bumped into her and didn’t say excuse me.”
“No, it’s fine, Ezra,” I said with a smile, as the two young boys looked up at me like I spoiled their fun.
“It’s not fine. They have to learn to show better manners when they are around women. They know better than that. Boys,” he said, looking at them sternly. “What do you say?”
“We’re sorry,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now, introduce yourselves to her.”
The oldest boy dropped his toy to the ground and extended his hand towards me. “My name is Tanner.” I didn’t expect his handshake to be so firm at his age.
“Well, hello Tanner. My name is Hannah. And who is this little man right next to you?”
“That’s my brother Nolan. He doesn’t talk that much because he is shy.”
“Shut up, Tanner!” he said, punching his brother in the arm before he ducked behind his father for a shield.
I thought it was cute how he hid behind his father for protection. They were both cute little boys, and I could see traces of Ezra in both of them. “It was nice to meet you two.” They waited quietly for a few moments until Ezra gave them the nod. After that, they picked up their things and ran to the back of the house and slammed the door to their room. Seconds later, there was another thud, followed by a rumble of laughter.
Ezra shook his head. “Boys will be boys. They won’t be satisfied until one of them breaks their arm or something. Shit. That’ll give Tanya another reason to try to take them away from me.” He shoved a few toys off the couch to clear a space for me to sit down, “Sorry about the mess,” he said. “I made them clean it up about 30 minutes ago, but somehow, everything was placed right back in the same spot just minutes after they moved it.”
