by Nikki Ash
“Ignore him. So, I have to know…” She stops what she’s saying and turns around to face Sean and me. “Goodbye, boys.” She turns back around, steps forward, and closes the door behind her, effectively removing us from their conversation.
Ten
Ava
Oh my god. Oh. My. God. Oh my frigging god! Levi opened my box! Griffin saw what was in it! And judging by his brother’s laughter and the pained look on his wife’s face, they saw what’s in the box as well.
Oh…and Levi thinks they’re swords! Ay dios mio!
“Okay, so now that they’re gone, I have to know. Do you host parties?”
“Huh?” I gulp, completely embarrassed.
“Parties!” Lilly nods toward the heavy box in my hands. “I saw the logo. It’s from Passion Kisses, right? I’ve been dying to check out some of their products.”
I glance down at the box and after a few seconds, my brain begins to function properly again. “Oh! Yeah, I do.” I give her a smile. “It’s great extra money and the products are high quality.” Then it hits me Levi was playing with my products. “Ugh!” I groan. “Do you think Levi is scarred for life?” I ask as I picture him running around his house pretending the vibrating dildos are swords.
Lilly giggles. “Nah!” She waves me off. “He’s more upset he no longer has a sword to play with.”
I shift the box in my hands and Lilly says, “Here! Let me help you take the box to your place.” She grabs the keys out of my hand and heads toward my apartment. She unlocks the door, and when it swings open and Maverick comes barreling down the hall to greet her, she bends down to pet him while I put the heavy box on my table. I grab Maverick’s leash and head back to the doorway to clip it on him for our afternoon walk.
“When’s your next party?” Lilly asks.
“Weekend after next. I’m expecting two more boxes. I’m going to need to check the expected delivery date and make sure I’m home. Levi will not confuse those items with swords.”
Lilly laughs. “I would love to go…if you have room for one more.”
“Yeah?” I question.
“Absolutely! I’ve always wanted to go to one. Oh! And if you have room, I bet my cousins and sister would want to join.”
“Sure.” I shrug. “The more the merrier.”
“Cool! Let me get your number and I’ll text you mine so you can give me all the details. This is going to be so much fun!” She pulls her phone out of her jacket and I notice she’s wearing really cute workout gear.
“I love your outfit! Where did you get it?” She looks down to see what she’s wearing.
“My cousins Faith and Chloe own the best boutique. It’s called A Clothes Affair. Have you heard of it?”
“I’ve seen it downtown but I’ve never been in.”
“We should go check it out. Are you off at all during the week? We all do Pilates at the gym downtown a few mornings a week. I can use my guest pass so you can join.”
“I hate working out, but I’ve been wanting to try out Pilates. I heard it helps with neck and back pain. I work from home at my desk all day, and my neck and back are starting to give me issues.”
“Well then, it’s settled! Wednesday morning we’ll go shopping and do some Pilates, and next weekend you’ll show me how to spice up my sex life.” Lilly gives me a wink and we both giggle.
“Deal!”
There’s a tongue licking the side of my cheek. At first I smile as I recall my vivid dreams from last night. Griffin licking, biting, sucking on my body. Using the toys from the box on me. The licks continue only this time it’s straight up my nose and I catch a whiff of…doggy breath. Ugh! It’s not a dream…and it’s not Griffin. It’s Maverick!
Grabbing the blanket I have wrapped around my body, I pull it up farther trying to cover my face, but before I get comfortable, paws hit the mattress and Maverik is nudging me to get up.
Groaning, I throw the covers back and swing my legs over the side of the bed. “Okay, boy, let’s go.” Still in dreamland and not giving a crap what I’m wearing or what I look like, I slide my feet into flip flops and grab my glasses from my nightstand—too tired to put my contacts in—then I clip Maverick’s leash on.
I lock the door behind us, and as we walk down the hall, Maverick tries to run while I stumble down the walkway groggily, still half asleep.
“Well, good morning sunshine.” I turn to face the voice and see Griffin and Levi, both dressed for the day. Griffin’s gaze drags slowly down my body then comes back up, laughter evident in his eyes. “Nice shirt.”
I glance down and internally groan at the shirt I’m wearing. My brother bought it for me as a joke for Christmas last year after cheater # 2 and I broke up.
Single
Taken
Cursed or some shit
“They’re pajamas,” I say by way of explanation.
“I’m just surprised it doesn’t say you’re married to a taco.” He grins at his own joke and I glare, which only makes his grin widen.
“Ha ha. So where are you two boys off to this morning?”
“I have to go to work with dad,” Levi pouts then goes back to petting Maverick. “Hey! Can I stay with you and Maverick?” he asks.
“Umm…” I say at the same time Griffin says, “Buddy, I’m sure Ava has important stuff to do today.”
“But I hate going to the restaurant. It’s so boring,” Levi whines.
“He can stay with me…I mean…if you’re okay with that. Shit!” I cover my mouth realizing I just cursed in front of a…how old is he? “I mean shoot!” I look at Levi. “I meant shoot. Don’t curse. It’s bad…really, really bad.” Then I look at Griffin whose shaking with laughter. “It probably should’ve been mentioned that I could take him without him hearing, right?” I groan outwardly. “As you can see, I have no experience with kids, but I can watch him if he doesn’t want to go to work with you.” I close my eyes in embarrassment.
“Dad! Ava said I can stay with her! Can I? Please!” I open my eyes and Griffin is assessing me. He has a sexy twinkle in his eye and a matching smirk. He sucks in his bottom lip and my eyes dart to it, wishing his lips were on mine.
“You sure? It will only be for a few hours.”
“You trust me with your kid?” I ask, shocked he would even consider letting Levi stay with me after I just word vomited all over everyone.
“Yeah.” He nods slowly. “I do.” For some reason, his words—only three tiny insignificant words when used alone—feel like they hold such significant meaning when used together, although I’m not sure why yet.
“Does that mean I can stay?” Levi pushes.
“I’d love to spend the day with you,” I say to Levi. To Griffin, I ask, “Is he home sick?”
“It’s a teacher work day. Usually Lilly watches him for me, but she has a doctor’s appointment.” His lips turn into a frown at those words and I wonder if something is wrong with her. I hope everything is okay. I’ll have to text her later to make sure she’s still up for our shopping trip and Pilates tomorrow.
“All right, let’s throw your backpack in my house and we can take Maverick for his walk.” We walk back toward my door, and once I unlock it, Levi runs in to put it inside.
“Can I get your number?” Griffin asks. He’s now standing in my personal space and I can smell his freshly showered body when I inhale. The blend of citrus and spice invade my nostrils. It’s intoxicating and I fight the urge to rub my nose down his neck and scent him like a dog.
“I-I told you the other night that I think it would be better if we stick to being friends.” My accent comes out heavier from my arousal and I’m not sure if he understood me. When I glance up, he’s pinning me with a heated stare.
“And I told you I’m not giving up, but right now that’s neither here nor there. You’re going to have my child with you all day. I need to be able to get a hold of you.” He smirks at his words knowing he has me. “Number, please.”
I play it off
like I knew that. “Oh, yeah. Of course.” I shrug my shoulders, and after unlocking my phone, I hand it to him so he can input his number. A few seconds later his phone is ringing and then he hands it back to me.
“Now we have each other’s numbers.” He gives me a mischievous wink knowing he has won this round, but what he doesn’t know is that deep down—while I’m fighting us in a desperate act of preservation, trying to protect my heart from breaking again—I’m rooting for him to win as well. I just can’t help but wonder if he does win, what will it cost me?
“I’m ready!” Levi comes back out. “I went pee too.”
“All right, buddy, give me a hug.” Levi throws his tiny arms around his dad’s waist. “You be good and I’ll see you in a few hours. I’ll bring something home for dinner.” He gives me a look that tells me I’m invited as well.
Griffin walks out with us to the parking lot, and after saying goodbye one more time, he jumps into his truck while Levi and I head to the park.
A few fun facts I learned about kids today while hanging out with Levi: If you let a kid determine when to leave the park, you will never leave. They have to go pee every hour—more often if you let them drink. They hear everything everyone says and they keep zero secrets to themselves. For instance, Griffin likes lots of flavors according to his Uncle Sean, but Levi isn’t sure of what. Could be coffee or gum since he loves coffee and always chews gum afterwards. But either way, he apparently changes flavors every month, and Aunt Lilly always yells at him to pick one flavor.
And speaking of Lilly: Apparently her and Sean want to have a baby but are having a hard time. Oh! And Griffin and Sean work out at the gym every day, but had to switch gyms after ‘Gym Whore Holly’ hit Sean after hooking Griffin—I’m thinking this translates to she hit on Sean after hooking up with Griffin. And of course, Levi in all his eight-year-old innocence told me he’s glad they switched gyms because unlike the old gym, the new gym has MMA classes he gets to go to. He also added that he would never hook or hit anyone outside of his MMA classes because that’s not nice.
Now, I know I should take anything a child says with a grain of salt, but after spending the day with Levi, I have learned that kids don’t lie when they have no reason to, and Levi has no reason to. I could be wrong in my decoding skills, but I don’t think I am. Based on Levi’s puzzle pieces of information, I think Griffin is a manwhore, and it cements my initial instinct not to get involved with him. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Well I’ve been fooled twice! I’m sure as hell not about to be fooled a third damn time.
Eleven
Griffin
I’ve been thinking about Ava all day. I’ve fucked up several orders, gave a customer back the wrong change, but it was when I spilled an entire tray of drinks on the floor, James, one of my managers, told me I needed to go. Yep! I’ve been kicked out of my own restaurant, but for the first time I’m okay with that because I have somewhere else I’d rather be.
After stopping by the Mexican restaurant and picking up several orders of tacos—since it’s Tuesday—I knock on Ava’s door. She swings it open, and I can’t help but rake my gaze down her body. Every damn time I see this woman I swear she gets sexier and more enticing.
“Tacos.” I hold up my hand to show her the bag.
“Access granted,” she replies, dramatically bowing down and swinging her arm out to indicate I’m welcome to walk through.
When I get through the foyer, I notice right away Levi isn’t there. My heart starts pumping a little faster as my eyes dart from the couch to the floor. I walk farther into the apartment to check the kitchen, dropping the bag of food on the counter.
Before I can convey the question I’m figuring out how to ask, Ava says, “He’s been asleep in my bed for maybe thirty minutes. He did eat around noon and it’s four now. Should we wake him or let him sleep?”
My shoulders slump in relief but I do my best to hide my biggest fear—most parents biggest fear—of my son missing. “We can let him sleep.” Grabbing the bag of food from the counter, I start pulling its contents out and placing it all on the table.
“Did you guys have a good day?” I hand her a couple of tacos before unwrapping mine and taking a bite. Ava goes to the kitchen and grabs me a beer and her a Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
“We did. We played at the park for most of the day, took Maverick to play in the pond, and then we came back here and made lunch. We also made rice crispy treats.” Her face lights up as she tells me about their day and I know I made the right decision leaving Levi with Ava. I don’t trust many people with my son, but I already know Ava is someone I can trust, but more importantly she’s someone I want to trust.
I could’ve brought Levi with me today. I do it all the time. But when he asked to stay with Ava, I think I viewed the opportunity as a way to see how she would react. Too many women I’ve been with want me without Levi. It’s one of the main reasons I had a hard time taking things with Karen to the next level. She wanted me but she rarely acknowledged I had a son. She always asked if I could get a sitter. Eventually, when she realized I was holding back because of this, she tried to back track but it was too late—I already knew how she really felt. Levi and I are a package deal, a two-man team, and anybody who sees it differently isn’t welcome in either of our lives. End of story.
“He was so tired while we were watching a movie, I moved him to my bed before he passed out.” Her lips wrap around the taco and she crunches down. A soft moan escapes her lips as her eyes roll back slightly, and I swear this woman just had a tacogasm, if there’s such a thing.
We finish eating, and after throwing away our garbage, I suggest we take our drinks out to the back patio. Ava looks weary of my intentions but agrees. She plops down onto a lounge chair, and after I crack the door open enough to hear Levi if he wakes up, I join her on her chair.
“Is there something wrong with that chair?” She nods toward the other lounge chair.
“Yeah, it’s too far away from you.” I turn sideways so we’re facing each other, and after taking a pull of my beer, I set it down. “We need to talk.”
Ava takes a dainty sip of her drink as well, but instead of putting it down, she holds it in her lap, almost as if to use it as a barrier between us. I’m not having that shit, so I pluck it from her fingers and set it down next to mine.
“Thank you for watching Levi today.” I push a strand of hair behind her ear and she smiles warmly.
“He’s a great kid, Griffin. You should be proud. I know I’ve said it before but you’re such a great dad.” Our eyes lock and my hand comes up to her cheek. Stroking the soft skin with my thumb, I take a moment to look at Ava, really look at her. Her bright green eyes are spellbinding. They don’t match with her dark hair and bronzed skin, yet they fit her perfectly. Her lashes are naturally thick and cover her eyes when she peers down to hide from me.
My eyes scan down to her lips, full and supple with a little bit of a shine to them. My thumb glides from her cheek to her fleshy bottom lip. Her lips part and she softly exhales, her cold breath hitting my thumb. I push it inside, wetting the pad before I drag it along her bottom lip, smearing her wetness along the way.
Her eyes are hooded over with lust I recognize because I feel the same way. When she swallows thickly, her lips close and her teeth playfully trap my thumb. I feel her tongue dart out and skirt across the pad of my thumb before she releases it.
Leaning into her—because she refuses to meet me halfway—my mouth presses against hers. She doesn’t move but she doesn’t stop me either. I’ve been with a lot of women, but for some reason, my lips covering hers feels like the most intimate moment of my life. My tongue darts out and runs along the seam of her lips. I hear her moan softly, her body finally relaxing, so I take advantage. Framing her face with my hands, I part her lips with my tongue as I push through to deepen our kiss.
Ava finally gives in and participates, her tongue swirling and mixing and teasing with mine. She tastes sw
eet like the lemonade she was just drinking, and I slow our kiss, needing to suckle on her tongue. I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want this woman. Knowing my son is asleep inside, I pull away before I push too hard. When we separate, I give her a gentle kiss on her forehead, the tip of her nose, and one more on her lips, needing it to be the last place my lips touch.
She gives me a look of bewilderment mixed with confusion, and the longer I stare, the deeper I go, I see the raw emotion all over her face. I recognize the look because I’ve felt it before. The last time I spoke to Rebekah before she committed suicide.
“Who hurt you, Ava?” Her eyes close and when she opens them, she’s no longer looking at me. She goes to stand up but I place my hand on her knee to stop her.
“When Rebekah sunk into depression and refused to talk to me, I felt betrayed. I was pissed,” I admit, shaking my head. “She was the mother of our son, and she refused to get help. I begged and pleaded and when she still refused, I got mad. We got into a huge fight before I left for work. She told me she hated me, she hated her life with me. I walked out the door and left Levi with her because I had to go to work and Sean had to train.
“I was gone about three hours when I felt like I needed to go home. I never should’ve left Levi with her. My first thought when I found her was, if I hadn’t left that day, she might still be alive, and my second thought was what if I didn’t come home when I did? Levi would’ve been there all by himself for twelve hours. She knew I worked twelve hour days at the bar, yet she took those pills anyway. She didn’t even call or text me to tell me to come home.”
“What she did isn’t your fault.” Ava places her hand over mine, her thumb massaging circles on the top of my hand in a soothing way.
“Maybe not, but it made it hard to trust anyone, to let anyone in. For the longest time I hated Rebekah for taking the coward’s way out, for swallowing those pills, knowing her life would be over and her son would have to live without a mother. She didn’t even care that he would be alone for hours when she chose to take her life, and I hated her for being so damn selfish. I felt so damn guilty for hating her, but I couldn’t stop myself. She was dead and never coming back, and I hated her.”
