The Hook Up (First Impressions)

by Tawna Fenske

  Her throat tightened as she remembered the flicker of Chuck’s taillights the night he drove away, the way it left her empty and aching and determined to never fall in love again. It was the same hollowness she’d seen in Ty’s eyes when he talked about losing his grandma.

  She remembered that kind of pain. They both did.

  “You deserve to be happy, El.” Miriam gave her a knowing look, and Ellie wondered if her sister-in-law had read her mind. “Ty’s been making you happy, right?”

  “Right.” A flush of pleasure rushed up her arms, and she caught herself smiling like a big, dopey dork.

  Miriam smiled back, not unfamiliar with Ellie’s dorkiness. “So why not take a chance?”

  Why not? The question pinged around in Ellie’s brain, giving her zaps of joy and terror and everything in between.

  “Maybe.” Ellie bent down to check the oven, hoping the heat of it would mask her burning cheeks. Hoping like hell she wasn’t wishing for something that would break her heart again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ty stepped into the indoor waterpark, overwhelmed by the smell of chlorine, the shrieks of small children, and an intense wave of bewildered fondness coursing through him. Was this really his life?

  “Whoa.” Henry stared in awe at the spectacle before them. His gaze swung from the wave park to the massive play structure spurting water from colorful pipes. As Ty looked on, the boy studied the families playing water basketball in the far pool before he pivoted to survey huge bank of water slides in the corner. A family of five emerged laughing from the end of the tube, swirling through the landing pool in a burst of cheers and a bright yellow raft.

  When he looked up at Ty, Henry’s small face was glowing. “Can we go on everything?”

  “Whatever you want,” Ty assured him. “Your wristband lets you use all the park amenities.”

  “As long as you’re tall enough,” Ellie added. “We need to check the rules, first.”

  “Right,” Ty said. He needed to remember Henry was a child. “The rules are there to keep you safe.”

  “Okay,” Henry said, watching as another small boy ran past with an ice cream cone. “Where do we start?”

  “Let’s find a table and put our stuff down,” Ellie said. “Maybe someplace close to the bathrooms.”

  Ty nodded, amazed that she always seemed to think of everything. She wore a conservative red one-piece that tied behind her neck, showcasing those gorgeous collarbones and the swell at the tops of her breasts. It wasn’t flashy or revealing, but something about the modesty of the suit made it even more appealing. God, she was beautiful. Her blond hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and she wore some kind of flowy skirt thing knotted at one hip.

  She caught him staring at her and smiled. “What?”

  “You’re amazing.” He cleared his throat, hoping that didn’t sound too sentimental. “I’m glad you agreed to let me film you.”

  “Thanks for helping me with my camera shyness,” she said. “And I’m glad you brought us here. This looks fun.”

  It did. If someone had told Ty six months ago that he’d be giddy about hanging out at a family-friendly water park, he would have laughed his ass off. But he’d looked forward to this getaway all week.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s grab a table.”

  They made their way to the other side of the space, headed for an empty table between the two locker rooms. Ellie set down her beach bag, while Ty began unpacking his video equipment. He’d decided to keep things simple, skipping the lighting and just working with a small handheld camera. If they got the job, he’d bring out all the best stuff from his studio. He’d hire real models, too, though it was hard to imagine any mother/son duo more adorable than Ellie and Henry.

  While the two of them chatted beside him, Ty glanced around, assessing the lighting and deciding what would look best on camera. Small kids laughed and shrieked with joy as their parents chased them through sprinklers. So this is what a happy childhood was like.

  “You hafta take your shirt off.”

  Henry’s small voice startled Ty at first, and he looked down to see the six-year-old regarding him with a serious expression. “Boys don’t wear shirts at the pool,” Henry advised him. “Only girls do, because they hafta cover up their boobies.”

  “Breasts,” Ellie said. “We use proper words for body parts, remember?”

  “Breasts,” Henry repeated, nodding. “Come on, Mommy. Take off your skirt, and Ty takes off his shirt and then we can all go in the water.”

  Ellie shot a nervous glance at Ty. Her gaze flicked to the spot over his heart, covered at the moment by his gray T-shirt. She mouthed a two-syllable word at him, and it took Ty a few beats to figure out what she was trying to say.

  “Oh,” he said, realization dawning. He grinned and grabbed the hem of his shirt, then tugged it over his head and tossed it aside.

  Henry frowned and pointed at the large waterproof bandage Ty had placed over the Johnny Cash tattoo. “You have an owie?”

  Ellie’s face flushed with relief, and she pointed at the towering water feature in the center of the space. “What do you say we check that out, sweetie?” she said to Henry, saving Ty from having to explain. “We can walk around for a few minutes so Ty has a chance to get his equipment ready.”

  “Yeah!” Henry scampered forward, leaving his mother behind.

  She smiled at Ty then leaned closer. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re such a good guy.”

  The compliment made Ty’s throat tighten, and all he could do was nod. “I figured it was best to keep it covered,” he said.

  “Smart thinking.”

  Ty smiled as relief washed through him. Okay, so maybe he didn’t always know about things like car seats and child-friendly snacks and the importance of not saying things a kid might take literally and be disappointed.

  But he’d had the foresight to cover his profane tattoo. Maybe that was a sign of something.

  Ellie scurried after Henry, her ponytail swishing as she moved. God, what a woman. She joined Henry at the base of the play structure, pointing up to where a bucket the size of a small car seemed to tip precariously to one side. Water poured from it in sheets, and a small herd of children squealed with delight as they scampered in the downpour.

  Joy bubbled hot and raw in Ty’s chest as he watched Ellie and Henry dance through a row of small geysers jetting up from the skid-proof floor. He had to remind himself to focus on lighting and angles instead of how beautiful she was in her red swimsuit with her ponytail shimmering with water droplets.

  Turning his attention back to his equipment, he took out his Nikon and made some adjustments. He glanced up to see Ellie and Henry swooping through the spray of a large geyser now, with Henry waving his hands and whooping with glee. That joy-tinged voice was as familiar now as his own heartbeat, and maybe as vital. Ellie skipped behind her son, the happiness on her face so pure, so lovely, that Ty flicked “record” on his camera and stole a few quick seconds of video.

  His chest ached with something between longing and happiness, a feeling he’d never had in his whole life.

  Don’t get attached. Don’t get attached.

  “Too late,” he murmured softly.

  Then he looped the camera around his neck and strode forward to join them.

  …

  Four hours later, Ty clicked off his camera and set it down on the table. He reached for a slice of pepperoni pizza, glad he’d thought to grab extra napkins.

  “I can’t believe I just let you film me in a bathing suit with cheese hanging out of my mouth,” Ellie said, grinning at him as she wiped her hands on a napkin. “You’ve clearly conquered my camera shyness.”

  He reached over and dabbed a fleck of tomato sauce from the corner of her lip, then smiled back at her. “I promise not to put anything in the video that would be embarrassing to you,” he said. “Thanks again for being such a good sport about this.”

  “Thank you for bringing u
s here,” she said, shooting Henry a meaningful look.

  The boy nodded as he finished wolfing down his slice of pizza. “Yeah,” he said. “Thank you, Mr. Ty.”

  “You’re welcome, Mr. Henry.”

  The boy grinned then looked at his mother. “Can I go back in the water now?”

  “Only if you stay right here on that big tree-fort thing where I can see you,” she said. “Let’s keep out of the pools for now.”

  “Okay!” He started to scramble off, but Ellie caught him by the arm and wiped his face with a napkin. “There,” she said, giving him a big, smacky kiss on the cheek that made Ty wonder what life would have been like if his mother hadn’t died. He barely remembered her, but wanted to believe she might have been something like Ellie.

  He’d only met Anna’s mom a couple of times, and mostly he remembered the smell of cigarette smoke and an air of disdain. She’d barely wanted to be saddled with her own daughter, let alone some grubby kid who looked just like his jailbird father.

  “Thanks again, Ty.”

  Ellie’s voice jarred him back to the present. “For lunch, or for inviting you here?”

  “All of it,” she said with a laugh. “But I was actually talking about this.” She touched a finger to the waterproof bandage that masked his Johnny Cash tattoo. “I’d never ask you to cover it, but I appreciate that you thought to do it.”

  “Yeah,” he said, feeling a twinge of pride. “I figured hundreds of small children didn’t need to be flipped off by a country music legend at a water park.”

  She smiled and picked a slice of pepperoni off the half-eaten slice of pizza abandoned on Henry’s plate. “What’s the story behind it, anyway?” she asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

  He shrugged, not sure how much to volunteer. “Johnny Cash was my dad’s favorite singer,” he said. “Sometimes my dad even pretended to be him. It was one of his favorite scams.”

  “I see,” Ellie said, nodding as she nibbled the pepperoni slice. “So you got the tattoo to…honor him?”

  He realized she was fumbling for the right word, but that wasn’t it at all. Not even close. “No.” Ty snorted with disgust. “To remind me where I come from.”

  He stopped himself there, not wanting to put a damper on the afternoon. Not wanting to complete the rest of that thought.

  To remind me that I don’t want to be like him.

  He cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. “How have the new videos been performing on your website?”

  Ellie grinned and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Really great,” she said. “I’ve heard from so many clients who love seeing them. You were right about women wanting that educational component.”

  “I’m glad.” Ty glanced over at the big water tower where Henry was playing with a group of boys who looked a year or two older than him. He was laughing and splashing and having a great time. The elation in their little faces was enough to coax a smile from him, too.

  He glanced at Ellie to see her watching her boy with such love in her eyes it took Ty’s breath away.

  “He’s a good kid,” Ty said.

  “Thanks.” She looked back at him and smiled. “I think I’ll keep him.” She balled up the napkin and glanced over her shoulder toward the locker rooms. “Actually, would you mind watching him for just a few minutes? I need to use the restroom.”

  “Um, sure.” Ty gulped back a wave of panic, then realized he should probably try to sound more confident. “No problem.” He glanced around, a little frantic at the idea of being left in charge. Okay, so there were at least a million lifeguards patrolling the place, and Henry wasn’t anywhere near any of the pools.

  You can do this.

  “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  “Thanks.” Ellie got up and headed for the locker room. Ty admired the sway of her hips.

  Stop ogling the mom and keep your eyes on the kid, jackass.

  He turned and looked back at the play structure, momentarily alarmed not to see Henry. As his heart began to race, he scanned the walkways and stairs for a sign of the familiar blond head.

  A female shriek snapped his attention to a spot just below one of the bridges. A woman stood clutching her top, staring up at the buckets of water pouring down on her. She was laughing, but another set of giggles echoed from above.

  Henry. Ty stood up and headed toward the bridge.

  As he mounted the skid-proof stairs, three older boys scurried away, leaving Henry alone on the bridge with his hands clutching one of the yellow buckets.

  “Hey, little man,” Ty said. “Whatcha doing?”

  Henry looked up and grinned. “My new friends showed me a good trick,” he said.

  “What’s that?” Ty ambled up beside him and leaned against the railing. He had a pretty good idea what the trick was. Maybe his childhood hadn’t included waterparks, but he’d been a six-year-old boy once.

  “If you get the buckets all full of water and then wait, you can pour them on the ladies underneath,” Henry explained.

  “I see,” Ty said slowly, admiring the thought process even though the moment called for something other than a high-five. “And why would you want to do that?”

  “Because sometimes I get to see their boobies.”

  Well. Couldn’t fault that logic.

  Ty cleared his throat. Ellie wouldn’t be a fan of the boy using slang instead of real words, but that wasn’t Ty’s chief concern.

  “How do you think the ladies feel about that?” he asked. He kept his voice casual, not wanting to be the asshole scolding a kid who wasn’t his, but still. Something had to be said, and he was the grown-up who happened to be standing here.

  Henry frowned, looking mystified. He glanced down as though expecting a bikini-clad lady to appear and provide the answer.

  “I don’t know,” Henry said. “Most of them laugh.”

  “Right.” Ty repositioned himself against the railing beside Henry, edging sideways to let a family move past them on the bridge. “Sometimes people laugh when they’re uncomfortable, though. Have you ever done that?”

  “Maybe,” Henry said, sounding uncertain. His lashes were flecked with water droplets, and Ty wondered how much booby action the boy actually saw without his glasses.

  “I’m going to tell you a secret,” Ty said. “Are you ready?”

  The boy’s eyes lit up, and he nodded like Ty had just offered him a case of Butterfingers. “Yeah!”

  “Okay, but this secret is just for gentlemen. Are you a gentleman?”

  “Like Gentleman Ghost from Batman?”

  Ty frowned, not sure what the hell the kid was talking about. “Maybe. Is Gentleman Ghost a good guy or a bad guy?”

  “A bad guy.”

  “Oh. Then no. Not like him.” Ty rubbed a hand over his chin, pretty sure he was messing this up. “A good guy gentleman is someone who’s kind to ladies,” he said. “To all people, really, but especially to ladies.”

  “How come?” Henry asked.

  So it’ll earn you a fine piece of ass, growled his father’s voice in the back of his head.

  But Ty shoved it aside, determined to do a better job of this than his old man had. “Because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “A gentleman tries not to do things to make ladies uncomfortable,” he said. “Like trying to look at their boobi—at their breasts when they don’t want that.”

  “Oh,” said Henry, sounding genuinely thoughtful.

  “A gentleman does kind things instead,” he said. “Like holding doors open for ladies and saying please and thank you.”

  “And keeping my pirate parts to myself,” Henry added.

  “What?”

  Henry nodded, his expression serious. “I told the babysitter I had a penis, and Uncle Jason said I needed to keep my pirate parts to myself.”

  “Oh.” Ty nodded, doing his best not to laugh. “Right. Your private parts. You should definitely keep those to yourself.”

  Ty scanned the waterpark to fi
nd Ellie striding back to where she’d left him, brow furrowing as she saw the table abandoned. He waved an arm, trying to catch her eye as a group of giggling kids hurried past. When she spotted him, she broke into a smile. She started toward then, damp blond ponytail trailing behind her

  Feeling warm all over, Ty looked down at Henry. “So does all that make sense to you?”

  Henry nodded and wiped a trail of water off his cheek. “Yes,” he said. “I would like to learn how to be a gentleman,” he said. “The nice kind, not the ghost kind or the bad guy kind. I want to be a good gentleman.”

  As Ellie emerged up the ladder, Ty let his gaze drift over the droplets of water glistening on the tops of her breasts. He ordered himself to knock it off, dragging his gaze to her face instead.

  “You and me both, kid,” he said. “You and me both.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Thanks again, Ty,” Ellie whispered that night after they’d tucked Henry in. The boy was sleeping soundly in his little bunk designed to look like a bear den.

  Ty and Ellie had snuggled up on the suite’s sofa to enjoy a glass of wine before retiring to their separate beds for the night.

  For Ty, it was pretty much the perfect end to a perfect day. Jesus. How the hell had that happened?

  “You truly thought of everything,” Ellie continued, tucking her bare feet up under her as she took a small sip of wine. “The sleeping arrangements, the snacks, the tattoo cover-up. For a guy who’s never been around kids, you’re doing a pretty amazing job.”

  He took a sip of wine to mask his smile, not wanting to admit how deliriously proud those words made him. “Maybe I’m getting the hang of it,” he said. “I know I love spending time with you. Both of you,” he added.

  “Henry’s a great kid.” Ellie didn’t bother covering her own smile, which charmed the hell out of him. She wore no makeup at all, and her hair was damp from the shower. Even the orange plastic bracelet she wore to mark her as a lodge guest seemed cheery and festive on her lovely, delicate wrist. Ty reached for her hand, planting a soft kiss on the palm before setting it back to rest on her knee.