by Jamie Pope
He steals. He brings drugs in the house. He says I can’t leave him.
“Are you sure? You can come to me. I’ll take care of you. I’ll help you. Everything that is mine is yours.”
Nova knew Mansi would move the earth for her. She knew she could go back to Martha’s Vineyard, but she was too ashamed to face her. Too worried that Elijah would follow her and ruin the peaceful life that Mansi lived there.
“I don’t need anything, Mansi. Do you know where Mama is? Have you spoken to her? Did she say anything about me?”
“Oh, sweetheart. You don’t know. Your mother has been gone for about six months now. She was at the end stages of liver failure when your brother found her. He got her cleaned up enough to have her diagnosed. There was too much damage to do anything for her. She had been sick for years, Nova. It was the drinking that did her in.”
Nova’s hands started to shake, so much so that she nearly dropped the phone, but she somehow managed to keep it to her ear. She had known the moment she left that her mother would be dead. There was no one there to take care of her. No one there to haul her to the hospital when things got really bad. But running away that night and not calling for help, not calling for Wylie or Mansi or anyone to take care of her, Nova had all but killed her mother. And that was something she would never forgive herself for.
“Was Wylie there when she passed?”
Mansi paused for a long moment. “No. She left the hospital when Wylie went back to his hotel to shower and change. She was found three days later in a motel room.”
“With a bottle of booze in her hand.” It wasn’t a question. Nova knew her mother too well. She was too addicted to stop even when she was already facing death. And as heartbroken as Nova was in that moment, she was mad as hell. Mad that her mother chose alcohol over everything else that mattered. She had died alone because of it. A former beauty queen found dead in a dingy hotel at the age of forty-six. It seemed like such a waste.
“Come to me, Nova. I think you need to be with your family right now.”
Nova touched her belly, feeling the life that was growing inside of her that only she knew about. She didn’t know what she was going to do about it. Every day Elijah got a little bit worse. A little more demanding. A little meaner with her. A little more brazen with his crimes. How could she bring a baby into that mess of a life? But then again, how could she think about sending that little life away? Especially now. Especially since the person she had loved the most was gone. It was too tough of a decision to make.
She needed time. She needed a plan. She needed to think.
“Nova?”
“I will see you again, Mansi. Please, don’t worry about me.” She hung up, too emotional to speak, and as soon as she set the phone down a sob tore from her throat.
* * *
“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby?”
Teo stood beside her at the bus stop nearly a week later. It was a chilly spring morning, but Teo looked especially cute bundled up in his down vest and bright blue scarf. He was dressed better than any other kid on the island and she wondered if he would still look so sharp in comparison to the kids in Boston.
She hadn’t decided to go yet. She hadn’t thought much about it since she had left the salon. But the option was there. For once in her life, she had choices. And as much as it was freeing, it scared the hell out of her.
“Will you have another baby?”
She jerked at the question. “What?”
“A baby? Are you going to get pregnant?”
She blinked at him, almost too horrified to function. He couldn’t know about Tanner and her. There was just no way. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Aunt Cass is going to have baby soon. I wanted to know if you was going to have one, too.”
“Just because Aunt Cass has a baby, doesn’t mean that I’m going to have a baby, honey. I love Aunt Cass, but we don’t do the same things.”
“You’ll never have another baby?”
“Well, I won’t say never. But not anytime soon. I would have to be married to have another baby and your mama isn’t looking to get married again.”
“Oh.” His little face fell.
“Do you want me to have a baby?”
“That might be nice.”
“I’m sure that would be nice for you. You would get to be the big brother and I would be the one who has to feed it and change its diapers.”
“I would help.”
“Would you? Okay, if I have another baby, you have to get up at one o’clock in the morning to feed him or her.”
He frowned. “Babies eat in the middle of the night?”
“More than once. But you can help with that. You’re young and you don’t need as much sleep as I do.”
“Maybe a dog would be nice.”
She laughed. “We’re not allowed to have pets here, but I think I would like a cat instead. I like cats, you know. I used to have one for a short while when I was a little girl.”
“What happened to it?”
“I don’t know,” she said feeling a little sad. “We lived in a farmhouse for a few months and I loved it there, but my mama didn’t like it because it was so far away from stores and other people, so we moved to a new place and I couldn’t take my cat. I think he was fine. He sometimes stayed in the barn with the other cats that lived on the property. I just left him there with his cat family.” And she had sobbed the whole two-hour drive to the next place.
“What was his name, Mommy?”
“Mr. Kitty.”
“What did he look like?”
Tanner’s SUV pulled up then, distracting Teo from his question. His face never failed to light up when he saw Tanner. The man was slowly becoming a fixture in their lives and that was the last thing she needed. But she still wanted him. And her heart lifted a little whenever she saw him show up. There were so few people in her life who were always there for her. She was starting to think she would start depending on him. That was dangerous because as soon as she allowed that to happen, he would let her down. It was inevitable. It had happened with every man she ever let get close to her.
“Good morning, Teo. Good morning, Nova.” He hopped out of his car and came to stand with them.
“Good morning,” Teo said, cheerfully.
“Hey,” Nova said.
“Hey, yourself.” He touched Teo’s curls and then placed his hand on the small of her back. “How are you this morning? It’s kind of cold today.”
“We don’t mind. Mommy likes to stand outside when it’s cold. She said it makes her feel alive.”
“Does it, Mommy?” he asked with that delicious grin of his.
“I spent most of my life in the unrelenting heat and humidity of the South. I’ve grown fond of the cold air.”
“We were talking about Mommy’s cat,” Teo informed him. “She don’t got him no more. She had to leave him when she was a little girl. His name was Mr. Kitty.” Teo looked back at her. “You didn’t tell me what he looked like yet.”
“Oh, he was very handsome. He was gray and orange and white and he had the most soulful eyes. You know I only adore the most handsome things. That’s why I’m so glad you are a very gorgeous boy, although I would probably still adore you even if you weren’t.”
Teo grinned at her. “You’re funny, Mommy.”
“You think so?” she asked just as the bus was pulling up.
“Yeah. Have a good day.” He lifted his face for her kiss and offered Tanner the same treatment like it was the natural thing in the world. And what kicked Nova in the gut was the fact that Tanner kissed his cheek like it was normal, as if he did it every day, before he sent him to school.
Teo had asked her if she was going to have a baby. She hoped he didn’t think that that was going to happen with Tanner.
The bus pulled away and Tanner took her hand without saying a word to her and pulled her toward her apartment. As much as she wanted to send him away, she wasn’t going to. He ha
d awakened something inside her. She thought about him and she started to throb. She heard his voice and her nipples tightened. She smelled his scent and moisture formed between her legs.
It was bad. She avoided all men because she hadn’t wanted this, but now that it had happened, she didn’t know how to stop.
He waited quietly as she took out her key and unlocked the door, and as soon as they stepped over the threshold he shut the front door and pushed her against it, his mouth crushing against hers, his tongue sweeping inside.
She went limp. She opened her mouth wider, kissing him back, sucking him in. His hands wandered over her body, touching her breasts through her shirt. She was suddenly too heated, wearing far too many clothes. He must have sensed that because his hands went to her jeans, unzipping and shoving them down to her ankles. Her underwear went next, tearing as she ripped them from her body.
There was urgency in every move, a kind of frantic passion that she didn’t think was possible. He removed his lips from her and it was a tremendous loss. She wanted his lips back on hers, his warmth pressed against her. But he went to his knees and removed the flats she had been wearing. She thought he was coming back up after he finished, but he didn’t. He pushed her legs apart and then with his fingers pushed her lower lips open. He blew on her. She jumped. Not expecting that, not thinking it could ever feel so good.
“I’ve been thinking about doing this to you for days.” He licked the length of her, one long slow lick that made her knees buckle. “You taste good,” he moaned. “You’re sweet.”
Her husband liked to talk in bed, and she had never liked it. There was something vulgar about it. But Tanner was different; the sound of his voice hypnotized her. His words were like honey to her raw soul. She wanted more of them. But he stopped talking because his mouth was busy giving her the kind of pleasure she had never experienced.
Her fingers curled into his hair as she moved against his mouth. She was approaching orgasm fast. They always came fast with him, but she wanted to slow down so she could savor it, or at least experience it with him.
“Stop it.” She pushed his head away. “I want you inside of me now.”
“Let me make you come,” he said, placing his mouth over her nub and sucking it into his mouth. She yanked on his hair, not knowing if she did it because she wanted him to stop or if she wanted him to keep going.
“Now.” It came out as a sob, but he listened and stood up, removing himself from his jeans. He pulled a condom out of his pocket. He ripped open the packet with his teeth and quickly rolled it on, before he lifted her up and shoved himself inside her.
It was a hard thrust, but she loved it. She wrapped her legs around his waist and bit into his shoulder, spurring him on. He was so big, and powerful and raw. He filled her up. He made her feel wanted. She could get addicted to this type of sex.
“Please, come for me, baby. I need you to come.” He switched up his rhythm, longer deeper, strokes. She was crying out, mumbling incoherent words. She was no longer in control of her body. He was. And he was propelling her toward the most intense climax of her life.
He covered her mouth with his, and slammed into her. She couldn’t see for a moment, the buildup was so intense. The orgasm was so big that her entire body seized up and so did his. He roared with release. His arms tightened around her. It felt possessive and primal and it was something she never thought she would like. But she did.
He held her wrapped around him, his cock buried deep inside her for a few moments, but then he let her feet touch the ground. Her knees were weak and she stumbled, but he didn’t miss a beat. He picked her up and carried her all the way to her bedroom.
He set her gently on the bed before he took a step back and removed the rest of his clothing. She followed suit and stripped her remaining clothes off.
He looked at her and she looked at him. He was such a beautiful man. They had barely finished and yet she wanted more of him.
“Come here.” She extended her hand and pulled him down next to her.
His warm naked skin against hers was incredible. She wanted to burrow inside him.
“I didn’t come here just for this. I swear.”
“I would be okay if you did. I quite liked it.”
“I didn’t get carried away?”
“You were just right. Do you have to get to work soon?”
“I’m not going in today.”
“This is two weeks in a row you took off the same day as my day off. I think my brother is going to get suspicious.”
“I don’t care if he does. I’m not trying to hide this from him.”
“You should. I don’t want him to know I’m sleeping with his best friend. He’ll skin me alive.”
“I think it’s me who should be worried about the skinning.”
“No. He thinks you’re good and noble and trustworthy. He’ll think I seduced you and made you come over to the dark side.”
“Your brother knows me too well to think that. And he probably doesn’t know you at all if he does.”
“He saw me talking to Leonard Briggs last year.” He made a disgusted sound. “That guy is a creepy asshole.”
“I know. Wylie said I must have LOSER MAGNET tattooed on my forehead because I seemed to attract every slimy shithead in a ten-mile radius. Like I could have stopped him from flirting with me.”
He cupped her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb. “How old were you when you got married?”
“Eighteen.”
“Did you have a boyfriend before your husband?”
“No.”
“And after?”
“I went on a few dates when I first got here, but nothing that went anywhere.”
“You haven’t slept with anyone since your husband, have you?”
“I got close once. I went away to New York City with my cousins and we met some of their friends down there. There was one guy. He was in finance. He was really handsome and things got pretty hot and heavy, but I just couldn’t go through with it. He called me a bitch and a cock tease and stormed off.”
“He was a prick. I don’t know why you let everyone keep this bad girl image of you. You’re one of the most innocent women I know.”
“Bullshit. What makes someone a bad girl? Sleeping with a lot of men? What I choose to do with my body is my choice. And as long as I’m safe it’s no one’s business what I do with it. Men are allowed to sleep with whoever the hell they want. Droves of women and no one thinks twice about it. They get congratulated. Liking sex doesn’t make you a slut. Being sexy doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“I didn’t say it did. Do you think I give a shit how many people you slept with? I would still be here if you slept with a hundred men. I would still want you.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Because I knew you weren’t whom everyone perceives you to be. Why did you answer if you didn’t want to tell me?”
“I don’t know. Now tell me about your sexual history. Starting from the moment you lost your virginity.”
“I was fourteen. But I was six foot two so I passed for a lot older. The woman I was with was older. Beautiful. And I gave her the two best minutes of her life.” He chuckled. “I’m so glad I never saw her again. I was an awkward fumbling teenager, pretending to be a man.”
“You’ve gotten better. I would give you a solid B minus.”
“A B minus!” He climbed on top of her, mischief in his eyes, and nibbled her neck, causing her to giggle. She couldn’t remember the last time she had done that. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had made her feel this good.
The landline on her nightstand rang. “I should get that. It might be Teo’s school. They are usually the only ones who call the house.”
“You answer the phone. I’ll keep doing this.” He slid his lips down to her throat.
“Hello?” she said, trying to keep the lust out of her voice.
“This is the office of Dr. Andrea Curtis. She would like to ma
ke arrangements with you to do the hair and makeup for her daughter’s upcoming wedding.”
The name sounded familiar but Tanner’s warm lips closing around her nipple distracted her from connecting the dots.
“Wait a minute. Are you talking about the wife of the vice president?”
“I like to think of him as the husband of the head of the sociology department at Juniper University, but yes. My husband is indeed the vice president,” a different voice said.
Tanner’s tongue flicked across her other nipple and she shoved him off her and sat up. “Is this a joke? I can’t take this if this is a joke. I told my brother I voted for your side because you were wearing really gorgeous leopard print heels and I’ve never seen a politician’s wife dress so damn hot, but I didn’t really mean it. Well, I did. I loved those shoes, but I knew all about the plan to revive the economy, and if Wylie is pulling some kind of joke on me, I am going to knock him in his big old jarhead.”
The woman laughed. “I like you. This is not a joke. Our daughter is getting married in Nantucket and we would like to fly you over so you can do all of our hair and makeup for rehearsal dinner and the ceremony. Word about you has been traveling. We would like to book you, if you are free.”
“Would you mind if I checked my schedule and called you back later today?”
Nova exchanged the information with Dr. Curtis and then hung up the phone. Tanner was frowning at her.
“What was that all about?” Tanner was sitting up on the bed naked as the day he was born. He was frowning.
“That was Dr. Andrea Curtis.”
“As in the Second Lady of the United States? You can’t be serious.”
Nova nodded, not sure she could process what was happening. Was it a dream? It could have been a dream. She just had really amazing sex and then got offered the job of a lifetime. Nothing this good ever happened to her. Nothing even came close. It was too surreal. “Her daughter’s getting married on Nantucket. She wants me to be their hair and makeup artist. She said they’ll fly me there. I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. You’re that good. Congratulations, Nova. This is going to be big for you.”
“Don’t speak so soon. I haven’t accepted the job yet.”
