by KL Hughes
* * *
The soft click of the front door closing behind her sent a wave of relief through Elena’s body. She let out a heavy sigh as she leaned against the heavy wood, thanking God that that horrid date was finally over. The large ornate clock on the wall in the foyer told her it was nearly fifteen ‘til nine. Lucas would be long asleep by now. Still, she wanted to check on him.
Walking as quietly as possible, which wasn’t easy with heels, Elena made her way to his room and peeked in. A smile settled across her lips as she saw his little face in the light spilling in through the open door. His thumb was stuck firmly in his mouth as he slept. She watched him for several long moments before closing his door again and seeking out the babysitter.
The living room coffee table was littered with textbooks and notes, the homework laid out in front of the couch where Allison sat with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. She looked up as Elena came into the room, glanced quickly down at her cell, and then back up at Elena. “Ouch,” she said as she tried to fight a laugh. “Not even nine yet. I’m guessing the date didn’t go so well?”
Elena rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed huff as she slipped off her high heels. “That is the understatement of the year.”
Chuckling, Allison set aside her popcorn and rose from the couch. “Sit down,” she told her. “I’ll be right back.”
The couch cushion sank with a gentle sigh as Elena settled in, wrinkling her nose in disgust upon looking into the bowl Allison left behind.
When Allison returned, she carried a hot cup of coffee. She set it down on a coaster on the table in front of Elena and asked, “Sugar or cream? I guessed that you’re a black-coffee kind of girl, but I can grab some if you prefer. Or I can drink the coffee if you’d rather have wine or something.”
Elena just smiled as she shook her head. “No, thank you. You guessed correctly, but you certainly didn’t have to do that, Allison.”
“Yeah, I know.” She shrugged as she stepped around the small table in front of the couch and reached for her popcorn.
Grabbing the coffee with her left hand, Elena used her right to gesture toward Allison’s snack as she settled back into the couch. “That looks terribly fattening.”
Allison completely surprised Elena when she lifted up the front of her tank top to expose a rigid set of perfectly toned abs. “I think I’m good.”
Heat surged through Elena’s cheeks, turning them red. She cleared her throat roughly and shot her gaze back up to mirthful, green eyes. “I suppose you are.” She quickly brought her coffee cup to her lips, distracting herself by blowing on the hot liquid and avoiding eye contact with her incredibly shameless babysitter.
Clearing her throat roughly, Elena asked, “How was Lucas?”
“Best kid ever.” Allison settled back into her spot on the couch. “He did have an accident, though.”
“Really?” Elena was surprised. “That is a rare occurrence.”
“Yeah, well it was my bad. I was tickling him, and he was pretty embarrassed. But I just told him that everybody has accidents and then gave him a bath. He cheered right up.”
“How did he do with the bath?” Elena was pleasantly surprised that Allison had even bothered with a bath. She had assumed that she would simply keep Lucas entertained and then put him to bed. This only made Elena further approve of her. “He can be rather shy.”
“Nah, he did great,” Allison beamed. “Babbled on the whole time and then combed his hair like a perfect gentleman, brushed his teeth, and climbed right into bed.”
Elena smiled, and Allison just stared at her until Elena cleared her throat. The sound seemed to break Allison’s trance, and she blinked and glanced quickly away, her fair skin flushing.
“Oh shit,” Allison blurted out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even ask if you wanted to hang or whatever. I can totally go now. I’m sure you’re tired or something. Sorry.”
Elena considered her options. She wasn’t necessarily tired. She never went to bed this early, though after that date, she was more than ready to bury her head in her pillow and sleep until the new day, when she could put it all behind her. Yes, that seemed like the perfect plan; or perhaps a nice bubble bath and then bed. Oh yes, that sounded even better.
However, when she opened her mouth to tell Allison that she would show her to the door, she found herself saying something entirely different. “No, it’s quite all right, Allison. I would not mind actual bearable company, considering my date was anything but.”
She barely masked her surprise upon hearing the words spill from her own lips. However, they were already out of her mouth, and Allison’s bright smile was enough to keep her from taking them back. She could spend a bit of time with the babysitter. Why not?
“That blows.” Allison got comfortable on the couch beside Elena, putting her popcorn down on the table and tucking her sock-clad feet up under her so that she could turn on the couch to face her new boss. “Was it the lotion? He was a total creeper, right?”
Elena laughed out loud as she ran a hand through her short, dark locks and took a sip of her coffee. A satisfied hum vibrated between her lips at the bitter, familiar taste on her tongue and the heat of the liquid as it slipped down her throat. Exactly what she needed.
“He was a dissatisfactory date, to be sure,” she said, “though he managed to avoid any mentions of lotion, thankfully.”
“Only because you didn’t go home with the guy.”
“Of course I didn’t go home with him, Allison.” Elena turned an expression of disbelief onto her. “I only just met the man. What sort of woman do you think I am?”
“The kind that guys really like.” Allison waggled her eyebrows. “No, you’re right. You’re a classy bitch, and classy bitches don’t do that.”
“Oh?” Elena asked, amused by the label. “And what, may I ask, do classy bitches do?”
“Well, wouldn’t you know? I mean, you are a classy bitch after all.”
Elena snorted into her coffee, which only made Allison laugh harder, saying, “Classy bitches always drink their alcohol out of fancy glasses.”
Agreeing, Elena gave an appreciative nod and hummed her approval.
“And classy bitches wear high heels, no matter the occasion.”
Tilting her head, Elena tried to think of a way to refute that one, but there was no point. It was true that she wore high heels basically everywhere she went except when she went for the occasional run. “Agreed.”
“Classy bitches always do that eyebrow arch thing too,” Allison said, only for Elena to immediately arch a brow at her.
“See?” Allison pointed. Elena scoffed and forced her reaction back down.
“Oh, and classy bitches never sleep with a dude on the first date.”
“Absolutely.” Elena tipped her head in satisfaction.
It had been quite some time since Elena had laughed this easily and naturally with another adult. Vivian was hilarious and she often made Elena laugh, and of course her parents had their moments, but Allison was an entirely different animal. It amazed Elena how easily Allison pulled it out of her, the laughter and the playfulness.
“So, what was wrong with the guy?” Allison asked.
Elena sighed and swiped a hand through her hair again. It fell in gentle waves around her face. “What wasn’t wrong with him?”
“That bad, huh?”
“Well, for starters,” she said, “he was overly confident, and unjustly so.”
The curl of Allison’s lip made her disgust obvious. “That annoys the hell out of me. My roommate dated a guy last year who always tried to order for her, even at places like McDonald’s.”
“Yes,” Elena groaned, turning more toward Allison. “That is exactly what he did, and I positively loathed it. I can select my own meal, thank you very much!”
“Right? Like, eat what you want, dude, but let me order for myself. Oh, and why do guys always order a salad for girls? What is that?”
“Yes!” Taking a quick sip of her
coffee, Elena cleared her throat and then mimicked Brice’s snotty voice as she said, “Oh, and the lady will have a side salad.”
Allison snorted. “Did you eat it anyway?”
“Oh no,” Elena replied, letting a wicked smile grace her lips. “I didn’t even let him finish the order. I dismissed his and placed my own.”
“Seriously?” Allison clapped her approval. “That’s great. I bet he felt like such an idiot.”
“Oh, oh!” Elena added, suddenly finding herself rather enjoying this, absorbed entirely in the exchange. “He then proceeded to imply during the car ride home that I refused his order because I am unaccustomed to being pampered!”
Allison brought her middle finger up to her mouth and mock-gagged herself on it.
“Exactly. I didn’t even bother replying.”
“I wouldn’t have either. The guy sounds like a douche. What was his name?”
“Brice.”
“Brice?” Allison grimaced. “Even his name sounds douche-y.”
Elena smiled. “Now you’re just trying to make me feel better.”
“As long as it’s working.” Allison winked.
Elena ducked her head a bit as she took another sip of coffee. “It is,” she said quietly, like it was an admission. “Thank you.”
* * *
“Don’t worry,” Allison said, awkwardly patting Elena’s arm as they lingered by the front door. “I’m sure the next date will be better.”
“One can only hope.” Elena chuckled. She handed Allison several bills that she had pulled from her purse before walking the babysitter to the door, and Allison stared wide-eyed down at the money.
“Whoa, no.” She pushed the money back toward Elena. “That’s way too much.”
Elena reached out to curl Allison’s fingers around the cash. “You earned it.” She squeezed Allison’s hand before releasing it. “Please take it.”
Sighing, Allison nodded. “Well, thank you. Really.”
“Thank you.” The warm night air rushed in as she opened the door.
When she was halfway out, Allison turned and shifted from foot to foot as she adjusted her backpack. “So, I’ll see you soon, right?”
Elena nodded. “I will call when I need you again.”
“Okay then.” Feet shuffling, she offered Elena her signature little wave, muttering, “Goodnight.”
Elena leaned her head against the door. “Goodnight Allison,” she said softly, standing in the doorway until Allison was long out of sight.
Chapter Five
Hazy eyes fluttered slowly open and began to focus. Elena chuckled low in her throat, the sound muffled and raw from sleep, as she came face to face with her son. He lay in her bed, curled up in a ball beside her with his face so close to her that they were nearly touching. His eyes blew wide the moment his gaze locked with hers, and Lucas burst into a wild fit of giggles, clutching his belly. “Hi Momma!”
“Good morning munchkin.” She reached out and palmed his cheek.
“Time to get up!” Lucas leaned into his mother’s touch. “Time to go to Gram’s!”
Confused, Elena glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was barely after seven, which was late for a work day. She started to jolt out of bed before remembering.
“It’s Sunday, baby,” she said. “Momma doesn’t work on Sunday, remember?”
Lucas’s eyes widened. “Just me and you?”
The sight of his smile made her heart swell. She hoped her son would always show such enthusiasm about spending entire days with her. Lucas adored his grandparents and the time he spent with them each weekday, but he was a Momma’s boy through and through. Elena was his “most favoritest person” in the world and that was why the weekends, Sundays in particular, were his favorite days.
“Just you and me,” Elena whispered, tapping her index finger on the tip of Lucas’s nose.
He clapped his hands happily. “Where we going, Momma?”
Elena rolled onto her back and stretched her limbs, groaning as she did so, then laughing when Lucas began to imitate her. He scooted down on the mattress and threw his arms over his head, then groaned and grunted as he twisted about, opening his mouth wide in a fake yawn and scrunching his eyes closed.
His mocking sounds quickly turned into shrieks, though, when Elena suddenly turned and pounced on him, her fingers finding home just under his arms. She tickled his sides while he squealed and tried to wriggle away from her. She let up after only a moment so as to avoid any accidents on her bed and planted a loud, smacking kiss on his forehead before slipping out of bed and pulling her robe on over her night gown.
“Where would you like to go today?” She motioned for him to vacate the bed so she could make it up and he crawled across the top of the bed, latching onto Elena’s hands, so that she could help him slide down. “I wanna see the dinosaur bones!”
“Of course you do,” Elena said.
“Can we?”
“Of course we can.” She reached down to stroke the back of his head before moving around to the other side of the bed to adjust the sheets and blankets. “We will go after breakfast, okay?”
“Okay!” Pumping his fist into the air, he took off in a wobbly sprint down the hallway and toward the kitchen.
Elena ran a hand through her hair as she followed her son through the house.
* * *
The sudden, surprising blare of her phone nearly caused Elena to bump her head against the door frame as she strapped Lucas into his car seat. Once she got everything buckled, she pulled her phone from her purse and rolled her eyes as she saw Vivian’s face light up the screen.
“Hello darling!” Vivian’s voice echoed through the line as soon as Elena accepted the call. “How was your incredibly sexy date last night?”
“Incredibly disappointing,” Elena said. “In fact, he was so disappointing that I have determined to despise you for a minimum of one week.”
“Wow, a whole week?” Vivian gasped. “What did he do? Proposition you for sex before dinner?”
Elena slipped into the driver’s seat and buckled her belt. “Make it two weeks,” she huffed.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I thought he was sexy.” Vivian chuckled. “What went wrong?”
“He was decently attractive,” Elena admitted. “Until he opened his mouth.”
“Are you sure you weren’t looking for reasons not to like him?”
“Please. Give me a bit of credit, Viv. The man attempted to order for me and then suggested that my disinterest in him doing so was due to the vast lack of pampering in my life.”
Vivian snorted into the phone. “Wow. That is just sad.”
“Where did you even find him?” Elena asked.
“Where else?” Vivian asked. “Work. He is a friend of my assistant. She suggested him.”
“Fire her,” Elena joked.
“Momma! We’re not moving!”
Elena glanced in the rearview mirror to see her son squirming in his seat. “I know, munchkin,” she said. “Just one more minute.”
“Vivian.” She turned her attention back to her phone conversation. “I will have to call you back. I’ve just gotten Lucas in the car, and we are headed to the museum.”
“Which one?” Vivian asked. “I have no plans for today. I could meet you there.”
“The American Museum of Natural History.” Elena started the car.
“I take it Lucas wants to see the dinosaurs again?”
“Of course,” Elena said. “Call me when you arrive, and Lucas and I will meet you.”
Elena glanced in her rearview mirror to find Lucas looking right back at her. His eyes were narrowed, and Elena couldn’t help but let out a loud bark of laughter.
“Okay, okay, we’re going,” she told him, and his expression morphed into a smile.
* * *
Allison spread the small blanket out atop the grass, plopped down on top of it and pulled out her current reading material from her backpack—Invisible Monsters
by Chuck Palahniuk. She had always enjoyed his minimalistic writing style, and Allison had nothing but love for any author who didn’t shy away from the ugly details and horrors of life.
Sticking her backpack under her head to use it as a pillow, she lay back and sucked in a deep breath, letting the smell of the Central Park breeze tickle in her nose. It was nice to get out of the dorms from time to time.
It was a gorgeous Sunday morning, and Allison wiggled around until she was comfortable, thinking about the night before. Elena Vega was like a puzzle—complex and intriguing. She was far from the typical rich girl who cherished money and material things above all else, and Allison wondered what more she might learn of the woman as she began to put all of the pieces together—if she was able to spend more time with her.
Tucking her bookmark into the back cover of her book, Allison began to read. She only managed a few pages, however, before she was suddenly and unexpectedly tackled. She yelped as a small body barreled into her, and Allison struggled for a moment to get away before recognizing her tiny attacker.
“Lucas?” she managed to choke out despite the boy having knocked the wind out of her. He giggled and nodded as a shadow cast over them both. Allison raised a hand to shield her eyes as she looked up to see the glowing form of Elena Vega.
Allison felt a gentle stirring in her stomach as she looked up at Elena and watched a bright smile spread across the woman’s face.
“I’m terribly sorry, Ms—Allison,” Elena said. “He saw you and took off before I could stop him.”
Allison pushed herself into a sitting position with Lucas in her lap and patted his back. “No, it’s totally cool.”
