Only One Kiss

by Madison, Natasha

  “Yeah,” I say. “I’m actually really good.” I smile at Ari, who just smiles at us.

  Chapter 17

  Candace

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Layla says as soon as I answer the phone, and she hangs up before I can tell her that I’m not home alone. I put the phone down and look over at Miller, who sits there typing something on his phone.

  “Okay, so I think we have the rest of the summer up to speed,” I say and he looks up at me, picking up his baseball cap and scratching his forehead. “What are your plans for the fall?”

  “I have no fucking clue,” he says, looking up and moving his neck side to side. “Hopefully, we start the season off good.”

  “Well, you are still getting on the ice, and from the looks at everyone else, training is going well,” I say of all my clients who send me pictures weekly.

  “Fucking Ralph.” He mentions Ralph, and I try not to look at him in case he sees something that isn’t there. Or maybe it is, who knows at this point. I haven’t seen him in nine days, nine days, and every single day, he invaded my thoughts. The last conversation I had with him broke my heart, and it took me two days to get through the daze he left me in. If I close my eyes, I can still feel his hand on my face. I can still feel his breath on my face, and I can still feel the way my heart beat in my chest. I try to draw the line in the sand, and by not seeing him is what is working. I mean, I guess. I stalk his Instagram, and we text daily with ideas. Just today, he took a picture of himself wearing the Babybjorn with diapers, wipes, and bottles on the counter in front of him.

  Is it hockey season yet?

  His activity level is through the roof, and he’s getting over two thousand followers a day now that he is more active. “What happened with Ralph?” I ask, suddenly wondering if he’s sick or not. Maybe it’s Ariella.

  “He’s been on the ice seven days a week for four hours,” he tells me, and I wonder who is watching Ari? I wonder if he thinks about me, and I wonder if Ari misses me? I shake my head because of course she doesn’t. The texts that we send are always professional, and I haven’t asked him any personal questions. It is what I do with everyone else. “Then he works out three hours at night when his kid is sleeping.”

  “Well, he’ll be ready to go next month then,” I say, looking down at the computer. Then I hear the front door open and I look up at Miller to see his face when he sees who is coming in.

  “I’m here,” Layla says, walking in, and I see Miller’s face light up. It’s not a secret that he’s in love with her.

  “Be still my heart,” he says, putting his hands to his chest. He came here straight from training, so he’s dressed in his gym attire.

  “Oh, God, what is he doing here?” Layla says, and I look over at her. Even if she didn’t want to dress up, she looks amazing. She’s wearing blue jeans ripped at the knees, but it molds her with a white T-shirt that is tied at the side. Her sandy blond hair in beach waves. “Why didn’t you tell me he was here?”

  “Well, you hung up on me,” I say, getting up and going over to the fridge to get a bottle of water as I watch the two of them fight.

  “Why does me being here bother you so much?” Miller asks, stretching back in the chair.

  “Is it because you want me?”

  “Miller, the only thing I want from you,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest, “is for you to stay in your corner.” I watch them going back and forth.

  “Did you get my Snapchat?” he asks her, and I about choke, thinking about when he accidentally sent out his penis picture to all of his contacts.

  “I’m not on Snapchat,” she says, and by the look he’s giving her, I wonder what’s up.

  “You gave me your snap name.” He gets up now, opening the app on his iPhone and turning it to show her and then coming to show me.

  “Um.” I look at him and then look at Layla. “She actually doesn’t have Snapchat.” I break the news for her, and I see the horror on his face.

  “What?” he whispers and looks down at his phone like it might blow up. “I’ve been sending this person pictures of myself.”

  “Why the fuck are you sending pictures of yourself?” I ask, and he looks at Layla.

  “Why would you send me pictures of yourself?” she asks him after me.

  “To entice you.” He winks at her, and I have to say he is very persistent.

  “I’m not interested in you,” Layla says. “Not before, not now, not tomorrow. It’s just never going to happen.”

  “You know what they say.” He puts his phone in his pocket. “Never say never.” He smirks at her, gives her one more wink, and then looks at me. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

  He walks to Layla. “You call me if you change your mind.” He tries to bend to kiss her, and she pushes him away.

  “Gross, I don’t even know where those lips have been or who you touched last.” She runs away from him and hides behind me.

  “If you give me a chance,” he says to her, and she holds up her hand. “I’ll see you later.” He walks out of the kitchen and the front door slams shut.

  “Jesus,” Layla says, walking over to the sink. “I need a shower to wash all the cooties off after seeing him.” She shivers and washes her hands. “You should have given me a warning or something.” Looking over, she glares at me.

  “You didn’t give me a chance,” I say, walking back to my chair and closing the book that holds all of Miller’s stuff. “You literally hung up.”

  “Ugh whatever,” she says, walking over to my fruit bowl and grabbing the oranges and then going to the fridge to grab some strawberries. “He gets on my last nerve.” Coming over, she sits down in the chair next to me and not in the chair that Miller just got out of.

  “You say that every single time,” I say, looking at her. “It’s like all this pent-up se—”

  “So, help me God, if you mention me and sex with Miller one more time, I am breaking up with you,” she says, peeling her orange.

  “You guys are like two cats.” I bring the water bottle to my lips. “In heat.” I wink at her when she fake vomits.

  “Whatever,” she says. “What are you doing now?”

  “I was going to get my schedule for tomorrow going,” I say, looking down at my to-do list that is slowly shrinking. The last thing I have on the list is to call Ralph. It’s been on my list for the last nine days, yet I haven’t called him once. Picked up the phone, yes. Dialed his number, yes. But actually, pressed the green button? Nope. I’m sticking to texting.

  “You and your lists,” she says, laughing at me. “Ohh, what is that last one?” She points at the pad with her perfectly manicured nails tapping the pad.

  “I have to touch base with Ralph to ask him a couple of questions.” I avoid her eyes, and I know she isn’t going to let it go.

  “You like him,” she points out.

  “I work for him.” I tap my thumb on the table. “Which means that he’s a no-go zone.”

  “What if you didn’t work for him?” she asks me, popping a strawberry in her mouth. “Would you go for him?”

  “I don’t think that matters,” I say. “He’s unavailable.”

  “How do you know?” She just watches me.

  “We had a conversation,” I say, and she raises her eyebrows. “Just stop, okay? I was at his house, and we had a conversation.” Cutting the topic off. “Are we going to go shopping, or are we staying in?” I close my laptop. “If we go out, I have to change.”

  “Changing the topic.” She winks at me now just like Miller did to her not too long ago. “Smart, we can go shopping,” she says. “Or we can stay in and watch that new show on Netflix that people are talking about.”

  “Oh,” I say, getting up. “And order Chinese food?” I smile and point at her.

  “If I was not so into dick,” she says, “I would make a play for you.”

  “Um.” I laugh now. “Thanks, I guess.”

  “You know that getting inv
olved with a single dad is not the smartest thing to do,” she says and puts up her hand when I start saying something. “I know, I know.” She gets up, cleaning up her mess. “I’m just saying if it goes sideways, you are not only going to lose him, you lose the baby also.” My heart slowly speeds down, and it clenches tightly in my chest. “And you know how you get with kids.” She pushes the chair in. “It’s your kryptonite.”

  “If anything, I’m going to be his friend,” I say. “I don’t think he’s ever had a friend.”

  “That’s so sad,” she says, walking to the kitchen and taking a bottle of water and a bag of chips out of the cupboard. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Aww,” I say, putting my hand to my heart. “Be still my heart.”

  She groans as I repeat the words that Miller said. “Fuck, he’s so annoying.”

  “But he’s hot.” I point at her, and she can’t even deny it. He’s like a walking talking sex ad. His black hair is just long enough to run your hand through it, and it comes out of his helmet in the back. His eyes are so black they pierce through you. His chiseled face is perfect and his lips are plump and full. There is a reason he’s the most sought-after NHL player on and off the ice.

  “Fine.” She throws her hands up. “I admit he’s hot, but he’s probably got a tiny wiener and doesn’t know how to use it.” She looks away, and I know that is the end of the conversation.

  “Now let’s go see if love is really blind.”

  “What is that?” I ask, walking into the living room as she tells me about the show. I’m not really listening to her as I think about Ralph. I sit down, and she starts the show. I try to get into it, but all I can do is think about calling Ralph.

  I get up in the middle of an episode when my phone beeps. Walking over to the table, I see it’s from Ralph. My palms automatically get clammy, and my heart speeds up, and I can swear there is a flutter in my stomach. I open the message.

  Ralph: Hey, I have a huge favor and was wondering if you could help me out.

  I sit down and type out.

  Me: Sure, anything.

  But I don’t press send. No, I sit here at the table and erase it. That sounds too eager.

  Me: That depends.

  I also don’t send it. Maybe he’s going to think I’m a bitch. Before I can even answer, the phone rings in my hand, and I see it’s Ralph. I get up and walk to my bedroom so I don’t disturb Layla, who is yelling at someone on the show.

  “Hello,” I say, sitting on my bed.

  “Hey,” he says, and the minute I hear his voice, I immediately smile. “Sorry, I know it’s a bit pushy to call you, but I’m running out of time.” The urgency in his voice is apparent now, and I am already standing up and ready to get my keys and go over to his house.

  “Oh my God,” I say, suddenly stopping and the burning in my neck fills. “Is it Ari?” I put my hand to my stomach, feeling sick.

  “No,” he says, and his voice is soft now. “Oh, no, not like that,” he says. “I mean, she’s good. She turned six months, and she can sit up by herself, and well, yesterday, she pushed my hand away.”

  Sitting back down, I feel the fear that I had before go away. “Anyway, I’ve been craving your pasta,” he says. “I think I fucked it up, but I was wondering if you could maybe give me the recipe.”

  “I don’t really have a recipe,” I say, and he groans out.

  “I have the shrimp in butter and garlic,” he says, and I hear Ari yell in the background. I suddenly miss her more than I care to tell or say. “I started the pasta.”

  “I was actually going to call you about the things I found out about the foundation and about everything that I set up.”

  “Or why don’t you come over and show me how to make this recipe, and we can do it over dinner?” he says.

  I have to say no because there is no reason for me to go over there. It’s going to be hard when we stop talking. It’s not going to do anyone any good if I say yes. It’s for the best that I stay away. “Sure, I can be there in twenty.” I have lost my damn mind!

  Chapter 18

  Ralph

  I know I shouldn’t have called her, and I should have just googled a recipe, but none of them looked easy. And when she was in the kitchen, I watched as she just added things here and there. It was the best meal I had in my whole life. I’ve craved it for the past nine days since she left me a fuck ton of leftovers that I destroyed the day after.

  “Guess who’s coming over?” I say to Ari, who sits with her toys around her, wearing a gummy smile. “Candace.” I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even understand me.

  I just finished working out, and the only thing I did was shower because Ari started screaming bloody murder. Throwing on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, I don’t look like I was expecting anyone. I turn off the stove as I wait for Candace to arrive.

  For the past ten days, I’ve buried myself in training. After I got over the guilt for leaving Ari too long, I finally let Miranda stay more than three hours. I pushed it to four, and I went hard on the ice. Every day, I’d push myself so hard that my lungs would burn when I got off the ice. I would go home, eat a fuck ton of carbs, and then do cardio and weight training when Ari would nap. Then I would set her up to play if I had more to do. I pushed myself hard all the time because all I wanted to do was call Candace and talk to her about nothing and everything. It was crazy how she pulled me in without even trying. I had to keep myself busy to keep from calling her. She texted me here and there, and with each text, it was professional. I always wanted to keep the conversation going, but I stopped myself.

  I was shocked by just how easily and readily I opened up to her. The minute I did, I felt lighter but then I thought about how Cassie would fight with me about being more open with her, and I felt guilty about sharing shit with Candace. I tried to do it, I really did, but I just couldn’t get there with her. Something would stop me, and I didn’t even know what it was.

  The doorbell rings, and a smile fills my face as I think about her standing there outside my door. I rush over to pick up Ariella, who hits my chest and says my name. “Let’s go see who is at the door.” Kissing her neck, I speed walk to the door, the whole time my heart pounds and my smile just gets bigger and bigger.

  Clicking open the locks, I open the door to see her standing there. She is so much prettier than she has been in my thoughts and especially in my dreams. “Well, hello there.” She smiles at me, and then when she looks at Ari, her smile gets even bigger. She’s dressed in ripped blue jeans that are cuffed at her ankle and a black sleeveless shirt tucked in the front with flip-flops to show off her bubble gum pink toenails.

  “You got bigger.” She rubs Ari’s cheek, and I don’t know why, but I bend to kiss Candace on the cheek. “Hi,” she says, leaning into me and then kissing my cheek back. Just the smell of her makes my cock rise. I thought it was stupid when I watched the other guys kiss her cheek and and doing it right then might have been stupid, but I couldn’t help myself. Fuck, I even wanted to kiss her lips.

  “Hi.” Stepping back, I walk in and close the door behind her, watching her ass move perfectly in those jeans. She turns around and sets her purse on the floor, then reaches out her hands to grab Ari, and Ari reaches out for her. Candace smiles so big it makes her blue eyes get even lighter. Ari then grabs her face and goes in to suck her cheek.

  “Oh my goodness.” Candace puts her hand on Ari’s back. “I think I’m in love,” she says, hugging her close to her chest. Ari just squeals and giggles when Candace nuzzles her neck. “She smells so good.” She finally looks at me, and I have to say seeing her just love on my daughter pushes something else inside me. I put my hands to my chest and walk down the hallway into the family room.

  “Let’s see what your daddy did.” She turns Ari around in her arms so she faces out, and Ari kicks her feet. When she gets close to the stove, she turns Ari back on her hip, and I just don’t know what to think of the way she is protecting her.

/>   “I put butter in a pan with garlic, and then I cooked the shrimp,” I say, gesturing to the pan. “I don’t think I put enough oil or butter.” The shrimp doesn’t even have any coating on them.

  “How much butter?” she asks, and I want to lean down and kiss her lips. I’ve kissed her for the past ten days in my dreams. Every single night, I kiss her like I want to kiss her. Right when I slip into bed, I close my eyes and fall asleep to the fact that I miss her and I want her. Every single day, I pick up the phone a dozen times to call her but then remember I told her that we can’t go there. She was the one who agreed with me!

  “One tablespoon,” I say, picking it up, and she laughs.

  “You don’t think it tastes that good with a tablespoon of butter,” she says and then shakes her head. “It’s three-quarters of a cup of butter.”

  “Holy shit,” I say. “That’s like . . .”

  “Heaven,” she says, handing me Ari. “Let me see if I can save these poor sad shrimp.”

  “They aren’t sad looking,” I say, grabbing Ari. Ari is not keen on leaving Candace just yet because she whines to go back to her. All I want to say is me, too, princess. I’m about to say something when I hear the front door open and then close. Candace looks at me, and I look back at her and then hand her Ari while I put them behind me.

  “Who is that?” Candace asks, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my whole life. Did I leave the door open? I’m about to say something to her like run when Miranda walks into the room and she is holding two plastic bags filled with groceries.

  “Hey,” she says, smiling at me, and then her eyes go from me and then to Candace. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”

  I stand here shocked that she is even here. “Candace, this is Miranda. She watches Ari.” I look at Candace, who’s holding Ari on her hip now. “Miranda, this is Candace.” I don’t give her a title because it would be silly. What would I say? This is my social girl who I dream of nightly?