It didn’t take very long to get to Southpoint Apartments. Traffic this time of night was light, and his small house wasn’t too far away.
He grinned as he parked and took the stairs two at a time. He strode down the walkway toward Cassidy’s apartment at the end, then knocked on the door. He smiled even wider when he heard Cassidy swearing as she undid the chain and the dead bolt.
She gave him a sheepish look when she opened the door. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
Gramps shook his head. “Don’t be.”
“What was it this time?” Cassidy asked. “Water leaking in the bathroom? Shadows lurking around outside?”
“Spider in the bathtub,” Gramps told her.
“Oh, good Lord. This is crazy—I’ll talk to him,” she promised him.
Gramps took a step toward her, and she immediately backed up. “It’s fine, Cass. He’s settling in.”
“He’s being a pain,” Cassidy corrected. “You have a life—you can’t come over here every night to babysit us.”
“That’s not what I’m doing,” Gramps told her seriously.
“Then what are you doing?” she asked.
Taking a chance, Gramps lifted his hand and smoothed her hair back. It was a little wild tonight, curling around her shoulders in disarray. “Hanging out with an old friend and her son.”
Cassidy licked her lips, and Gramps couldn’t help but watch the movement and wish he was the one wetting them.
“Oh.”
It was a sound of disappointment, and Gramps hated it. He pulled Cassidy close. She fell against him with a small oof, then looked up at him shyly.
“Believe me, if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be,” he told her. “Mario’s texts give me an excuse to see you. In case I haven’t made myself perfectly clear, I like you, Cass, and there’s going to come a time very soon when I can’t hold myself back anymore.”
She was breathing fast, her eyes wide in surprise. But he could see the desire in them too. He wasn’t alone in his feelings.
“I’m giving you time,” he said. “To get used to me. To us. To your new life. But make no mistake, the last thing I’d be doing is humoring your son and coming over every night if this wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be. Laughing with you guys, watching Mario give us impromptu dance recitals, reading Harry Potter to him, then pretending to be interested in whatever TV show you put on when I’m much more interested in learning what makes you tick . . . who you’ve become as a woman over the years . . . seeing if the chemistry I feel when I’m around you is a product of my imagination or the real deal.”
He knew that was one very long sentence, but he had to get the words out. He noted the way Cassidy leaned into him even more heavily, how her fingernails dug into his chest, as if to ensure he didn’t escape.
“Oh,” she said again.
“Yeah, oh,” Gramps agreed.
“Leo!” Mario called out, interrupting what had become a very sexually charged moment.
Gramps looked up and saw Cassidy’s son standing near the entrance to the small living area. He looked a little sheepish, but happy to see him.
“Hey, champ. There’s a spider?” he asked.
Mario nodded. “There was. But it crawled back down the drain after I texted you.”
Gramps harrumphed.
“You texted Leo because you saw a spider?” Cassidy had dropped her hands from his chest and turned when Mario had called his name, and Gramps knew he was a goner when he felt bereft at losing her touch.
The boy bit his lip and looked down at the floor. “It was a really big spider, and I know how much you hate them. Remember that one we saw that one night in Jamaica? You said it seemed angry and was watching you.”
Cassidy chuckled. “Yeah, I remember. And it was angry, and it was watching me.” She turned back around. “Since you’re here, you want to stay for a while? I made brownies. They’re just from a box, but they’re good.”
“I’d love to stay,” Gramps told her.
“Yay!” Mario exclaimed. “I found a new YouTube channel, and wait until you see the new dance I learned today!” Then he turned and disappeared from view, probably to go get his phone, which most likely already had the music he was going to dance to cued up.
“I never should’ve let you give him that phone,” Cassidy said with a shake of her head.
“Yes, you should have. It gives him independence,” Gramps told her. “And you know as well as I do that it makes both of you feel better that he can contact you whenever you’re not within sight. You need that after Jamaica.”
She sighed. “You’re right, but he’s driving me crazy with the YouTube thing. And he needs to stop texting you to come over every night.”
“I actually was going to talk to you about that,” Gramps said. Her face fell, and he hurried to explain. “I thought maybe you two could come over to my house sometimes. It’s not anything huge, not like Smoke’s house, but it’s comfortable. My living area is larger than yours, and Mario would have more room to practice his dance routines.”
She gave him a shy smile. “We’d like that, thank you.”
Gramps reached for her, needing to feel her close again. It was insane how her touch seemed to settle him. She came to him easily, laying her head on his chest. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. He’d never been a hugger. Hadn’t ever really understood the appeal. When he’d been with women in the past, he’d never thought much about touching them outside the bedroom. He’d never held hands, hadn’t spontaneously pulled them into hugs. But he couldn’t keep his hands off Cassidy. And luckily, she seemed to enjoy his touch as much as he enjoyed hers.
“You talk to your parents lately?” he asked softly.
Cassidy nodded against him. “Yeah, a little earlier. I think Mario texted you while I was on the phone with them.”
“How are they doing?”
“They’re good. They changed their phone number, and they’re working on arrangements to take a long holiday in Mexico. Which I’m totally relieved about. It’s been really nice to talk to them openly and honestly about everything. Mom promised not to bring Alfred up again, now that she knows once and for all how horrible our marriage was for me. I miss them, and I feel guilty that they really want to see Mario, get to know him, but I’m definitely not ready to travel anywhere.”
“You want to see them, say the word, and I’ll get you there and back,” Gramps told her.
Cassidy looked up at him. “I appreciate that, but I feel as if I’ve taken so much money from you already. I want to say that I’ll pay you back, but we both know how unlikely that is.”
“You thought any more about what you want to do?” Gramps asked.
Cassidy shrugged and put her cheek back on his chest. “I’m actually enjoying babysitting. I joined Michael’s household in Jamaica as a nanny and teacher, and I wouldn’t mind doing something like that here, but I don’t want to work in a day care center. And I’d like to have flexible hours. Once Mario starts school, I want to be able to help out in his classroom and go on field trips with his class, things like that. And if I get a nine-to-five job, I won’t be able to. I know I’m being really picky when I can’t afford to be, but Mario’s growing up in front of my eyes, and I’m afraid if I blink, he’ll be eighteen and moving on to bigger and better things than living with his old and decrepit mother.”