“You have Disney Plus?”
She nods her head as a big smile erupts across her face, lighting up her ocean-colored eyes, and for a second, I think I stop breathing. Something about this girl makes me feel like a teenager all over again. Christ, a few pretty smiles and my heart is racing.
“I like Disney movies and shows. Don’t judge.”
God, she’s so adorable and sexy I just want to devour every inch of her.
“I just did, so it’s too late for that.” Her eyes narrow, her fist going to her hip, and damn, she’s adorable. “I’d love to talk this out, but…um…” I trail off thinking about this. Not knowing how comfortable Ady will be with that. Then again, we can try to and if she can’t handle it, we’ll leave. “Yeah. Sure. Great. Lead the way.” I turn to Ady. “Ady, baby, you wanna go watch a movie and eat popcorn with my friend Naomi?”
Ady looks over to Naomi, who is still smiling and then back over to me. “Popcorn?”
Naomi looks right at Adalyn and takes a small, tentative step toward her. “You like popcorn?” Ady doesn’t respond, but she’s not yelling either, so I know she’s intrigued and listening. “I have the really yummy stuff you make on the stove. It’s the best popcorn ever. What’s your favorite show?”
“Mickey Mouse,” Adalyn replies, and I can’t help my prideful smile at how easily she just answered that. I know they work with her on answering questions appropriately at her school and she just did it like a fucking champ.
“Oh, girl. You and I are going to be such besties. I love Mickey Mouse. Do you want to watch Once Upon a Christmas even though it’s not Christmas anymore? It’s fantastic.”
“Mickey Mouse,” Adalyn states firmly like it’s all a done deal.
“Awesome. And wow, just how beautiful are you? I worry for your uncle and daddy when you get older.”
I choke on absolutely nothing. “Watch it there, Kent.” Naomi winks at me and we start off down the beach toward her house. And I do my very best not to watch her ass as we go. Especially after that comment about Adalyn and future admirers. “You actually watch Mickey Mouse?”
Adalyn squirms in my arms and I set her down in the sand, holding her hand tightly so she doesn’t get any ideas about running off toward the water. The older Adalyn gets the more impulsive her behaviors have become. Jasper and Viola work with a BCBA—a behaviorist who specializes in autism—but there is only so much you can do with that aspect of her autism. The scary part? She doesn’t even realize what she’s doing is potentially dangerous.
Naomi glances over her shoulder in our direction. “I think I already told you not to judge. You can blame my Disney obsession on my lack of a traditional childhood and leave it at that. But yes, I actually watch Mickey Mouse. When you’re having a hard day, I suggest you put on something Disney with music and try not to smile. Plus, my mother, father, and I have all written songs for them in the past.”
That I did not know.
“What’s your favorite?”
“The original High School Musical movies. Zac Efron.” She fans her face dramatically.
I roll my eyes at her.
“Hey,” she says, slightly indignant despite her playful tone. “I never went to high school, remember? I was living vicariously.”
“Well, real high school is not like that.”
She laughs, her head tossing back. “You totally watched it! I knew it!”
“Viola loved it. I watched it for her,” I grumble under my breath.
“And I bet you liked it too, so don’t even lie, Gus. It doesn’t suit you. But yes, I love Disney. Cheesy teenage drama and all.”
“Whatever gets you through, sweetheart.”
She winks at me before turning back to the beach, adjusting her board under her arm.
“Can I take your board?”
“Nah. You’ve got your hands full and Alice is pretty light.”
“Alice?”
“Yep. She’s my favorite girl. We don’t all have adorable nieces to spoil.”
We pass by five or so more houses until we reach a large, three-tier home, lifted up on cement stilts. The side facing the ocean is all balconies—one for each level, spanning the entire width of the house. Naomi directs us toward the side of the house to a hidden staircase that leads up to the first-floor entrance. She punches in a code, presses her thumb against a touchpad, and we enter a mudroom of sorts with composite floors, open to the sand and ground beneath, almost like a deck, but inside. She walks her board over to the wall and sets it gently beside a few other boards and along a faucet and sprayer.
“I’ll clean Alice later,” she tells us, waving her hand in the direction of the door that leads into her house. “Feel free to go on in. I’ll just be a second.”
I take a step in the direction of the door only to freeze mid-stride as Naomi unzips her wetsuit, leaving her only in a tiny, black bikini that’s all strings and triangles and not nearly enough fabric covering her absolutely gorgeous body.
Jesus, God in Heaven.
She hangs up the wetsuit on one of the many hooks, opens a cabinet and grabs a towel only to catch me eye fucking the shit out of her as she wipes down the salt and water from her body. “Tongue in your mouth there, Gus. I thought we discussed this sort of shenanigans.”
We did. We totally did.
“Forget whatever we agreed to. I no longer care about the song.”
She laughs, shaking her head, thinking I’m joking, but I’m not entirely sure I am.
Naomi mercifully wraps the towel around her body, tucking a corner into the cleavage of her amazing rack, and I think I’m in lust with Naomi Kent.
I mean, I knew I wanted her.
That was so obvious and a given from the moment I laid eyes on her. She’s beautiful. No denying that.
But I’m starting to realize there is a hell of a lot more to her than that, and so far, I can’t think of anything I don’t like.
Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve never really spent a lot of time with any woman since Viola. I never got to know the women I slept with or even cared about their names. I didn’t date all that much. Just sort of screwed my way through life.
In truth, I had no interest in any of those women because they weren’t Viola.
It was that simple.
Sex was fun and easy to come by, and so I did it whenever I could with whoever was willing. That may make me a pig and it may not, but it’s how my life has been.
And none of those women complained. They were all too willing and eager—even after they knew the score.
I don’t know what’s happening here. Where my mind is going. The thoughts it’s having.
Maybe I’m just latching on to the first hot woman to cross my path since I let go of Vi.
But I sang that song with Naomi.
I followed her to the ocean and watched her watch the sunset. Pulled her back from the water and took her out for dinner. Held her in my arms as I danced with her and then hung out in the bathtub with her.
I don’t really know her.
Not well anyway.
But… yeah, there’s something about this girl. Something I want. Something I’m already fighting hard to keep in check.