“Thank heavens!” Aggie waves a hand at me. “A girlfriend. Good.”
“Just a second,” I say into the phone and wait for Aggie to close my door. “Hey.”
“Hi. Sorry I missed your call earlier.”
“I guessed you were busy.” I wonder if she’ll expound on what she’s been doing.
“Crazy day. Three classes.”
I rock back in my chair and pick up my pen. Her voice is something like an aphrodisiac to my brain, like a mind-altering drug that puts me in the immediate mood for sex. I grin at the thought and suddenly remember why I grabbed my pen.
“What’s your schedule for the next few days? I realize you might have work, but I want to see you.” I pull a blank pad of paper to me.
“Babysitting for Jenny tonight. Long day tomorrow with a couple of classes and a lab,” she says in an odd tone.
I feel a brush-off coming, but she’s not getting her way. “We’ll make it work. I can help you babysit,” I offer. “Your place? What time?”
“Oh, no. I’m going to Jenny’s so the baby can sleep in his own bed.”
“What time?” I repeat.
“Ten o’clock.”
“Where does your friend work?”
She doesn’t answer for several beats. “She’s a dancer at Earl’s.”
“Oh.” Alarm bells ring in my head at the mention of the dump where Emerson worked briefly. “Okay. Want me to go with you to her place? Does she live in your complex?”
“No. But...I do need to see you.”
The tone of her voice does nothing to dispel my anxiety. I draw a winter tree on my blank pad. Its bare branches spread bleakly to the edges, and I add a raven. “Everything okay?”
“Sure. I want to see you and maybe tonight would be best.” We sit in silence for a few seconds as I wait for her to say more.
“Want me to come to your apartment after you babysit?” My mouth is dry and my chest tight. Something feels wrong, but I can’t put my finger on it.
“Gabby will be here and it’s hard to have privacy.”
“Want to come to my place?” I duck my head. Close my eyes. Consider leaving work to go to her now. “Wait. Malerie and Ace said they were coming over and asked if you might be around. I’m sure we could duck into my bedroom and avoid them.”
She’s silent for so long before she finally responds. “Could we go somewhere alone to talk? Maybe a hotel.”
The pen falls soundlessly from my fingers. I stare at my sketch and the way I’ve unconsciously written her name up the trunk. “I’ll pick you up at ten.” I clear my throat, hoping I don’t sound shocked.
“I’d rather you not. Gabby might see your car. Text the location and I’ll meet you. Leave a key at the desk.” Her voice shakes a little.
“I can do that.” Instead of feeling joyful about a hotel rendezvous, I’m uneasy and confused.
She ends our call without a goodbye.
Chapter Seventeen
Feel the Moment
Emerson
“Dang, girl. Who’s the lucky guy?” Jenny pulls on her long wool coat. “You should’ve said something. I could’ve asked someone else to watch Reed. Maybe Gabby. And I can’t believe you’re going out that late.”
She admires my skinny jeans and black button down shirt over a satiny tank. The twinkle in her eyes tells me I fussed a little too much.
I purse my lips. “No way. I love being with my baby boy.” I bounce Reed with one hand as I reach out and pull Jenny’s hair from the collar of her coat.
Reed gnaws two slobbery fingers and uses his other hand to grab my hair. “Ow, you little fiend,” I say and grab his wet hand. I kiss it repeatedly until he is distracted and releases my hair.
He gurgles, flashing tiny white teeth at me, then proceeds to gnaw on my hand.
“When will he stop cutting molars?” I ask. “He’s got a bite like a wolverine.”
“Soon, I hope.” She winds a scarf around her neck. “Bailey should be home before I am.”
“He was right to tell you to quit. What’s stopping you?”
Jenny gives me a threatening look. “Not you too. I’m only working the nights when he works his bouncer gig at Earl’s. Bailey won’t be in college forever. But right now, it’s extra money. Babies aren’t cheap.”
I give her the parent look I usually give Gabby. “Bailey says you’re being a giant pain-in-the—”
“No cursing.” She places her face at eye level to the baby. “Right, Reed? Tell Emerson to leave Mommy alone and that you need time with her,” she says in baby talk while giving me a side-eye. She stands and grabs her purse.
“Be careful,” I say. “Make Bailey walk you to and from the parking lot.”
“You know it. Be good, you two. Get lots of cuddling in.”
“Will do.” I chain the door behind her. The rattle of something against the wall causes me to press the baby closer to my bosom. The sounds of voices next door bleed through the wall and I bounce Reed while I pace the small living room.
I’m silly for jumping at every strange sound. Although Jenny’s apartment is across the way from mine in Building B, I circled the area several times in my car before parking in the next lot. I was certain no one followed me.
“Listen up, Dylan,” I say to Reed for practice purposes. Reed’s eyes round while he shoves a fist against his gums. “I can’t relax and enjoy being with you until I finish this semester of classes. So, we can have tonight and then take a break until I can be ready. If you can wait for me that long, then I’ll know you are serious.”
Reed pats my chest. “Mamamamama.”
“Mommy went to work.” I rub my nose against his. “What if I tell Dylan I need to work out some family issues and when I have my head clear, then he and I can... That’s a bogus excuse if I ever heard one. How about the truth? I’m dealing with some residual fallout from my dad’s illegal activities and maybe he could just back off and not be all macho until I can resolve it. We can enjoy each other tonight and then if he could just wait for me to get my life together... I have to cancel tonight. That’s what I’ll do. Thank you, Reed. You are so smart. I am not ready with a plan. Stupid, stupid Emerson.”
Reed blinks heavily and places his cheek on my breastbone.
After a while, I lay him on the sofa so I can relax and thumb through a fashion magazine while he sleeps. He’s a good baby and happy as long as I stay beside him. Not that I’d be going far.
Reed’s hair swirls into a curl at the top of his head and I stroke the wayward strand. My cell pings with a text and I struggle to grab it from the coffee table before the baby wakes.
Toby: Hi Emerson. We need to talk.
Oh, Toby. I really like you. I do. But I have bigger issues than my stats class or your internship.
Me: I’m babysitting right now. What’s up?
Ping. The reply text appears on-screen.
Toby: I know. Open the door when I get there.
Well, that statement’s a little too bossy for me. I shake my head and chalk it up to the trouble with texting. Most everything sounds rude and abrupt.