9. Hayworth
NINE
HAYWORTH
Well, that happened!
Somehow I have a date with the man of my fantasies. And yeah, while I may have pushed his fantasy aside in lieu of my sanity, you can bet his sweet ass he’s come right back front and center in my mind as soon as I walked out of the café with Wells.
And despite his ribbing, Felix is the only thing I can think about for the rest of the day, especially after Elsa texts me from her dad’s phone to tell me to pick him up tonight at eight.
I accept before I even check my schedule, but screw it. Work can wait if I can be deep inside Felix by the end of the night, can’t it?
“If you want my opinion—” Wells says later when we’ve both stopped at Mom’s for coffee and a decent cake because Special Blend’s cakes were…an experience !
“I don’t,” I say.
“Well, I’m gonna give it to you anyway.”
“That’s what he said,” I mutter when I catch my mom sighing and rolling her eyes in the kitchen.
“I think you should ditch,” Wells says.
“What? No. Why? I thought you’d be the first to tell me to go get me some.”
He presses his lips together and shakes his head. “Yeah, but he’s a dad. You don’t want that kind of complication.”
“‘Complication’? We’re just having sex,” I say.
Wells shrugs. “I don’t know, man. He’s a dad. Kids complicate everything. And he probably is more interested in finding another dad for the girls than getting some.”
“You two are driving me nuts.” Mom approaches with the tray of coffee and three servings of key lime pie to pass around, making my mouth water before I’ve even taken a good whiff of the black gold. “When will you two grow up and start talking like adults?”
“We are adults, Mrs. H,” Wells answers.
“No. You’re teenagers. And act like it too.”
“Him more than me.” I point at Wells, laughing.
But Mom isn’t amused. “That’s exactly what I mean. You can’t be serious for two seconds. Sometimes I wonder how you tie your shoelaces.”
“Hey!” Both Wells and I exclaim.
Mom puts her hands up and chuckles. “Then of course I remember neither of you can make a decent cup of coffee so we’re back to square one.”
“You’re in a mood today,” I tell her and she grimaces at me before she runs her hand through her short hair, which is a soft shade of blue this week, although if I know her, she’s got plans this weekend for another refresh.
“I’m only in a mood around you!” she says and purses her lips together in a sneaky grin.
“Aren’t I lucky then?” I take the cup of coffee and warm my hands while inhaling the aroma of hazelnut and dreams before I take a careful sip.
“So who’s the unlucky chap?” she asks.
“Felix. He’s got two girls,” I say and then I blink as if I’ve just woken up. “Hey, you probably know them. They’re elementary school age.”
Mom raises her eyebrow and pouts.
“What do you think? What are their names?”
“Elsa and Arya.”
“Oh, the Felix girls! Of course. They’re new in town. In fact…” Mom sets her cup down and hums in concentration. “I told you about the eldest last week. Elsa. She’s a talented kid.”
I chuckle. “She was definitely talented in getting me a date with her dad.”
Mom rolls her eyes. “They’re very sweet girls, so you better not do anything stupid.”
“I know they are. Very smart—” I pause, remembering something Mom said last week too. “Wait a minute. Didn’t you say her family moved in here recently?”
“Yeah, and?” Mom asks.
“You said ‘family.’ Does that mean she has two dads?” Is Felix married or something and I’ve just agreed to go on a date with a taken man?
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve not met her parents yet.”
“So she does have two!” I sit back.
“Maybe they’ve got an open arrangement, if you know what I mean,” Wells suggests, only to get a glare from Mom.
“Even if they do, I doubt they’d tell their kids. And I doubt their kids would get involved in their love life. I’m sure if the girls were asking you to take their dad out he’s a single parent.”
“Now that you mention it…” Elsa did say if I don’t take Felix out he’d sit at home, alone, crying into a tub of ice cream.
If that’s not a single man then I don’t know what is.
“Yeah. I think you’re right,” I say and try to cast that thought aside. I’m sure I’m right, but I can’t help worrying that I’ve agreed to wine and dine another man’s man and that doesn’t sit right with me.
It’s not like I can message Felix to ask him. Not when there’s a very good possibility Elsa will be the one to read the message. Besides, I’d want him looking me in the eye when I ask him.
“It’s all fine,” I reassure my audience who are both staring at me as if hanging by a thread.
Mom narrows her eyes and lifts her coffee to her lips. “So you’re still going?” she asks.
“Yeah. Uhm…yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” They don’t need to know about the turmoil inside me. That’s mine and mine alone and it won’t die down until I get some answers.
“No. Just saying. You need to be careful.”
I frown. “Be careful? Why? What do you know?”
What a weird thing to say. I’m sure if Mom knew something about Felix she would tell me. Right?
Mom pierces her slice of pie and winces. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not saying be careful because this guy is dangerous. I’m saying be careful who you hurt with your…shenanigans.”
“Shenanigans?”
“Shenanigans, yes, Hayworth. You’ve denounced love like it’s a plague, you try to make the Season of Love festival a living nightmare?—”
“I don’t?—”
“Do you, or do you not have a schedule of interruptions to the festival planned?”
I look away from her and try to hide my face behind my coffee cup.
“It’s not like you can hide from me. I saw the schedule on your website.”
“My website?” I put the coffee down and turn to her again. “And how would you know how to gain access?”
“It’s a website, Hayworth. It’s not exactly a secret, you know.”
“Yeah, but in order to see the schedule you need to join the club.”
Mom studies me in silence. I don’t back down. I hold her gaze and wait for answers she’s not willing to give.
“Fine. I’ve got your password saved from when you used my laptop to update the website.”
I gasp. “You naughty woman!”
She raises an eyebrow. “Oh spare me the bullshit and listen to me. If you’re planning on being yourself with this guy then it’s best you leave him alone. There are plenty of other men to have your fun with. You don’t need to hurt someone decent. Not someone who’s got kids. Someone who’s probably trying to do their best every day for his kids.”
I huff and sit back. “Relax, Mom. It’s just a date. It’s probably just gonna be sex anyway.”
“And? So what if it is? These things tend to get complicated, whether you like it or not.”
I shake my head and focus on the coffee and pie instead of humoring Mom’s catastrophizing of something so simple as a hookup.
Because that’s all it’s going to be. A good night with a sexy man and then we would both move on with our lives, no harm no foul.
It’s not long before Mom forgets about me and starts berating Wells and his life choices. Sometimes I feel like both our moms have made a deal to judge us every chance they get and make sure they do so without regard for who’s their real kid and who isn’t. Regardless of the truth, their words always hit harder when they’re aimed at their adoptive son.
“You, honey, you’re worse. And you’ll remember me when karma decides to hit back at you like a pinata at a party for a boy with anger management issues,” she tells him and Wells kisses his teeth but stays quiet, holding his cup of coffee as if it’s his only salvation.
Sometimes, I think we’re both masochists for spending so much time with other families when that’s the kind of ranting we get at every opportunity. We may very well be.
When we leave Mom’s she makes sure to chew my ear off one more time, but I don’t let it faze me.
She’s making a bigger deal out of this than it is. And so is Wells who might not share Mom’s concerns but he does agree kids complicate hookups.
But that’s all it is. That’s all it can be, anyway. Even if I was interested in dating someone, they wouldn’t be a single dad. That’s a recipe for disaster. For them. Not for me.
Because Mom and Wells are right. Kids complicate things. But only when we’re talking about serious stuff. Who says single dads can’t have fun, if they’re in fact single? Is it supposed to mean that as soon as someone has kids their sex life has to take a nosedive whether they’re married or not? That’s unfair for them.
So there. I’m doing this guy a favor. Or not a favor. A service. It’s goodwill. If everyone treats him as if he’s a fragile creature because of his kids, then he hasn’t had some in a while and I’m happy to be the toy that serves him for a night.
But first…
“You are single, right?” I ask him when he opens his front door and he grimaces.
“And good evening to you too,” he replies and I’m taken aback.
He looks stunning. His hair is styled to the side, the curls adding volume and definition and even more color as it looks pinker than it was earlier today. His eyes look more green than they have before and more pronounced, probably thanks to the pink eyeshadow and black eyeliner. His lips look glossy and so inviting and his skin is positively glowing as if he’s been dipped in glitter.
“Sorry. It’s been eating at me all day so I need to get the question out of the way,” I tell him, although focusing on anything but his true beauty is an incredibly hard task right now. “Are you single?”
He cocks his head to the side and a curl bounces up and down but settles back in its place.
“Do you think the girls would put on such a production if I wasn’t?”
I breathe a sigh of relief and it makes me lighter than I’ve felt all day.
“Thank you,” I tell him and offer him my hand.
He glances to the side and takes my hand with a forced smile.
“Just so you know,” he grinds between his teeth without breaking the contact or the smile. “I’m only doing this for the girls.”
He casts his glance to the side again and I follow it to find the two gorgeous girls at the window watching with glee in their faces. There’s another girl, above them, a Black girl with big glasses and her hair in a ponytail. Cheyenne. Wells’s niece.
What a small world.
Then again, we do live in a small town. And Cheyenne does offer babysitting for pocket money.
I wave at them and I can hear the screams of joy pouring out of them.
“I…I’m not sure I understand,” I tell Felix when I turn back to him.
“What’s confusing about it? I only agreed to this date because they orchestrated this whole thing and it’s brought a little peace in the house.”
I frown.
“No sex, Hayworth. This ain’t a hookup. If you thought I’d follow you home now or after dinner and bring you to Cloud Nine, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“Oh,” is all I manage to say and follow him down the steps toward my parked car.
So much for a good time.