3. Nova
3
nova
My alarm rang for the fourth time as I debated if I wanted to snooze it again. I really needed to wash my hair, but I think I could get away with not washing it today. It was always a chore to wash it because I had so much of it, thanks to my Mexican heritage.
After ten minutes of attempting to get more sleep, Sol barged into my room. She was in Princess Elsa pj’s and her hair was a mess.
“Mommy, there’s no batteries in the remote again,” she said, walking to my bed. “I’m also hungry.”
My cheeks grew red, I took the batteries for a late-night self-care session and I meant to put them back, but post orgasm haze had me falling right to sleep.
“Yeah, we need to get more batteries,” I said, cringing.
“Do your toys need batteries too, Mommy?” she asked, climbing into my bed.
I choked on my saliva remembering the last time we needed batteries for her toys we took them out of the remote and coincidentally that was the same day she found my toy.
“Are your toys like my Pony? I know that takes a lot of batteries,” she said, laying close to me.
“So, are you going to cook us something?” I pulled the covers over us, snuggling close to her, hoping I could steer the conversation away from batteries and my embarrassment.
“Mommy, you cook; I’m just a kid,” she giggled, burrowing deeper into my arms.
“Nah, it’s time you started contributing,” I said, squeezing her tightly. “You’re almost six, practically an adult.”
“Mommy!” she squealed. “I just turned 5!”
I blew raspberries on her cheeks as I tickled her. Her infectious laughter was music to my ears.
“Alright, you wench, let’s get you fed so we can be ready for our ride,” I said, pulling the cover off of us.
Mornings were always the hardest part of the day. It was like Sol wouldn’t go faster than a turtle when it came to getting ready and no matter how early we started, she thought she had all the time in the world.
My phone rang as I finished getting ready.
“Hello,” I said.
“Nova? Hey, it’s Marv,” he said.
“Hey! Do you need me to leave the key?” I walked around the house picking up laundry.
“We aren’t going to be able to make it today and we won’t make it till next week,” he said.
“Marv, that’s what you said last week. It’s supposed to rain this weekend,” I said, closing my eyes.
“Look, buy a tarp from AJ’s and throw it over the roof and I promise we will get there next week. Thanks for understanding,” he said, ending the call.
Fuck. I glared at my phone, cursing Marv for putting me in this position. This was the last thing I needed. Looks like I needed to fucking fix things myself, again.
We were ready just as a car pulled up, and my heart sank. It was an old Nova that had been recently restored. The engine purred beautifully, but I knew the owner wouldn’t sound as nice. Ironic that this man loved his Nova, but disliked me.
Why did Theodore have to do this to me?
“Come on, honey, let’s get our things,” I said, as nerves danced around in my chest.
Pounding on the door didn’t help with the turmoil I was feeling. Sol opened the door, her face transforming into a big smile.
“Colt!” she yelled, throwing herself at him.
He caught her in his big arms, giving her a hug that I was not jealous of, but I loved that he was always so nice to my daughter. His piercing green eyes looked up at me as he set Sol on her feet.
“You ready?” he asked, like it was killing him to be nice.
“Yea, sorry I thought Theodore was coming,” I said, feeling flustered.
“A calf was born this morning,” he said, like I knew what that would mean.
“Mommy, can we go see the baby cow?!” Sol shrieked, and I winced at the loudness.
Sol was an animal lover through and through. It didn’t matter what kind of animal it was, she always fell in love with them. She almost brought a racoon home a few months ago, but thankfully, the moment it saw me it ran away. I swear that child was like a real live Snow White.
“We need to ask if we can go see the baby,” I said, grabbing the car seat.
Colt took it from me, striding to his car to put it in.
I grabbed the last few things, locking up and turning around to see Colt buckling Sol. My heart swelled at the sight before me. He spoke in hushed tones as she babbled incessantly about cows. Once she was buckled in, he gave her a small smile, and I just about passed out. Colt liked no one, well, except his boyfriends, but I don’t think I had ever seen that man smile before.
He shut the door, glancing at me over his shoulder before his scowl was firmly back in place like it had never left. I walked to the car as he opened the door for me, resisting the urge to ask what the hell was wrong with him. He took the bags from me, waiting until I was in the car, then closed the door.
I looked back at Sol, to make sure she was buckled in correctly, but also to see Colt walk around the car. He opened the back door, placing our bags next to Sol. My daughter was a fucking traitor as she smiled at me. I wasn’t quick enough to see his reaction to her before he closed the door, and then I slid into the front seat.
As he turned the car on, the rumble was soothing as I admired the car’s new interior. The car slowly backed up as he put his arm on the back of my seat to see behind us. There was no need because my house was the only thing out here, but his proximity gave me butterflies that clearly didn’t get the memo that this man did not like me.
Colt took off down the dirty road, shifting gears like it was second nature. His well-formed forearms flexed with each shift, and I tried not to get turned on by such a simple thing. I had become a nun at this point and my celibacy definitely wasn’t on purpose, but being a single mom and getting laid was like trying to get into outer space. It required a fuck ton of planning, a solid route and the rocket needed to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. I didn’t have time to find someone. Sometimes it was too much effort for a lackluster orgasm.
The rest of the drive was surprisingly quiet, and I let myself relax for a bit, enjoying the ride and soaking up the silence. Colt pulled into the parking lot behind the line of cars. It was a slow process, but when it was our turn, I hopped out of the car, unbuckled Sol, and handed her lunch and backpack.
“I love you, beautiful, have fun,” I said, kissing her nose.
“Bye, Momma,” she said, kissing my nose. “Bye, Colt!” she waved, peeking through the passenger’s seat. “Oh, and momma don’t forget to buy more batteries for your toys, mine and the remote.”
The blood drained from my face as I looked around to see if someone had heard her. Thankfully no one was around us, but the last person I wanted to know that little tidbit of information had definitely heard.
I got back into the car, my face feeling like it was hotter than the sun. Maybe if I just ignored him, he wouldn’t bring it up. The drive to the salon was quick and quiet. I was too afraid to look over at him and this was one time he needed to just ignore me. He pulled up to the salon that was still closed for another forty minutes.
“Thanks for the ride and sorry you got roped into this,” I said, finally looking at him. “I appreciate you helping us out.”
He had a bored expression as he nodded. “I need your car keys.
“You don’t have to take a look at it,” I said immediately.
He held out his hands, stoically looking at me.
“Really, Colt. I can talk to?—”
“Give me the damn keys, woman.” He scowled.
“Look, I don’t need you to have another reason to hate me,” I said, opening the door. “I’ll walk over to talk to Bill and ask him to take a look at her.”
“You are making this more difficult,” he snapped. “It’s going to be me looking at it, I’m scheduled to work with him today.”
I clenched my jaw in irritation.
“I don’t expect a handout, I can pay?—”
He snatched the keys out of my hand, uninterested in what I was saying.
“You don’t have to be such an asshole,” I said, slamming the door and walking around to get my bags from behind his seat. “Theodore said he would give me a ride, but now when he offers, I’ll decline so I won’t bother you. It’s not like I wanted my damn car to break down, because I enjoy spending thousands of dollars at the most inopportune time.”
My lip trembled as I closed the door. I took a deep breath because I would not cry in front of him or anyone else. I knocked on his window as he stared straight ahead, sighing before rolling down the window.
“Keys,” I snapped, holding my hand out.
He looked even more pissed.
“I don’t have all fucking day, Colt,” I growled.
“No,” he snapped.
“Give me my damn keys or, so help me god, I will start screaming and I will make a fucking scene,” I said, looking around wishing there were more people to witness my tantrum.
“Quit being dramatic, I’m trying to help you,” he said through gritted teeth.
“If this is your way of helping, I don’t want it,” I said, snatching the keys out of his hand. “Just a piece of advice if you want to help someone don’t act or look like its fucking bothering you. I don’t need your help if all you’re going to do is make me feel bad about it.”
I walked around the car, heading to the back of the salon, hoping it was open already. Thankfully our owner was already here and I walked in and headed straight to the bathroom. I took a deep breath as my lip trembled, leaning on the sink looking down, willing myself not to cry. Colt had always been abrasive, but we had never interacted like this before.
Men were assholes. Colt was such an asshole.