Cage calledto tell me goodnight. It was a short call with his sisters bugging him to let them say “hi.” He planned on flyinghome late the next day. I planned on missing him.
The following day I took Shayna to the salon then shopping for more clothes. Silly me, I assumed Everson would have already done it. Wrong. Gah! Men.
“What the hell?” Everson gawked at the piles of bags we hauled into his apartment.
I glared at the TV. “Shut it off.”
He shut off the X-Box game that was nothing more than horrific animated violence. “Yes, Mom.”
“Time to grow up. She’s six and if you want her to stop crawling in your bed in the middle of the night, then you need to stop letting her see things that will give her nightmares.”
Everson didn’t acknowledge my advice, instead he nodded to the bags. “Since we’re on the subject of her being six, mind telling me why it looks like you bought out Macy’s today.”
I smiled at Shayna and found my happy voice instead of the condescending one Everson deserved. “Because a girl needs more than two outfits and one pair of underwear. Right, sweetie?”
She smiled, long lashes fluttering at Everson, and then she took off with one of the sacks to her room.
Everson shrugged, shoving his hands into his shorts’ pockets. “How was I supposed to know what she had?”
“Oh, I don’t know… you could have looked in her tiny backpack she showed up with, or maybe you could have asked her why she was wearing the same two outfits.”
“I didn’t want to invade her privacy or make her feel bad.”
The crazy part? I believed him.
“Now I feel like shit. I didn’t know.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be back later to help her put everything away. She has a bathrobe and her own toiletries now, soI’m going to help her figure out how to shower on her own here at your place. But she’s young, Everson. If you see her naked it’s not weird or a big deal unless you make it perverted, and if you do that, I’ll bust your nuts with my robotic foot. Okay?”
“Fuck you,” he said it in the most playful way it could be said, and he said it with a smile.
I blew him a kiss. “Language… but, I like you too, Apollo. See you later. Call me if you need me… now that you have my number.” I shook my head. “Bye, Apollo.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I unlocked my door.
Cage:Flight delayed. Be home late. Early workout in the morning followed by two meetings to see if I still have a job. Dinner tomorrow night?
Lake:Yes!
He texted me his address
Lake:Your place? Can I bring anything?
Cage:An overnight bag.
I smiled.
Lake:Come home to me safely. I kinda like you—a lot. x
Cage:The feeling is kinda mutual.
The next day consisted of testing more legs. Jerry and Thad shipped me a new jogging leg, two different ones for swimming, and one for biking. The wind made a commendable attempt at killing me on my bike, but I persevered. The training facility’s pool was closed for a competition, so my swim legs had to wait.
I’d called several of Everson’s nanny applicants to schedulean interview. One was available to meet that afternoon, so we met at a café for a casual interview. The previous day I did four over-the-phone interviews that didn’t impress me enough to warrant a face-to-face meeting.
Too young.
Not enough experience.
