I shrug and try not to sound like a pussy when I mumble, “I want to take Helena home for the day. She’s homesick, misses the beach.”
Nik’s brows rise and he puffs out a laugh. He shakes his head and grins knowingly. “When are you going to tell her you’re in love with her?”
I scoff. “It’s only been three and a half weeks since we got together. I’m not in l—”
He cuts me off with a firm, “Yes, you are.”
Frustration wells in me. Leaning back in the chair, I sputter angrily, “That wasn’t meant to happen. It wasn’t part of the plan.”
Nik raises a brow in question. “What exactly was your plan?”
I stand and emphasize every word with quick pauses in between, “To not fall in love.” Nik tips his head back and bursts into laughter. My lip curls. “What are you laughing at, Dik?”
Still chuckling, he utters, “Do you think I wanted to fall in love with Tina? Hell no. It wasn’t the right time for me. I had a plan too. The plan I had to settle down was set to commence next year.” He grins. “It don’t work that way, Maxie-boy. Put it this way. If Helena called you today and told you she wanted to see other people, what would you do?”
I roll my eyes. “I’d say fuck no and that wouldn’t be happening.”
He smirks. “’Cause the thought of some other guys hands on her makes you want to draw blood, right? Because she’s your woman, and she loves your daughter. She makes you smile for real, not the one you learned to put on for the sake of other people. And because when she holds your hand, she does it for the world to see, and she cares about small shit like that. Or maybe it’s because she truly cares about you, heart and soul.”
The fight successfully knocked out of me, I puff out, “Yeah.”
Nik looks up in thought. “Take Friday off too. I don’t think you’ve taken her out on a real date before, have you, you cheap bastard?”
My brows narrow in thought. “No, I haven’t.”
Nik sighs, “Do I gotta do everything for you?”
As I step back out of his office, I flip him the bird. Walking down the hall, I hear him call out, “Sure you don’t want me to wipe your ass too?”
I puff out a laugh.
Asshole.
***
Helena
God, I’m missing home. A lot. Today more than yesterday. As I wait for my three pm session with Sam, a Marine vet and amputee, I reach across my desk, pick up my phone, and type out a text.
Me: You are the reason doves cry.
With a calmed sigh, I place my phone where it was and print out exercise sheets to give Sam. As I hit print, my phone vibrates.
Nina: Oh my God, you whore. I spat my coffee out everywhere.
I smile down at the screen, but it’s a sad smile.
Me: I miss your fat ass.
Nina: I miss your cellulite and weird eye.
I squint down at the screen.
Me: When are you going to tell our middle, balder, fatter sister about you know what?
She doesn’t respond for a very long time, and I know she knows I know, so I send her another quick statement.
Me: I love you. There. I said it. Happy?
A moment later, my phone vibrates.
Nina: Soon…ish. I’ll visit soon. Love you too. X
I still have twenty minutes before the next session, and I’m up to date with all my file entries, so I pick up my phone and dial.
He answers almost immediately, sounding happy to hear from me. “Cupcake, why are you reading my mind? I was just thinking about you.”
I smile into the receiver. “Oh yeah, well guess what?”
“What?”
I quell down my excitement and singsong, “I managed to get Ceecee a place in a wheelchair basketball game.” As I chuckle at my triumph, I explain, “The kids are just like Ceecee. They’ve all struggled with being different, and they have a really positive feedback system. It’s a social media network where the kids can talk to each other about whatever’s bothering them, but don’t worry. Parents are encouraged to go on there too. Nothing it private or hidden, so she won’t be talking to any creepers. I made sure of that. But what it is, really, is a support network for Ceecee with kids her own age. What do you think?”
Silence. Then, “I think you put a lot of thought into this, into helping Ceecee.”
I admit, “I have. I really have, and I think I know why she ended up rebelling. I think it was because she started to feel lonely in her own family. And before you say anything, it happens. So many of my clients feel like they can’t talk to their family about their problems, because able-bodied people can listen, but they can never truly understand how they’re feeling, you know?”
He responds thoughtfully, “Yeah, I guess I never thought about it like that.”
“Well, that’s kind of the point, honey. You wouldn’t. So the game is this Saturday at ten am. It’s not far from the house either. I’ll send you the address and I’ll meet you there.”
He hesitates. “This Saturday?”
My face falls. “Yeah, this Saturday. Is that going to be a problem?”
“I sort of…” he pauses, “…had something planned for you. A surprise.”
I smile. “A surprise? For me? Max, you don’t need to give me surprises.” I lower my voice and utter, “I’m a sure thing.”
He chuckles, then utters, “I know I don’t need to, but I wanted to. But if Ceecee’s game is Saturday, then we can’t do it.”
I shrug to no one in particular. “That’s okay. I think it’s really important for Ceecee to meet people with similar injuries that are her own age.”
He pauses. “So you’d just put your own surprise on hold for Ceecee? Just like that?”
My brows rise. Why the hell does he sound panicked? “Uh, yeah. Yes, I would.”
He covers the phone for a second, and although it’s not very clear, I hear him utter a pained, “Damn you, Nik. Damn you.”
I ask cautiously, “Everything okay?”
Rustling, then he’s back. “Yep. Everything’s peachy. Okay, surprise is on hold. Ceecee has basketball Saturday. And you and I are going on a date Friday night. Dinner, movie, the whole shebang. No excuses.”
I grin. “We are?”
He states adamantly, “No exceptions.”
My smile turns soft. Max wants to take me out. Out where people will see us together as a couple. Warmth blooms in my middle. “Okay. It’s a date.”
He utters confidently, “Damn right it is.” He kisses the phone then hangs up, leaving me smiling like a loon.
***
Helena
The week passed slowly, but with my session times filling up, at least the workdays will be moving along at a quicker pace as the weeks pass. Felicity and I exchanged knowing smiles with Willa, and even talked her into having lunch with us on Thursday. As soon as we sat down to eat, I asked gingerly, “So how long have you been in love with Whit?”
James Whittaker was one manly man. He was also stupidly sexy. But he was our boss, and he claimed that employer/employee relationships were a no-go at the center. This confused me, because I checked the office intranet. There was absolutely nothing in there about interoffice relationships or the banning of them.
Willa went ghost white and licked at her lips. She looked like she was about to deny having any such feelings for him, but as she lifted her sandwich to her lips, she muttered, “Since forever,” before she took a bite.
Felicity was in shock. She turned to me and asked in awe, “How did you do that?
I shrugged at her. I’ve always made people feel comfortable with talking to me. Instead of responding, I dug further, “And why have you done nothing about this?”
I was almost surprised when her pretty hazel eyes glared at me from across the table. Almost, but not. “And what on earth would I say, Lena? Hi, James, mind if we step into your office to discuss a matter that’s been bothering me for a while? What matter, you ask? Oh, the one where I almost s
woon when you smile at me.” She rolled her eyes. “Please. I know I’m not his type.” Her face fell. “I’m not anyone’s type.”
Felicity pushed her shoulder and grinned, “Oh my Lord, there’s so much attitude hiding behind that sweet face. I am going to have so much fun with you.”
Swallowing my mouthful, I asked, “How can you be sure if you’ve never given him the signs?”
Felicity nodded in agreement while Willa’s face turned guarded. “What signs?”
“The subtle ones.” I shrugged my shoulders as I thought. “You know? Light touches. Eye contact. Smiles that are just for him.”
Felicity gasped. “I have a great idea!” Willa groaned and threw her head down onto the table, forcing a laugh out of me. Felicity rubbed her back, chuckling, and uttered, “This afternoon, we’ll run an experiment. Willa, you’re going to flirt with Whit. Today.”
Lifting her face, mouth gaping, Willa sputtered, “I am not!” Felicity nodded slowly, smiling larger every second. Willa shook her head. “You’re crazy.”
Felicity admitted on a shrug, “It’s my best quality.”
I asked sagely, “What do you have to lose?”
Later that afternoon, Felicity and I instructed Willa on what to do. First, we had her approach James and talk to him about a client. She did this, but it didn’t work out as we hoped. Instead of approaching him, he came to her to talk about something, and when he did, she was seated at her desk. Not a lot of opportunities to discreetly touch him there.
But mid-conversation, James came up behind her to show her something on her computer, and he did this all up in her grill. I mean, his chin was almost resting on her shoulder. It looked like Willa wasn’t going to be playing this game one-sided.
Next, we planned a run in. Yes, exactly as it sounded. They would run into each other. So when James came walking down the hall, looking down at his papers and not paying attention to what he was doing, Felicity and I mouthed, “Go!” shooing her away. She stood in his path, and that was that.
Next thing, James had his arms around her, holding her up a moment before she hit the ground from the impact of collision. He looked into her eyes and muttered, “Are you okay?”
They were close. Closer than they should’ve been. She whispered, “Yes.”
But his brows narrowed as he stood her up, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Are you sure? I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
Willa shrugged, smiling sadly. “A lot of people don’t.”
Then something miraculous happened. James placed his hands on his hips, looking down to the ground. After a moment’s hesitation, he muttered, “Then they’re missing out,” before walking away.
Willa turned to us, dumbstruck. Felicity and I silently danced and cheered. James Whittaker was totally into Willa, and Felicity and I were going to make it happen. Somehow.
Then came Friday, and Willa was still a nervous mess around James. But during our lunch break, we dragged Willa out of the office and swore blind that James liked her. However, Willa, being the shy little violet, wasn’t having it. “He’s just being nice.”
We were becoming exasperated. There was one thing left to do. I asked, “Do you have a tank under that shirt?” Willa nodded. “Good,” I uttered a moment before I reached forward and tugged at her shirt so hard that the buttons went flying. Felicity gaped a moment before she burst into laughter.
Willa looked down at her ruined shirt and whispered, “I can’t believe you did that.” She turned to a still laughing Felicity. “I can’t believe she did that.”
I put on my best embarrassed expression. “Oops.”
This left Willa dressed in short athletic shorts and a skin-tight white tank, showing enough skin to make any man stop and stare. When we arrived back at the office, talking and laughing, we bumped into James on the way to our desks. I pointed back at Willa, who was now hugging herself, and stated, “Don’t be hard on her. I accidentally ripped her shirt.”
James frowned down at me. “How did you accidentally rip her shirt?”
I shrugged. “The Hulk doesn’t know his own strength.”
When Willa went to move by James, he blocked her path and not on purpose. He was eyeing her body, getting his fill, and I’d guess he didn’t even know he was doing it. When she swallowed hard, blushed, and muttered, “Excuse me,” James moved. A little. As she walked by him, she brushed against him.
My brain smiled smugly, and just as she passed me, I flicked my pen off of my desk. Willa immediately bent down to pick it up, giving James a front view seat to her firm ass. James looked down, gripped the side of my desk, then turned and walked away. Fast.
Oh yeah. He was totally into her. If only he could see what was right in front of him.
It was sad.
Really.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Helena
“Turkey on white okay?” I call out to Asher as he works on my leaking showerhead.
He calls back from the bathroom, “What the fuck ever.” His New York accent thickens when he spouts, “I’m starvin’ here.”
Nat laughs at something on TV, sitting on my sofa, eating chips from the bag, while I go ahead and work on feeding her apparently famished husband. How famished he is, I couldn’t tell. It seems Max, Ash, Nik, and Trick eat almost all day long. I’m not even sure how Mama Leokov wasn’t eaten out of house and home.
As I grab the Turkey and mayo from the refrigerator, I side-eye Nat, biting the inside of my cheek. I know I shouldn’t say anything, that it isn’t my business to tell, but the longer I think about it, the faster my heart beats. It beats faster and faster, when suddenly I blurt out, “I need to tell you something and it’s important, but you’re likely to overreact, and I’m sure she would just tell you if she was sure you wouldn’t overreact and blab to Mom and Dad, but we know you, and you have a tendency to overreact, dammit.”
Nat turns to me slowly, searching my face. “What the hell are you talking about, Cheech?”
I slap the bread on top of the sandwich and growl, “You’re so slow. I actually can’t believe you don’t know this already. Granted, I shouldn’t know, but I did some detective work and found out, because I fucking care.” I glare at her. “Don’t you care?”
Her brows rise to her hairline before she calls out to the bathroom, “Ash, baby, I think we need to take Helena to the hospital or some shit.”
He calls back, “She bleeding?”
Nat looks over me. “No, but she’s talking crazy.”
He grunts, “She is crazy.”
I glower at the bathroom door. “Crazy like a fox!”
Nat chuckles before asking, “What are you talking about, Lena?”
I make a sound of exasperation. “Nina.” Nat’s face tells me she clearly doesn’t know what the eff I’m talking about. I roll my eyes, throw my arms out by my sides, and boom, “She’s gay!”
Her eyes widen in disbelief a moment before she bursts into laughter. She laughs and laughs and coughs then laughs some more. But I’m not laughing. I look at her with a firm eye, and slowly, her laughter dies. After a moment, she sputters, “Are you joking? You’re not joking, are you?” She chuckles humorlessly. “Why do you think she’s gay?”
I look her in the eye and utter, “The simple fact she has a girlfriend.”
Nat’s eyes widen comically a moment before she jumps up from the sofa and paces, clearly shocked. “A girlfriend? What the fuck? How do you know this?”
I tip my head to the side. “Like I said, I did my research.”
She turns to face me with her hands on her hips, looking more hurt than I’ve ever seen. “And she would hide this from me? Like I’d give a flying fuck if she preferred tuna to a hot beef injection? Why would she hide this?”
Leaning my hip against the counter, I purse my lips. “I think she’d hide this, because of Mom and Dad.”
Nat looks up at me, determined, but her voice is small and unsure. “Mom and Dad wouldn’t care. They love her.
They love us.”
My mom and dad are from Eastern Europe, one of the only places left in the world that is still ridiculously homophobic. I love my mom and dad, but on this issue, I’m not sure they would be okay with it. I raise my brow. “You so confident that you would put money on that?”
At that moment, Ash walks out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on a rag. “Done. Now feed me, woman.”
Smiling, I hand him his plate. “Thank you, best brother-in-law ever.”
Taking a bite out of his sandwich, he raises it in the air in acknowledgement and jerks his chin at me, but Nat stands there looking more confused by the minute. She turns to Ash and asks, “Did you know about this?”
He swallows before scratching his brow. “That Nina’s a rug-muncher?” He nods, completely oblivious. “Yeah. So?”
Oh my godfather, Ash. Has no one taught you anything about women? Deny, deny, deny!
Nat’s turns to her husband in false calm. “You didn’t think I should know about this?”
Sitting on the sofa, he reaches into the bag of chips and shoves some into his mouth, then garbles, “If she wanted you to know, she’d have told you, baby.”
Face turning a nice shade of pissed-the-hell-off, she reaches into her back pocket, pulls out her cell, presses a few buttons, and then holds the phone to her ear. My eyes widen.
Uh oh.
After a few seconds, she screams into the phone, “You like taco and you never told me?”
As Nat continues to hurl weirdly supportive abuse at Nina through the power of telecommunication, Ash chuckles at me. “Oh, now you’ve done it.”
I wince. Yikes. Reaching for my own cell, I type out a quick message, hoping she won’t be pissed.
Me: Um…surprise?
A moment later, my display lights up and I mope.
Nina: You are so fucking dead, bro.
Nat paces, flailing her arms animatedly and rambling, “…because, hey, I know lesbians! I’m totally cool with lesbians! What I’m not cool with is my lesbian sister hiding her sexuality from me like I’m a goddamn anti-lesbite!” She pauses in her tracks, listening, before her brows narrow dangerously and she fires back, “It totally is a word! Google it!”