Page 83 of Say Yes to the Hot Mess

But one thing at a time. We’ll get there.

Tonight, if I can swing it.

“Hey,” I say to her. “I was going to run up to the community center and check out locker twelve. Want to come?”

“Ooh, yes,” she says, and I swear I can picture the exact way her eyes light up with excitement. “If we could wait…maybe thirty minutes? I’ve got some stuff I need to finish up for a client, and I’m almost done.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I say. “I have keys to the building, so we can go whenever. Do you want to take your car so you can bring Archer? Or will you leave him with Frank?”

“I’ll bring him along, so yeah, let’s take my car. You’ll need to drive, though—my arm feels all right, but just in case.”

I nod. “I’m okay with that. Meet you out there in thirty minutes?”

“See you then!”

We hang up, and then I jump in the shower. Which has nothing to do with Maya, or wanting to look nice for her, or wanting to smell good. Nothing at all. But if she just sohappensto like the way I look or the way I smell…well, I won’t be mad.

Thirty minutes later, I head out my front door to find Maya’s lower half sticking out of her car as she gets Archer buckled in his car seat. I avert my gaze, staring at my feet as I walk, and by the time I get to her she’s standing upright again, a large diaper bag draped over her shoulder. She seems to have showered as well; her hair hangs wet down her back, and she smells so deliciously like vanilla that I want to pull her close and bury my face in her neck, just to get a better smell.

I do not do that.

Instead I hop in the driver’s side, turning around to look at Archer while Maya rounds the car to get in the passenger seat. His car seat is facing backward, but there’s a little mirror attached to the seat so that I can see his reflection. He’s looking around, wide-eyed and content. I think he’s the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s because I’m very partial to his mother, but he’s just really freaking adorable. Something about his big eyes and his dark shock of hair and his chubby cheeks.

As soon as Maya gets in, the smell of vanilla fills the car. I almost groan out loud, but I manage to rein it in. “You always smellsogood,” I say instead.

She looks over at me, surprised, and passes me the keys. “Do I?”

I nod, starting the car. “Like vanilla.”

She gives me a little smile, one that’s full of mischief, and it makes my heart leap into my throat. “I’m glad you like it,” she says. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t trying to smell nice. Don’t want my fake boyfriend to think I stink.”

I swallow thickly. She just openly admitted she wants to impress me, and something in my chest is trying to proclaim its victory. “Your fake boyfriend thinks you smell great. Distractingly great, actually.”

“Good,” she says, smiling at me.

We chat idly on the way to the community center, mostly about her arm and about how Grandma Cynthia is doing. The conversation pulls me back to the dance, to the way I felt as I watched Jude and Maya together. Some very savage part of me wanted to march right up and rip his hands off of her and tell him toback off.

I’m not usually that guy—that possessive, caveman-type guy. But after watching them together, I have to wonder: Have I changed? Or is this just the first time I’ve been close to a woman I actually care enough about to feel this way?

Because the possessiveness, the jealousy—they’re not the only differences I’ve noticed. I find myself wanting to take care of Maya. In the past I’ve been content to let girlfriends take care of themselves. And Maya is clearly capable of taking care of herself, but…well, I don’t want her tohaveto. She already takes care of Archer completely on her own. I just want her to be able to rest.

I’m not sure what to do with that, so I try to put it out of my mind for now.

The community center is completely dark when we pull up, as I expected. It closes later on weekend evenings, but we’re still past that time now.

The air is balmy and warm when we get out of the car, a sensual weight that I welcome. At some point it’s going to get cooler, so I’m happy to relish in the heat while it’s still around. Maya seems to enjoy it too, breathing deeply and smiling as she tilts her head back and looks to the sky.

“Want me to get Archer?” I say, partly because it will be creepy if I just stand here and stare at her like I’m tempted to do.

“Yes, please,” she says, aiming that smile at me now. “Just get the whole car seat. Do you know how to detach it?”

“I can figure it out,” I say.

I mean, it takes a minute. Those contraptions are not intuitive, with all the buckles and latches and whatever else is on there. But I do figure it out, and even though the car seat lurches out of its resting spot with the force of my pull, Archer still stays fast asleep.

Our steps through the halls of the community center are quiet. Neither of us speak, but the silence isn’t awkward; it’s comfortable. I lead Maya in the direction we need to go, feeling completely at ease with her as we reach the security room.

It’s a tiny office. Too small for two people, honestly, but I’m not going to say anything. If we have to squeeze, it won’t be the worst thing in the world. There’s one chair in front of one monitor, a relic that looks like something my parents had when I was growing up. It’s not quite as boxy as it could be, but I can tell it hasn’t been updated in many, many years, and it might not even have been new when Sunset Horizons acquired it.

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