Indiscretion

“So do you know a lot of criminals?”

Too many to count, kid. Though that was probably not the answer I should be giving a ten-year-old currently looking at me like I was a suspect. I couldn’t say I blamed him. His aunt had practically carried his mother out the door, looking like she feared death was imminent, while simultaneously offering a forced smile and telling him his mother had eaten bad sushi.

“I know a few.”

“Did you ever meet Ted Bundy?”

“How old do you think I am, kid?”

“Forty?”

I frowned. “That was a rhetorical question.”

“A what?”

“Forget it. No, I never met Ted Bundy. I’m pretty sure he was dead before I was born.”

“Were you born before January twenty-fourth, nineteen eighty-nine?”

“No.”

The kid shrugged. “Oh.”

“Is that when Ted Bundy died?”

He nodded. “He was electrocuted.”

“And you know all of this because…?”

“I like to read.”

“About serial killers?”

He shrugged again. “Sometimes.”

“When I was your age, I read James and the Giant Peach.”

“That’s okay. Not everyone can be smart.”

My brows jumped. Did this little shit just call me stupid? I was pretty sure he had.

“So what’s really wrong with my mom?”

Crap. Naomi had been right to look nervous about leaving me here to babysit. I had no idea what the hell I was doing. “Your aunt said she ate bad sushi.”

He gave me a look that screamed I’m calling bullshit and rolled his eyes.

I stood from the couch. “Did you guys eat dinner yet?”

“No. Mom was going to order from Razzle, down the block.”

“Razzle, the ice cream place?”

“We eat it for dinner on Mondays.”

Now it was my turn to give the I’m-calling-bullshit face.

The kid groaned. “Fine. How about pizza at least?”

“Does your sister like pizza?”

“Who doesn’t like pizza?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re dairy free or vegan or something.”

“My aunt’s cool, but she’s got no taste in food.”

I smiled. “How about a Sicilian from Joe’s, with meatball on top?”

Forty minutes later, the three of us were sitting at the table. Well, technically there were four of us, since Leonardo had jumped up on a chair and was currently sitting like a human, watching us eat. Molly still had half her first slice left, but Ryder was keeping pace with me.

“You can really chow down for a little kid,” I noted.

“I’m not little. I’m ten.”

“Right. Yeah, sorry.”

He peeled a sliced meatball from the top of his pizza, tilted his head back, and dangled the piece of meat before dropping it into his mouth. “If you kiss Aunt Naomi, make sure you brush your teeth after you eat meat,” he said as he chewed.

“Uh, okay. Thanks for the tip…I guess?”

“I heard her tell Mom that beef breath makes her want to barf.”

I chuckled. “I’m guessing you weren’t supposed to hear that conversation.”

“Then they should talk quieter. They also talk about you sometimes.”

“Oh yeah? What do they say?”

He extended his hand across the table, palm up. “It’ll cost you ten bucks.”

“I just bought you pizza.”

“No money, no information.”

I shut the pizza box. “It’ll cost you ten bucks if you want another slice.”

The kid grinned. “I’m full anyway.”

“Sure you are.”

“You play poker?”

“Not with a ten-year-old.”

Molly, who hadn’t said more than a sentence in the two hours I’d been babysitting, now smiled. “Afraid he’ll beat you?”

I might’ve been at this point… “Of course not.”

Ryder finished chewing the last of his third slice. “If you won’t let me sell you information for ten bucks, then at least let me try to win some cash.”

“I think I’ll pass, thanks.”

After I cleaned up from dinner, I had no clue what should come next. Molly and Ryder had gone into the living room and were busy watching TV and playing on their iPads.

“Do you guys have homework to do?” I asked.

Ryder shook his head. He didn’t bother to look up from whatever he was doing, yet I could still see the look of disappointment on his face. “It’s summer. I thought lawyers were supposed to be smart.”

Man, this kid’s a handful. “What do you do all day if you’re not in school?”

He still didn’t look up. “I go to computer camp, and Molly goes to some stupid art thing.”

“It’s not stupid just because you don’t like it,” his sister said.

Ryder shrugged. “It is to me.”

“That’s because you’re stupid.”

Ryder finally looked up. “I’m not the one who can’t even add.”

“I can to add! I’m just slower at it than you! Mom said speed doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, because Mom never lies to us. She’s just had a lot of bad sushi lately.”

Tears filled Molly’s eyes. “You don’t know everything!”

“Maybe not. But I know more than you.”

“Alright, alright.” I motioned with my hands for them to settle down. “Stop fighting. What time do you two go to bed anyway?”

Of course, Molly answered “eight thirty” at the same moment Ryder said “eleven.” I pointed to the girl. “Think I’m going to take her word on this one. Why don’t you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed?”

Ryder looked at my wrist. “Your bracelet is right.”

Forty-five minutes later, the little rugrats were in their room with the lights off. I doubted either of them was sleeping, both probably too worried about their mom. I wasn’t sure what would be worse, knowing your mother had leukemia or the shit you imagined she might have. It wasn’t the same situation, but I could still remember conjuring the absolute worst-case scenarios after my dad was arrested. I’d thought he was going to get the death penalty, because no one would tell me the truth. Adults sometimes think they’re protecting kids by keeping them in the dark, but all they’re really doing is scaring them and losing their trust.

At eleven o’clock, my phone buzzed with a text.

Naomi: I’m so sorry to take this long. They’re admitting my sister, but they don’t have any available beds, so she’s basically lying on a stretcher in the hall. I don’t want to leave her until she’s in a room.

I typed back.

Dawson: It’s no problem. Take as long as you need. I don’t have anywhere I have to be.

I watched as the little circles jumped around.

Naomi: I can’t thank you enough. How are the kids? I forgot to warn you not to play cards with Ryder. He taught himself how to count cards when he was five, and he’s gotten in trouble for hustling money out of the kids at school.

I smiled.

Dawson: He tried to get me to play, but I declined. They’re both sleeping now.

Naomi: Great, thanks. The ottoman in the living room opens. The cushion from the top lifts off and there are blankets and pillows inside if you want to try to get some sleep. The couch is pretty comfy. It’s where I’ve been sleeping. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

Dawson: Don’t rush. I’m good. Really.

I didn’t think I’d fall asleep, but I must’ve dozed off sitting up, because I woke with a startle, falling over to one side somewhere around 1 AM. Tomorrow I had a pretty full day, and staying up all night didn’t land like it had in my early twenties, so rather than fight sleep anymore, I opened the ottoman and dug out a blanket and pillow. Slipping off my shoes, I tried to catch some actual shut-eye. But on my first big inhale, the smell of coconut wafted through my nose. My eyes sprung open. I’m not imagining it this time. It was the scent I’d caught around the office on a few occasions, and I was pretty sure it was coming from this pillow.

I turned my head, pushed my nose into the plushness, and took a deep whiff. My eyes closed. Definitely coconut. I took a second inhale, even though I was sure, because it smelled so damn good. Absolutely delicious. A clean scent mixed with something else—maybe vanilla—but there was no mistaking that the main scent was coconut. And it was on the pillow, so it had to be a face cream or a perfume, or possibly even a shampoo. And if I smelled it, there was no way in hell the head of whoever had been lying here didn’t smell it, too. Yet Naomi had made me think I was going crazy when I’d asked her if she was wearing the scent.

I tried to relax and ignore it for the longest time, but every time I breathed in, the smell made me more and more curious. Eventually, I pulled back the blanket and decided to do a little exploring in the bathroom. My first stop was the sink. There was a bottle of Softsoap antibacterial hand wash. I lifted it and brought it to my nose. Definitely not this. Next I opened the mirrored medicine cabinet. Inside was the usual array of things people kept—toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, Band-Aids, a few medicines—nothing coconut scented. So I turned to the shower and pulled back the dark purple curtain. Two shelves had been built into the tile. Nothing suspicious on the first one, so I started to lose hope. Then I picked up the first plastic bottle on the second shelf and turned it around to read the label.

Bumble and Bumble Crème de Coco Shampoo.

There was even a big coconut on the label. I lifted it to my nose and took a whiff.

Mmmm… That was it. As always, the smell made my mouth water. Though at the moment, it wasn’t food I was salivating for. The scent now made me think of the woman who wore it. Naomi has to know. She has to be doing it on purpose.

I stood there with the bottle in my hand for a long time, random questions rattling around in my head. At the forefront of them all was, why did she lie about it?

I supposed it could have been innocent enough. Maybe her sense of smell wasn’t that good. Women used a half-dozen products when they got ready, so perhaps by the time she finished her shower routine, the rest of the scents were more prominent.

Maybe that was it. Maybe she had no idea there was even coconut in this bottle.

But when I set the bottle back on the shelf, something else caught my eye. A coconut on a different bottle. Four different products were jammed onto that little shelf. I picked them up one at a time.

Bumble and Bumble Crème de Coco Conditioner

Native Coconut and Vanilla Body Wash

The last item wasn’t in a squeeze bottle; it was in a jar.

Dr. Teal’s Shea Sugar Body Scrub with Coconut Oil

Once could be an oversight, but four products with coconut? That was absolutely intentional. Now I wasn’t sure what I was more riled up about, the fact that she’d gone out of her way to buy things that smelled like my favorite food, or the thought of her rubbing these products all over her sexy body.

Fuck me.

I needed to get out of the bathroom, get away from these smells, and stop thinking about her touching herself naked, or there was a real chance I would start to grow hard. And that was not fucking good while babysitting two little kids.

So I went back out to the living room couch. Sometime later—after at least an hour or two of obsessing over what it meant that Naomi had apparently been rubbing coconut scents all over her body—I fell asleep and woke to a soft hand at my cheek.

“Dawson?”

My eyes fluttered open. For a minute I was confused. Was I having a dream that Naomi was in my bed? Then I realized I wasn’t home, and all of my clothes were still on. I dreamed better than that. I pushed up to my elbows and rubbed grog from my eyes. “What time is it?”

“It’s six thirty. I didn’t want to wake you, but I know you have to be in court this morning. I got home about an hour ago.”

Sun streamed in from behind her, causing me to squint. “How’s your sister?”

“She’s okay. Stable. They said she has a low platelet count from the chemotherapy, which makes it difficult for her blood to clot. Apparently she’s been throwing up for a few days, so she’s strained and bruised inside.”

I raked a hand through my hair. “Shit. What do they do for it?”

“They started her on a platelet infusion. That should help, but they’re going to have to discontinue her chemo for who knows how long, which stinks. She just wanted to put this all behind her again.”

“I’m sorry. That’s tough. You’d said your sister was sick, but seeing it and hearing it are two different things.”

“She’s been on the bone-marrow list for a few months, but now it’s more critical. Her body isn’t able to make the new blood cells she needs to fight infection anymore.” Naomi forced a smile. “Anyway, I don’t know how to thank you for everything you’ve done—driving me to Jersey to pick her up and then babysitting two kids you barely got an introduction to as I ran out the door.”

I winked. “I can think of a few ways to thank me.”

Naomi laughed. “I bet you can. But seriously, I really appreciate it, Dawson. Especially when I’d been giving you an attitude all day.”

I’d forgotten about her mood. It seemed like so long ago. “Is that what was wrong yesterday? You were worried about your sister?”

Naomi nibbled on her lip. “No.”

“What was going on then?”

“You were right, and I was pissed at you for it.”

My lip quirked. “I’m always right. You’ll have to be a little more specific.”

She chuckled. “You can’t make it easy, can you? Not even when I pulled the sick-sister card.”

“Nah. I wouldn’t be me if I went easy on you.”

“True.”

“So what was I right about?”

“Simon. He tried to kiss me.”

My jaw went rigid. “And you didn’t want him to kiss you?”

“I thought we were friends.”

“Did he back off when you told him no?”

She nodded. “He was good about it. It just pissed me off that you were right.”

“A man who is attracted to a woman isn’t her friend.”

“I still think you’re wrong, and that’s not always the case. But you were right this time.”

I dug into my pants pocket. “Hang on, let me get my phone out so I can record you saying that last part.”

She smiled again, and this time it reached her eyes. Naomi had momentarily forgotten about her sick sister, the two little kids she was going to have to take care of, the asshole she’d thought was her friend, and losing her license to practice law. It was a beautiful damn sight, her smile. And I wanted nothing more than to give that to her—even just a few moments of forgetting. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to make her forget other ways, too. But I’d take what I could get.

Naomi yawned, and even though I would’ve rather stayed right here and told her jokes—do whatever it took to keep that beautiful smile on her face—it was a reminder that I needed to clear out. She needed sleep, and unfortunately, I had to get to court.

I smacked my hands on my thighs and pushed to my feet. “I should get going.”

Naomi stood, too. “Okay. I hate to ask for any more favors, but Molly and Ryder’s summer camps don’t start until nine thirty. Would it be okay if I worked ten to six today?”

“Take the day off. You haven’t even slept yet.”

“I’m good. I catnapped on a chair when my sister fell asleep. I just don’t have anyone to drop them off for me. Frannie’s going to call her sister-in-law to pick them up, so I can work later and still get the hours in. I just need to shift my starting and ending time a bit.”

“Do whatever you need to do. But I think you should stay home and get some rest. Go visit your sister later.”

“I’m really fine. And I can pop in at lunch to see her.” Naomi rested her hand on my arm. It made my barely awake body jump to life. “Thanks again, Dawson.”

“Anytime, babe.”

She walked me to the door. “I just thought of how I’m going to say thank you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“My mother’s coconut upside down cake. She used to make it all the time when we were kids. My sister has her recipe box. I’m sure it’s in there.”

I was tempted to say something about what I’d found in the bathroom. But this wasn’t the time, though I could definitely have some fun until it was. Catching her eye, I smiled. “Sounds good to me. You know I’ll eat anything that smells like coconut.”