NOVA
Boone soon had the girls wrapped around his little finger. Not because of the gifts, but from him letting them help order on his phone. He had Skylar choose one thing and then asked Lyric to pick the next item. I was smiling too much by the time he asked me to check over the order to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.
After the food was ordered, the girls showed Boone the room they shared at Lula’s house.
“This is Ramen’s bed,” Lyric said and gestured to the spot between the girls’ beds. “He protects us from the boogeyman.”
Boone startled me by opening the walk-in closet door and looking around. “Is there a night light in here?”
“No,” Skylar said, hurrying over. “We have one in the hallway so we can find the bathroom.”
“Well, you need to get a light for inside the closet. It’ll keep the boogeyman away.”
The girls looked at each other and then leaned into the closet. “There’s no plug,” Skylar said.
“You can get the kind of night light that doesn’t need a plug.”
Lyric looked at me and then at Boone. “Then, the boogeyman won’t come?”
“That’s how my mom kept the boogeyman away. She had lights in all the dark places to keep the monsters away.”
My babies had always been paranoid about the boogeyman. I wasn’t sure how they even learned about monsters. I assumed they picked it up from kids at the park. Dan did a good job of scaring off the boogeyman, but the girls kept thinking it would come back.
“Did your mom see the boogeyman?” Lyric asked.
“Yes, when she was little, but she learned tricks to keep him away. She taught me those tricks. Now, you know one of them.”
The girls looked to me and asked in unison, “Can we have a night light?”
Nodding, I felt overwhelmed. Intimidated maybe. The people connected to the Crimson Guard didn’t have many boundaries. They were in each other’s lives completely. That’s why Vanessa didn’t hesitate before setting up a date between Boone and me. We were her friends. Our problems were hers, so she solved the issue.
Now, Boone had inserted himself into my quiet evening with my girls. They were already crazy about him. He listened to whatever nutty thing they said and acted like their stories were perfectly normal. I was both enchanted and a little horrified.
I couldn’t get past my intense attraction to Boone. He was so damn sexy. Up close like this, I could see a hint of chest hair peeking out of his black T-shirt. I recalled him months ago playing touch football in the Sorority House’s backyard. The guys pulled off their shirts once they got sweaty. I had nearly passed out at the sight of Boone’s masculine chest.
Now, as dinner arrived, I felt as overheated. We set out the food on the dining room table. The girls sat on my side with Boone across from us.
“Mama wants a tattoo,” Skylar told Boone when she noticed his inked forearms. “My name and Lyric’s name. Oh, and hearts.”
“That’ll look beautiful.”
“She’s scared.”
“Tattoos hurt,” Boone said and took a bite of a spicy buffalo wing. “This spice hurts a little, too.”
“Not me,” Skylar said and took a bite.
Boone and I shared a chuckle once Skylar started panting. Lyric frowned like her sister was nuts.
“Too spicy,” Lyric mumbled.
Shaking her head, Skylar insisted, “No, it’s perfect.”
Boone grinned and took another bite. “Well, I’m not as tough as you. I’ll need to drink a lot to help cool my mouth.”
A still panting Skylar imitated him. I admired how calm he was with my girls. Suddenly, Boone looked at me.
“Tomorrow, you and I can hang out alone and talk. But I thought you should see me with your girls, so you’d know I wasn’t a weirdo.”
