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“I’m gonna try to talk her out of wanting to go,” Aspyn said. “But thank you for your willingness to take her. I do appreciate that.”
“Of course.”
As we continued to sit together on the couch, I reached out and began to massage her shoulder.
“I just wanna say one more thing,” I said, unable to help myself.
“Okay…”
“I understand exactly how she feels. Kids can be cruel. I remember back in elementary school getting picked on for not having a mother. There are some people who wallow in the misfortunes of others just to feel better about themselves. Being around Kiki really brings back some of those old feelings—not in a bad way, more in a retrospective and self-compassionate way. The fact that she wants to go to that dance to prove she has just as much of a right to be there as anyone else shows how strong she is. And she gets that from you. I have nothing but respect for both of you, Aspyn.”
I held my hand out, and she took it, looping our fingers together.
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. “You want me to let you get ready for bed?”
Aspyn squeezed my hand. “Stay for a little while longer.”
“Okay. You just say the word, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
Since she still seemed tense, I had the not-so-brilliant idea to implement one of Nonno’s secrets. Reaching down and grabbing her foot, I started to remove her sock.
Aspyn immediately jerked away from me. “What are you doing?”
“You’ve had a long day. I want to give you a foot rub.”
“You can’t.” She looked horrified.
“Why not?”
“Because my feet are…dirty. I haven’t showered yet, and I worked all day.”
I chuckled. “You ruined my romantic moment.” Strike one, Nonno.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I’d rather have you do just about anything right now other than rub my feet.”
“Hmm…now you’re talking. If Kiki wasn’t home, it would be on. For the record, I’d rub your dirty feet and put my mouth on anything else that was dirty, too, if you’d let me right now.”
“Well, that’s pretty gross, but I won’t fault you for it.”
I rubbed her thigh. “You clearly have some understanding of my level of desperation.”
Aspyn
How is it only Wednesday?
I needed to get out of here.
I never called out of work unless I had a good reason. In fact, I couldn’t think of a time I’d pretended to be sick to play hooky. But today, in the middle of the work day, I just couldn’t take being at Horizons anymore. Friday seemed forever away. I needed to see Troy before then. The only way I could do that was to leave work while Kiki was in school.
It had been a frustrating start to the week. After Troy left my house on Monday night, I had a heart-to-heart with Kiki and ultimately convinced her it was best not to go to the dance. But since then, I’d been second-guessing my decision, wondering if my fears about her getting attached to another man in my life had influenced my take on things.
I was stressed, and more than that, I was horny.
So, while it was unlike me, I popped my head into my supervisor’s office. “Hey, Laura. I’m not feeling well,” I lied. “I think I’d better leave before I get anyone sick. Hopefully it’s nothing, but I wouldn’t want to take a chance.”
She removed her glasses and tossed them aside on her desk. “Wow. You’re never sick. Go get some rest. We can cancel the afternoon activities. No problem.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you understanding.”
A slight twinge of guilt followed me out to the parking lot and into my car. But as I drove off, mostly I was just aroused and filled with anticipation. I wanted to surprise Troy, because I knew he’d never expect me to show up at his door, particularly at this hour. That made me just as nervous as I was excited. He was in the middle of his workday, and I could very well be interrupting something important.
It took about twenty minutes to get to Troy’s house from Horizons. When I got to his door, I knocked a few times. My palms started to sweat. What if he’s not home?
When the door opened, Troy had a look of alarm on his face.
“Hey. Is everything okay? Did something happen to Nonno?”
I covered my chest with my hand, my heart beating rapidly. “Oh my God. He’s fine. I’m sorry if I scared you. It hadn’t occurred to me that you might think that. I just…left work early. I made up a story and said I was sick. I know it’s bad to lie, but I wanted to see you.”
“No shit?” A huge smile spread across his face. “Aspyn Dumont, did you just leave work to come over and fuck me?”
I exhaled. “Yes?”
