Never Been Loved(33)

It's not until fifteen minutes after I ordered the pizza and we get in  the door that my phone gives a beep and my heart goes into overdrive. Is  it her?

I swipe my phone to look at the text Sera's sent me. Alive and well. Have not been kidnapped.

You tool, you actually left that as a message? Christ on the crucifix.

I press my advantage, shooting off texts inviting her over for pizza. I  stare down hard at my phone like the thing is going to somehow make her  appear before my eyes but then I get a knock at the door, and can't help  grinning like a demented idiot.

I swear, if I didn't have so much wrong with me health-wise, this broad would put me in the hospital. I'm a fucking mess.

I move to open the door and don't bother with the peephole. I'm hoping it's Sera. Jesus Christ, let it be her.

I unlock and open the door to be confronted with her. She's fucking  beautiful in a pencil skirt that has images of me fucking her from  behind with the skirt rolled up to her waist, a bright orange shirt, and  her hair loose around her shoulders, glasses in place. Now's not the  time to be a horn-dog. Cool it.

"Hi," I say, forcing my face into a smile even though I've gotten the  sweats. Shit, and I'm still wearing my work clothes. I must stink worse  than a pig rolling around in shit. I've got grease on my shirt, and my  hands are filthy.

She steps into my place and looks around like she's seeing it for the  first time. I watch a shiver do amazing things to her tits, until Matty  interrupts my mental porno reel and collides with her legs.

"Sera!" he yells, staring up at her from her legs. Kid, can we trade  places? "We're eating pizza with pineapple on it! Isn't that cool?"

"You bet, kiddo." I watch Sera grin at Matty, and have to look away. The  kid's going to be destroyed when Sera takes off, absolutely destroyed.  In this though, I'm too selfish. I need a piece of what she can give me,  and I won't give that up. "Here, let me get my shoes off."

"Whooooaaah. Is that... is that Superman? And Batman? They're friends!?"  Matty hunkers down right next to her, looking at her sneakers and  pointing out things he recognizes. I sort of want to get on my hands and  knees too and investigate.

"Hey, hey. Even though Batman is best friends with Superman, we both know who the cooler one is, don't we?"

"But Superman can fly!" Matty yells, arms practically flailing.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sera asks, done unlacing one shoe, only to move on to the other foot.         

     



 

"Sera, he can fly." He airplanes around in a circle, but Sera's looking  at him like she has something important to say. Tell him. Tell him,  please.

"Matty, flying around doesn't mean you're better than anybody else."  Holy shit, this girl. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?

"He's the best because he can fly! Duh."

Sera does nothing more than shake her head, toe-off her other sneaker  and joins Matty at the kitchen table while I go for plates, because we  need those to eat, and napkins are not good enough for a girl like her.

"Batman's parents died when he was a kid." I stop moving, watching her  grab the kid's hand and giving him a small smile. My heart's loud in my  ears, but I'm too concentrated on what she has to say without wanting to  pass out.

"But he grew up to be a good man, a strong man, one dedicated to stop  crime, to save lives, maybe to forgive himself that he couldn't do it  when he was younger, that he couldn't save his mom and dad. Clark was  born super strong  –  there's nothing special about that."

Matty stares down at their joined hands. "So... Being strong means you're not a hero?"

"It means that anybody can do the right thing. Anybody. Understand?"

"No."

I've braced myself on the kitchen counter, looking over at the pair of  them. No one, other than me, has tried to teach Matty a lesson about  life, about how it's going to be. Sera's doing it so artfully, I'm  struck dumb. This is the kind of girl you marry, MacLaine, and don't you  forget it.

"You and I both helped your dad when he was tired, right? We helped him out, right?"

It takes a second, but Matty makes the leap and smacks a kiss on Sera's  cheek. Lucky little bugger. "I'm Batman! Daddy, I'm Batman!"

I can't move. Sera's staring straight at me, and I can't move to ruffle  Matty's hair, or tickle him or do any of that stuff. She just gave him  something I couldn't  –  she told him he mattered, and made him believe  it.

Holy Christ, I'm in over my head.





Chapter 16



"The pizza's not here yet, but give it fifteen minutes. Can I get you a drink?" I ask her.

Really? She just gave the kid a serious confidence-booster, one you  haven't been doing lately, and shit, you're talking about food?

Out of the side of my eye I watch Matty jump up on the couch and fiddle  with the controller to get Netflix up. I forget sometimes how very smart  he is; either that, or I haven't noticed at all.

I move around the counter not letting her answer because I'm a caveman  and what's on her body has me thinking some very bad thoughts. Except I  need to not be a dick for tonight, I need to be on my best behaviour.

How in hell am I supposed to do that when she looks the way she does?  She probably did it on purpose. Goddamn it, that ass in that skirt? I'm  lucky I'm still breathing.

"You look beautiful," I blurt, then lean in to hide my idiocy with a  kiss on her cheek. Once I'm there, her smell gets in my nose and it's  only a few inches to the right and down and I can finally kiss her …  I  pull my head back before I get into trouble.

"All right..." she says, smiling at me. Aly would've preened, Mom would  have adjusted her clothes or brought attention to her hair or whatever.  Sera doesn't do any of that, but she looks at me like she's expecting me  to say something.

I'm never going to understand women. Never.

"Drink?"

"Sure. Water, please."

Water? Maybe she doesn't drink …  at all. Which is no big deal, but I file  it away for later, maybe I can ask her about it if I remember.

"I've got a real die-hard party girl, over here." I end up grinning,  needing her to understand that I'm joking. Matty's been my only audience  these past three years and he thinks I'm pretty fucking hilarious.  Sera …  not so much. I'm also out of practice, I have no idea how to get a  girl of Sera's caliber to like me.

Don't try to be funny. Just …  just don't.

"Yeah, I know. I'm badass like that," she says, deadpan. My smile gets  deeper, until I get a look at how perfect her tits look in that blouse  and I'm a hundred percent sure she just caught me. Fuck.

"Bad word! Sera said a bad word!" Matty swoops in to save me, bouncing  on the balls of his feet, while grabbing hold of Sera's fingers and  giving them a tug. I'm going to have to tell him that he can't go  pulling on people, but right here and now, Sera doesn't seem to mind.         

     



 

"You owe me a whole quarter!" he tells her, and Sera does nothing but  smile. I lean back and just watching the two of them together.

"I'll pay for her today, bud. We invited her for supper; we can't just  make her give us money," I tell him, trying to remember where I keep my  stash of quarters.

Matty's face crinkles in confusion. "But she said a bad word!"

I let Sera soothe him while I move behind her and move to the kitchen to  get the table ready. I wouldn't mind eating on the couch, but I don't  want Sera getting pizza on her and then bolting to change anytime soon.  "I know, buddy. Sorry," she tells him. "Can I help with anything? How  ‘bout me and Matty get the table in order?" she asks.

I look over my shoulder to see her looking at me, expecting me to give her the go ahead.

"What does that mean  –  get the table in order? It's a table, Sera." Matty tells her.

She laughs then starts tickling him until the kid's a mess of giggles.  "It means that we need to set up all the plates, glasses, forks, knives  and napkins. Do you have placemats, Hunter?"

Shit. I shake my head.

Matty does the gentlemanly thing, and pulls out her chair. Sera goes along with it. "Why thank you, kind sir!"

"I'm going to set the table for you, Sera, you watch, then tell me how I  do." He's such a con-artist, a showman, walking over to me, arms out  ready for the plate I'm going to set there.

Doesn't matter if it falls, I just don't want his feet to get cut up,  but he crosses his arms over it and holds it tight against his chest,  making sure it stays put. He glides over to Sera at the table and places  it next to her, all careful-like.

Sera's smiling the whole time and gets up, leaning over the kitchen  counter following Matty's orders to get the napkins and cutlery. She's  so damn adorable right now, listening to him like he isn't four years  old and doesn't have a say in what she does, but just follows suit like  it's no big deal.