Page 27

CHAPTER 27

EZRA

“Do you need help finding anything?”

Without taking my eyes from the tiny nail care set, I ask, “Are these actually safe for babies? How old do they have to be before they’re able to use this shit themselves? I’m concerned because they’re so sharp.”

I narrow my eyes to read the warning label on the side, then realize the employee who approached me hasn’t answered. Lifting my head, I find a kid who doesn’t look older than sixteen with his mouth hanging open.

When he notices me watching him, he snaps his mouth shut. “Uh, I don’t think they ever use that themselves. Not until they’re like way older. It’s for the parents.”

Humming to myself, I refocus on the package. “Do their nails really need regular trimming?”

“I dunno. Probably.”

Good enough for me. I drop the kit into my empty cart and push it forward to the next section in the baby aisle. Picking up a box with round, cotton looking stickers, I hold it up to him. “What’s this for?”

“Th-Those are, umm, those are for moms.” He looks around, then leans forward. “You know, when they’re leaking.”

I jerk my head back. “They leak?! ” I shout, and this kid bursts out laughing. “What the hell leaks on them?”

He grabs the box and turns it around so I can read the front. “Washable nursing pads,” I read out loud, then wait on him to explain.

“Come on, man, do you really need me to explain?”

“Yes,” I say seriously. I know absolutely nothing about babies and new moms, so if this is important for her, I’m going to get it.

Sighing, he moves closer to my side and lowers his voice. “Those are pads that nursing moms put in their bras in case they leak in between feedings. It helps so their tits… uhh, so their breasts don’t leak through their shirts.” He looks away, embarrassed. “Sorry about that.”

With a wave, I dismiss his apology. “No worries. Tell me more about nursing and leaking.”

“Do you want me to get a woman to help you out here? I really don’t know a lot. I just started like a month ago.”

Holding up the box, I wave it in front of his face. “You know about tits needing pads.” Then I toss it into the cart and grab his shoulder to drag him along with me as I turn down a new aisle, then stop when I see about fifty different bottles lining the shelves. “Help me find all the shit I need for my baby and I’ll slip you a hundred bucks.”

“Done. Okay, so, when is your girl due?”

Grinning at my newfound friend, I just shrug. “I don’t know. She’s only a few months, but we have to get everything ready.”

“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl? There are things for different genders, or gender neutral if you don’t care about colors.” He’s speaking as he walks past each brand of bottle and cups his chin to read the labels. “You’ll want something that’s easy to clean and doesn’t let the baby suck in a bunch of air.” Proudly, he turns to me. “They taught me that in the first week. Air makes babies cranky.”

Nodding, I follow him with my cart, the wheel squealing every few feet. “Whatever you think is best. But we should get stuff to clean the bottles too, right?”

“Oh, definitely,” he chimes in, then bends down to pick out a cleaning kit and drops it in my cart. “Honestly, I would wait on bottles. There are different sized nipples and some babies prefer certain ones over others.”

I furrow my brows and look over everything. “Let’s just get a variety and that way we can figure out which one works. Oh, and I’m having a boy, so I want boy shit for him.”

“Got it.” Plucking a few different boxes from the shelves, he drops them in and adds a larger one. When I look at him in question, he says, “It’s a bottle warmer. It’s so that you don’t overheat the milk and burn the baby’s mouth when they swallow it.”

“Oh God! ” I cry, then nod my head quickly. “Thank you so fucking much…” I trail off, and he offers his name.

“Will, and you’re welcome. Okay, let’s go look at diapers and stuff. That’s always important.”

Snorting out a laugh, I follow him and tease, “Lead the way, Willy.”

He chortles out a laugh, then snaps his fingers. “Oh yeah. Speaking of willy, I saw this thing the other day that I for sure thought was a joke, but I see so many moms buying them.” He rushes away and I jog to catch up. Yanking a small box off the shelf, he hands it to me.

“The fuck is this?” I ask, unsure if it’s legit.

Tapping the picture, he says, “It’s called a peepee teepee. There’s this thing baby boys do when you take off their diaper. Something about the air hitting their skin, but they just start peeing and that shit apparently goes everywhere . So you cap it.”

“Cap it,” I repeat, not entirely following. When it sinks it, my eyes fly to him, widening in surprise. “They piss everywhere?”

Shuddering, he closes his eyes. “Apparently.”

“Gross.”

“Agreed. How many you want?” He starts pulling out more boxes and I just shake my head, trying to wrap my mind around pee soaring through the air.

I answer the only way I can. “All of them.”

We drop every last box into the cart and keep going. By the time we’re done, Willy and I are pushing around two overflowing carts, stopping every few feet so I can pick up the rubber ducky bath thermometer as it falls out over and over again.

“Oh, that’s cool,” I say, stopping just before we make it to the checkout lane. There’s a framed poster of a baby elephant wearing military camos. “I need that too.”

Reaching out, Willy tucks it under his arm and takes me over to a lane that’s closed down. “I’m gonna get someone up here to ring you up since you’ve got so much. You want help taking this all outside?”

Smiling widely at him, I nod enthusiastically. “You’ve been a lifesaver, Will. Top fucking notch, man.”

With a chuckle, he starts darts away to get someone to help us, then comes back to help me pile everything on the conveyor belt. “Oh damn, we forgot diapers,” he says once we empty the first cart.

Waving him off, I start working on the second cart as a new employee starts swiping the items over the scanner. “No worries. I’ll come back tomorrow and load up.”

“I’m back here on Thursday.”

“Thursday it is. Hey, you want to meet the kid once he’s here?” I ask, pausing and looking at him seriously. “You can’t touch him, though. But I’ll hold him up so you can look at him.”

Snickering, he nods quickly. “Sure man.” I slip him a hundred bucks, then take off to make my delivery.

It’s not long before I’m fully loaded and a few thousand dollars poorer, but I’ve never been happier as I drive over to mi pétalo y mi bebé’s place. It takes quite a few trips for me to haul everything upstairs after I get her door unlocked.

There’s an empty room her old roommate used to sleep in that will be perfect for our little guy, so I take everything in there and set it on the bed. Looking around the room, ignoring the few boxes that tumble to the floor, I realize she hasn’t bought a single piece of furniture or dresser to put all of this shit in.

I startle when I hear Tatum’s voice from the other room. I didn’t even hear the door open, totally lost in what I’m doing.

“Thanks for letting me help bring your things up. It’s crazy to run into you like that,” he says loudly, and my immediate response is to jump into the closet and quietly shut the door, wincing when the hinges squeak.

Mi pétalo is clearly annoyed when she answers. “I’m sure it was just a coincidence. All of you guys keep showing up unexpectedly. It’s like you all know… Why is that door open?”

Oh, shit.

I slap my head, completely forgetting that the door to this room was shut when I came in here and I left it wide open. Holding my breath, I keep my eyes squeezed tight as her footsteps grow louder until there’s a loud gasp.

“ What the fuck is all this? Dios mío . What?—”

Tatum’s voice cuts her off and grows louder as he moves in front of the closet I’m hiding within. “Damn, Miri. Looks like your friends got you all hooked up. Think it was that Susu girl and her guys that brought it here to surprise you?”

“No,” she hisses. “It was your fucking buddy hiding in the closet you’re conveniently standing in front of. Ezra! Get your ass out here, pendejo! ”

My best friend sighs and opens the door, revealing my grin and open arms. “Petal! I wanted to surprise you! Now, I know?—”

Holding out her hand, she doesn’t let me finish. “Give me whatever you used to get into my place. And give me my vibrator back! ”

I rush to the bed and pick up a box, then hold it out to her. “Just wait. Look at what I got you. Nipple pads!” I jab a finger toward her breasts and add, “They’re for when those start leaking everywhere.”

She drops her hand, then drops her chin to stare at her gorgeous tits. “Fuck me, I forgot that happens.” Then she shoots her head up with a glare that could light a man up in flames until he’s a pile of ash. “Why are you thinking about my leaking breasts?”

“Willy said it happens.” I blink at my friend who’s covering his mouth to stifle a laugh.

With a groan, she pinches the bridge of her nose. “Look, I know you’re just trying to help, but you can’t just come in here, and you can’t go out and spend all your money on things.”

Unsure of why she’s so upset, aside from the whole breaking and entering, I begin to worry I’ve really fucked up. Scratching the scar on my cheek, I turn my head slightly from her.

“I know it seems like a lot, Miri, but I…” I trail off, fighting for the words. “I know new moms need these sorts of things and I want to be the one who gives them to you. It’s the only thing I think I know how to do.”

I can tell my words are making her feel guilty for lashing out at me, so I quickly reassure her.

“Don’t feel bad. I didn’t say that so you’d feel any sort of way other than relieved that now you’ve got these things. Although, we’re going to have to get some furniture and storage things to put it all in. But I won’t get it until you say it’s alright.”

Fighting with herself, she nods once. “Will you let me pay you back for this?”

My head is already jerking side to side in a resounding no. “Absolutely not. Please don’t give me a penny. I wanted to get this. There’s this great kid down at the store who knows practically everything about baby shit.”

Dragging her eyes from me, she looks at Tatum. “You know it’s bullshit that you randomly ran into me two hours away from your hometown, right?”

Tatum laughs and nods. “I know because I tracked this fucker and was afraid he’d be in here. I wanted to make sure you didn’t panic if he was.”

“A simple call and heads up would have been good enough,” she mutters. Then looks around at all the stuff piled on the bare mattress. Eyeing me curiously, she says, “Thank you, Ezra. This was really thoughtful. Let’s discuss next time, though. Okay?”

Taking a step toward her, I ask, “Does that mean I can call you?”

“Calling is better than finding you in my closet.”

I’m grinning from ear to ear and I hurry to her and press a kiss to her cheek, subtly inhaling her scent before I step back. “Got it. I’ll call when I’m on my way.”

Opening her mouth to argue, Tatum grabs my shoulder and shoves me toward the door. “We’ll get out of your hair, Miri. Let’s do lunch, yes?”

“No,” she responds automatically.

Not being deterred, he waves to her. “Perfect. I’ll text you to set something up. Let’s go, Ez.”

He’s rushing me to the door before my petal shouts, “Wait!” Then, rushing straight at me, she wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me tightly.

Pressing her lips to my ear, she whispers, “This was really thoughtful, and it’s appreciated. Stop breaking into my apartment, you stalker.”

Twisting my head to the side, my nose just barely brushing against hers, I whisper back. “I’m not a stalker. I’m a hunter.”

Tatum yanks me away before I can swoop in for a kiss and I stare at her as the door closes until she’s removed from my line of sight.