Nova
“My ovaries are aching, Kay. I’ve never seen anything so adorable in my life.” - Nova
I was on a layover, one more flight until paradise, but I could only focus on the pair sitting diagonally from me - a father and his baby boy - as they went back and forth in whatever game they were playing. I had been watching long enough to catch the jig, baby boy wearing a mischievous grin as he took slow steps backwards into his father’s arms and then acting surprised when his father snatched him up into a hug. Little guy would squeal and laugh as he pulled away while his father showered him in kisses before letting him go. Then only a few seconds after being released, he’d be right back at it.
It was incredibly sweet, though I don’t think there was ever a time when I saw a black father interacting with his child and didn’t think the same thing. But something about this particular pair was especially adorable, making me release a dreamy sigh as my phone buzzed with a notification.
“What are you talking about, crazy? You’re probably just getting your period.” - Kaylin
Though I hadn’t checked my calendar to know if that was actually the case, there was something about the way the father - who was so handsome he could only make babies as precious as this one - exuded full masculinity while also being tender with his little one that was just so damn refreshing. And the son was incredibly engaged, not strapped to a device like most of the kids around us, earning them bonus points from my teacher side. But since that was supposed to be put away for the summer, I focused on my response to Kaylin.
“LoL that might be true. But seriously, Kay. Baby fever on a thousand.” - Nova
“Fuck around and get knocked up by that clown if you want to...” - Kaylin
I rolled my eyes, hardly surprised that she had used the moment to take a jab at my relationship with David. She always claimed it was because he acted like he was too good for me, like he was a blessing to me, when it was really the other way around. And while I could never be mad at her for wanting the best for me, there were also times like now when I just wanted her to shut the fuck up about it.
Instead of defending him like usual, I simply replied, “You’re such a hater.”
“If that’s considered hating, you might as well put the title on my tombstone.” - Kaylin
“Right next to bitch. LoL” - Nova
“Your Bestie Bitch, to be exact. ;)” - Kaylin
I smiled into my phone, feeling even more excited about getting on the plane and touching down in the MIA. I scanned the crowd of people waiting in the boarding area once again, but naturally my eyes landed right back on the daddy and son tandem; this time more on the daddy who was scrolling through his phone while baby boy played on the floor with his toy cars.
He was fine.
Like… real fine.
A little lighter than I usually preferred my men since I was considered a light bright myself. But he definitely had the build I liked according to the way his plain navy V-neck strained against his shoulders, chest, and biceps. The type of build that would pull you into the warmest bear hug. The type of build that could toss you over his shoulder and carry you up the stairs with ease. The type of shoulders you could straddle suspended in the air with his face between your thighs.
“Slow down, Nova,” I thought to myself as I pulled my lip between my teeth trying to remember the last time I had gotten that kind of treatment. And while I assumed I was only daydreaming through it all, I must’ve actually been staring too hard as the guy peeked up at me with a smile before I had the chance to look away.
Instead of being a complete creep, I gave him a polite smile before I casted my eyes back to my own phone where they should’ve stayed in the first place. Then I spent some time scrolling to delete an excess of selfies, and then through my messages to delete a bunch of those, and then….
“Shit!”
I looked down to my foot and found baby boy’s car sitting directly on top of my pinky toe, Lightning McQueen staring up at me with a grin as if he had done it on purpose. Any other child I probably would’ve gotten mad at, especially considering my toe was already beginning to throb. But since it was him, I picked it up and held it out with a smile so that he could come and get it.
The baby.
We’re talking about the baby.
He was slow on his approach, his expression a mix of shy and nervous and his cheeks already bright red as he said, “I sorry.”
I couldn’t help but smile, scooting towards the edge of my seat as I told him, “It’s okay, honey. Don’t worry about it. Just be careful next time.”
He nodded quickly as he took the car from me, then he jetted back over to where he had come from. But instead of going back on the floor to continue playing, he buried his face into his father’s chest as if he was in trouble.
Poor baby.
The sight immediately tugged at my heartstrings, especially since I wasn’t really that mad at him even though I had cursed. And while it was really none of my business by this point, his father already consoling him through it, I couldn’t help but want to do the same. So I got up and walked over to where they were sitting, squatting down in front of the little one to tell him, “Don’t be sad, honey. It’s okay. Your car just... scared me that’s all. But I’m okay. It was just an accident, right?”
Once again, he nodded quickly, his little bottom lip trembling as if he had already been on the verge of tears. And instead of going full blown creep mode like I was tempted to by pulling him into a hug to comfort him, I used the same method I’d use on my students, changing the subject completely when I asked, “What’s your name, cutie?”
My eyes were on baby boy, but the answer came from a deep baritone voice saying, “Guy.”
I felt literal shivers as I peeked up to his dad who was even bigger and broader up close, especially in the confines of the small airport chairs. He was wearing a teasing smile, one I couldn’t help but smirk against as his son said, “Not you, Daddy!”
“Yeah. Not you, Daddy,” I said, mocking his son before turning my attention back to baby boy to tell him, “I’m Nova. Can you remember that?”
His eyebrow piqued as he asked, “You mean, Miss. Nova? My daddy said big girls like you are miss and big boys like him are mister.”
I immediately laughed at his wittiness as I agreed, “Miss. Nova works too. Now what’s your name?”
“I’m Jaxson,” he answered with high shoulders and a proud smile.
A smile I matched when I repeated, “Jaxson. I like that name.”
“I like it too, Miss. Nova. It’s my favorite name,” he replied enthusiastically, making me laugh once again just as they announced it was almost time to board.
I stood up, my knees already aching from being in the squat position as I tossed my purse over my shoulder and told him, “Well it was nice to meet you, Jaxson. You have fun on the plane, okay?”
He shook his head yes, and I was glad to see him back to the happy kid he had been from the beginning. But as I turned to walk back towards where I had been sitting, I heard that already familiar baritone ask, “Hey, what about me?”
I turned around and found Jaxson’s father wearing a silly grin outlined with a goatee that went into his thick, full beard. The type of facial hair that took the right person to maintain. The type of facial hair that would feel great grazing against my freshly waxed…
“Shit. Get it together, Nova.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, mainly to cover my nipples that were steadily growing harder under the thin fabric of my Miami-appropriate sundress when I asked, “What about you?”
He stood up, giving me a complete view of just how large he was as he took the couple of steps over to where I was standing. And I was already busy deciding what sport he must’ve played growing up in my mind when he looked down at me and asked, “Aren’t you gonna tell me to have fun on the plane too?”
Instead of looking back at him, I looked down at the ground, refusing to get lost in his thick, luscious lips that I had already secretly stolen a few glances of back when I was talking to Jaxson. I was just sure they’d look even more delectable up close, not to mention how great they’d look wrapped around exactly what I was trying to cover up. But since thinking about a complete stranger in such an erotic way really only made me grateful when it came to my last minute decision to throw “Trevante” in my bag, I tried to get back into my right mind when I finally told him, “Have fun on the plane… Guy, was it?”
I looked up just in time to catch him licking those bad boys, giving me new content to fantasize about later as he answered, “That’s right, Miss. Nova.”
Something about his extra inflection on my name along with his heated gaze had my bottom lip back between my teeth as I turned away hoping he hadn’t already caught me blushing. And with perfect timing, the speaker announced, “Now boarding passengers in rows 1-20.”
“Oh! That’s me. It was umm… nice to meet you, Guy. Your son is adorable.”
He wore a sly little smirk, smoothing a hand down his beard as he said, “Yeah, so are you.”
I didn’t think I could blush any harder than I was in that moment, caught off-guard by his obvious flirting. And maybe under different circumstances, I would’ve really taken the bait and entertained his interest - our interest. But with David lingering in the back of my mind already scolding me for my dirty thoughts, I could only offer another polite smile as I turned to walk away.
Still, I didn’t get far enough to miss little Jaxson yelling, “Daddy, I gotta go pee!” making me giggle as I turned back around just slightly to find Guy still looking at me. In fact, he was in such a trance that Jaxson had to tug at his arm to get his attention while repeating himself with an urgency that said he really had to go. And even though that had been enough to get him to snap out of it, just the thought of having that much of his attention made me feel… tingly, something I hadn’t experienced in far too long.
Not that David didn’t make feel special on occasion. I mean, I had kept him around for all this time for a reason. But moments with him in general were so few and far between that I suppose I had forgotten what it felt like to be so outwardly… desired.
I tried to shake it off as I went to board the plane, getting good and comfortable in my window seat before pulling my phone out to shoot David a text.
“Boarding for Miami.” - Nova
I didn’t expect a text back since I assumed he was probably on set working somewhere. But to my surprise, a response actually came through, though it wasn’t exactly the kind of response I was hoping for.
“Miami? Since when are you going to Miami?” - David
I rolled my eyes, annoyed that he hadn’t remembered such a big detail from our last conversation. But since getting pissy over text was pretty much pointless, I responded with a reminder.
“I told you that when we talked the other day. Kay invited me to stay with her for the summer.” - Nova
This time, his response was practically immediate, reading with a disdain that really didn’t surprise me since I had mentioned his enemy.
“The summer?! Hell nah, Nova. You know Kaylin be on that bullshit.” - David
While I knew the “bullshit” he was talking about revolved around how much she wanted me to get rid of his ass, I avoided defending her just like I hadn’t defended him earlier, reminding him of the actual point of this whole trip instead.
“The school year was crazy, babe. I really need this vacation. And I promise, it’ll be super chill.” - Nova
Even though I had no idea what Kaylin had in mind other than dragging me to do the things she didn’t want to do with her fellow basketball wives, I figured playing it down would at least put David a little more at ease. But I could still feel his attitude through his text when he sent, “Yeah, whatever you say…”
My face scrunched as my fingers fired off a quick reply.
“What’s the problem? I mean, it’s not like you’re ever around anyway. Won’t really make a difference to you.” - Nova
It wasn’t that I was mad at him for following his dreams in another city. I could never fault him for that. But the reality of the situation was, with him being away, it really didn’t matter what city I was in.
The technology would work all the same.
Still, while I thought of my text as simple, it was clear David had read into it way more deeply when he sent, “Yeah, well maybe we should keep it that way.”
Once again, my fingers were quick against the screen as I typed out, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
But for the first time, while things in the conversation were actually at a crucial and intense point, he chose not to respond as quickly as he had been, only making me grow more irritated. I tried not to get too antsy, only checking my reception a few times to make sure the satellite Gods wouldn’t make me miss his text. But when it finally came in, I wished he wouldn’t have sent it all.
“I gotta get back to work. We’ll talk later.” - David
“What the fuck?” I thought to myself, my face tight and my hands hot as I read his words over and over again. But just when I was getting ready to respond even though his message didn’t call for it, I heard a little voice shout, “Miss. Nova! You comin’ to Miami too?”
I plastered on the best smile that I could, nodding as I told him, “I am. I’ll be there all summer long.”
His face instantly lit up when he screeched, “Me too! I’m gonna see my Uncle Lamar play basketball!”
Wait, what?
While I knew Lamar was just as famous as anyone else on the team, the fact that Jaxson had referred to him as “uncle” caught me completely off-guard since I knew Lamar was an only child. Then again, maybe it was just something Guy had him doing, like whenever I referred to Michelle Obama and Oprah as my aunties.
But before I could ask either one of them about it, Guy nudged his son on the shoulder from behind as he told him, “Come on, Jax. We gotta get to the back of the plane. We ain’t got that First Class money like Miss. Nova.”
I peeked up at him just in time to catch his smirk that he quickly paired with a wink, making me blush yet again just as Jaxson was asking, “Daddy, what’s first class?”
Instead of answering him right away, Guy gave me a quick, “Enjoy your trip,” before continuing towards his seat that was really only a few rows behind me.
Not that I had peeked back to actually see.
Okay, I definitely peeked back to see.
And once again, I was hit with the adorable sight of Guy tending to his baby boy, getting him settled into his seat with a container of snacks and a couple books; a man after my own heart. It was the kind of shit that made you want to start a family on the spot, but only if they were going to look just like that, and act just like that, and be with someone just like… that.
I turned back around in my seat, clicking my phone on to see the cryptic text message from David still sitting on the screen, giving me almost the exact opposite vibes. And while I was tempted to fire off the text message I had considered sending when Jaxson stopped by, I quickly decided against it, turning my phone completely off before settling in for the flight.