In the warm night air his fingers find mine, lace and lock.

Bucky bounces with satisfaction on Nicholas’s right side while I’m on his left. “Mmm, you smell that?” I smile, closing my eyes. “Night Blooming Jasmine.”

He breathes in, “Mmm, yeah.”

“I remember when I moved here from Richmond with Denise, and we first smelled that. I couldn’t find the source.”

He nods, pointing to a bush with tiny white buds up ahead. “It’s tricky. The closer we get, the farther the scent runs.”

“Totally sneaky,” I agree, smiling.

Bucky proceeds to lift his leg on the bush, showing him what he thinks of sneaky, and we both start laughing.

The pause is short, so I tease Nicholas, “She did walk him. See, there’s nothing left!”

“Nah, he’s pacing himself.”

“Sure.”

Our hands swing a little as we walk. “I’m a guy. I know these things.”

“You’re so full of it.”

Nicholas chuckles and insists, “Bucky’s storing it for the long journey. Wants to get the most fun out of this walk as he can.”

“Long journey?”

“We’re going to Piedmont Park.”

I dryly remind him, “That’s only four blocks away.”

Lifting an eyebrow, he returns, “But how big is it?”

Glancing to my sneakers, I mutter an even drier, “Good thing I wore sneakers.”

“I would have preferred heels.”

I flick a look to him, play along, “You’d like to see me walk on grass and dirt in spikes.”

“Since we didn’t see a comedy, gotta find my laugh somewhere.”

“Nice.”

“Nobody said I was.”

I volley back, this time with a gentler voice, “But it turns out you are.”

That beautiful smile flashes. He stops walking and kisses me, Bucky impatiently waiting.

Excitement tingles as Nicholas steps a little closer, the two of us kissing in front of a quiet home that belongs to someone we’ll never meet.

Can they see my heart skipping, from the window? Are they watching, whispering to each other, Uh oh, she’s a goner? Do they know I’m out here falling in love?

He murmurs, “Night Blooming Jasmine will remind me of you from now on, Slugger.”

I smile into his eyes, hooked.

Bucky pulls at the leash and we glance over to see a family of raccoons sneaking across the sidewalk. Four babies and two adults, one in front, one the caboose. They’re guiding their little ones to the safety of a thick, grey-barked tree draped in Spanish moss. My dog barks, kicking the nocturnal creatures into high gear. As they rush, the adults cast several worried glances our way.

I call over, “It’s alright! We won’t let him get you!”

Nicholas teases me, “They totally speak English.”

“They can’t speak it but they can understand it.”

“Then why haven’t they slowed down?”

“They think I’m a liar,” I shrug, eyes on where they disappeared to. “So cute.”

We continue our walk, fingers comfortably laced again.

Nicholas glances around, gives me an approving, “This is a nice neighborhood,” then grins, “Look!”

Six pairs of eyes are peering out from a wide branch, the street’s lamplight illuminating them just enough. The raccoons remain frozen, curious, until Bucky spots them and barks again. They scurry up the branch and disappear.

When we’re almost to the park, Nicholas asks me, “You like living here?”

I nod, biting my lip as an uninvited pang of worry returns.

“Why the frown? Don’t like it?”

“I love my place,” I insist but my voice is quieter. After a few silent moments, he’s waiting for more. Finally I admit, “I need to get a new job so I can stay. I’m trying not to think about that tonight. The problem will still be there tomorrow.”

“Money’s tight.”

“Yes, but Denise said she can get me a job where she works.”

“You don’t sound excited.”

“It’s women’s clothing. Overpriced. Not my thing.”

“You want to work with children again.”

Nodding, I keep my eyes on the dark road ahead, and the unintentional metaphor not lost on me. Everything feels hopeless whenever I think of this subject. It’s what kept me hidden under my pillow for too long.

“I loved my job,” I confess on an exhale. “Loved it so much I didn’t speak up the first time he made a move on me. It was just this weird kiss. Did Denise tell you?” He shakes his head, eyes darkened. “It was nothing big. Inappropriate, yes! But it didn’t go anywhere, so I wrote it off. Maybe he was having a hard time, searching for affection in a very wrong place. His wife is cold, and I’ve seen no love there, so I guess I felt a little sorry for the pig. I had already guessed he was having affairs, because of all the reasons you guess something like that. So when I made it clear I wasn’t interested, I thought it was a dead issue. I’d come so far with the kids—Skylar and Kyle—and I knew it would break their hearts if I quit. Sure, I was uncomfortable around him. Who wouldn’t be? But I thought it wouldn’t ever happen again. I was wrong. But Nicholas, it’s all I’ve ever wanted. I took a lot of classes that bored the hell out of me until I found Child Psychology and Parenting. Then everything fell into place. Those courses excited me! Enrolled in everything I could find. Found private classes like Behavioral Correction Through Kindness, ones like that, and just absolutely fell in love with all of it.”

Nicholas lets go of my hand to check his phone. He reads a few alerts, but none seem to interest him. He glances to me, and I can see the subject pissed him off. My instinct is he checked his calls just so he wouldn’t punch a tree.

“Sorry,” he mutters, shoving the phone in his pocket. “I’m expecting a call from my grandmother.”

“Oh no! Everything alright?”

“What? She’s fine. Everyone’s okay, yeah.” He drags his fingers through his hair, staring off before blurting, “Who’s your management company?”

“My what?”

The streetlamp beside him traces half of his handsome, troubled face. “It’s a big, modern building. Probably has a company, right? Who are they? What’s their name?”

I blink in confusion, then realize what he’s thinking of doing. “No.”

“No, what?”

“You’re not paying my rent.”

His eyes widen as he rocks back on his heels, but I can tell his surprise is fake. “I wasn’t asking for that!”

Cocking my head I give him a look. “Yes you were. I could practically see the wheels turning in your mind.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ha!” Stepping closer to him, I insist, “I don’t want you doing that.”

Nicholas stares at me, and finally loses the charade. “You can pay me back.”

“No.”

“You can take it as a gift.”

“No way!”

“I could leave it under your door and force you to take it.”

“Over to my bank? Or back to your apartment? Because that’s where I would—”

“—Madison.”

“Nicholas! You’re very sweet, and I appreciate it. But there is no way I’m letting you do that for me.”

A smile flashes and he drags a hand over his head. “Jeezus.”

“I’m sorry, and thank you, but no.”

“I guess I’d be surprised if you’d have let me.”

Lightly hitting his chest I laugh, “How would you feel if I’d said yes?”

“Like a stud.”

I shake my head. “I bet.”

“But it might have been too much too soon.”

“Okay, you can pay my rent.”

His eyebrows lift. “Really?”

“No!”

He laughs, takes my hand, and Bucky is happy to be moving again. My dog is panting with anticipation for the adventure he is absolutely sure we’re having. And I guess we are.

“So, what are you going to do, Maddie?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll ask them to give me an extension. I’ve never been late. I’m a good tenant. No big parties, blah blah blah. And even though I don’t think Denise’s shop is a good fit, I’ll show up and do my best. Least I can do since they’re bailing me out of this—even though they don’t know that. This is, of course, on the contingency that they’ll actually hire me. But she’s very loved there, so I feel pretty confident about it.” Glancing to Nicholas I shrug, “I’ll come out okay,” sounding not so sure.

He stops, takes my chin in hand, his warm brown eyes sparkling in the low light.

“I admire you, Maddie.”

Tingles drift as I blink at him. To hear that when there are a slew of women out there right now who mistakenly think I’m evil, is a gift I don’t have words for. He leans down to kiss me—just a brief pressing of his kind lips to my grateful ones.

As Piedmont Park spreads out for us and we find a trail we like, I feel kinda proud all of a sudden.

I just stood up for myself.

Not against him.

But for me.

There is such a difference.

It’s empowering to take back control of my life, and make choices that will help me get past what Mr. Schweis did to me. After weeks of depression, feeling like a victim, I’ve snapped out of it.

Those unanswered applications for nanny positions were heart-breaking. The temp agency flat-out telling me not to call them again, killed me. It wasn’t until I talked to some Mrs. Jacoby on the phone did I realize I was shut out by the group of them on purpose.

To think of all those people gossiping about me with untruths was debilitating.

A slide into darkness was inevitable at that point. I’m human. I have a heart. Unlike that man.

But I don’t have to stay down.

And I only realize that now, after Nicholas was offering to bail me out, be my knight in shining armor.

Part of me screamed, Let him do it! Thank God I’m not alone!

But a quieter part, a truer part, spoke up, too. Not in loud shrieks, but in whispers. If you do that, you won’t feel good about yourself. You can handle anything life throws at you. Maddie, what if you fixed this on your own? Had his support in other ways?

The whispers felt right.