Kendall
Monday. Glorious Monday. While most of the world loathes this day, I welcome it. It's the start of two wonderful days off now that my schedule has changed. While most love their weekends off, I wouldn't change my days off for the world. I can take care of my personal life without having to wonder if the doctor, dentist, bank, or store is open. It's easier to shop and get in for an appointment because most people are working.
My days off are also great because now I have the same schedule as Levi. It just makes sense since he's the only member of the security team I like walking me out. When I ran the idea of having the same days off as Levi by Noah, he agreed. This was right after he warned me that if I make Levi uncomfortable and he reports me for sexual harassment, the consequence is termination. At the time I thought his comment was over the top but now it's just funny.
Levi doesn't know the reason for my new schedule and if he found out it might make the friendship we've developed over the last few days awkward. I swear I didn't change my schedule to seduce him. My schedule needed to be changed because he's the only one in security I trust completely.
Now that I've had time to digest the extremely personal part of his life he shared with me, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's not every day I hear a healthy male in his twenties is voluntarily abstaining from sex. After the cab driver dropped me off at home that night I spent an hour searching Google to see if his life choice was healthy, and another hour searching for him on social media because I'm still not convinced he doesn't have a secret account somewhere. When both searches were complete I found out abstaining from sex is perfectly healthy (disappointing because I was looking forward to finding evidence to show Levi that he needs to have sex), and Levi doesn't have a social media account I don't know about.
The next couple nights at work could have been awkward but instead we were more comfortable with each other than we have ever been. I even managed to tease him a little about the entire thing. I mean, really, it must be hard doing what he does when he's around beautiful women every night.
That's assuming his confession is true. As much as I'd like to think differently, I don't know him that well. My lack of knowledge causes ridiculous theories to run through my head. My mind is reeling with follow-up questions to ask him once I have the nerve to approach the subject. The most recent theory and the one I can't shake is that he's lying.
I know, I know. One minute I believe the guy and the next I think he's full of shit. But really, what guy do you know that would turn a woman's offer down for sex after he hasn't gotten laid in five years?
It just doesn't happen.
He must have a girlfriend and for some reason–like maybe she has sixteen toes, harbors a love for horse manure, and is Nickelback's biggest fan–he's embarrassed to talk about her.
It's exhausting to think this way and if I stay home all day these thoughts will fester. I'll have him married with twelve kids and a secret sex addiction by the end of the night. So instead I spend the day out.
I hit up a parabolic class with Skye before dropping my clothes off at the dry cleaner. Then I stop at the pharmacy for my birth control prescription and mascara, withdraw some cash from the ATM, and then Uber it over to Brooklyn. There's supposed to be a fantastic farmer's market on Mondays that I've been dying to check out. Skye was supposed to come with me but snuck away for a late lunch with Noah instead.
I can't even be mad at her because if I had a husband like Noah I'd let him eat his late lunch off my body if he wanted to.
When I pull up to the intersection of the farmer's market the street is packed. The road is blocked off and there are tables and tents lined down each side of the street with everything from food, to flowers, and homemade soap. It's exactly how I imagined it.
I hope I withdrew enough cash.
I hit the soap table first, smelling the different scents of each bar and finding a new natural deodorant to experiment with. After purchasing the deodorant and half a dozen bars of soap, I move to the next table. I plan on checking out every table before leaving here. I have a feeling this will be my new Monday ritual.
Several tables later I have two canvas bags filled with goodies. I've bought organic fruits and vegetables, fresh eggs, and a marble hand-knitted scarf. I pass the few tables filled with beautiful flowers, deciding to purchase some next time. I've spent too much already today as it is.
As I make my way through the crowd of people my eyes are drawn to a little boy. He's wearing a blue t-shirt and athletic pants with a baseball glove tucked inside the waistband. His coarse brown hair with strands of auburn is curly and his stunning green eyes hypnotize me. He has a warm olive complexion with a dusting of light freckles across the bridge of his nose, and when he smiles it's infectious.
But that's not why he has my attention.
I'm watching him because he's speaking to a young woman with his hands. I've never seen sign language before. The effortless way his hands move as his face is lit with animated expressions makes me wish I knew what he was saying. I have a feeling he has a lot of wonderful things to say.
The woman communicates back with him just as fluently and then she turns to the vendor and verbally asks for three sandwiches. The boy remains silent and it's then that I realize she's hearing and he's deaf. I continue to watch their interaction. I'm fascinated with the beauty in the way they sign, just as I am when I hear two people speaking in a foreign language. The diversity here is one of the many things I love about New York.
Knowing it's time for me to leave and stop intruding on these people's lives, I reach for my phone and request my Uber. I look up to peek at the little boy one more time and I'm knocked sideways by what I see. Levi is there. My Levi. Security for Forbidden Desires...THAT LEVI!
He is saying something to the woman while at the same time signing with his hands. The woman rolls her eyes and the little boy laughs. They both lift up their hands and high five as the woman squeezes past them and grabs the sandwiches from the vendor.
I know I should look away but I can't stop watching.
Levi takes out his wallet and pays the guy while the little boy starts eating his sandwich. The woman sticks her sandwich in her purse while continuing to talk to Levi. Then she bends down in front of the little boy and signs something before leaning in and kissing the top of his head. She walks away and my eyes follow her as I try to grasp what I just witnessed.
He lied to me. He said he was abstinent, yet all along he's had a kid and a wife.
Asshole.
My eyes flicker back to where they were standing before and they're still there in front of the booth, only this time Levi is looking directly at me.
I can do one of two things. I can dart out of here like The Flash and pray to God my Uber hasn't ditched me, or I can walk over there with confidence and strike up a conversation, gloating because I caught him in a lie. There really is no debate. I like to gloat.
Smiling in their direction I make my way over to where Levi and the little boy are standing. "I didn't expect to run into you over here."
"I live a few blocks over." He says it as if I should know this, but how could I? Getting personal information out of him is harder than getting the truth out of a politician.
"Oh, I didn't know."
"Why are you on this side of town?"
His question makes me feel guilty for some reason but I have nothing to feel guilty about. I had no idea he would be here. "I've been hearing about this farmer's market for a long time. Skye was supposed to come with me today but bailed on me last-minute so I came by myself."
"Oh."
I glance down at the little boy and his eyes are flickering back and forth between Levi and me as he eats his sandwich. Just a few moments ago Levi was talking and signing simultaneously and with me he's only speaking. The little boy has no idea what our conversation is about.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" I ask as I gesture to the little boy who's even more beautiful up close.
"I don't think so."
"Damn, okay. That's kind of rude."
"I don't introduce him to my friends–especially female friends."
"Yeah, don't want him telling his mom you're talking to other women."
"His mom." He shakes his head and then asks, "What are you talking about?"
"The woman who was with you before."
"That's not his mom. That's his nanny. Laura's been his nanny since he was a baby."
I sigh in relief and can't mask my victorious grin. "I didn't know."
"How could you? You like to assume the worst of me."
Before I can respond he's signing to the little boy again. The boy signs back and then Levi says, "Kendall, this is Brody. Brody, this is Kendall." He's signing and speaking simultaneously again and I've never been more attracted to him than I am in this moment.
"Brody is my son."
"I kind of figured." When I thought the man had a secret I never thought it was a son. I just thought he was lying about keeping it in his pants.
Brody signs again and Levi laughs. "He thinks you're pretty."
"Tell him I think he's handsome. A real catch."
They sign back and forth and I can't help feeling out of the loop. It sucks not being able to communicate with them right now but I'm in awe with how natural they are together. It's a reminder of how little I know about Levi.
"Does Noah know you have a son?"
"Of course he does."
"I can't believe he didn't tell me."
"Why would he tell you? It's a private part of my life and not his story to tell."
"I've been lusting after you ever since you started working for him and I'm best friends with his wife. His loyalty should lie with me."
He smirks. "You've been lusting after me since I started? I didn't know your obsession ran so deep."
"I'm not obsessed," I reply embarrassed.
"Clearly. Plus, you're done with me, right? I saw the Snapchat."
I smack his shoulder. "And how did you see that? I knew you had a Snapchat account."
"God, woman. You hit hard. I don't have a Snapchat. The guys at work showed me."
Brody starts signing again and Levi doesn't miss a beat. Their hands move so fast and then Levi gives Brody a five-dollar bill and Brody runs over to the line forming behind the ice cream cart.
"Is he okay to be over there alone? How will he communicate?"
"I'm watching him, and he communicates better than most hearing people."
"How old is he?"
"Eight."
"Wow, you must have been young when you had him."
He shrugs his shoulders and we both watch Brody as he inches his way up the line.
"So is he the reason you don't have sex?"
"You could say that."
"Is he the reason you won't go out with me?"
"It's a little more complicated than that."
"So why don't you uncomplicated things for me and explain?"
He doesn't reply. Instead he starts kicking the loose pebbles on the street as he glances at Brody every few seconds.
"Where is his mom?"
"Okay, that's enough questions for the day. We don't know each other well enough for you to dive into my life story."
"And whose fault is that? I want to get to know you but you keep shutting me out."
"As you can see I don't have a lot of free time in my life right now to get to know someone new. Brody is my life. He and I are just fine."
"What about friends? Don't you have time for friends?"
"Not new ones."
"What about food. You’ve got to eat. You don't have time to get to know me over a meal or two?"
"I don't think it's a good idea. Brody needs stability and you and I both know you want to be more than just friends."
"You're a little full of yourself."
"No, I just speak the truth."
"Okay, maybe that's the truth, but I also have a breaking point and you've reached it. You don’t have to worry about me hitting on you anymore. I know when a man is not interested. I'm talking about us just being friends. Hanging out as friends. Something tells me you don't have a lot of those in your life."
He takes in a deep breath as he studies me and then reluctantly responds. "You're right. I don't have a lot of friends and I guess it wouldn't hurt to have someone to talk to."
"See. I'm smarter than I look. When are you free for dinner?"
"I can't do dinner. I cook for Brody every night."
"Can't you find a sitter?"
"I could, but I don't want to nor can I afford to hire someone other than when I'm working. Besides, after dinner we have baseball practice three nights a week and games on the weekends."
"Isn't that a lot for an eight-year-old?"
"Brody is better than most eight-year-olds. He lives and breathes baseball and plays on the best eight and under travel team in the state."
"Oh, okay, I didn't mean to offend. You take baseball pretty seriously."
"I have to. I'm the coach."
And just like that the man surprises me again. I like not knowing everything about him. It's intriguing and something tells me the more I get to know him the more I'll like about him.
Brody comes back with no change and three red white and blue Popsicles. I may not know sign language but even I know Levi told him to only get one. "Hey, big guy," Levi signs and speaks this time and it warms my heart. He wants me to be a part of their conversation. "I said you could only have one."
Brody signs and Levi lets me know what he’s saying. "He bought the other two for us." Brody looks up at me with his stunning green eyes and hands me a Popsicle. His thoughtfulness has me tearing up. "Thank you."
Brody shakes his head. He holds his Popsicle with his left hand. Making his right hand flat he brings it up to his chin and then brings it away.
"He's teaching you the sign for thank you."
"Oh." I hold my Popsicle with my left hand so I can free up my right. Then I sign thank you just like he taught me.
"I should get going," I say solemnly. "It was nice to meet you, Brody."
"Here, go like this." Levi shows me a new sign and then holds my Popsicle for me. "That's how you sign nice to meet you. I can teach you how to sign his name later."
I don’t think he realizes he's just promised me more than a sign language lesson. If he wants to teach me Brody's name that means he's anticipating I'll be around Brody more.
Smiling at Levi's son I sign, "Nice to meet you," and then he startles me by opening his arms and giving me a hug. I hug him back, grateful for his openness and then I leave them and the farmer's market behind so I can go home. It's only then that I remember I requested an Uber a while ago. The driver is already long gone by now with five dollars of my money for not showing up. I request another ride and my new driver is here in less than a minute. After I get in and make small talk I grab my phone and text Levi.
Me: So, as your friend, I noticed we never made plans to hang out.
He texts back almost immediately.
Levi: Huh, I guess we didn't. I'm a bad friend.
Me: I'll teach you how to change that.
Levi: What are you doing tomorrow morning?
Me: Normally I'd say sleeping but I'm guessing you have a better proposition for me.
Levi: Let's meet for breakfast.
Me: Why not dinner? I could always help you cook.
Levi: I don't need help cooking. I am a master.
Me: Okay then let’s meet for lunch.
Levi: No
Me: Why does it have to be breakfast?
Levi: Because breakfast is the shit. I'll learn a lot about you by what you order.
Me: Great. Now I'll be up half the night second-guessing all of my options. I'm determined to order the right thing.
Levi: It feels good to be on the other side of things.
Me: I don't know what that means.
Levi: I mean it feels good not being the one in this friendship up half the night second-guessing.