Ayla’s Wednesday morning shift at NPE seemed like it would never end. Jeff told the crew to expect to process six trailers full of packages, which would ordinarily be a bad enough day, but two more full loads showed up late in the day, prompting Jeff to turn his screaming and tantrums up to maximum. He got into a shouting match with Ayla’s work neighbor, J.R.

It was intense, with Jeff telling J.R. he “wasn’t NPE material,” and that he ought to quit if he couldn’t handle the workload.

Ayla was tempted to jump in on J.R.’s side and give Jeff the same piece of her mind she’d given Teri Palermo, but she bit her tongue, deciding losing both her jobs within twenty-four hours, especially the one that provided insurance for Preston, probably wasn’t the most prudent course of action.

When the last box rolled slowly down the conveyor belt, Ayla ran it into her truck, giving J.R. a high five on her way out the door. The sun shone brightly outside, the temperature was already approaching triple digits, and if Ayla knew her son, he was already in his swim trunks and goggles, ready to go.

Ayla was only partially right. When she pulled into the driveway, not only was Preston already dressed for Waveworks, he was sitting on the front porch atop a pile of folded towels.

“When is Mr. Mick picking us up? Soon?”

“Whoa, bubba, can I get a hug first?”

“I don’t think so, you’re all sweaty and smelly!” Preston ran away laughing when Ayla reached for him.

“Desiree said he woke up and immediately put on his swimsuit and goggles. He ate breakfast in them,” Lupe, Preston’s babysitter reported.

Ayla laughed and went inside. Preston followed her. “Hurry up, Mommy, it’s time to go! He’ll be here soon!”

“Preston. Chill. I need a shower. Remember how ‘sweaty and smelly’ I am?”

“Ugh! Can you just meet us there later? We have to go!”

Ayla was inwardly overjoyed that he was so excited to spend a day with his father, despite the fact that he didn’t know it. But she was also tired, hungry, and wished Preston had been born with the elusive “off” button that moms of little boys have been searching for since the first little boys appeared.

After a banana and a shower, Ayla put on her blue one-piece. She wished she’d been able to spend more time outside getting a darker tan, but the suit looked good on her, playing off her blue eyes perfectly, and the manual labor at NPE had given her more definition in her arms and legs than she’d ever before seen in her mirror. Mick was still way out of what she perceived as her league, but he seemed plenty attracted to her, so she figured she ought to abandon the self-criticism and embrace being “the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.”

“Mom! Mommy! He’s here! We have to go!” Preston was bouncing on the couch by the front window as if he were on a pogo stick.

Ayla put on her wrap and gathered her things, and they walked out to meet Mick.

He was dressed in white boxer-style swim trunks with a red shark on them, and a red t-shirt that clung to his chest.

“Who’s ready to go to the library?” Mick asked when he saw Preston, who stopped in his tracks, confused. Ayla waved and smiled from the doorway.

“Don’t look so glum, big man, they just got a bunch of new Barbie books in. Aren’t you excited?”

“No! Waveworks!” Preston announced.

Ayla went to get the booster out of her backseat, but she looked over and Mick was already strapping Preston into the brand-new booster he’d installed in the back of his Navigator.

“Aren’t you the perfect Boy Scout?” Ayla asked. “Always prepared. Are you trying to impress me? Because if you are, mission accomplished.”

“I don’t want there to be any mistaking my intentions, love,” Mick explained. “I’m in this all the way. Whatever you need from me, whatever Preston needs from me, I want to be there.”

Ayla leaned in close. “I need something from you. Very badly.”

Mick cocked his head and grinned. “Yeah?”

“That sweet mouth of yours, for starters.”

“And where would you like it, Ayla?”

“Everywhere,” Ayla replied, biting her bottom lip.

Mick’s nostrils flared and he had to adjust the hardening cock in his trunks, lest it pitch too obvious a tent. Before he could reply, Preston was banging on the window from inside Mick’s SUV. “It’s going to close! We have to go!”

“Is this typical?” Mick asked with a smile.

“Entirely, exhaustingly so,” Ayla answered.

“Excellent,” Mick answered with a wink. He fist-bumped the glass next to Preston, who did the same from his side, and within minutes they were Waveworks-bound.