He took my hand and led me to the door, grabbing a hoodie on the way. “Let’s go, cupcake.” He paused at the door, looking back at me with that familiar tender gleam in his eyes. “Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”
Ugh. Swoon.
I give Max the name of the park, and luckily, he knows where it is. I turn in my seat to chat to a nervous looking Ceecee. Her golden eyes bright with excitement, her auburn hair pulled into two sweet looking pigtails, dressed in a pink velour tracksuit, and white tee, she looks gorgeous this morning. “How’re you doing back there, young grasshopper?”
She looks up at me with wide eyes and whispers, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
My eyes narrow at her. Sergeant Lena, coming through! “Don’t give me that BS. Look at what you’ve done all by yourself in the last month. It’s short of a miracle. Your fitness is past what I planned for. If you can do that, you can do this.”
She raises her brows. “I didn’t do that alone. You helped.”
I roll my eyes. “Semantics. I didn’t force you; you agreed to do it and you kept your promise.” It’s true that I still have a light session with Ceecee three times a week before our cooking lessons, as well as the three sessions she has with James. And she does it without complaint.
The kid is a little socially awkward. She has friends at school, but she doesn’t like for them to come over, or for her to go to their houses, mainly because those houses aren’t access-friendly for people in wheelchairs. Ceecee told me how once she went to a school friend’s house and it was awkward. So awkward that Ceecee decided having friends at school was okay, but that was as far as it went. There would be no friend communication outside of school.
I told her that she must be lonely. My heart broke when she responded with a light shrug, saying she was used to it. I’m feeling all too protective of this girl. I can see it and realize this could be an issue, but, God help me, I can’t stop myself from trying to help. This isn’t just another child. This is Max’s child. And she is a sweet, smart, self-conscious girl who I want the best for. I love Max. And I love Ceecee just as much. Maybe more, because she needs it more. As long as I’m around, Ceecee will never feel lonely. I swear it.
When she swallows hard, face pale, I start to sweat. “Hey,” she looks up at me, near panting, and I utter quietly, “if you really think you can’t do this, we’ll go home.” She blinks up at me in surprise and I feel the need to reiterate, “This is your choice, honey. One hundred percent.”
And just as I knew she would, she responds a hushed, “Maybe I’ll just go and see how I feel.”
A beaming smile crosses my face. “That’s my girl.”
Max squeezes my knee in gratitude. He knows better than to cut into our girl-talk. Never taking his eyes off the road, he talks back to Ceecee over his shoulder. “Baby girl, how would you feel about going to Coney Island tomorrow?”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
Max smiles. “No shit.”
A shy smile spreads across her face. “Okay, but only if Helena comes.”
I make a pffft noise. “As if you could stop me, honey.”
He squeezes my knee again. “Then we’re all set.” He looks over to me, grinning. Not being able to help myself, I lean forward and press a hard kiss on his mouth.
Ceecee breaks into a fit of giggles. “Ew, gross.”
On a sigh, I tell her honestly, “Girlie, one day, you’re gonna look at a certain man and wonder what you ever found gross about boys.”
Max’s brows furrow as he adds hastily, “But not for, like, another thirty years.” He looks back at her in the mirror. “Maybe forty.”
Ceecee breaks into another fit of giggles, and looking over at Max, I join her. He winks at me, and taking his hand in mine, I sigh dreamily.
I am so in love with you.
We arrive at the park, and when Ceecee extracts herself from the car, Max takes my hand and we walk over to the basketball court. I can already see some kids in wheelchairs, as well as some adults, but I can’t make them out. As we get closer, I see Felicity, Willa, and James. Smiling like a loon, I call out, “What are you guys doing here?”
Willa smiles sheepishly. “I heard you enquire about the game, so I figured we’d come to cheer Ceecee on.”
Felicity grins. “Check it out.” She opens her jacket to reveal a white she has decorated with colored Sharpies. It reads, “Ceecee’s number one!” Ceecee giggles, and stepping forward, Felicity holds her hand up to her and they high-five.
James finishes up speaking to a young man with a prosthetic leg before jogging over. He holds his hand out to Max and they do a little bro-shake-slash-back-slap. “How you doin’, Max?”
To my surprise, Max lets go of my hand and pulls me into the side of his body, uttering meaningfully, “Better than I’ve been in a long time.”
James watches him closely, searching his face a moment before dipping his chin in silent conversation. What the hell was all that about? James looks over at me, eyes smiling. “You look good, Lena.”
I bat my lashes. “Why, thank you, kind sir. You don’t look so bad yourself.” I wink and feel Max’s fingers dig into my hip. I look up into his suddenly stormy eyes and mouth, ‘Ow.’ In response, he narrows his eyes to slits and pecks my lips.
James kneels down in front of Ceecee. “You ready for this, C?” At her hesitation, he adds, “It’s not like a real game or anything. It’s just a lot of fun. We mess around with the ball and joke and laugh. Sometimes, people switch teams midgame, and then other times, there is no team at all. I promise you’ll like it.” She doesn’t say a word and he smiles knowingly. “You need luck?”
She covers her mouth with a hand to suppress a giggle and nods. He sighs melodramatically. “The things I do for you people.” Then he lowers his bald head. Ceecee reaches up with both hands and rubs it for luck, giggling all the while.
James wishes her luck, then jogs back to the young amputee, helping him remove his prosthetic leg and sit in a wheelchair. When the young man turns to us, Ceecee gasps. It’s quiet, but I hear it loud and clear. I look down at her to find her eyes wide, mouth parted, and a small blush on her cheeks. Lifting my head, I look back at the boy. He looks a little older than her, maybe fifteen. When he spots her, he stills. His face becomes void of expression as he watches her watching him. I peek behind me to find Willa and Felicity chatting and laughing with Max.