Never Say Never by Rachael Sommers (books to get back into reading TXT) 📕

They circled one another, hands raised. Megan moved first, and Camila tensed as the swing came in, but Emily dodged it easily.

They were evenly matched and it was absolutely breathtaking to watch them dance across the mat, both of them maneuvering to gain the upper hand. Emily’s muscles rippled whenever she moved, her strength even more impressive when Camila considered how meek she had been when they first met. At one point, Emily did a backflip, her shirt riding up, and good God, the sight of those abs nearly stopped Camila’s heart dead in her chest.

The image of Emily in black workout clothes, sparring fiercely and slick with sweat, was going to haunt her, waking and sleeping, for days and weeks to come.

They called it quits after a while, and when Jaime applauded, Camila was tempted to join in too, because what a show that had been.

“You enjoy that, buddy?” Emily asked, ruffling his hair as she stepped in closer. Camila felt the heat radiating off her and allowed herself a brief fantasy of Emily pressing Camila hard against a wall, lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around her waist and—

“Camila?”

Emily was looking at her with concern, and she hoped that was the first time Emily had tried to get her attention.

“Would that be okay?”

“Hmm?”

“If I taught Jaime some karate. I have a black belt and I used to teach kids when I was in college, so I know what I’m doing.”

“Oh.” She glanced down. Jaime was looking up at her hopefully. “Of course, as long as you’re careful.”

“Always.”

“Yay!” Jaime bounced up and down. “You’re the bestest. Can we start now?” He asked Emily, his eyes pleading.

“I don’t think so, bud—we gotta leave here soon.” She glanced at her watch. “Now, in fact.”

“Oh shoot, is that the time?” Megan frowned as she checked her phone. “I’m meeting a friend in, like, ten minutes, and I need to shower.” She slung her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll see you around, Walker. Nice to see you both again.” She waved at Camila and Jaime before disappearing out the door.

“Anything else planned for today?” Camila asked as Emily gathered up her own things.

“Nah.” Emily shrugged, leading Camila back the way she had come. “Probably just catch up on chores I’ve been neglecting for too long. A real fun day ahead. Don’t grow up, buddy,” she whispered to Jaime as if it were a secret. “It’s really boring.” She turned to Camila. “What about you guys?” She looked stunning in the midday sun as they stepped outside, and Camila quickly looked away.

“Whatever this one wants to do,” Camila replied, nodding at Jaime.

“Ice cream!” Jaime exclaimed.

“Ice cream it is.” Her car arrived from around the corner, stopping in front of them. “Do you want a ride back to your apartment?”

“No, it’s only a couple of blocks away.”

“All right, then. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Have a good weekend—and enjoy your ice cream!” She waved to Jaime, waiting until they were in the car, then turned and walked away.

* * *

The next week passed quickly and without incident. Despite Jaime’s newfound excitement about karate, the two of them managed not to break anything in the apartment during their lessons. But when Emily arrived on Friday morning, Camila looked more stressed than usual, her mouth pinched into a thin line and her fingers tapping on the counter where she stood nursing a cup of coffee.

“Everything okay?” Emily asked when Camila didn’t greet her. Camila startled at the sound of Emily’s voice, like she hadn’t even noticed the front door opening. Her coffee sloshed over the side of her cup and onto the counter. “Oh shoot, sorry.”

“It’s all right, I was miles away.” Camila batted away Emily’s hands as she tried to clear up the mess but acquiesced when Emily held her burned hand under the tap.

“What’s wrong?”

Jaime was coloring at the breakfast bar, too engrossed to pay them any attention.

“It’s nothing,” Camila said, though she sighed heavily. “Chris wants to take Jaime for the weekend.”

Emily understood then—Camila was facing a weekend without her son for perhaps the first time since he was born. That couldn’t be easy.

“I think he feels guilty about London, realizes he’s been an absent father lately.” Emily squeezed her shoulder sympathetically.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Camila tried to brush it off but her eyes were troubled. “He’s entitled to see his son, and Jaime should have his father in his life. It’s just…not something I wanted—to have him split between two homes.” Her love for Jaime was clearly written on her face. “But we’ll just have to adapt.” Her phone buzzed, and Camila scowled at it. “Well, I’d better get going. Chris should be picking him up at seven—I hope I’m back before then, but in case I’m not, I’ve packed his overnight bag. It’s in his room, if you think of anything else he needs.”

“Of course.”

Camila glanced at her gratefully before gathering up her things. She managed to tear Jaime’s focus away from his coloring long enough to say goodbye.

“Have a good day, Camila.”

A moment later, she was out the door.

Emily peered over Jaime’s shoulder to see what he was working on. It was mostly squiggles and splotches of color, but Emily could make out the outline of a dinosaur.

“Do you like it?” Jaime asked, peering up at her.

“It’s really good, buddy,” she told him.

He gave her the drawing when he was done, and she slotted it into the giant folder she had of his drawings, ready to present to Camila at Christmas.

“You want to go to the park today? And maybe the library too?”

“Yeah!”

She threw some things into a bag along with the books he had finished since their last trip to the library.

The chill of fall was in the air. The leaves had started to drop off the trees, littering the sidewalk, and Jaime stomped through them, delighting in the crunch they made.

As early in the day as it was, the park was already filled with children and