Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 33

"Does this mean you're actually dating again?!" Maya practically bounced in her seat.

"You are way too excited for that," Solomon said. He was cooking them both dinner at the moment. It was just another time with her sitting at the breakfast bar while he cooked. He really loved moments like these. Cooking always seemed to go by faster with someone to keep him company. Him and Maya spent a lot of their free time in that kitchen. Both of them had big appetites. With Maya dancing almost every day, along with being a growing girl, and Solomon working in the heat, it wasn't hard to figure out why they were always so hungry.

"Of course, I'm excited!" Maya said. "It means you're finally going to be happy again!"

"I am happy, Maya," he told her. "I'm happy with you and Jessy. I'm not just some miserable grump who stays in my bedroom all day."

"Well," her voice got quieter. Solomon stopped his cooking to look at her. "Maybe now you'll be happy when Jessy and I aren't around." She was looking down at the table again.

Solomon sighed. Sometimes parenting was difficult. It was especially difficult if it was your sister that you weren't supposed to be parenting in the first place. He had custody over her, but it was complicated when she was both his child and his sister at the same time. And both of them had inherited their late grandmother's trait of trying to parent everyone they were close to.

Sometimes Maya liked to act more like the parent.

"Maya, you worry about me too much," Solomon shook his head and turned back to his food. He was making chicken stir fry today. "I don't need someone with me all the time to be happy."

"I know that," Maya said. "But now you're going to be happier! And then I can get a boyfriend, and we can go on a double date!"

"Who wants to go on a double date with their brother?" Solomon teased. "Wait. Is this your way of telling me that you're with someone?!"

"No!" Maya giggled. "And why wouldn't I want to go on a double date with you and your boyfriend? You're only the coolest person in Amor!"

Solomon just rolled his eyes at that. Maya had always looked up to him, even before he started taking care of her. Out of all of their siblings that she could have picked, she decided that he was the one that was her hero when she was just a kid.

He didn't quite know why. His parents never really talked well of him. And Maya was the baby of the family. They had such a big age gap, but they always found ways to come together. He remembered all the nights she would sneak out of their parent's house just to visit him. Those were much darker times.

"So, are you going to tell me about him, or do I have to threaten to cut Jessy's hair in her sleep so she'll tell me?"

"If you do that then all Hell will break loose," Solomon laughed. He got some plates out and they both moved over to the kitchen table.

"Come on!" Maya whined. "If you're going to be gone, like, every weekend, you better at least tell me what he looks like!"

"Alright, brat," he rolled his eyes. "He's got brown hair and blue eyes. You happy now?"

"What kind of description is that?!" she frowned. "I mean, that sounds pretty handsome, but that's just two things about him!"

"What is this, a police interrogation?" he laughed again before continuing. "He's handsome. He's got a nice jawline, and he looks like he works out, but I'm not entirely sure." He hadn't exactly seen him in anything other than suits.

"How rich is he? Does he have a mansion? Does he have a wine cellar and a bunch of cool cars? Is there a flower garden?!"

"I don't know," he started counting on his fingers. "Yes. No. Yes. And I have no idea if he has a flower garden."

"You should ask him!" She bounced. Her fluffy hair danced with her every movement. Solomon was planning on braiding it tonight when they were done eating. After she finishes taking a shower, it normally gets too crazy for her to be able to practice dancing. "Maybe he'll bring you some!"

He didn't really think that Niko was the romantic type. He didn't really bring him flowers before. It didn't really matter to Solomon. Not even Somner had done that for him. He got him gifts every now and then, but he wasn't a romantic either.

He shook his head. He had to stop comparing the two. It was starting to be a nasty habit. But, truth be told, this was the first time that he hadn't been thinking about Somner as much. And as much as he thought he would be dreading this date of theirs, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he was excited instead.

"Okay," he smiled at her. "I'll ask him when I see him next."

"Are you going to be gone the whole weekend?"

"Just Friday," he said. "Why?"

"No reason," she shrugged. There was a look on her face that immediately made him suspicious. "But if you want to hang out with him the whole weekend, I would be fine being here on my own."

"On your own, huh?" he raised an eyebrow. "Exactly what do you want your weekend plans to be?"

"Nothing!" she said. One look at him though, and she was quick to cave. "I was thinking about going over to a friends' to sleep over for the weekend."

"Which friend?" he crossed his arms. His food had already been eaten. They were just relaxing at the table at this point.

"Julia and Marie," she said. "Please, Solomon! Please, can I?"

"Are there actually going to be adults there this time?"

"Yeah! It's going to be Marie's dad!"

"And there's not going to be any boys this time, is there?" he gave her an accusing look. Those two were loyal friends, and never tried to change Maya. But they were troublemakers at the same time. They had known each other since they were all in diapers at day care together. And, while Julia and Marie weren't in the same school as her, they still talked all the time.

"No, I promise!" Maya put her hands together and gave Solomon her famous puppy eyes. "Please!"

"Fine," he caved. He knew just how much she missed those two. It was difficult for them to go and see each other with how much dance practice Maya had. "But I'm going to call Maya's father first just to make sure you're telling me the truth."

"Yay!" she zoomed off her chair and jumped on Solomon. "I love you!"

"I love you too, brat," he hugged her. "You better not get into any trouble when your over there."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good," he smiled. "Because, if you do I'm not letting you go over there to see them for a year."

The rest of the evening went normally. Tonight they had actually planned a movie night. It was one that they had both seen a hundred times, but it got better each time they saw it.

But Solomon couldn't quite focus on it this time. All he could focus on were those blue eyes that always demanded his attention whenever they so much as glanced his way. He wished that the man didn't occupy his mind so much. It didn't help that he was calling him and texting him all the time. He got so many questions from coworkers and friends wondering why he was smiling at his phone.

He wondered the same thing.

Truth be told, he was a bit scared of all of this. It wasn't just the fact that he hadn't dated in a long time. It was the fact that this man was someone that he shouldn't be trusting. He shouldn't be allowing him to make him smile with every text and phone call. Niko was one of those guys that throw people away faster than Solomon could fix that washing machine of his. And with no remorse either.

He was the one person who could break his heart again.

Solomon sighed as he watched the colors on the screen. He couldn't pay attention to it at all. At least Maya was having fun. All he could think about is why he always seemed to get himself in these predicaments. Because, no matter how much he tried to fight off these strange feelings for this guy that he knew very little of, they always seemed to win.

He really hoped that he didn't just make the biggest mistake of his life.