Change Of Luck

To Cherish

I ate until I was stuffed and Nova sat back. "Now what?" He sighed. "And no work stuff. Oh, I know. We talk."

I stared at him. "What?"

"We are getting to know one another. Yes!" Nova stood, waved his hand with a flourish and the food was gone.

"Nova, thanks for that. I can't remember the last time someone took care of me." It slipped. I didn't mean to say that. Nova shocked me as he pressed his lips to mine again. I backed up as I tasted cotton candy. I secretly wanted to dive on him. I refrained.

"I wanted to comfort you. Does kissing you offend you?" Nova raised an eyebrow.

I had no answer. "No! Not like that. I just..." I never got attention unless it was a doctor wanting to discuss my mother's heath or my boss. Or Shaw when he needed something from me. That wasn't really fair, he was just a kid.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Nova was watching me like a hawk.

"Uh, a little? I guess. But I don't want to offend you, Nova. I just... I am not used to this." I inhaled.

Nova smiled a charming smile. "Let's go for a walk." He pulled me close to him and we were in a field of daisies. Before I could get my bearings, Nova took my hand in his and we were walking. The sun was out, the birds were chirping and a gentle breeze was moving the daisies and making a song that was in whispers.

I looked around. "Where are we?"

Nova smiled. "My backyard. You like it?"

"I love it, Nova." I looked at him and smiled. I was trying to be upset or uncomfortable but this was pleasant. "So, this is peaceful then why did you need to get away?"

Nova smiled. "I get lonely here by myself. Two years ago I took my hiatus with some werewolves in Canada. It was a lovely time but this is much better." He leaned into me with intent. I knew he was implying that I made his time better.

"Now. Elias said you had a tough go of things. Talk to me." Nova turned us towards a small wooded area and we sat in the shade.

"Well, fine. I know it's useless to argue with you. You are very bossy!" I smiled at the Fae's angelic face.

Nova chuckled. "I like to think of myself as authoritative."

I chuckled. "Sure." I cleared my throat and thought about where to start. I couldn't believe that I wanted to talk with Nova.

"I was fourteen when my mom found out she had stage four cancer. It was a bad one." Like there's a good one! "She did everything to live just a day longer. Radiation, chemo, surgery and homeopathic things. She even drank some green tea and cut out everything. Nothing helped."

"I was fifteen when I found out how expensive chemo was. We lost our house that we grew up in and lived in a crappy car to save money. It was just me, Shaw and Mom. She was a fighter." I sighed. "We had no insurance and didn't have a lot of money to begin with so we lived to pay her bills."

"I got a job at sixteen, Shaw was fifteen then. Mom was in the hospital for a long time then and it was just us." I sighed and watched a bird land on a tree limb. It was pretty. Blue and yellow.

"What about your dad?" Nova was sweet for caring. He took my hand in his and began to play with my fingers. My beating heart heated up and I loved his touch.

"Well... he had left us with Mom when I was seven or eight. He was mean to her anyway." I sighed. "We never heard from him after that. Mom worked to make ends meet until she got sick and couldn't work any longer."

"I found our dad but I never told Shaw. I couldn't. I took the tip money for a bus and found his house. He was out in the yard, playing with three little kids. A pretty woman walked from the house, smiling. The little kids were laughing. He kissed one kid's cheek like he used to do with me. One yelled for him, called him daddy. He couldn't have been four or five. He was giggling. So cute and happy."

"He left us about nine years before... so he was cheating on Mom with this person and had kids. He ditched us for this new family but...I just couldn't interrupt his precious time with them. I couldn't. I was pissed but those kids didn't do anything to deserve being destroyed. I turned and walked away."

"I never went back either. Shaw has no idea. He thinks that Dad is just gone. I want to keep it that way." I wiped tears that streamed down my face.

"He replaced us!" I broke down. I hadn't cried like this since the funeral. Nova pulled me onto his lap and held me. He never said anything which I appreciated. It took me forever to collect myself. "So sorry about that!" I cleared my throat and wiped my face with my shirt. I was a mess.

Nova sighed. "I'm the one that is sorry for your sorrow, Joseph. You were mistreated and there is no excuse. You have lost a lot and carried all that responsibility on your shoulders."

I nodded. "But I have Shaw and Shade now that they are married. We have a house and I have our crappy truck and a nice job." I sighed. "Life is better now."

"Indeed and I am grateful for that and Joseph, you have me." Nova smiled at me as I turned to face him. "Do you know that already?"

I stared at him. "Uh? Thanks, Nova. Really, you are very kind. I feel like a fool."

Nova kissed my forehead and I didn't back away. I could tell that he noticed. "Don't you dare. You have been taking care of everyone since you were fourteen. It's time to let that responsibility go and let someone else take care of you. Let me take care of you."

I, of course, panicked. Nova took me home and I avoided him for the rest of the week. I freaked out. I could feel that whatever we were building together was happening too quickly.

I just met him and we slept in the same bed and he wanted me to trust him. Maybe I already trusted him and that freaked me out. I knew that my heart wanted him. I wasn't sure what was happening but I kept dreaming about his kisses and he only kissed me three times. Once on the forehead.

Thanks for reading!