“No kidding,” Jaxton breathed. “How did she get even hotter?”
Emilia grinned to herself. Still the same old guys. It was nice to be noticed. She’d been working her ass off — or rather, on, trying to tone up her butt and lose a little extra around her thighs. It seemed to be working.
She put a little extra sashay to her walk when she came back in. three glasses of iced tea in hand. They sipped, and told her about college and their jobs for the summer.
“And girls?” Emilia asked, winking at Milo.
He grinned sheepishly. “Ahhh, I had a girlfriend, but we decided to break up a couple months ago.”
“I had a pair of them,” Jaxton grunted. “Cheerleaders. Too much drama.”
“At the same time?” Emilia asked, hoping they didn’t notice her shift or press her damp thighs together at the thought of Jaxton with two women.
“Yeah,” Jaxton said with a grin.
“And they… knew?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Whew.” Emilia glanced at Simon. “How about you, stud?”
“Ooh, I like that,” Simon said. “Nothing serious.”
“Is it ever with you?” she asked.
“I mean, hey, Mrs. Candless, if it was you, I’d settle down and be a one-woman guy the rest of my life.” He made a kissing sound at her and Milo laughed.
“How you even get a date with lines like that,” Emilia said, but she was secretly flattered. It was harmless flirting, she knew, but damn it, his good looks were intoxicating.
“How about you?” Milo asked. “How’s Jim treating you?”
“Things are good,” Emilia said. “He just got a promotion, so, you know, it’s good.”
“You sound thrilled,” Simon said.
She gave him a faint smile. “Is it obvious? It’s fine. It really is. He’s just working late afternoons up until midnight now, and usually longer than that. And with Landon not…” Stinging tears rushed up in her without warning, tears she’d been holding back for days, and Emilia choked up. Milo and Simon were there in a flash, taking either side of the chair she was sitting on and rubbing her back. Jaxton was only a moment behind. With no room, he just stood there, rubbing his hands, but his presence was a comfort anyways. Whatever flirting had been done earlier, their compassion was real, and they hugged her in turn, Simon moving so Jaxton could get in there and show her some love.
“Hey,” Simon said when the tears had died down. “You’re not alone this summer, Mrs. Candless.”
“Yeah!” Jaxton said cheerfully. “You got us.”
Milo grinned. “Aren’t we supposed to be trying to make her feel better? Not make her cry?
Emilia laughed through the last of her tears, and clutched Jaxton and Milo’s hands. She blinked up at them in turn and sniffed. “Thank you, boys.”
“Ah, you’re welcome,” Simon said. “You’re our block mom. We kinda love ya, if you didn’t know.”
She clicked her tongue and started crying again, but this time it seemed healthier, less despondent. When she came back down from it, Milo was picking up after the guys and hauling all the glasses out to the kitchen. Jaxton and Simon sat back down on the edge of the couch.
Simon said, “Guys, whaddya think? Drag Mrs. Candless with us to hit a bucket of balls?”