23 months later 

        Kimi went to pick up Ethan from daycare when she left the library, and he grinned, running into her arms when he saw her. "Mommy!"

        "Hey, my littlecherub," she pecked his lips as she picked him up. "Go put your coat on so we can go, baby."

        He ran to his cubby and got his belongings together as she signed him out. It was dark out earlier, but that was fine. She just watched her back and kept her son close to her.

        Kimi was a single mother, and no one in her family let her forget it, either. No matter how hard she worked. She had even moved into her own place, just she and her baby now. 

        It wasn't the best neighborhood; but it was hers. It wasn't in the slums, but she was just barely out of reach of the hard knock blocks. 

        Still, she couldn't seem to avoid the judgment of her family. Her mother often stopped by under the guise of bringing her some leftover dinner. Then she would ask how the girl even fed her baby. She was surprised she was even still in school instead of dropping out. She was often reminded of what a letdown she had become three years ago.

        Every time her mother stopped by, Kimi debated on letting her in or not, but the truth was, the putdowns did come with some assistance. She let her mother in every time and listened to her talk about how much everyone had their faith in her being the one to do it right. How she had lost her chance at scholarships with giving up sports and letting her academics slip through her fingers. She fucked up.  

        Ethan came to her with his coat and backpack, and she zipped it up to the chin, helping him put on his hat and gloves.

        "You all ready to go, munchkin?"

        He nodded and she took his hand, leading him out into the cold. She wished she had a car.

        As she was walking, she noticed a car slowing down, and she picked Ethan up, prepared to run if that need arose. She hated having to walk at night,especially with her child.

        "Hey, do you need a ride?" She recognized the voice, and she turned around and saw Harvey.

        Immediately, her erratic heartbeat slowed down. She looked into her baby's cold face and accepted the ride.

        She climbed into the backseat with her son. "Thank you, Harvey," she said gratefully.

          "It's no problem. Who's the little fella?"

        "This is my son, Ethan. Ethan, say hi to Mommy's friend, Harvey."

        "Hi," Ethan greeted.

        Harvey turned in the seat and extended his hand. "Hi, little guy. How old are you?"

        "Four. How old are you?"

        "Forty-three," Harvey responded with a chuckle.

        "Oh. That's a lot. My mama is twenty-one."

        Ethan loved running around telling people his mother's age. Fortunately, she didn't care. He would need to stop that when he got older. Just keep people guessing.

        "Is she?" Harvey asked, entertaining the boy.

        "Yeah,that’s a lot, too."

        Harvey smiled at the kid, turned around, and took his foot off the break. The kid was cute. "Where to, Kimi," Harvey asked looking at her through the rearview mirror

        She gave him directions to the apartment, and he frowned as they started crossing neighborhood lines to the slums and into the projects. He was glad when she told him to keep straight for another mile, but she still wasn't in a neighborhood he would've wanted her to be in. 

        "You live here?" he asked.

        "Yes. Thanks for the ride, Harvey."

        He got out of the car and opened the door. It was on child lock, so she couldn't let herself out; not that he wanted her to. She stepped out of the car with her son holding onto her. She went to school in a much better area than she lived in. He had assumed she'd lived close, seeing her walking all the time.

        "It's dark. Let me walk you guys up," Harvey suggested to her.

        "Okay," Kimi agreed.

        Harvey walked her to her building and up the four flights of stairs to her apartment. "Why don't you use the elevator?" he wondered.

        "It's broken," she told him, reaching in her purse for her key as they made the landing and walked to the middle of the floor to apartment 4H. "Well, this is me," she told Harvey. "Thanks for walking us up."

        "Anytime," he said and smiled.

        "Do you want to come in for a second?" she asked, stepping inside. It was cold out there.

        He entered the modest apartment and looked around. It was small and there were two bedrooms off in the hall with a bathroom between the two. The front room consisted of a coffee table, a small sofa, and a lawn chair.

        The kitchen was separated by a counter, and there was a small round table with four chairs at it, a gas stove, a small fridge, and a portable radio.

        There were no bugs in the apartment, but the complex made him feel like they were crawling with the things. He hadn't always been where he was. He had lived in a complex similar to this one, and he sure never wanted to go back.

        Kimi began helping the baby out of his winter wear and looked up at Harvey. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked.

        "Dinner sounds nice," he told her with a smile. "I haven't had a home cooked meal in a long time."

        She looked at his left hand at that gold band on his ring finger; a reminder that he was someone else's man and she could not have him except in her fantasies. His wife didn't cook for him anymore. What kind of idiot was she?

        "I'm making Hamburger Helper. I need to make something quick."

        "Hamburger Helper is good," he assured her.

        "Really?" she asked in surprise. "You would eat Hamburger Helper?"

        "I'll eat anything you whip up," he assured her.

        "Okay. Well, you can sit on the couch. Ethan, why don't you keep Mr. Harvey company, honey?"

        "Okay!" the boy said eagerly.

        Ethan did not like most people. He was the least friendly child Kimi had ever known in her life. He had a serious mean mug for a four-year old child.

        He climbed up on the sofa as Harvey took off his blazer, making himself comfortable. "Do you like Jolly Ranchers?" the boy asked, looking up at Harvey in curiosity.

        "As a matter of fact, I do like Jolly Ranchers."

        "Do you have some?"

        "Ethan," Kimi called in warning.

        "Next time," Harvey whispered to the toddler, and Ethan nodded.

        "I can spell my name," Ethan declared proudly.

        "Yeah? Lemme hear," Harvey suggested.

        Kimi continued cooking and listened to the two in the front room. If Harvey could make her mean child comfortable, she liked him.

        The kid continued his banter until Kimi called him to the bathroom so she could clean him up and then Harvey went and washed his hands. Kimi made them bowls and the three of them sat there eating. She could tell Ethan thought Harvey was going to get him a free pass to stay up, because he sat there after his food was done.

        "Where did you meet my mommy?" he asked.

        "I met your mother at the coffee shop," Harvey said with a smile.If he could only tell someone the frustrations of seeing her there and there only for two years. 

        "Do you like her?"

        "Okay," Kimi interrupted, "Time for bed, Ethan."

        "Aww," he complained.

        "Say goodnight to Harvey."

        "Goodnight, Mr.Harvey," the toddler sulked.

        "Goodnight, Ethan. It was nice to meet you. I'll have your Jolly Ranchers next time."

        "Okay."

        The toddler grinned and Kimi looked over her shoulder, giving Harvey her best stern mother look, earning back an innocent smile and a shrug.

        Kimi took Ethan to have a quick shower and then she supervised him put on lotion and his pajamas before she put him in bed and kissed his forehead, "Goodnight, little boy."

        "Night, Mommy." He smiled.

        She left the room, closing the door softly behind herself. When she went back to the front room, Harvey was just sitting there smiling at her. "What," she wondered.

        "Why didn't you let me answer the boy?"

        "Please." She rolled her eyes.

        Harvey got out of his chair and came over to her, pulling her closer to him. She was surprised. They had been talking for a couple years, but she never expected this.

        "I do like you, though, Kimi," he said softly, his face an inch from hers. "I got the impression you like me as well."

        Having him this close to her was making her nervous, but she wanted him this close to her as well. No one woman should ever have the misfortune of having this much temptation in her face.

        "I... I have homework."

        "No you don't. It's Saturday," he told her, closing the space between their lips and kissing her softly.

        Her body's natural reaction was to get closer to him, pulling his face to her and allowing him to part her lips. One thing she could say, no one had ever kissed her like this.

        "Next Saturday, why don't we… you, me, and Ethan, go out?"

        "Like a date?"

        "Yeah. Like that."

        "I... I don't know, Harvey."

        He was still a married man, no matter how much she liked him, and she couldn't be having that. She didn't want to be the one responsible for taking a man away from his family. She would hate it if Harvey was her husband and he was pursuing another woman.

        "Well, I'll let you think about that. I'll see you around," he told her. "Thank you for dinner. I have to get home. Goodnight."

        He kissed her again, holding the back of her head, feeling the thickness of her hair, and damn if she didn't want him to ever stop. She wanted him to take it a little further. She hadn't had sex since she gave birth.

        He let himself out, and she sat there, stunned. What the hell am I supposed to do with that, she asked herself. It was as if he was daring her to call him back, but she wouldn't dare do that. It was probably for both of their better judgments if he made it home tonight.

        She began washing the dishes before she went to shower and climbed into bed. Every fiber in her body wanted to be close to him.

        She went into her room, thinking about Harvey. He was such a man. He smelled so good every time she was near him, and she was a sucker for that accent. 

        Lying in her bed, she couldn't sleep thinking of that man. She had all but forgotten the man was married. His wife is doing something wrong, was the last thought she had for the night. All she could dream about was Harvey taking her to bed. Well, this was going to be a long night.

        She woke in a cold sweat and went to get a glass of water before climbing back to bed. 

        She closed her eyes and snuck into a dreamless sleep. She was so glad the next day was Sunday. She could spend all day with Ethan.

        Kimi woke up and went to the bathroom, not surprised to find Ethan had made his way to her bed.

        She went into the kitchen and started making eggs, toast, bacon, and grits, surprised to hear a knock on her door.

        Thinking it was her mother asking why she wasn't going to church; she rolled her eyes and went to answer the door. There on the other side of her door was Harvey, a surprise.

        "Make your mind up yet?" he wondered, leaning down to kiss her before waltzing in like he owned the place.

        "Um, did I invite you over?" she wondered. "Or did you learn where I live and invite yourself?"

        "The second one. It smells good in here."

        "I didn't make enough for you," she told him, folding her arms across her chest. He just smiled. She couldn't believe he had actually showed up to her place, and unannounced at that.

        "Will you?" he asked, pouting just for her.

        She rolled her eyes. "You can't just be inviting yourself to my house. I do have a child."

        "Right, I have something for him. Where is he?" Harvey asked, looking around for him.

        "He's asle—"

        "Harvey!"

        Kimi swore as her son came out of the room with a grin on his face. "Come on, Ethan. Rinse your mouth and let's have breakfast," she told him.

        Harvey just smiled and sat on the sofa. When Kimi came out of the bathroom with Ethan, she gave Harvey a look. "Do you want breakfast?"

        "How kind of you to offer, I ate already," he told her. "Thank you."

        She glared at him, and he smiled sweetly at her. She was going to fucking kill him the moment she got a chance!

        Kimi and Ethan sat in the kitchen, and Ethan was trying to talk to Harvey over the counter. She just shook her head and ate in silence.

        "Hey, Kimi, what do you think of going to see a movie?"

        "Not today, Harvey."

        "I want to go!" Ethan decided.

        "What about today being just you and me?" Kimi asked.

        "You and me and Harvey!" he told her. Kimi crossed her eyes as Harvey came into the kitchen with a smile.

        "See Kimi. Whaddya say?" he asked.

        "Go get dressed, Ethan," she relented with a sigh.

        The toddler wasted no time getting up and running to his bedroom, and Kimi glared at Harvey as she cleaned up their dishes. He just came and wrapped his arms around her waist.

        "Now, why are you acting like that, Kimi?"

        "You're married, Harvey."

        "Don't remind me."

        "That means you cannot be mine because you're already someone else's."

        "I'm not hers, either, Kimi. Believe me."

        "We'll go to the movies today, Harvey. Just so you know, don't touch me in front of my son. To him you are nothing more than a friend."

        "You can't play that child as a fool, Kimi. He's not stupid," he informed her. "He already can see I like you."

        She turned around and gently pushed him away from her, going to her room to get dressed to go out. She didn’t want to think about the fact that her child knew something. She did not need him to see it. Regardless of what he said, he could not be hers.

        "Kimi, are you upset?" Harvey asked, standing in her door.

        "Harvey," she pointed to him. "Kimi," she pointed to herself. "Friends," she motioned between them; "Nothing more."

        Harvey raised his hands in surrender. She was firm and serious. He couldn't make her do anything she didn't want to, but he wanted her seriously. He wanted to get rid of his wife. He wanted to be with Kimi.

        "I have a son, Harvey. If I'm going to be having him around a man, he for damn sure better be mine. That's my priority. It's not just my heart I would put on the line. He's already been left by one man."

        "I wouldn't do that to a child," he told her. "I wouldn't do that to you."

        "I don't know that."

        Kimi got dressed and the three of them went to the movies. Harvey stayed on his best behavior while they were out, keeping his hands to himself. 

        Ethan really seemed to like Harvey, and Kimi could just imagine him with his own children. He was such a man. 

        When they got back, Ethan was sleepy and went to lie down for his nap. Harvey sat on the sofa. 

        "I didn't invite you to stay, Harvey. You already cut into my Mommy and E time. I'll see you at the coffee shop tomorrow. Bye, Harvey."

        He just chuckled and got up. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he agreed, kissing her before he let himself out. 

        Kimi fell back on the couch with a sigh. Did she really need to continue with this man and complicate her life?

        She knew she didn’t. She knew that she should quit while she was ahead. She had to stop letting that man kiss her.