He sneezed. Onto my bare chest.
That was a cool mist I could have done without. “Nice aim.”
He gave me a toothless smile and a little squeak. His arms went up and down. He was a really cute kid. I had been expecting a ginger, like Savannah and Steve, but he looked more blond. So far, anyway. His hair at this point was more a promise than a reality. Just a few wispy strands.
“This is what we’re going to do,” I told him as I carried him back to the living room. “I’m getting a clean shirt out of my suitcase, then we’re going to jump in the shower together while Mommy is sleeping. I want to wash the germs from riding the bus all day off of me. Not to mention your snot.”
Sullivan probably neither understood nor cared, but I figured the sound of my voice might keep him calm and not crying. I wanted Savannah to get a decent nap. And no, I wasn’t waking her up after twenty minutes. I was going to let her sleep until she woke up or until it was clear Sullivan needed a meal.
There was a play mat on the floor in the middle of the living room and I set Sullivan down on it so I could unzip my suitcase. My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I pulled it out. It was Steve.
“Hey, what’s up?” I said, putting my phone on speaker.
“Hey, are you at Savannah’s? She’s not answering her phone.”
I saw her phone was sitting on the coffee table. “I just got here a few minutes ago. I actually told her to go take a nap, so she’s lying down. She looks exhausted, man.”
“I told you. She’s pretending she has it all together and I think she’s full of shit.”
“She seemed okay. Just tired.” I pulled a clean T-shirt out of my suitcase.
“Who’s watching the baby if she’s sleeping?”
“Me, you dumbass. That’s the whole reason I’m staying with her, remember?” I rolled my eyes in the direction of the phone, checked to make sure Sullivan hadn’t somehow moved from the mat. I figured he was at the age where he could roll, but not crawl, but he still needed constant monitoring.
“You’re staying with her because you can’t afford to stay anywhere else.”
That too. For me though that was secondary. I was really there because I wanted to spend time with Savannah and because I knew she needed help. “You’re the one who said you wanted me to check in on her. Make up your mind.”
For weeks, my best friend had been expressing concern for Savannah, along with irritation that the father of her baby had disappeared and she wasn’t inclined to track him down and collect child support.
“No, you’re right. I do want you to keep an eye on her. If it can’t be me, at least it’s you. She’s almost your sister, too.”
Right. My sister. Not.
Yes, I had affection for her. But my feelings were not familial at all.
“I’m on it. I’ll make sure she’s good while I’m here.”
“Can you talk sense into her about the sperm donor? That guy needs to be held accountable. It’s his kid too.”
I couldn’t dispute any of that. I also figured it was Savannah’s decision, not ours, but I wasn’t going to argue with Steve. I also didn’t want to give a lot of thought to the man who’d knocked up Savannah. I preferred to think he didn’t exist. That was selfish, though, and considering I had every intention of making Savannah mine, the asshole did need to be discussed at some point.
“That’s not really my business but I’ll see what she’s thinking,” I said mildly.
Steve knew nothing about my true intentions toward his sister. I was good at hiding my feelings. I couldn’t let him know because he’d be pissed. He wouldn’t believe me that my intentions were fucking honorable, which they were. I figured if I managed to get Savannah naked, he didn’t ever need to know. It would be our dirty little secret. If I scored the ultimate prize—more than sex—he’d get over it and be fine.
We’d been friends too long for him to be truly angry.
Steve swore.
“Don’t swear, you’re on speaker,” I told him. “Now I need to go. I’m watching this kid, remember?”
“Tell my sister to call me later.”
“Sure. Talk to you later.” I hit the button to end the call. Clean shirt in hand, I went and scooped Sullivan off the floor. “Time to hit the showers, kid.”
I paused at the bedroom door. I risked opening it, easing it carefully so it wouldn’t squeak. Savannah was sprawled out on top of the covers, legs scissored. Her hands were tucked up under her chin. She hadn’t even taken her hair down or pulled the blanket over her. She was passed out cold. I was tempted to toss a blanket over her but I didn’t want to disturb her. I also didn’t want Sullivan to get any ideas about needing to crawl all over his mom right now, so I quietly pulled the door shut.