Big Apple Sin Read online

  I had one copy for the projects and a second copy which I placed into a small photo album. Years from now, I’ll look back on these smiling faces and know that I had a part in shaping these young lives. I might not have children of my own, but through the school, I’d have who knew how many children to cheer on and love.

  “See, I told you it was Ms. Cherry,” a tiny voice proclaimed.

  I shook my head as I looked at the picture of the twins, Branch and Lily, that I had just placed into my album. Maybe I should skip my coffee and go home for some sleep I thought.

  “You didn’t know for sure,” Branch’s voice joined his sisters in my hallucination.

  “Ms. Cherry…” a small hand grabbed onto my sleeve and tugged. “Tell Branch that it’s you and I knew it.”

  My eyes moved from the photo to fall onto the determined features of the real-life child.

  “Hello, Lily…” concern for the little girl had me looking around the coffee shop for her father.

  A father that had filled my thoughts throughout the long day. He had been so sweet with his little girl that morning. I could see the inner struggle for him as he told her he had to go to work. Once he’d left, she’d been fine. That’s the way it almost always was with young children.

  “She couldn’t know, Ms. Cherry. She only saw your hair through the window as we passed,” Branch pouted.

  “But I was right.” Little stamped her tiny foot and my heart swelled.

  “Yes, you were right. But where is –”

  “Are those the pictures?” Lily gasped and snatched the photo album from my hands.

  “Lily,” Branch snapped. “That’s not nice.” He grabbed the album from her hands and placed it back on the table.

  “Branch,” Lily wailed as tears began to pool at the corner of her eyes.

  “Children.” I used my teacher's voice – firm but kind – and they both straightened and looked at me immediately. They were so well behaved. Couldn’t say the same of a few of the children but hopefully, things would improve as we went forward.

  “Yes, Ms. Cherry,” Lily asked softly. Her voice was still full of unshed tears.

  “Who were you with?” I asked.

  “Daddy,” Branch replied with a pride-filled smile.

  “Where is your daddy?” I prompted them.

  “Uh…” Lily looked around in concern.

  “We were going to the grocery store,” Branch replied as if that should answer the question.

  “Yes, Daddy said we could have hot dogs.” Lily hopped up and down when she answered.

  “If we were good,” Branch sighed and looked at his sister. The boy was way too serious for a three-year-old.

  Staring at the two children and looking over their heads at the people filling the Bad Apple Cafe. Nowhere could I see a handsome man with warm chocolate skin, short shaved hair, and a goatee. Turning to look out the window thinking that maybe he’d remained on the sidewalk while letting the children come in to say hello, I didn’t find the infectious smile.

  Rising to my feet, I began to pack away my things.

  “Let me get my things in order and you can take me to your daddy, how does that sound?” I asked as if it was something, we did every day. I had a feeling that the children had wandered off from their father and he would be searching for them.

  “You should come have hot dogs with us,” Lily announced.

  “We won’t be getting hot dogs.” Branch glared at his sister.

  “Why not?” The children began to bicker about whether or not they were in trouble. It wasn’t until Lily started to look around with fear in her eyes that I picked up my pace and finally slung my laptop bag and the tote bag with my items for class over my shoulders.

  “Let’s go and find your daddy,” I announced and grabbed a tiny hand in each of my own. “I’ve been wanting a hot dog and maybe your daddy can tell me the best ones to get.”

  “Jack’s is best,” Lily offered as my distraction worked.

  “Nuh-uh,” Branch disagreed. “Baba’s is better.”

  We maneuvered through the coffee shop only to be stopped before exiting.

  “You forgot your coffee,” a waitress in a t-shirt with a huge red apple emblazoned with the words ‘Bad Apples’ across it chirped from only a foot away. Her flaming red hair was pulled up on her head into a messy bun. She had a pencil sticking out of the bun and a smudge of frosting on the tip of her nose.

  “Thank you, Miss –”

  “Lola James but you can call me Lola,” she smiled at me.

  “Miss Lola,” I glanced down at the children. “My hands are a bit full at the moment, can you please toss it in the trash for me?”

  “But it’s almost full,” she looked down at the cup. “Was it not good?” Her tone was concerned and I was quick to reassure her.

  “It was great. I just had an unexpected visit.” Again, I glanced down at the children.

  The door chimed loudly and Lola turned a huge smile to the new customer.

  “Hello, Levan!” she yelled and waved him over.

  “Daddy!” Lily screamed and broke free of my hand as she rushed up to grab hold of her father’s legs.

  He immediately dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms.

  “What happened?” he rasped as he hugged his daughter. “I only turned my eyes for a moment and you were gone,” he chided the little girl.

  “She said she saw Ms. Cherry,” Branch offered from his spot by my side.

  “Ms. Cherry?” His gaze moved to my feet and then up my body until he stopped at my face. I shivered as he swallowed loudly and rose to his feet. “The teacher…”

  It sounded almost like a question.

  “Yep, that’s me.” I cringed at the bird-like quality to my reply.

  “Lily has been speaking about you non-stop since I picked them up. I was going to thank you tomorrow for giving her such a great first day.” His voice was deep and had a musical quality to it. His accent made my inside melt. I loved accents.

  “Oh, I should be thanking her for giving me a great first day,” I replied with a huge smile as I patted the little girl on the head.

  “Ms. Cherry wants hot dogs, too. I told her she wants Jack’s.” Lily chirped as she danced around our legs.

  “Baba’s,” Branch corrected.

  “Mr… um…” I realized that I couldn’t remember his name.

  “Clarke. You can call me Levan, Ms. Cherry,” he said as he offered me his hand. When I reached for it, he pulled it to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to my fingers.

  “Cheryl…” I gasped as I giggled from his breath on my fingers as he pulled away.

  “I think Cherry fits you better,” he replied with a smirk.

  The next thing I knew, I was being led out of the coffee shop by two three-year-old twins in search of the perfect hot dog.

  Chapter Four

  Levan

  Lily and Branch had given me a heart attack when I turned and didn’t see them anymore. I had every intention of scolding them; however, seeing them with Miss Cherry washed away my anger.

  When the twins invited her out with us to eat hotdogs, I had wanted to protest. Miss Cherry didn’t seem like the type of woman who would want to eat vendor hotdogs with a single dad and his rambunctious twins.

  “Daddy, we have to get her a hotdog from each place,” Branch said, sounding like a mini-lawyer. Cherry laughed and continued being led down the sidewalk by Branch and Lily, who each held one of her hands.

  “Maybe Miss Cherry has other plans, you two,” I replied. Cherry looked over her shoulder at me.

  “It’s okay. I’m new to the city so I don’t mind being shown the best places to eat,” she smiled.

  “See, she doesn’t mind,” Lily chimed in.

  Deep down, I knew I should have put an end to our hotdog excursion. It wasn’t fair to Cherry, the twins, or me. Cherry probably had a gazillion other things she’d much rather be doing besides hanging out with two of the children s
he had seen all day where she worked. The twins would probably get their hopes up and expect to see Cherry every evening for hotdogs. And, I hadn’t shared the company of a woman in a long time. I didn’t want to cross signals and make a fool of myself.

  Chill out, Levan. It’s just hotdogs, I reminded myself as I followed behind Cherry and the twins.

  Before long we were in front of Baba’s street cart ordering four hotdogs. Cherry had tried to pay, but I insisted. It was the least I could do since my kids had interrupted her coffee and downtime.

  “Eiugh!” the twins said in unison. I looked over to see them staring up at Cherry in horror.

  “What?” Cherry asked, looking at her hotdog.

  “You can’t put mustard on it,” Branch explained, making me laugh.

  “That makes it yuck, Miss Cherry,” Lily agreed. “Daddy puts mustard on his, too.” Cherry looked at me and smiled.

  “He has good taste,” she laughed. “Mustard is yummy.”

  “Miss Cherry,” Branch whined. “You’re ruining the hotdog.”

  “I already put mustard on my hotdog,” Cherry informed them.

  “Daddy, buy her a new hotdog,” Lily insisted, making Cherry and me laugh. Cherry took a bite of her hotdog. The twins made a look of disgust then began eating their hotdogs that were covered with ketchup.

  “Taste good?” I asked Cherry. She nodded with a mouthful. “Good.”

  We stood by the wall near the vending cart and ate our hotdogs while watching the constantly moving traffic of people and cars. The weather was cool, but not freezing. The sun had already set so the streetlights shined brightly down the street.

  “Now, we need to buy her a hotdog at Jack’s,” Lily called out as she tossed her trash in the trash can.

  “You finished already?” Cherry gasped. Lily nodded and smiled.

  “Daddy calls her a little piggy,” Branch said before taking the last bite of his hotdog. “GramMa says she’ll never marry if she keeps eating like that,” he continued with his mouth full and I groaned in embarrassment.

  Cherry covered her mouth with her hand. She was trying to contain her laugh, but a few giggles escaped. Her eyes sparkled and I was distracted from my rude children.

  “Auntie says I’m pretty so it won’t matter how I eat!” Lily shouted at Branch.

  “Pretty ugly,” Branch muttered. Lily lunged at him. I grabbed her arm with my free hand.

  “No, ma’am,” I said firmly. She stopped fighting my hold and settled. I turned my attention to Branch. “Apologize to your sister.”

  “I’m just telling the–” he began but stopped talking when I glared down at him. “I’m sorry, Lily.” I looked at Lily and gestured that it was her turn to apologize.

  “I’m sorry, too,” she huffed. I let go of her arm. She made her way over to Cherry and stood beside her.

  When Cherry and I finished our hotdogs, we began heading down the sidewalk with the twins. Lily held Cherry’s hand, and Branch held mine. I had no idea where we were walking, but Cherry and Lily led the way.

  After about ten minutes of walking, Lily and Branch complained of being tired. I bent down and allowed Branch to climb on my back. He wrapped his tiny arms around my neck.

  “Come here, Lily. I’ll carry you,” I said, still bent down. Lily approached me slowly. She looked exhausted.

  “I can carry her,” Cherry offered. Lily ran over to Cherry and held up her arms for Cherry to lift her.

  “I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” I told Cherry, who paid me no mind and lifted Lily into her arms. Cherry looked at me and stuck her tongue out at me. Her childish mannerism made me laugh whole-heartedly. She smiled and began walking down the street with Lily in her arms. I stood and followed behind them with Branch on my back.

  “Where are we going?” Cherry chuckled and slowed her pace until she was walking by my side.

  “I have no clue,” I laughed. “I thought you knew.” She laughed and shook her head.

  “Not a clue,” she admitted.

  “Do you live near here?” I asked.

  “No. Do you?”

  “No.” We both laughed. “Which way do you live?” She pointed in the same direction we lived in. “Us too.”

  “Guess we should head in that direction,” she smiled.

  “We’ll walk you home to make sure you get home safely.”

  “You have the twins,” she gestured at Lily and then Branch.

  “How about this… if we get to my place first, we’ll drop the twins off to my gram-ma and I’ll walk you home. Either way, you get home safely and I’ll feel better.”

  Cherry’s cheeks pinkened and she nodded.

  “Sounds good,” she whispered. Then we turned toward the direction we needed to go and headed down the busy sidewalks of the Big Apple.

  Chapter Five

  Cherry

  It had been years since I had enjoyed such a perfect evening. The twins were real characters and seeing them with their dad gave me a better picture of who they were. Levan was amazing with them and it warmed my heart.

  He and the twins had mentioned a grandmother and aunt, but there had been no mention of a mother. Curiosity had me wanting to be nosey and ask about her, but I knew I shouldn’t do so with the twins near. You just never knew what the story was going to be and I didn’t want to upset them.

  They had warmed my heart at the way they had so exuberantly included me in their evening.

  “This is us,” Levan waved at one of the standard New York apartment buildings. I looked around and the area looked much like my own, although a bit less well kept. “Just come inside with me,” Levan continued and my gaze snapped back to him as he led us up the steps to the door.

  With a bit of careful maneuvering, we got through the door without hurting or waking the kids.

  “We’re at the top and the elevator is out,” Levan explained. “Let me take the kids up while you wait here and then I’ll walk you home like I promised.”

  “You don’t need to do that,” I denied as I thought of all of those steps, he’d have to take up with two children.

  He must have read my mind because he chuckled and grinned at me. “I’ve done it plenty of times. Scouts honor.” He raised his fingers in a vee shape and I laughed.

  “You obviously were not a Scout,” I grinned as I showed him the correct sign.

  “Right and how would you know,” he huffed jokingly.

  “Girl Scouts from kindergarten all the way through high school. The groups’ signs are similar and we had to learn both,” I smirked and showed him the girl scout one.

  “Fine. You caught me,” he laughed and gestured to the stairs. “But, seriously, I got this. Just wait here, I don’t want you walking the streets by yourself this time of night. My grandma would have my hide.”

  “Alright, I’ll wait here… just to save your hide,” I joked as he reached with one arm to scoop Lily into his embrace as he held Branch’s hands with his other hand.

  “Daddy…” Lily yawned as she peered around them. “But we didn’t go to Jack’s,” she complained. “We promised to show Miss Cherry and she was going to help us decide who had the best ones,” she whined when Levan headed to the stairs.

  “Shh,” Levan whispered to his daughter. “It’s late. Time for bed.”

  “But I wanted another hot dog,” Lily replied softly with a huge yawn at the end.

  “Another day,” Levan promised.

  “Okay, Daddy,” Lily murmured and snuggled into his chest as they turned the first landing and disappeared.

  I was beginning to think Levan wasn’t coming back down when he jumped down the last few steps with a loud smack of his feet on the old linoleum.

  I grasped my chest with my hand and glared at him. “You scared the poo out of me.”

  “Poo?” he laughed and waved toward the door.

  “I work with children. Don’t give me any lip,” I lectured.

  “No ma’am, no lip,” he grinned at me. I loved the way
his teeth gleamed bright white against his dark skin. It made his smile impact me more which had me grinning back at him involuntarily.

  Levan led me out of his apartment building and down the steps.

  “Which way?” he asked as he looked the way we had walked from earlier.

  “Honestly?” I asked with an embarrassed grin.

  He simply nodded his head at me.

  “I have no idea.” We both laughed for a few minutes as he looked down at me. Something moved across his face and my stomach flipped with nerves.

  With a sigh, Levan broke the moment and ran his hand over his chin nervously.

  “What’s your address then?” he asked.

  “I live down from the coffee shop actually,” I murmured.

  “But that’s all the way over on…” Levan laughed. “Would you prefer me to call you a cab or something? It’s a bit of a walk.”

  Looking around, I realized that I should have checked the maps on my phone before we headed back. I didn’t think about the fact that we went a bit off the beaten path from my area of town. New York was such a big place and I hadn’t learned much more than the few blocks between my apartment and the school.

  “I don’t really have the money for a cab,” I admitted reluctantly – I had savings but it was for a rainy day and with the way my luck was who knew if I’d be able to keep my job at the school.

  I had loved my first day with the children and could see myself working away happily there for years but that didn’t mean the school would like my way of teaching.

  The atmosphere was way different from what I was used to back in my hometown in Ohio. Dublin was on the outskirts of Columbus but even the capital city of Ohio couldn’t compare to the labyrinth of cultural differences that was New York City.

  “Cherry?” Levan moved a step closer. “Are you okay?”

  Lifting my gaze, I stared into his brown eyes. My world seemed to tilt and I reached out to grip his arm. His muscles flexed beneath my hand and I swallowed as arousal grew inside of me.