“Can I ask for some advice?” she asks, sounding unsure.
I bring her to the patio set and sit her down on one of the chairs, before turning one to face her and taking a seat.
“You know you can ask my anything, Kia Bear.”
She drums her fingers on the table, then picks up the small bowl that’s sitting on the center. She rolls it from one hand to the other.
I grab her hands and take the bowl from her.
“Kia, sweetie, what’s wrong?”
She keeps her head down and mumbles something so low, I can’t hear her. I lift her chin, but her eyes still don’t meet mine.
“I didn’t hear you,” I tell her softly.
Her eyes look to mine, slip away, and then I see the strength I know she’s capable of when she looks back again.
“There’s a boy at school that I really like, but I don’t know if he likes me.”
I know Kia is fourteen, and probably big into boys right now, but I still don’t like the thought of her getting involved with them, especially boys her age. I’ve been their age before and know what’s going through their one-track minds. Their bodies are running on pure hormones and think of only one thing when surrounded by girls.
I want to tell Kia she’s too young to be thinking about boys, but I know that would only make her more interested in them
. She’s a good kid, makes good grades, has her head on straight, and already knows what she wants to be once she leaves school, but I know she’s growing up, even if I wish it wasn’t true.
Why she’s coming to me with this instead of Bea or Owen, I have no idea, but I need to tread carefully. She watches me while I think of what I should tell her. Girls her age are so impressionable and she looks up to me, so what I tell her needs to be the right.
“What’s this boy’s name?” I ask.
“Noah.”
“Tell me a little about him?”
I not only ask to help with my answer, I also want to know for purely selfish reasons. I want to make sure this Noah kid is worthy of my niece.
Kia’s eyes turn dreamy when she starts talking.
“He makes good grades and doesn’t cause trouble at school. This is his first year at my school. He and his parents moved here from Boston. His dad is in the military. He’s funny and makes all the kids laugh.” She stops for a minute and drops her eyes from mine again, telling me I’m not going to like what she says next. “And he’s in ninth grade,” she finishes on a whisper.
I inwardly groan. This is why she came to me instead of her parents. She knows her dad would flip his lid if he knew she was interested in a boy that was in a grade higher than her. I don’t fucking like it either. It’s worse than I thought, because the older the boy is, the more sex is on his mind.
“Kia—”
“But we’re the same age. He has an early birthday, and I have a late birthday. That’s the only reason I’m not in ninth grade. Please, Uncle Ash. I really, really, like this boy,” she pleads earnestly.
Fuck!
I really need to work on this pull Kia has on me. I wasn’t lying when I told Poppy I could never say no to her. It’s been that way since the day she was born.
And damn the school system for being different. Whereas most school districts have sixth, seventh, and eighth grade as middle school, the one here includes ninth grade. Stupid board of education has to make my life more difficult.
I lean forward, rest my elbows on my knees, and scrub my hands down my face. When I sit back up, Kia has an anxious look on her face.
“Your parent’s are going to kill me. You know that, right?”
Her answering smile has my own lifting up. I clasp my hands together, bring my pointer fingers up to my lips and think for a minute.
“Okay. Have you talked to this Noah?”