CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - Sloane
It’s a good thing it’s my turn to drive to school this week. Sarah would’ve been quite surprised had she pulled up in front of my house to get me and seen what a shambles it is.
“Ohmigod, you can’t be serious!” she exclaims when I tell her what happened.
“Who’d make that shit up?”
“I don’t know. The mafia. The devil. Obama.”
I look over at her wide grin. I shake my head. “No, I’m not making it up. It was…crazy.”
“So how are the brothers Locke this morning? Are they circling the wagons?”
“Of course. Scout lost the car he was following. He suspected it might be the one, but we got there just a little too late to be sure. Steven was working a case, so he was stuck at work all night. I’m sure he was a lot of fun to be around. And Sig…well, you know how he is. He’ll probably spend tonight sitting on the front porch, drinking beer, with a shotgun in his lap.”
“Grinning.”
“Yeah, grinning. I’m sure he thinks it’s funny.”
“That boy’s got a messed up sense of humor.”
“He’s sick. But, you know, if someone had been hurt, he’d be twice as hard to deal with as Steven. He’s got a fierce temper when it gets stirred up.”
“Well at least you didn’t have to stick around for all the drama.”
“And I bet there was quite a bit. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Dad told them I wasn’t staying at the house last night. I bet there was a lot of colorful language. And I bet not one of them said ‘frick’ even once.”
“Speaking of last night, how long are you going to pretend it’s no big deal that you spent the night with Hemi the Hottie?”
“I’m not pretending. Unfortunately, it’s just true that it wasn’t a big deal. At least not like you’re thinking.”
“What?” she asks indignantly. “What the hell is wrong with him? How can a guy like that pass up the perfect opportunity to get in your pants?”
I have wondered—and worried over—the exact same thing since last night.
“He didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. Plus, I fell asleep.”
“You fell asleep? God, Sloane, what’s it gonna take to fire your lady parts up? Jumper cables and Vaseline?”
“I kind of had a big day, Sarah.”
“I know, but damn! Look at that guy.”
I sigh, the image of Hemi’s perfect face and perfect body drifting through my head for the millionth time.
“I know. And you know what the worst part was?”
“There’s worse?”
I nod. “When I woke up this morning, he was in bed with me. He was lying on his side, facing me, like he’d fallen asleep watching over me last night.”
I see Sarah’s mouth drop open.
“Sloane, that’s not the worst part. That’s the best part! What if this guy really has feelings for you? What if it’s not just sexual?”
“I wish that were true, but what if it’s not? What if he’s just lost interest?”
I would be devastated. Just devastated. And not only if he lost interest, but if I found out that he really doesn’t have feelings for me. Not like I do for him.
I’d be heartbroken.
“Sloane, men don’t do things like this for girls they’ve lost interest in. They smile politely, maybe open the door for you and then they get the hell out of dodge. Not pack you up and bring you home with them for the night, then fall asleep beside you. That sounds like serious shit to me.”
I resist the urge to close my eyes and revel in her words. And pray that she’s right.
“I hope it is. I guess I’m just afraid to read too much into it.”
“Why? You’re the one who’s always talking about spreading your wings and taking chances and experiencing new things. You can’t do any of that and not risk a little heartache.”
“But what if it’s not a little heartache? What if it’s like total wreckage?”
“Then you have to squeeze every good minute out of this that you can so that when you look back, it doesn’t kill you to remember.”
“That makes no sense whatsoever. You realize that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know. But it sounded good.” Neither of us says anything for a few miles. It’s not until I’m turning into the parking lot that Sarah speaks again. “So what’s the deal now? Are you going back over there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Didn’t he say anything about it this morning?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see him.”
“I thought you spent the night wrapped up in his arms.”
“I did. But he’s…he’s said before that he’s not the ‘breakfast’ type. I didn’t really know if he’d want to see me this morning, so I crawled out of bed, took a quick shower and left.”
“You just left? Just like that?”
“Well, I left a note.”
“That said?”
“’Thank you for keeping me safe’.”
“Damn that’s cold.”
“How is that cold? I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. And I didn’t want to look like a pathetic fool.”
“Good point. And maybe it’s best to keep him guessing. You know, play it a little mysterious.”
I snort. “Yeah, because I’m verrry mysterious.”
I think immediately of Sasha. Now she’s mysterious. And she’s the kind of girl Hemi likes. The kind he’s used to. Attracted to. The kind he had breakfast with.
“Sloane, there’s obviously something about you that he’s drawn to. Who gives a shit what it is? Just go with it. Use what you’ve got and play this to the bone. You’ll regret it if you don’t. I promise you that.”
“Don’t make promises,” I mutter reflexively.
Sarah sighs. “How did I know you were going to say that?”
“Because I’m right. And we both know it.”
Removing the key from the ignition, Sarah and I walk toward the quad. She goes one way and I go the other when the sidewalk splits.
“See ya in a few,” she says in her chipper way.
I nod and smile, suddenly losing all enthusiasm for the day.
CHAPTER THIRTY - Hemi
I can’t decide what’s dumber than shit—going to see Sloane’s dad or thinking so much about how to talk him into letting her stay with me. Not that she can’t decide that for herself, but I don’t want to ask her to stay. I don’t know why, but I don’t. That would be like admitting too much. To both Sloane and to myself. I just can’t get involved with her. It wouldn’t be right. But if I were helping her out…doing a kindness to her and her family…