* * *
“Okay, spill,” Hollis says from our table tucked into the corner of the cafeteria. “What is going on with you?” Usually, we eat at the jocks’ table with my teammates, their girls, and some of the cheerleaders. But I’m not in the mood for company today. Hollis didn’t protest, readily letting me drag her to the quietest spot in the place so I can lick my wounds in relative obscurity.
I shrug, wanting to talk to her but not wanting to broadcast my family problems to anyone outside the house either. “Just some shit at home,” I say before stuffing the last of my sandwich into my mouth.
“I am a good listener if you want to unburden.” She pierces me with a concerned look as she slides her arm around my shoulders and presses into my side.
Her gorgeous big blue eyes radiate sincerity as she stares at me, and I loosen the hold on my tongue, deciding I need to talk to someone about it before I explode. “Bodhi and I watched the movie about our parents last week. Now, he’s pissed and taking it out on all of us. He won’t talk to me at all, and I’m worried about him.”
Her eyes pop wide. “You only watched the movie now?”
I nod. “My parents asked us if we wanted to watch it the day after my thirteenth birthday. I wanted to see it, but Bo was adamant he didn’t want to know. It was an all-or-nothing situation, so we told our parents no.”
“Let me guess, all that shit at school started this.” She rubs her hand up and down my back, and her touch is comforting.
“Yeah. It flipped a switch in Bo, and he was moody and withdrawn all that week we were suspended. My parents were out at dinner when I discovered him watching it in his room. I freaked because we’d promised we would watch it together with my parents, but Bo refused to turn it off, so I watched it with him, and then all the shit hit the fan.”
“I’m sorry, Easton. I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt.”
“Have you seen it?”
Slowly, she nods. “I don’t say this to make you feel bad, but I reckon most kids at school have probably watched it. Your mom is the daughter of Lauren Mills, and she’s totally stunning. Reeve was a famous movie star, your dad is a rock legend, and they’re both seriously hot.”
I shove her arm away and glare at her. “That’s my fucking dad, Hollis. You can’t say shit like that about him.”
She holds up her hands in surrender. “I take it back. I didn’t mean anything by it, just trying to explain why people have a vested interest in watching the movie. You and Bodhi are two of the most popular guys at school. I could name countless girls who would kill to be in my shoes, and Bodhi has that moody, broody, bad boy vibe going for him that has tons of girls lusting over him. You two are a big deal around here, and your family history only adds to the appeal. My mom said it was quite the scandal when it was revealed your mom was in love with twins and that you were actually Dillon’s son and not Reeve’s.”
“Jesus, Holl. Could you say it any louder?” My head whips around, but thankfully no one is paying us any attention.
“No one is listening,” she says, deliberately lowering her tone this time. “I felt sad for your mom watching the movie. You could tell she really loved Reeve, and I was crying when Saffron broke them up. But then she met Dillon, and oh wow.” She rubs a hand across her chest as a dreamy expression appears on her face. “He was amazing, and you could tell they had this epic kind of love, and then when she went back to L.A. and Reeve was waiting for her, I couldn’t help but think how lucky she was to have found that kind of love twice.”
I think my girlfriend might be a little bit insane or delusional, or maybe it’s a bit of both. “I don’t think my mom’s intention was to romanticize everything she went through. Both my dads put her through hell, and we will be dealing with the fallout of all their shit for the rest of our lives. There is nothing amazing about that.”
She purses her lips, looking like she’s ready to argue with me, but I’m done. “It almost sounds like you’re in love with my dad. Are you using me to get to him?” I half joke because I’m getting a weird vibe off her now. Or maybe it’s just me because I’m having a shitty day and I haven’t slept properly in weeks.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’d have to be invited to your house to use you to get close to your dad, and you still haven’t asked me to meet your parents.”
I stare at her like she’s grown an extra head. “Are you for real right now?”
She shrugs, looking at me like maybe I’m the crazy one, and I give up. I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with this shit at the moment. I bury my head in my hands. It’s that or strangle my girlfriend. I know she’s only trying to help, but she’s making it worse with every word that comes out of her mouth.
“I’m sorry, East,” she whispers, linking her fingers through mine under the table. “I suck at this. I don’t know the right thing to say, and I don’t want to hurt you. Of course, I’m not in love with your dad. I’m in love withyou. So completely and utterly totally in love with you.”
I curl my fingers around hers and lift my head, kissing her softly, as her words melt my frustration. “I love you too.” I nuzzle my nose against hers. “I know you mean well, babe, and it’s cool. Don’t mind me. I’m just extra sensitive right now.”
“I get that, and I understand. I am here for you, and I have an idea.” Her eyes spark to life as she tosses her long blonde hair over one shoulder and leans in, pressing her warm mouth to my ear. “I know how to relax you. I can hang around after cheer practice and wait for you. I’ll tell my mom I’m studying at the library. Meet me under the bleachers in our spot, and I’ll make it up to you.”
* * *
“I love you,” I whisper, lifting Hollis to her feet and planting a hard kiss on her mouth. I can taste myself on her lips as I kiss her while tucking my cock back in my boxers and pulling my zipper up.
“I love you too,” she rasps in a breathless tone as I back her up against the wall in our spot under the bleachers.
“I needed that,” I say as my fingers creep under the short skirt of her cheer uniform.
Her fingers wind around my wrist, stalling my upward trajectory. “You don’t have to do that. I like looking after you.”
I dart down, pressing my lips to that sensitive spot under her ear. “As I like looking after you. My dad would kick my ass if he knew I let you blow me first. He told me to always look after my girl’s needs before my own.”