“Did I ask?”
I squeeze her about the waist. “I’ll pop yer mouth the good, auld fashion way.”
Chevelle laughs, shaking her head. They say women have a knack for mindingshite. Well, I remember it too. Not that I hold onto it forever. I wait until she’s sleeping, and I pop her mouth with my cock. She’ll wake up, arms flying, though she moves like a snail.
Chevelle yawns. “Tell me what’s on your mind, Leith.”
“Yewabbit?” I ask, knowing full well she must be exhausted.
“Yup.” She elbows me softly. “The night’s still young.”
“She says, as she falls asleep in my arms,” I retort.
“Hey, I only have you on the weekend. If I fall asleep tonight, wake me anyway.”
Touched by her words, I run my knuckles along her cheek. “Alright, my thoughts. When I was a laddie—”
“So, you’re finally admitting you were a boy and did not come out of the womb a man.”
“Dinna be mistaken, lad or nae, I came into this world with hair on mybaws.”
“Not funny, Leith,” she groans, laughing anyway.
“Doye bloody want the story or nae?” It feels like a gnat is swatting at my chest, but it’s my wife’s hands. “When ye and Mam had yer chat earlier, I heard her mention yer textbooks falling. I never told ye, but I noticedyaat school a few weeks beforeye thought we met.”
“At La-, ahem, my adoptive mom’s apartment?”
“Aye. Asked around about ye. I admit I would’ve looked like aneejitrunning afteryafrom across the hall. So many other guys around offering to help, butye refused them.”
“You thought I would refuse you too, after sprinting down the hall?”
“Nae,ye couldn’t refuse me back then. But I had a reputation, lass.” I square my shoulders.
“Reputation my ass, Leith. You and that accent of yours cared about no one’s opinion. So, you stalked me.”
“I’m nodaftienugget! Alright, I followedye. Imagine my shock when, the hen I would marry, lived in the same building.”
She snorts. “You had no idea we’d marry.”
“The secondye dropped those texts, I knew. Hearing Mam’s version of apology tonight just reminded me.” My fingers slide through hers. “Sometimes, I might not be there for ye. Well, it might seem so.”
“Leith, you’re always here.”
“Nae, hen. Just listen. No matter what, Iloveye.”
She lifts her head. “Why are you mentioning this?”
I can’t reassure my wife without digging my grave. Quickly, I make a million promises disappear. I pull her up with me and turn, sitting her in the chair. Kissing the sliver of worry on her brow, I determine to kiss a trail to her cunt and make her forget that I’m not bloody perfect.
Chapter 12
Leith
The next afternoon,I place Mia’s booster seat into the back of my ‘70 Chevelle SS. Jiang had been in the trunk of my Audi for half a day. I dinna have the heart to place my weewean, innocent eyes and all, so close to where the deid rested. We go on our traditional Saturday morning Father-Daughter date, a swimming class followed by hamburgers and shakes for breakfast. Of course, it’s nae breakfast of champions, but Mia gives me those puppy eyes, and I give her those squishy gummy vitamins to counter the harm. What her mam doesn’t know won’t hurt her.
Then I drop off Mia at my parents’ home, so my mam can deal with the hassle of washing the sand from her hair. In my ride, around the corner, I ring up Wendy. She’s the cybercrime attorney I first sent information to when stumbling upon the shoddy actions at Infinity Corp. The law firm is not too far from my parents’, and she agrees to meet at a rundown taco stand for lunch.
Wendy sits across from me, dropping an oily paper plate. “Want one?”