“Sure,” he replies, taking a sip of his whiskey sour. “But notallthe time.”
I chuckle and take another taste of my Rob Roy, something new I’m trying tonight. It’s not bad, but I probably won’t order it again.
“So this new job. You like it?” he asks.
“It’s okay.” I shrug. “They’re a lot more uptight than they need to be. I don’t think they’re in any real danger, but they’ve got a lot more security than necessary. But if they want to hire me…”
“Then who are you to argue?” Dougie laughs.
“Precisely,” I laugh back.
Dougie asks me more questions about work, which I answer robotically. To be honest, I like the job, but I don’t love it, and as I’m talking to him about that, my mind is on…something else.
“Hey, Dougie,” I say slowly. “Did you and Lucy ever talk about her wanting to stay home and pursue her art?”
Dougie sighs and takes a sip of his drink. Without him even saying a thing, I can already tell where this is headed.
“I want her to go to college, Titus. She can paint while she’s there.”
“Not as much,” I interject. “Couldn’t do shows. Or at least not as many.”
“She needs abackup plan.”
While I do admire Dougie’s philosophy and the way he wants his daughter to be safe and secure, sometimes he can sound like a broken record.
“And I was thinking too,” I say. “If Lucy stayed here, she’d haveusto look after her. If she’s away at school, she’s just gonna be around a bunch of college guys, ya know?”
Dougie sighs again. His fists go tight. It’s as though I’m touching on something he’s already thought of. He nods his head and turns to me.
“Yeah, no shit, right?” He chuckles and downs the rest of his drink. My job may be private security, but I would make it my life’s work to protect this man’s daughter. “Speaking of which, Titus. I’ve got a favor to ask you.”
8
Lucy
Never in mylife have I felt this way. Sitting at school and going to class feels almost like a dream. Everything I do seems so superficial. All I can think about is Titus and getting back to him.
It’s probably all in my head, but I can still feel the warmth of the seed he left inside me after the beautiful moment we had in the woods together in his truck. The way his body covered mine, the way his body wrapped mine in his, how he made me feel so small…it was nothing short of magic.
I definitely still am sore, and I’m thankful for that. Thankful for a physical reminder and invisible little secret of my own to remind me of what we did together. And all I know is that I can’t wait to do it again.
“Lucy? Hello?” I hear a voice above me and look up to Mr. Tarrington’s face looking down at me and realize I’m sitting at my desk in math class, completely zoned out, while he’s holding out the math quiz we’re taking today. “Are you with us?”
“Sorry!” I blurt out. “Yes, I am.”
I reach out, take it from him, and quickly write my name on it. A few obnoxious girls in the back laugh, but I ignore them. Just a few days ago, they would have annoyed me, but today they don’t bother me. Today it’s like they don’t even exist.
“You all have half an hour,” Mr. Tarrington announces from the head of the class. “Starting…now!”
I begin with confidence. This should be easy. I’ve studied, and math is one of my best subjects.
“No problem,” I mutter to myself as I get to work.
If only Titus could be here to see me. If he could stand outside the classroom and watch through the little window in the door, or if he could somehow see through the actual windows leading to the outside. Of course that would be hard considering we’re on the second story.
Maybe there’s some way I could actually get him into the school by claiming he’s my uncle like he did outside when Eric was trying to give me a ride home the other day. That would be amazing.
Get Titus into the school as my “uncle,” and then find some secret spot to sneak off to with him. Wouldn’t that be amazing…