She whistled. “That’ll make future family visits awkward.”
“No. I can never see him again. I have to leave the state.”
“Well, technically, you are. We’ll be entering Virginia in no time.” She chuckled. “Damn, girl. I’m impressed. It’s not often I meet someone who did a bigger oopsie than me.”
I groaned like my life was ending. “Maybe I’ll leave the country. Too bad I’m mostly jobless and basically homeless.”
Sandy glanced back at me with a concerned look on her face.
“Don’t worry. I can pay for the ride.”
She laughed. “Honey, this isn’t a cab. You already paid. I’m just a little concerned about you. Where am I taking you?”
“My dad’s house.” I sat forward and scooted into the middle of the seat so I could see myself in the rearview mirror. My responding gasp was an indicator of how rough I looked. “Oh god. I’m going to need to run away sooner than I thought. I can’t face my stepmother like this.”
“Oh?”
“She’s so…judgmental. I don’t know if you’ve ever been judged by someone who is seven years older than you, but acting as a parental figure? It’s rough.”
I wiped the mascara smudges from under my eyes and grimaced. “How do you feel about running away with a stupid twenty-five-year-old, Sandy? You’d have to support me for a little while, but I chose the very lucrative major of English, so in no time I’ll be rolling in the big bucks.”
“Sorry, honey, I’ve got kids to raise.”
I couldn’t look at myself for any longer. I made a rough picture and I just couldn’t handle it. “In that case, drop me off at the garage next to the house when we get there. My grandma lives above it and I’m going to force myself into her space to hide until I look less like this.”
“Grandma won’t see you and be offended?”
“You don’t know my grandma.”
13
***Dominic***
Ijerkedmypantson and buttoned them while glaring out at the expanse of the restaurant we were yet to build. My hands shook as I threaded my belt through the pants and I had to stop and take a deep breath to make them stop. Being forced to adjust my behavior for my emotions just pissed me off even more.
“Well, I can honestly say that I’m surprised.” Holden stretched his arms over his head and popped his shoulders. “I thought she’d be here when we woke up. If for no other reason than the fact that we wore her out.”
Barrett seemed to be in as sour of a mood as I was. “Why the fuck did she just sneak out?”
I turned my back to them as I tried to stop my racing thoughts. The doubts that riddled my brain hadn’t seemed to budge in almost a decade. Sometimes, they quieted. If the woman I took to bed wasn’t new to the scene, or if she stuck around, begging for more, I didn’t have this raging guilt for my preferences. Having Sugar run away from us was like handing my insecurities a megaphone and telling them to go wild.
“I knew she was too fucking good to be true.” Holden pulled on his shirt and pouted. “I feel like Cinderella, only waking up on a hard floor with my bones aching and my joints stiff makes me feel like I’m the pumpkin. I had a few good hours and here I am, stuck alone with you two again.”
“Well, it’s not like you’re the person I wanted to wake up cuddling.” Barrett shuddered and ran his hands through his hair. “You’re clingy as shit in your sleep, by the way.”
“And you tried to slip your hand up my shirt like a pervert.”
I sank into one of the four chairs positioned around the table and stretched my legs out in front of me. I was stiff, too, but I didn’t want to admit it. “I think it was my fault.”
“What was your fault?”
I ran my hands down my face and gestured to the floor where we’d fucked Sugar. “I pushed. I went too far, too fast. Now she wants nothing to do with us.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Holden shook his head.
Barrett actually laughed until he saw the look on my face. “You’re serious. You actually think you pushed too far. Being dominant?”
I grimaced and forced myself to move past it. It wasn’t something I wanted to talk about, even with my best friends. “What’s next?”