Good Girl (Playroom) (35 page)

“Why?” I breathe out in absolute shock.

“It was sixteen. I didn’t do it because of my schooling or because I didn’t love the father. I didn’t want Sam to think that he was obligated to marry me, but he chased me until I gave in three years later. I married him because I loved him, but I was knocked up yet again. Willow, I gave my baby up because I wasn’t ready, and I thought it would ruin them.”

“I get it. I
’m almost three years older than you were, and I can’t imagine having a child for at least a decade. You did the right thing, even if Sam didn’t agree.”

“It was an open adoption, and if you asked me right now if I regretted it, I’d scream yes. I’ve ached since I was sixteen
… Willow,” Clover leans in and cups my face in her hands. I stare at her in bewilderment.

“Willow-”

“I thought I heard voices. You should have woken me, we could’ve had a slumber party,” Violet excitedly shouts as she tackles me from behind. “Did you get in a fight with one of your boyfriends?” Curiosity heavily laces Violet’s voice.

I want to rewind and press pause to the moment just before Violet interrupted us. Clover was going to tell me something important and now I’ll never know. Clover cheerily talks to Violet, but even in the dark I can feel her attention
centered on me.

~Chapter Thirty-One~

“Not cool,” Seth whines when Clover won’t let him order a double espresso before school.
I was shocked when I woke up this morning by the thrilled reception I got from the Websters. Clover was humming, Violet was fluttering around the house while getting ready for school, and Seth wandered a foot behind me while chirping question after question at me about why I was at their house.

Since we all were going in the same direction at the same time, Clover decided we should leave twenty minutes early and pick up breakfast at our local bakery. Clover’s examining eye roves over today’s selection of goodies. She keeps commenting about what she’
d do differently. You can take the woman outta the kitchen, but…

“I’ll have a double espresso and a white chocolate mocha. Can you write hot c
hocolate on the espresso,” I sneakily say. “Oh, and I’ll take one of those lemon poppy seed muffins.”

“I love you, Willow!” Seth gleefully shouts before he orders a sour cream donut.

“Order me one, too.” Violet conspiratorially whispers in my ear.

“Another p
hony hot chocolate before Mama Bear notices,” I snicker to the barista that used to go to school with me. I slide my debit card in the reader after ordering Clover a black coffee- boring!

“We’re gonna get caught,” Seth hisses while trying to guzzle three days’ worth of caffeine.

“We won’t. Willow will get into trouble,” Violet sings just before she burns her tongue on the hot espresso. Her pained pucker makes me unhinge.

“Oh my God,” I tilt my head back and laugh at the ceiling. “Gotta love Karma,” I sing in
the same cadence Violet used. I feel eyes on me- it makes my stomach clench. I close my eyes and groan. Only one bastard on the planet elicits that reaction out of me. I’d know the sensation of that stare anywhere. I slowly turn to look at him, just as someone else stands on their tippy-toes to kiss his parted lips.

“Motherfucker!” I growl and receive a chastising look from my sister until she sees the direction of my gaze. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Don’t go there, Willow,” Clover warns.

“I’ll be an adult,” I promise. I narrow my eyes and give a mischievous smirk. “Or not,” I toss over my shoulder as I cross the bakery.

“Roving
Playroom
again, Auggie, or is this a date. I’m shocked since it was only last night that we parted ways. I thought you were the loyal sort when living in reality,” I flippantly mutter.

Auggie
breathes my name and it sends electrical current down my spine-
not going there. I’m pissed at him, remember?
Auggie pastes a friendly expression on his face and waves to my family, who’re hovering a few feet too close to not be eavesdropping. When he glances back at me, his face is filled with remorse.

“This is Tina,” Auggie introduces my replacement- his new skank.

“Oh, we’ve met,” I drag the words out. “Haven’t we, Tina,” I snort. I start to laugh when I remember what I said to Kieren: that if he’d fuck that, I’m glad I never did him. Then I remember my thoughts on Devon: that if he liked a skank like her, then he wasn’t worth my energy.

I’m through with men. At eighteen, I decide they aren’t worth the trouble.

Auggie looks between me and Tina with a quizzical expression on his face, and like the sun parting storm clouds, his expression clears. He finally remembers how Tina and I know each other.

I move my hand and Tina rebounds several feet in fear. “Did I mention this earlier, Tina,” I stress her name. “Thanks for the drink.”

I walk away with my head held high, humming my own badass theme song. My twins join me in the tune while my sister tries to figure out what the fuck we’re up to.

***

“Last night’s sales report,” I mumble to Auggie and press the paper in his hand when he finally shows up for work. He’s a half hour late, no doubt consoling his skank. Tina was looking mighty piqued when I strolled away.

“Willow?” said in the
do I know you
voice, combined with the
I’ve never seen you before
look. I ignore Auggie and yank my economics book from my new backpack- the adult Willow pack. I flutter the pages to this evening lesson and get to studying.

“What’s this?”
Auggie says, tapping my book.

I debate between two responses: 
going-nowhere-in-life-addict’s text book
or
a text book, you fucking idiot.

“College-level economics,” I
politely say without looking up.

“Since when?” Auggie’
s voice sounds pained and I have to close my eyes against the emotions that threaten to choke me.

“Since a month ago. I was going to surprise you after I got my mid-term grades.”
My voice didn’t hitch… Please for the love of God, I hope Auggie didn’t hear it. 

“I’m sorry,” Auggie whispers against my ear before he
stalks away.

After twenty minutes I’m not proud of- bawling in the bathroom like a
total fucking girl- I’m back on my stool scrolling through online orders.

“How do you know Tina?”
pops out of Auggie’s mouth. His hand flies up, no doubt wishing to stop his verbal spewage.

“
I know you know how, Auggie. But I’ll play this game you’ve started. Remember the first time you failed to give me the benefit of the doubt, the night you accused me of drinking- Tina was the girl who threw her beer on me, after insulting me by flirting with Devon, saying that if Devon hadn’t pointed me out she would’ve thought I was Weston, and then preceded to tear Kieren’s sexual prowess to shreds. Oh, and Tina had said she’d fucked Devon. I shut her up by dragging her ass to the ground and ripping her hair out. Don’t judge- I’m rather proud of it, immature as it was, it earned me the nickname Spanky,” I snicker to myself.

I sit in an amused state
of torment as I watch the emotions flash across Auggie’s face: fury, confusion, pride, disappointment, back to pride. He struggles to say something, like it’s going to physically kill him to speak the words. I wait with a grin plastered on my face. I’m glad I’m not the only one who deals with the agony of indecision.

“I’m sorry. I guess I don’t make it easy to confide in me. I wish I’d known.
Really, really sorry,” Auggie mumbles, looking slightly sick around the edges. He turns to walk back into his office, but stops. “Tina has some serious issues. She’s my… Tina’s my sister-stepsister. I’ll take care of it,” he grunts.

The last thing I hear as I bend to turn on some music
is
I’m gonna fucking kill her.
I snort and turn the music up ten times too loud. Auggie doesn’t dare scold me for it, either. 

~Chapter Thirty-Two~

“Hey, Stud,” I purr.
I lean against the side of a sedan as Kieren rolls out from underneath the car on a dolly. He stares up at me with huge blue eyes, like I’m the last person he expected to see. “Lunch?”

“With me?” Kieren
incredulously asks while pointing at himself.

“Yeah… I thought we bonded over past torments while getting baked. Made a new club I hear, still waiting on its name though.”

Kieren’s face lights up like Christmas- God, he’s gorgeous when he’s genuinely happy.  “I’m still thinking on it. It’s more important than a nickname. It may take a while.” He shakes his head in awe while wiping oil off his fingers.

“Don’t hurt your brain muscle thinking too hard,” I tease and he busts out laughing.

“And what did I do to earn the honor of your presence, Spanky?”

“Ah- you were my second, no third choice,” I fla
wlessly lie. No need to feed Kieren’s huge ego any farther. “I couldn’t stand being in
Revamped
for a second longer with Auggie sulking about. Devon’s tormenting K-12 today, and everyone else I know is either being tormented by Devon or working for the man.”

Kieren
winks at me, catching my lie. “Alright, you were the first person I thought of. I wanted uncomplicated after last night,” I honestly admit.

“I
t was a lot to hear at once,” Kieren mutters under his breath.

“Nah- it
was the fireworks afterwards that I’m talking about,” bitterly flows from my mouth. “Let’s eat- I’m starved.”

I watch with an amused smile on my face as Kieren cleans his face and hands with a dirty rag. Basically,
he’s just smearing it around. “Ya got a little bit right here,” I point to my chin to show him where he’s still dirty, and Kieren tries to wipe it away. “No, ya missed it. Right here,” I point to my cheek. Kieren gives me a peculiar look and scrubs at his face. “Here, bend down and I’ll get it for you,” I say in reply.

Kieren complies.
I lean in, placing a hand on his shoulder to balance myself as he bends his tall frame down to my height. He flexes under my touch and I chuckle. I draw Kieren’s face down to me and his breath hitches. With a smirk, lick Kieren from lips to temple in a long line. He gasps the second my tongue makes contact, so I end up licking his front teeth. I giggle and hop back before he can react.

Kieren
stands before me with a dumbfounded expression- blue eyes bulging, among other things… His cheeks burn bright red and he’s huskily laughing. “Spanky,” he warns before he lunges for me.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I call over my shoulder as I start running down the sidewalk. The No-name diner
is a block and a half from
Wreck & Ruin Repair
.

“Spanky,” Kieren
taunts me from behind, “You do know what a quarterback does, right?”

“Catches stinky balls,” I
breathlessly giggle over my shoulder.

“Dumbass,” Kieren
laughs. “We avoid being tackled, we catch footballs,” he stresses the
foot
in footballs, “And we run,” he warns.

“Oh, fuck!”
I shout and start booking it. Even with my head start, Kieren’s gaining on me. No fair, long-legged fuckface. I crash into the diner’s door just as Kieren catches me around the waist. He picks me up as I wiggle around, giggling like a little girl. He dumps me in the booth closest to the door.

“And we score,” Kieren
declares to the packed diner, and no doubt everyone hears the double-entendre. “Touchdown, Spanky,” he yells at me with a firm swat to my ass thanks to those huge ballcatchers.

“Don’t push it,” I warn with a grin.

“Aren’t we playing?” Kieren arches a blond brow. “Because it sure feels like we’re having uncomplicated fun, Willow,” he seriously says. “And it’s exactly what we need right now.”

“Not the kind of play you mean, Stud.” I’m so lying to myse
lf. I close my eyes and tell Kieren the truth. “I like you, okay, but your brother is my best friend and I don’t want to lose him. I need Devon.” The pained tone in my voice echoes in my heart. I can’t lose Devon, too. I’m in denial with Auggie right now. I pretend that what happened last night didn’t affect me at a cellular level. If I were to analyze it, I’d be bawling my eyes out, snot smeared on my face, gobbling mass quantities of ice cream, while Clover looked on with concerned eyes. I’m not going down that road- I
need
Devon in my life.

“We’re night and day, but why can’t
you be friends with me, too?” Kieren holds my eyes captive in his intense blue gaze.

“Because I want to fuck you,” spills from my lips and that badass sensation flashes heat through my body.