Chapter 15
SUTTON
Amos talked me into coming with him to have dinner with his mother. I don’t mind. He said she often asks about me and she was always nice to me when I was younger. Besides, we’re meeting at an all you can eat buffet and I’m starving.
Lila pauses and blinks when she sees me sitting in a booth across from Amos and Gloria.
“There you are!” Gloria exclaims. “I thought you weren’t going to make it.”
“Sorry, I told Amos to let you know I’d be a few minutes late.”
“Oh yes, he did.” Her nose scrunches up as she scrutinizes her daughter. “Is your hair wet?”
“Damp, yes. I was working late and needed a quick shower. How are you?”
Gloria beams at her. “I’m great. Your brother was just telling me about his job. You had to work at the daycare on a Sunday?”
“Not exactly. Let me grab a plate and I’ll fill you in.” Her smile is forced and there’s no excitement in her voice.
When she returns from the buffet, she has no choice but to slide in beside me. She hasn’t looked at me or acknowledged my presence. When she starts eating, her mother speaks up again. “I’m so glad you both made it. I don’t get to see you enough. And isn’t it lovely that Sutton came along?”
Lila seems to realize the question was aimed at her. She takes a quick drink and nods. “Lovely.”
“Do you mind if he rides back with you?” Amos asks. “I just got a message from work offering overtime if I can come in tonight.”
Her expression remains impassive as she nods again. I wonder if she sees last night replay in her head when she looks at me because I sure as hell do.
“Amos tells me you have some big news,” Gloria says.
“I do. I’m going to be starting my own business. An indoor playground.”
Gloria’s eyebrows rise. “Like one of those soft play centers?”
“Partly. I’ll have a room that’s soft play, inflatables, a ball pit. Another room will have a large playset with a jungle gym, tunnels, slides, that sort of thing. Plus a sensory area with different options like kinetic sand, rice, and water beads.”
Since Lila said she’s been dreaming and planning this for a long time, I’m surprised her mother knows nothing about it.
“Do those make a lot of money?”
I can see Lila’s body tighten before she answers. “I’m sure it won’t make me rich, but the overhead expenses are low once you have all the equipment installed.”
“Where are you getting the money? It must cost a fortune. Did you take out a loan?”
“No, I’ve been saving for years. Our town has nowhere to take kids to play when the weather is bad. With no competition, I think it’ll do well.”
“Maybe,” Gloria says, shoveling in a bite of food.
An uncomfortable silence settles over the table while we eat. Maybe? What the hell kind of response was that? Lila isn’t pursuing it and I can see why when Gloria blurts out another question.
“What if it doesn’t, though? You’ll be giving up a stable job for something that might be very temporary. It could put you in debt and—”
“I have it all figured out, Mom,” Lila interrupts. “You don’t have to worry. There’s an attached apartment so I’ll even be able to live in the building.”
Gloria snaps to attention, her gaze focused on Lila. “You’re going to move? What about your brother?”
Is she kidding right now? Amos is a grown man. He’s older than Lila.
The question doesn’t seem to surprise Lila at all.
“I arranged it with Maren that he can take over my lease at the trailer park when I go if he wants. The rent is based on income and is the lowest you can get in town.” She looks up at Amos.
“I was going to tell you about that later. You and Sutton can stay until his house is ready, then you can keep the place if you don’t want to move with him. ”
Amos grins at her. “That’s great. Thanks for hooking that up.”
Gloria’s lips press together and she mumbles, “I don’t like this idea. Have you already quit your daycare job?”
“No, I’m going to keep it until I get the playground ready to open.”
“Thank god for small favors.”
Silence resumes and I’m fuming. What happened to congratulations?
Amos couldn’t be less interested. I don’t think he’s asked her one thing about it since she told him yesterday.
That isn’t as bad as the outright disappointment from Gloria.
It’s something she’s worked toward for years and is clearly excited about.
Would some encouragement have killed them?
“I think we’re overlooking the most important question,” I announce and Lila glares over at me. Maybe she thinks I’m about to pile on but it’s the last thing she has to worry about. She looks so damn sad, I can’t stand it. “Can we come and play in the ball pit after hours?”
Her lips twitch up. “It kills you that you can’t get in Dusty’s, doesn’t it?”
“A little bit, yes. Congratulations on your new business. It’s going to be great.”
Her expression softens into a small smile. “Thanks. I hope so.”
“The puppy has a ball pit?” Gloria asks, ignoring our exchange.
“He does.” I pull out my phone and hold it out so she can see the video of Dusty diving into it. “He loves it.”
Her laugh relaxes Lila’s shoulders, and the rest of the dinner isn’t as bad. After we finish dessert, Lila throws Amos under the bus. “Did Amos tell you he has a girlfriend?”
Gloria’s face lights up like she’s been told he’s won the Nobel Prize. “No! Who is she?”
Amos shakes his head at Lila, biting back a grin. “Her name is Mandy. I don’t know if I’d call her a girlfriend yet.”
“They spend all their time together,” I add, chuckling at the look of betrayal on Amos’s face.
“Well, that’s wonderful! I want to meet her. What about you?” She grins at Lila. “Any special guys in your life?”
“No. Just my dog.”
“Well, get yourself out there and find a good man! I want some grandbabies and I’m not getting any younger.”
“You’d better look at Amos for that. I told you I’m not having kids.”
Something tells me this might be the beginning of a whole new argument because Lila stands up and cuts her mom off when she opens her mouth. “It was good to see you, Mom, but I need to get going.” She looks over at me. “Ready?”
“Sure.”
“Love you,” she says to her mother, scooping up her bag.
“I love you too. Call me so we can finish talking about some stuff.”
“Sure thing.”
She can’t rush out of there fast enough and I don’t blame her. As soon as we pull out of the parking lot, she turns the music down to talk. “Amos doesn’t know what happened last night, right? You didn’t…”
“Tell my best friend I slept with his little sister? No, I did not.”
“Good. Amos is doing better lately and I don’t want to be responsible for screwing that up.”
“You aren’t responsible for the things he does.”
“I know, but that isn’t the point. There’s no reason for him to know. It was a one time thing. Not a big deal.”
“Excuse me.” I pull out my wallet. “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I was awarded for my performance. It was definitely a big deal.”
We stop at a red light, and she looks over to see me holding up the good job sticker. “Why did you keep that?” Her tone is equal parts exasperation and amusement.
“It’s the start of my collection. I’ll put the next one on my phone.”
“There’s not going to be a next one.”
“Okay, but I really work better with a reward system.”
“Shut up.” She turns her head but not before I see a little smile. “Just promise me you won’t tell him.”
“I promise.” Satisfied, she turns the music back up.
At least she’s shaking off the mood her mother put her in.
My mom isn’t perfect, but she was always supportive of me, no matter what I did or how I screwed up.
That seems to be the case with Amos, but not Lila.
That was evident in the way Gloria raved over his factory job that he’s only had for a couple of weeks, then batted down Lila’s accomplishment like it was foolish.
It’s dark when we get home, and Holly calls out to tell Lila. “Hey, the mailman mixed up our addresses and dropped a package for you here yesterday. I just noticed. I set it inside your door.”
“Thanks!” Lila replies, unlocking the door. I guess Holly also has a key.
Curses fly out of Lila’s mouth when I flick the light on. The package isn’t beside the door anymore. Dusty trots out of the hallway with the shredded box in his mouth, leaving a trail of panties in his wake.
Wow, that is a lot of underwear. They’re scattered over the kitchen and living room floor like kinky confetti.
“Dusty! No.” Dusty knows that tone and couldn’t give one shit. He jumps around in front of her then darts off down the hall with the box while she chases him.
While she wrestles the box away, I start collecting the panties. They’re all different styles and materials, some sensible, some sexy, but all the same size. There must be at least sixty pairs, probably more.
Lila stops short at the end of the hall, holding the mangled box when she sees me with an armful of them.
“Tell me the truth, Lila. Do we have underwear gnomes? Is that what happened? They stole all your panties?”
“Just give them here,” she sighs.
The pieces start to fall into place. When I walked in on her taking feet pics, it wasn’t for anyone she was seeing. I haven’t seen her go on a date since she’s been here. “You have a Lonely Hands account. That’s your side hustle.”
“No, I’m not on Lonely Hands.” She holds out the box for me to put the underwear in it.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s hot as fuck.”
“I’m not…I don’t make porn. I sell feet pics. And underwear. Not that it’s any of your business.”
I deposit them into the box and hold up my hands. “I’m not judging. In fact, I think you should model the panties for me so I can help you pick the best ones. I’ll even take pictures for you.”
“Not happening.” She stalks back to her room and closes the door.
This weekend has taught me a lot about Lila. She isn’t anything like the stuffy good girl type I thought she was a few weeks ago. She might be responsible and reasonable—which isn’t a bad thing—but she’s also fun and sexy, and apparently not a stranger to some kinky stuff.
I can’t wait to get her under me again.