Chapter 13
Parker
I love flustering Lily. It’s always been one of my favorite pastimes.
Especially now when one of my main goals is to get her back into my life.
She can pretend she doesn’t like me, and doesn’t miss me, but I know she does.
Her face shows it all even though she tries to hide it.
The way she looks at me and acts like she’s not.
I know she still thinks about me, and has the memories come back full force like they do for me.
Her comment about thanking her for telling my mom when I broke my arm only proved that even more than I already knew. I love how she says what she’s thinking, even when it may not make sense to everyone else.
Jerry Lee starts barking in his cage and I notice there’s a blanket over the top of it. He is clearly not happy about it. I pull the fabric off, and as soon as he’s free from the darkness he screams out, “Hi bitch! Hunky Parker!”
I bark out a laugh because that explains why he was left in the dark. “That’s right, buddy, remind Lily that I’m hunky Parker.”
“Hunky Parker! Asshole Aaron! Lily worm!”
I laugh even louder. There’s two more from him I haven’t heard yet.
“Asshole Aaron is a good one, keep that up,” I tell him.
Personally, I like Lily worm and may be using that myself now.
I make an excuse to leave not long after Ethan is done cleaning the mud off himself and changing.
The poor kid slipped and fell face first right into the mud, luckily it was just mud.
I knew his parents wouldn’t be too happy if he got it all over their house, and he didn’t put up much of a fight about cleaning up.
I don’t know when asshole Aaron will be coming back, but I don’t want to risk running into him right now.
Especially not after riding the high of an interaction with Lily.
Not to mention, how close I got to her and how perfect it felt.
I shouldn’t have done that, but I couldn’t help it.
The way her frame fits so perfectly with mine.
It’s like we were made for each other. We’re magnets always drawn to one another. No one can deny that, not even her.
When I get home, I’m greeted by someone who should be my best friend but seems to be a bit more like my enemy. Though, it’s a one-sided feud because I just want Franki to be happy. She perks up from her spot at the top of her cat tree, sees it’s me, and then glares.
“I will win over both you and Lily, I just want you to know that,” I tell her definitively.
That sparks an idea, and I’m curious what Franki would think about Lily; I bet she would love her right away just like everyone does. Especially animals, even wild ones that shouldn’t be her friend. She’s like a real-life animal whispering princess or something. Minus the singing.
Now, I just have to get her to come over to my house. Somehow.
One step at a time, I guess.
I love events and crowds and being the center of attention. I play it up in a way that I know annoys most people, but I’m social. And our town is so boring with nothing going on a majority of the time that the few chances I get to be a part of something here I thrive off the energy.
There are some bounce houses that look like firetrucks.
We have the rigs parked for people to look at.
The sheriff’s department is here with a couple of their cars, and two of the mounted police.
There’s a bunch of kids running around, petting the horses and jumping in the bounce house.
A local musician is performing and people are in the grass listening.
The event has a handful of things planned, but I’m not thinking about any of that. I’m thinking about one thing. Or one person, rather.
“Hey Parker,” Natasha, a girl I went to high school with, comes up to me.
“Hey, are you having fun?”
“I’d have more fun with you after this is over,” she flirts.
I smile, huffing out a soft chuckle. “Sorry, I’m still on duty after this.”
I wouldn’t see her after this anyway, but I’m nice when I turn girls down. I somehow managed to get a reputation and don’t bother trying to deny it.
She pouts her bottom lip. “Maybe another time then?” Her voice is hopeful.
“Maybe.” I nod, but know that there won’t be. Not with her. “Have a fun time.”
She goes back to join her friends, and I go back to my main focus.
My head is on a swivel as I look for Lily.
I know she’s going to be here, despite what she said before.
She loves coming to things like this. A chance to get out of the house, to break her routine and do something.
That’s the shit she lives for. What we lived for together once.
“You about ready?” Jameson asks with a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“For what?”
“The tug of war against the sheriff’s department.”
I chuckle. “Oh yeah, you know I don’t think it’s even going to be a fair competition.”
There’s no way they can beat us; shit, look at me. The rest of my coworkers are all in good shape while the cops taking their position on the other side of the long rope look like they haven’t seen a gym in a hot minute.
“Don’t be a dick.” Jo bumps my arm.
“I’m not, you all just better make sure we win. I have a girl to impress.”
“Do you? Do we know her?” Jo smirks because she loves to give me shit.
“Uh, kinda?”
“Is Lily even here?” Jameson asks, glancing toward Sutton, knowing they would be together.
“Lily’s your girl again? Good job. I wasn’t sure you were going to win her back with that asshole she came into town with,” Dave slaps my shoulder and I grumble.
“Well, I haven’t exactly won her back yet.”
“And you think this will do the trick?” Jo is barely holding back her laugh.
“You know, you should support me and my conquests,” I direct to her.
“You’ve had enough conquests to not need support,” she retorts and I glare at her.
“That’s not nice. I’ve changed my ways.”
There’s only one woman I want; it’s her or it’s no one for me. I tried filling the hole she left in my chest when she walked away from us, and no one even comes close. Lily’s my once in a lifetime.
“You guys ready?” one of the cops calls out and we all get in a line on the other side of the rope.
I stand in front, taking the lead spot. The guy directly in front of me nods. “You ready to lose?”
I bark out a loud laugh. “Ask your teammates because we’re about to kick your—”
“Parker!” Jameson shoves my shoulder, and when I go to look back at him my eyes catch on Lily currently standing next to Sutton.
I smile in the beautiful blonde’s direction, but then see the stupid fuck standing behind her, and my eyes narrow. But because I love to stir the pot I call out, “This one’s for you, Lil!”
I look back at the competition before I can gauge her reaction that I’m sure is a middle finger toward me.
“Gonna be embarrassing for you to lose in front of your girl…or is she?” the cop taunts.
“Oh she is, she just doesn’t know it yet.”
The whistle blows and we’re each pulling in a different direction.
I try to get some leverage with the ground as we pull.
We’re already winning, and when I take a step back it only helps our momentum.
We pull even harder and the police stumble a bit and that’s what does them in.
One more hard pull from us and they’re falling over the middle line, and we’re declared the winners.
My eyes immediately find Lily in the crowd who’s smiling at me. The flash reminds me so much of when we were younger. It’s the same look she would give me right before she would take off running, launching herself into my arms.
But then that stupid fuck, Aaron, puts his hand on her bicep, causing her to look at him instead and the smile she had dims. She doesn’t look at him like she looks at me.
It shouldn’t make me so happy to see, but it does.
It gives me hope that there’s a chance. Yeah, my girl is going to come back to me.
“Come on, someone wants a picture with all of us.” Jameson slaps me on the shoulder, pulling my attention away from Lily and dumb fuck. But I can’t look away. I catch her eyes meeting mine again. Even as she’s in his arms, her focus is on me.