Chapter 44
“CRIMINALS” BY MEGHAN TRAINOR
“Estelle, stop eating your shoes.”
My daughter dropped her foot from her mouth and scowled at me from across the table. She could have an attitude all she wanted; I was not going to sit here with my friends and watch her stick her dirty ass sketchers into her mouth.
“The lights go—” She fluttered her fingers and smiled at Olivia when the blonde giggled.
“Oh, yeah. Totally!” Olivia grinned.
I raised my glass cup to my lips and watched from across the downtown square as Quinntessa sat outside the coffee shop and enjoyed her book.
It had been a few days since we hung out last. I felt bad for ending our not-a-date day so sourly.
I tried to put on a smile and pretend like I was fine, but I couldn’t get my father’s words out of my head.
The longer I dragged this on, the worse the sensation of my heart ripping into two would become.
Quinntessa was sweet. I lied and said I wasn’t feeling well, and she continued to call and check on me. It made me feel like shit knowing I lied to her face—more than usual.
“Stalker much?”
Turning back to the table, I rolled my eyes as Erica shot me an aggravated glare.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“You.” Erica leaned forward and looked over her shoulder toward the coffee shop. “What is up with you and Dawson?”
It was just my luck Erica would say something with our friends around. I knew she wouldn’t out my situation to them, but they all had different opinions of my romantic—not so romantic—life.
D’arcy sat her fork down and smirked from further down the table. It didn’t take long for the other Ghouls to turn in my direction with curious eyes.
“That’s actually something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” D’arcy teased. “What is going on with you and the new girl?”
“She’s hot. Quinn’s hot.” Olivia raised her hands up and down like a scale. “I think they’d be hot together.”
“I agree,” Briar chuckled, though her attention remained down at her plate of fries.
“Nothing is going on with me and Yankee Doodle Dawson,” I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
Erica narrowed her eyes at me.
“You were at her house the other day.” She spoke with a suspicious quirk to her brow. “And my mom tells me you were kicked out of her house after Sebastian found you in her room.”
I almost forgot about that.
The first time I had been officially invited to Quinntessa’s home, I practically punched a hole in Erica’s drywall by the end of it. It was humiliating and reminded me just how much I wanted Sebastian Dawson, Rome, Romero, whoever the fuck he was, dead.
We were dancing. I had bought a record from the bookstore in Murdafest when I went to order a special edition book for Quinntessa, so the plan was to listen to it and enjoy the hour we had before work and football practices.
I decided I would tell her that I was in the mob. Before I could even get a word out, Sebastian came barging in, ready to start a fight with me.
I took it as a sign from the universe that it wasn’t smart to tell Quinntessa the truth, though I wanted her to know. I wanted her to know so she could run from me, but I didn’t want to lose what time I had left with her.
I was a selfish beast, and a part of me was okay with that.
“Oh, my God. You fucked her!” D’arcy gasped. “And you didn’t say anything?”
“It’s nothing.” I did not want to have this conversation. This was part of the reason these Ghouls plus me meet ups didn’t happen often.
“What? Hello? You were at her house! In her bedroom!” Briar looked up and gasped. “And you didn’t give us any details on how she is in bed? Is it true she has a penis?”
“I heard that rumor too.” D’arcy wiggled her brows.
“No,” I snapped. “She’s a girl. Duke made that shit up. Don’t spread that around. It’s super fucked up.”
“That’s rude.” D’arcy raised her brows. “There’s a girl on the Chicks who has a penis. And I hear she uses it.”
“Stop listening to Blackhawk gossip. The girl is trans, and you called her hot last game.” Erica tossed a fry at the mayor’s daughter.
“Fine. She was hot.” D’arcy threw her hands up and turned back to me. She smiled, wiggling her brows. “So, how is number twenty-two in bed? Should we be wearing her number when she finally gets to play?”
“I—” I glanced at Estelle and looked down at my half-finished plate of food, pushing it around with my fork. “I wouldn’t know.”
The table quieted as I took another long sip of my drink.
“You wouldn’t know?” Briar leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. “As in… You haven’t slept with her, or you’re not even trying?”
“Do you want to sleep with her?” D’arcy’s eyes widened.
“Of course I want to sleep with her. Have you seen her?” I looked around the table and huffed with frustration. “Look, it’s . . . it’s not what you think. Sally’s just a friend, and we’re hanging out. I don’t plan on sleeping with her. We’re friends.”
Olivia tried to hide her smile, but I watched it grow over her face clear as day.
“Sally?” she asked. “You have nicknames for her other than babe?”
“I—”
“Didn’t you call her Mustang the other day?” Briar smirked. “I think I heard Chris mention you calling her honey or something too.”
“I have nicknames for everyone, Carrot Top. I just prefer to give her a name so I don’t have to be saying my own,” I grumbled, stabbing at my plate.
Erica leaned back in her chair and pursed her lips. I glanced up a few times and sighed, looking back to the coffee shop to see Quinntessa packing up her things in her bookbag.
“Her dog is at the kennels I work at, alright? He’s got some issues, and she was emotional.” I twisted the truth some to keep them entertained. “We’re friends. We haven’t slept together. We haven’t kissed. We hang out.”
“Hang out?” D’arcy exchanged a smile with Olivia.
“She reads, and I sit there. We go see cows. She once almost hit me with her car when I tried to help her parallel park. It’s boring.” I shrugged. “That’s all.”
“Mhm.” Erica rolled her eyes, unconvinced.
“Look, we’re just friends!”
“Ahhh! I see. Friends who like to flirt.” Briar grinned mischievously and nodded.
I hummed and offered Estelle more fries on her little plate beside Erica. Without looking up from cutting the crisp food into small pieces, I nodded.
“Yup. Just like you and my tiny dick ex-boyfriend.”
The table howled with laughter. I smirked and shot Briar a look as she scowled.
“We’re friends. Real friends!” she whined. “And he has a much bigger penis than you give him credit for!”
“So you haven’t slept with him, but you know his peen size?” Olivia asked.
Briar got quiet. She looked away from us and sipped her sweet tea, fixing her bright red hair over her other shoulder.
“Look, it was before he started dating E.” She shook her head, pointing a finger at D’arcy when she giggled. “After he and Quinn exploded, I accepted a rebound fuck. Helped his standards.”
“Wow. Thanks.” I pursed my lips.
“Chris and I are not dating. We’re just having sex,” Erica quickly corrected her. “And sex is not dating.”
“Yeah,” Olivia agreed. “If it were, Erica and I would be?—”
Um, what?
Though I was genuinely surprised, I hastily turned and shoved an entire giant onion ring into Olivia’s mouth.
“Mmmm! Fried onion buddies!” I cheered.
Erica exhaled the breath she was holding. D’arcy and Briar laughed, both too hysterical over Olivia’s chipmunk cheeks to notice our shared look.
Her eyes flickered in Quinntessa’s direction before her foot nudged my ankle. I didn’t need her to speak to see she was dropping the Quinntessa subject, even if she had a million different questions.
“I love you,” I told her, holding up a tiny onion ring. “Will you marry me, Erica ángel Kane?”
“As if, you slut.” She flicked the onion away from me. It rolled off the patio and onto the sidewalk.
“What? I got you a ring!” I whined. “What more do you want from me, hoe?”
Estelle giggled and chewed on her fries. She grinned when Erica turned to her.
“Don’t you ever say yes to anyone who proposes with less than gold, you got that, Little Satan?” she teased, brushing Estelle hair out of her eyes. “Your momma is a cheap. Can you say cheap? Cheap, cheap!”
I gasped as Estelle giggled hysterically. “Cheap, cheap! Cheap, cheap!”
“Great, Eric. Thanks for that,” I groaned, listening to my daughter’s chanting.
“You just called me a hoe in front of our co-parented Russ-ican baby. Don’t even start with me.” Erica pointed a finger at me.
I snapped my teeth, pretending to bite it off.
“Aw.” Olivia leaned her head on my shoulder and grinned. “You two are adorable. You’d make a happy family.”
“I’d only be with her ass for the money,” Erica teased, kicking me lightly under the table.
“Gold digger.” I rolled my eyes.