29. Derek #2
I let out a deep breath and squeeze the bridge of my nose, feeling my rage building in my gut. Georgia and I have barely seen one another this week, with her busy designing for her show and me at practice.
“No. What the fuck?! When was this?”
I know that I’m not going to like the answer to my question as soon as Sienna grimaces, looking away.
“Three days ago…”
“Three days ago?!” I shriek, smacking the table. I curse under my breath when my ice cream bowl clatters against one of the spoons on the table.
“What the hell do you mean this happened three days ago?”
Sienna, to her credit, looks remorseful as she takes a bite of her ice cream before going into detail about the encounter.
I run a hand through my hair and frown, taking a small bite of my ice cream, but it tastes like lead as thoughts run through my brain.
I’ve got to protect my girls more than ever now.
Who knows what Rosemary has up her sleeves…
Sienna and I finish up our weekly catch-up and head our separate ways. She’s working on her capstone project for graduation, so she’s barely had time to grab a quick bite to eat and catch up lately.
My mind is still on the bombshell that Sienna dropped as I walk into our apartment, and I don’t notice that Agnes and Georgia are already home and cuddling on the couch.
Georgia’s head peeks up from the couch, and a second later, so does the puppy’s. Both of their eyes light up as I step inside, taking off my shoes.
“Oh, hey! You’re home early!” she greets, letting Agnes down from the couch to attack my feet. I smile at the dog, picking her up as she nibbles at one of my toes, and take a seat next to Georgia. She immediately puts her feet on my lap and gets comfortable.
“Sienna and I didn’t have much to catch up on other than the fact that you two ran into Rosemary a few days ago.” I twist to face her, my blood pumping loudly in my ears. “Wanna elaborate?”
Georgia’s face is blank as she looks up at me and then back down at her sketchbook. She shrugs as she continues with her sketch. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal…”
I gape at her. “Not that big of a deal? She spat on you!”
“Damn it, Sienna…” Georgia sighs, closing her sketchbook and placing it down on the table next to us, giving me her full undivided attention.
“She didn’t spit on me, she tried to. Besides, Sienna dissolved everything before I could truly get my hands on her.” She shrugs, folding her arms over her chest and pursing her lips.
She reminds me of Delilah when she’s feeling extra feisty… They both share that “I can and will do anything that I want” look, and I don’t like it—not right now, at least.
Georgia seems to relent, giving up her pursed lips and trading them for a small half smile, crawling across the couch, and settling on my lap.
She sighs, running her hands through my hair before cupping my cheeks, pulling our faces together. The smell of her raspberry mint lip gloss wafts between us as she lets out a small breath.
“Look, if I felt there was a serious threat, I would’ve told you… I’m a big girl, I can handle myself just fine.”
I know that she’s right, but something in me hates the idea of her words. She places a small kiss on my lips before patting my cheek. Attempting to get up, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her in closer.
“You’ll let me know if she tries anything else, right?”
She chuckles, nodding. “I’ll let you know if your crazy ass baby mama tries anything else, I swear.”
“Good.” I chuckle, getting comfortable with her on top of me, turning on the new reality show that she’s had us binge-watching lately.
Georgia perks up immediately, climbing off of me, only to throw her legs across my lap and pull a throw blanket across us. Agnes hops onto the couch, settling in the space between Georgia and me as the narrator for Life in the Fast Lane begins to speak.
What had originally been a show I’d turned on to pass the time while cooking slowly became our late-night watch when Deli went to sleep.
The show revolves around the lives of Formula One racers and their careers.
Georgia’s taken a liking to both Eren Marlowe and Ri Ri Highwater, the first and only black woman in motorsports, and the only woman with a set spot on a Formula One team.
The two of them are friends and race for different teams after she was traded to Argento last season, but their chemistry is phenomenal, especially because Ri Ri and her teammate, Romeo, hate one another.
I watch her from across the couch. She laughs whenever Eren speaks and boos at the TV the moment Romeo’s face is shown. It’s quite funny, really—watching her in her element.
Georgia’s someone that your eyes always fall on, no matter where you are or who you’re with—they’ll always lock on her.
“You’re staring, DILF…” she sings, mumbling as she side-eyes me.
I smile, sliding in closer to her, placing both Agnes and her legs further onto my lap. My nose is practically touching her cheek with how close I am to her. We sit in complete silence for almost ten seconds before she breaks out into a fit of laughter.
“Why are you interrupting Life in the Fast Lane time? We only have thirty minutes until Deli gets home.”
“Yeah, but I had a question…”
Georgia eyes me skeptically, leaning back from me to take in my full appearance, and must see something that she likes because she nods, waiting for me to continue.
“Are you coming to my senior night?”
She gives me a mocking look, causing me to laugh as she picks up Agnes in her arms, talking to the dog.
“Aggy, did you hear your crazy daddy? He’s been asking silly questions and interrupting our Eren time… Uh huh…” she coos at the puppy, speaking to it like a toddler as Agnes yips, wagging her tail.
I mask my snicker with a cough as Georgia begins to cradle Agnes like a baby.
Laughing, I say, “I promise I won’t take up any more of your precious Marlowe time. It’s not like he’s all that and a bag of chips, by the way. Eren’s a chill dude. Anyway, for senior night, can you please wear the jacket you made a few weeks ago? Delilah’s been asking about that jacket and—”
“Already on it. Anything else?” she muses, giving me a playful smile as I sigh, grinning.
“Be on your best behavior, Mrs. Perez.”
“Always, Mr. Perez.”