Chapter 20
It was different with Dreux. I was a sweaty mess, and he dried me off. I could’ve gotten dressed myself, but he swatted my hip when I attempted to do so, and took the initiative to tie my bikini himself. He never stopped touching me. Caressing me. Smiling at me.
I was happy. Still, an ugly memory of the past had me nervous as I finished putting my clothes back on in my own changing room.
I grabbed my beach bag and chanced a look in the mirror before I left.
The girl looking back at me didn’t seem the same as the one back in LA.
Here, in Meadow Grove, I was sober, I had friends who were different than me but were still amazing, I had a job I didn’t mind working, and I was building a relationship with my father.
And then there was the boy next door.
Outside I bumped into Dreux. The rain had cleared and the air felt damp and humid.
Dreux wasn’t a boy, but more a man.
For a fraction of a second, I worried if he’d be like the one before.
With Bonham, I’d only wanted a hookup, but the thought of this being casual with Dreux felt wrong.
“You ready?” He came and grabbed my bag.
I should’ve left it alone, but it felt like I should say something.
“Uh…” God. I was fumbling with my hands, unable to look at him as I rambled on. “I haven’t done…that a lot. That was only…my second time. Ever.”
Heat blazed across my cheeks and I knew I was bright red.
Dreux took a dangerous step forward, took my chin, and made me look him in the eye. He was smiling at me, looking just as shy as I felt. Soon, he was closer, so much closer, as his lips brushed against my cheek, lingering. “Same.”
Oh. Something about this fact comforted me. “Did…did it mean something to you?”
My question took Dreux by surprise. He blinked a few times, tilting his head and staring at me as if confused. “Yes.”
I didn’t want to be a fleeting thing to him. I felt dumb at the thought of voicing it.
“Okay.” I settled on saying.
Dreux narrowed his eyes. “Yeah? Any more questions?”
I was blushing again and focusing up ahead at the path back to the parking lot. “No.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Dreux took the lead toward the path, not without stopping to watch me curiously a couple of times. We’d only made it a few steps before his arm was around me and he was pulling me close. “My silly little wildflower.”
We walked the rest of the way back like that and I hated the idea of getting used to this. At loving the idea of us.
Dreux parked in the driveway at his house and once more paused his playlist for me.
Harry Styles had been singing about sunflowers and I totally agreed Fine Line was in the top two of his albums. We weren’t even halfway through the playlist and I loved it already.
I couldn’t wait to get lost in my room listening to it.
“So,” Dreux began as we got out of the Bronco. “You wanna come inside? We could nap or eat lunch, or both.”
Food and sleep sounded good just then. “Yeah, let me go grab a quick shower.”
Dreux tugged on my hand, trying to get me to follow along toward his house. “We can do that, too.”
I debated leaving my stuff on our porch and following him right then to give him his birthday gift I hadn’t been able to give him back at the Pier. I wanted to, I did, but I also needed a moment alone to process what we’d done and what it all meant.
“I’ll be right over, I promise,” I insisted as I pulled my hand back and took a step toward our yard.
Dreux let me go, taking off for his front porch. He looked over at me, sending me a killer smile that made me weak. “Hey, Saylor?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for the birthday present.”
“Fuck you!” I covered my smile and turned away, anything not to give away the effect he had on me.
One look over and that was all it took to change my mood. Scott’s truck was in the driveway, and beside it was another car I didn’t recognize. A white Volkswagen Jetta. A peek inside the windows saw no personal belongings to give off who the car belonged to.
Either way, Scott was home and there was no beating around the fact that I was caught.
I dug my house keys from my bag and crossed over to our house. I slipped inside and waited in the foyer, taking in the atmosphere. It was quiet. Not a hint of activity in the living room nearby, or a faint whisper from the back of the house. A quick walkthrough found the first floor empty.
My eyes drifted toward the ceiling as my brows furrowed. Was it a repair man over inspecting something Scott needed fixed?
That didn’t sound right. Scott was a do-it-himself type of man.
Slowly, I advanced for the steps, taking them one at a time and keeping quiet as I listened to any signs of life.
I’d just made it to the landing when I heard it: giggling. A woman’s giggle.
Scott was with a woman.
I should’ve retreated then and there. Given him his privacy. But I stood there confused. Scott had insisted he was single and not in the mindset to date, and yet there was definitely a woman down the hall in his bedroom with him.
Maybe it’s his sister. I did have an aunt he’d mentioned before.
Intuition, though, told me it was not my aunt.
Going back to Dreux’s seemed like the safe—
“Stop!” Another round of giggling ensued and I froze in place.
That voice.
It sounded like…
It couldn’t be…
Without thinking I took off down the hall and didn’t hesitate as I made it to Scott’s open doorway. One look in the room and I regretted my decision instantly.
There, tangled in Scott’s gray sheets, was Scott, and…my mother.
She noticed me first, her blue eyes enlarging as she clutched the sheets to her chest. Her blonde hair was disarrayed, evidence from their tryst. She was flushed and glowing, and Scott was right beside her, staring at her, lost in her.
It took him a minute longer to notice me before he was sitting up and paling.
No. Fucking. Way.
Down in the living room I paced back and forth. I was at a loss for words. This couldn’t be real.
The two culprits sat before me side by side on the sofa. Guilty as sin.
Really, I was thankful I didn’t see anything too traumatizing. Just knowing they’d hooked up and seeing them together in bed was enough to make me want to pour bleach in my eyes and be lobotomized.
“This is so fucked.” It was the first thing I’d said in the ten minutes since I’d walked in on them.
“Saylor!” They even managed to scold me in sync.
I stopped pacing and stared at the two of them. “So fucked.”
Scott was in a T-shirt and jeans and my mother was in a striped top and shorts. She was sitting there nervously, while Scott was relaxed beside her. Almost like this was a normal occurrence for him.
I hadn’t seen my mother in a month, and while I was happy she was here, this was still quite a way to be reunited. Like him or not, she was married to Richard. And even he didn’t deserve this.
In a way, though, I got it. Or, at least a part of me did.
Richard was straitlaced, upper crest and snobby, and he wore suits and ties.
Scott breathed music, had rough hands from hard work, and tattoos.
He was nothing like the men back home. I mean, it was an obvious choice.
But right was right and wrong was wrong.
“What the hell is Richard going to think, Mom?” I asked, gesturing between the two of them.
My mother peered down at the floor, her shoulders sagging. Scott placed his hand on her knee to show his support.
In another moment, my mother looked up at me and frowned. “I filed for divorce two weeks ago.”
“Holy shit.” I hadn’t seen that coming.
Scott sighed. “Saylor—”
“Why don’t we talk about this back at my motel room?
” My mother stood up, looking between Scott and me.
She softened a little as her eyes lingered on Scott.
“There’s a lot I should talk to her about.
Again, I’m sorry for just dropping by on you at your job out of nowhere.
I should’ve called instead of being impulsive. ”
Scott stood as well, towering over my mother as he gazed down at her. “Don’t. I don’t mind.” He peered at me and scratched his head. “You should talk.”
It was a lot to absorb. My mother was in Meadow Grove. She’d hooked up with Scott. And she was getting a divorce. The energy between my mother and Scott couldn’t be missed. It was thick, hazy, and even with me in the room, they couldn’t stop sneaking glances at each other.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I finally spoke, needing to get out of the house to process things.
My mother was behind me as I took the lead to the front door. I grabbed the knob and pulled it open, almost walking smack-dab into Dreux who was on the other side. He’d been about to knock, his fist raised.
“Hey…” His words trailed to a stop as I stepped outside past him with my mother.
In the midst of the chaos, I’d forgotten about Dreux.
But one thing at a time.
“This is my mom. Mom, this is my friend Dreux.” I did a quick sweep from each of them. I could barely look at Dreux as I took off down the steps. “I’ve gotta go.”
My mother went around to the driver’s side of the Jetta and I was quick to climb into the passenger seat. I buckled in and watched as Dreux slowly descended our porch steps and headed back to his house. He stole a look my way, worry written across his face.
“He’s cute,” my mother spoke up.
I closed my eyes and swore beneath my breath. So. Fucked.
There was only one motel in town. Meadow Grove Inn. A single-story establishment complete with a pool and free breakfast, according to the sign out front.
My mother was staying in Room 7. Her suitcase was still in the doorway when she let us in, as if she’d sought Scott out immediately.
“I’m going to take a shower,” my mother said before she grabbed a change of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.