Page 29 of Unleashed

“Rod!”

I blink and look for Hadley but realize she didn’t call me. With crossed arms, Simone taps her foot on the grass with a scowl. “Throw the damn ball.”

“It’s Greg, and you know that,” I growl, trying not to draw too much attention to us. Why is she insulting me? Simone bawled in Val’s arms after she broke up with me. I saw her as I drove away amid my own blubbering.

“Oh, my bad.” Who the fuck is she trying to be? Shasta’s replacement? Holy fucking hell.

Without warning, I throw the ball high enough that she’d never catch it. The ball flies over her head and drops into the grass behind her with a sad thud.

Simone shrieks, “For real?”

“I just did what you told me to do.” Thankfully, I can’t see her eyes behind her sunglasses. At least I don’t have to watch her ignoring my existence.

“I never said to knock my head off!” I’d love to.

“Oh, my bad,” I drone, using her stupid excuse.

She stomps to the ball, and when she bends over, my dick notices. Fucking Benedict Arnold. As she picks up the ball, she waves at Manure and blows him a kiss. I yell, “Stop fucking around, Garrison!”

Her maroon lips scrunch as she grits her teeth. “It’s Simpson now.”

I shrug. “Does Daddy know that?” With little effort, I catch the ball and wing it back to her, fast and high. She jumps for it, and I enjoy the view, and again, the jolt to my balls reminds me that even if my brain doesn’t agree, the rest of my body is a massive fan of hers. Between throws, I use my glove to hide my crotch. Fortunately, I’m wearing jeans and not sweats. Good Christ. What a disaster that would’ve been.

Simone whips the ball toward my face, but I catch it. Her glower is pure gold. This time, I give little effort into my pitch and make Simone dive for it. Which is also enjoyable to watch.

After sliding on her knees to catch it, Simone gripes, “Why in the hell do you care?”

“Well, if you’re lying to him, maybe he should know. That would be the decent thing to do. Right?”

She stands to brush off her pants. “It’s not your concern, Rod.” She tosses the ball back to me, but I catch it, pissing her off more. With each throw, we inch closer to each other, if we realize it or not. No matter what, we’re always drawn to each other, good or bad.

When I have the ball, I put my index finger on my chin and pretend to ponder my following comment. “Hold on. Maybe someone should tell your dad.”

Simone closes the distance between us, snarling, “My life isn’t an open book to you anymore. My father knows everything.” It’s a fucking shame that I now see her eyes because the anger and avoidance are hard to swallow.

I aim for indifference as I adjust my stupid hat. Still, I’m far from her, not affecting me in every fucking way possible. “Sure he doesn’t, Garrison.” From the corner of my eye, I notice Tesco hovering near Crick and Rhonda, biding his time to jump on Simone. He’ll sniff around her skirt again once she’s removed enough from our marriage debacle.

While my mouth waters, Simone shakes her head, now with unexpected sadness on her face. “I thought you were different.”

I slam the ball into my glove and laugh so I don’t scream. “Have you seen my damn life? I’m as different as a three-headed dog.” I lean closer to her, and Simone flinches. “But you still fell for me.”

Her mouth falls open, but she keeps shaking her head, eyes still glued to my chest. “I lied. I only used you. I wish I could say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” Her monotone is chilling because if she lied when she claimed to have loved me, maybe she’s telling the truth now.

My stomach dives into the dirt, like jumping off a goddamn bridge without a parachute, and I don’t want to admit the first words that come to mind.

Simone looks up at me but still doesn’t meet my eyes. Her eyes aren’t teary, but her voice sounds weepy. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Are you delusional? You work at my fucking office!”

She bites her lip, looking around, but when her gaze lands on my throat, she goes off like a whistling teapot. “I can’t believe I’m subjecting myself to this shit! Haven’t you caused me enough pain? You weren’t supposed to be back here until I was gone!”

“I’m so sorry to fuck up your quest to fuck me over!”

From somewhere beside me, I hear Hadley hiss, “Rod! Simone!”

I don’t need Betsy to hear all the sordid details with her pointy radar ears and to spread rumors laced with the truth.

Simone drops her glove and crosses her arms over her ample tits. “You want to talk about screwing? Oh, you don’t want me to go there.”

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