Page 39 of Unleashed

Wilder releases her mouth, but instead of telling me to fuck off or punching me in the face, he sits back, staring at Hadley. His eyes burn with lust and wordless pleas. Hadley trails her thumb over his bottom lip before she leans in to kiss him again. Although I don’t look for it, I notice his crotch jerking, and I wish my mother had dropped me harder on my head. If Hadley jacks him off here, I’m moving to Siberia.

I sigh, hoping they get the hint. However, Wilder pulls Hadley to him and rests his chin on her head. They’re disgusting. They can’t be that into each other. Love like that doesn’t exist. For me, at least.

I’d rather eat battery acid than admit it aloud, but he and Hadley are like each other’s missing part. Barf.

Hadley stands, pulling Wilder up with her. She then turns to me and pinches my short sleeve. When I look up, she says, “Let’s get something to eat.” I shake my head, but Hadley leans closer and whispers, “There’s hummus.”

Like her puppet, I stand, and her smile is triumphant. I roll my eyes as Wilder puts his arm around Hadley and pulls her forward. He leans down to whisper something to her. Hadley’s steps falter, and I lose my desire for hummus. Almost. I’m not a complete degenerate.

We arrive at the food tables. Brandon has a big spread for Shasta’s hit-the-road party. He even hired servers dressed in maroon and white—our softball team’s colors. White linen covers every damn table here, and silver serving dishes gleam brighter than Patrice. I notice the lit candles hanging from the overhead trellis spanning the yard. Quaint bullshit.

When I see hummus on a small table with vegetables and crackers, all is right with the world. I pile some onto a plate, grab some veggies, and return to the table. This works as dinner.

As I sit, I notice Sylvie talking to Val. Before sitting, I take a cautious look around the yard. I’m not looking for Simone, but I don’t want her to blindside me.

I scoop hummus with a carrot and take a bite. Sylvie leaves Val to stand next to my chair. “Fine, Rod. Don’t talk to me.” Holy hell on fire. I’m only here for the hummus.

Between bites, I mumble, “Hi.”

Sylvie sits in Hadley’s empty chair. When I glance at her, she flips her silvery-blonde hair and bats her eyes at me. Maybe it’s not hospitable, but I say, “Hadley’s sitting there.”

She shrugs. “I know. I’ll leave when she comes back.” I don’t have a response to that, so I keep eating. But when Sylvie leans closer to me, I freeze. Like mid-bite, mid-breath, and mid-heartbeat. There are three women, tops, I tolerate near me. She ain’t one of them.

Sylvie licks her reddish-orange lips. “You’re way too handsome to be single.”

I reach for my beer, but my trembling hands sidetrack me. I shove them both under the table and try to scoot an inch from her suffocating Sand & Sable-esk smell. It reminds me of Aunt Carol. Like the Christmas song, when I was seven, I saw Aunt Carol kissing Uncle Zeke, dressed as Santa Claus. Being a dumb kid, I told Uncle Seth, her husband. Three days later, a farmer found Aunt Carol floating in Falls Lake. The funeral home stunk of Sand & Sable and Uncle Seth’s alibi. Not a fan of either.

“Hey there, Sylvie.” From behind Sylvie, Hadley’s voice has an edge that even surprises me. She grins but grits her teeth. Holy shit. Wilder sits down, glaring at me to remove his wife from this situation before he removes my liver.

“Hadders, welcome back. Sylvie was just warming your seat.”

Sylvie’s smile falls, and she stands, muttering, “Yep. That’s me. Seat warmer.”

Hadley smiles and slides past Sylvie to reclaim her chair. Thank you, Bob Ross. My little trees are semi-happy for the moment.

As I return to my hummus, Nico makes hissing noises. When I look up to see if he’s having a stroke, his eyes widen at something past me. And as things in my fucking world go, my fears slam me in the junk. I see Simone talking at the side of the house with some preppy douche. She then stands in front of him with her back to the table. She’s already moved on from Mud? Jesus Christ.

Even though it’s spring, Simone is wearing an ice-blue halter top and a khaki miniskirt that hugs her ass tighter than Grandma saying goodbye on her deathbed. Unless she hugs a tomato stake or a freight train.

I can’t help but stare at my former wife. Simone leads her new dildo over to our table. She pulls out the chair next to Ricky and waves to the chair next to her, encouraging her date to grace my view. I’ve seen this sandy-haired prick somewhere, but generic snots are a dime a dozen.

Simone says, “This is Archer Rhodes. Brandon’s grandson. Archer, that stud next to you is Nico Ferrera, and that’s my sister-in-law, Hadley, her hubs, Finn Wilder, and Finn’s BFF, Ricky Tesco.” She flips her hair and turns to Val, saying, “This is one of the best women in the world, Val Dryden, and she’s holding my niece, Finley.” Simone doesn’t look at me as she tosses a limp wave. “That’s Rod.” Hag.

Val says, “Oh my word, Archer. You were just a little guy the last time I saw you.”

I study Junior’s face. His smile is polite douchery. He nods at Val. “It’s an honor to meet you. Gramps talks about you all the time.” He doesn’t add if that’s good or bad. I doubt Brandon raves to his family about Val’s flawless morals. And this Rhodes spawn is overdoing it with the fucking charm.

Val shows way more interest in this fucker than me. “Didn’t you go to Duke?” Fuck me.

Richie Rich III nods. “I graduated in December.” Well, shit. And there we are. He’s got through college by clinging to his grandfather’s ball sack.

Underneath the table, Val puts her hand on my thigh. Not in a gross, sexual way, perv. But in a calm-down way and to let her handle it. She clears her throat. “Durham is a lovely city.”

Before he answers, Simone says, “We ran into each other a few times when I worked at a bar.” That’s where I’ve seen the bastard. Can’t she even mention my aunt or the bar’s ludicrous name? Granted, The Depot sounds like a hooker’s delousing station and cocaine lounge, but word of mouth still rules.

Simone then turns toward Wilder. “Finn, Archer is a huge fan of yours.” Oh, here we go.

“He reaches past Simone and holds out his hand. Hi, Archer.”

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