Page 31 of The Player

I place the phone down on the counter and pull out ingredients for strawberry muffins.

“Julie!”

I drop the bowl onto the counter and run into his room. “What? Are you alright?” I touch his arms and force him to look at me.

“Why are there pictures of me on this wall?”

Oh, I forgot about the pictures. Dang it. Blushing, I drop my hands from his arms and look down.“Lennox. He’s…he’s a huge fan of yours.”

“Ah, your boy toy likes me, huh?” His words hit me like daggers, and I gasp in pain. How could he think so little of me?

The front door slams, and I close my eyes. “Mom?”

Not answering Aaron, I walk into the living room. “Lennox.” I grab at him and he laughs, dodging my hold.

“Mom, I’m starving.” He throws his backpack onto the couch and stops in his tracks to the kitchen.

“Is… No… Oh… Mom!” I can’t help but laugh at how Lennox is moving his head back and forth between me and Aaron.

“Hey, little man. I’m…” Aaron walks a bit further into the living room, and Lennox bolts toward Aaron.

“Wow.” Aaron chuckles as Lennox wraps his arms around him. God, I hope that Aaron won’t be an ass toward him.

“Aaron Johannsen is in our house. Mom…” I take Lennox by the shoulder and tug at him.

“Let Aaron relax, honey. He has had a long day and needs to rest.”

“This is so cool. I’m going to call Chris and Jake. They aren’t going to believe me.” He whoops, and Aaron laughs as Lennox runs out of the room and up the stairs.

Walking into the kitchen, I pick up the ingredients that I dropped.

“What are you making?”

Looking up at Aaron, I jump.

“Jesus! You scared me.” I scowl at him and grab the flour container that’s now on its side, and thank goodness the lid didn’t pop off.

“You’ve been out of my presence for a total of five seconds, and you’ve already forgotten me?” He raises an eyebrow at me and sits down at the counter.

“That’s not funny,” I snarl at him and open the egg carton. “I’m making strawberry muffins.”

“You think that’s a wise choice of food?”

Gasping, I feel my entire stomach drop. Did…did he really say that? Gulping, I put on a smile and shrug. “Yup.” That’s all I say. As my heart pitches a fast beat, I try to keep my blood pressure down. It isn’t working, but I refuse to cry in front of him.

“Why not try a protein shake or something?” He grabs a strawberry and pops it into his mouth.

“Why don’t you take medication for being an asshole? It might help people like you.” I didn’t mean to say that. Fudge!

“Ju-Ju, I…” Grabbing a spatula, I suck in a deep breath. It’s painful to realize that I’m never going to be good enough for Aaron.

“No, you’ve said enough. We both know you hated my weight back when we were younger, and you hate it now. Guess what?” I put my hand on my hip and point my spatula at him. “I didn’t care then, and I sure as heck don’t care now. If you can’t stand to look at me, the door is always open for you to hightail your butt out of here. But you will not speak like that in front of Lennox. You got it?”

Aaron holds his hands up and gets off the stool. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. You don’t mean it. Why don’t you call one of your old buddies and see if Holly is around? I’m sure she can make you feel welcome.”

I turn away from him. The more I think about how he’s treating me, the more I get worked up and the worse my headache gets. Gah, why can’t he love me the way I am? Why do I even care what he thinks or says?

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