Page 14 of Not Your Little Girl Anymore

Lying on the couch brings back so many memories about how Mom would sneak into my bedroom, whispering to let me know the popcorn was ready. Then, we would tiptoe down the stairs quietly and pray Dad didn’t wake up. He always disliked the idea of junk food after seven. But Mom often broke that rule. She would let me choose a movie, and we’d snuggle up together on the couch. Dad and I did a lot together, but this was our time to savor. I often wondered if Dad ever knew. If he did, he never said anything.

Chloe gives me a soft smile, her dark brown eyes softening. “I’ll always be here when you need me. Unless I have to work.”

I frown, thinking about what I’m going to do with my life now. A college dropout certainly doesn’t look good on my resume.

I blow out a small breath. “Hey, Chloe. I have to tell you something.”

She blinks at me, tilting her head. “You don’t sound thrilled.”

My lips pinch, and I look away feeling the weight in my heart dip lower. “I sort of dropped out of college.”

She shoots up, straightening herself and crossing her legs. “Dude. Does your dad know?” I chew on the inside of my cheek and shake my head. Chloe lets out a long breath and runs her fingers through her black hair. “Holy shit. He’s going to flip out. I definitely want to be here when you tell him.”

Slouching down on the couch, I groan. I never did figure out when to tell my father. When I informed the school I was no longer going to attend, I knew I would tell Dad at some point. Given Mom’s passing, I couldn’t possibly tell him right away. But I never gave myself much thought about when.

“So, what are you going to do?” Chloe grabs the bottle of water she placed on the coffee table when she first arrived, twists the cap, and takes a sip.

I shake my head, ashamed of myself. “I don’t know. I just know it wasn’t what I was meant to do, you know.”

She licks her lips and nudges my arm. “You can come work with me.”

I nearly choke on my laugh. “Yes, because selling Taboo sex toys is my true calling.”

Chloe shrugs her shoulders. “Your loss. Great discounts. I think you could use a few of them.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Take some of that stress off. Blow off steam.”

I give her a drool expression. “No, thank you, Chlo.”

She groans. “Come on, Summer. You really need to loosen up sometimes.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t need sex to loosen up.”

“You need to learn how to have fun.”

“I know how to have fun,” I scoff.

She squints her eyes and stares at me long and hard. “Do you, now? Do you?”

Chloe takes another sip of water.

“I almost kissed Alec.” The words rush out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I scrunch my face. Regret weighing on my shoulders.

Clear liquid erupts out of her mouth as she spits her water across the room and chokes. Her hand flies to her chest until she stops coughing. Once she does, she looks at me. “What did you just say? Alec? As in the lead singer of Devil’s Riot? The same guy who was staring at you during the concert?”

I bite my lip and nod. When my eyes meet Chloe’s, my stomach coils as she stares at me in a statue-like state. I run my tongue across my bottom lip and wiggle on the couch.

“Are you going to say something?” I ask, blinking repeatedly.

“Start at the beginning. How? When? Where? Tell me everything!”

My chest tightens, and I flop down on her lap and start from the beginning. Chloe doesn’t say anything while I tell her exactly what happened the moment I walked out of the funeral home. She looks intrigued, as if she’s proud I wasn’t opposed to kissing someone I didn’t even know. Typical Chloe.

I run my palms down my face, dragging them dramatically off my chin. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

She pushes me up from her lap, and turns to face me. “There is nothing wrong with you, Summer. You are twenty-three years young. You have needs.”

“I have needs?” I question.

“Duh. I mean, I was surprised you fucked Billy Rogers in high school, but that doesn’t mean you have to let your goods go to waste.”

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