Page 66 of Fumble

“I should have left him alone when he asked me to. I shouldn’t have pushed him to be with me.” I look to my friend, suddenly taking in her sex-mussed hair and lack of clothing. Wearing a shirt I know isn’t hers, she wiggles her eyebrows at me, mischief written all over her.

“Seems I’m not the only one who’s been up to no good.”

“Girl, I can categorically attest to the fact that what I was doing was good. Insanely good. Really, unbelievably, toe-curling amazing.”

“Okay, I get it. TMI.” She pulls up her phone, shoving it in my face.

“I don’t think you get to say TMI ever again.” And there it is, the internet with photos of Hunter and me in the car with what they managed to capture on audio, playing on a loop. The garish headline:

NFL LEGEND, HUNTER VAUGHN,

GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY WITH MENTOR’S VIRGIN DAUGHTER.

I skim-read the article, wondering how TMZ could have gotten this out so quickly. I’d love to say it’s sensationalist crap, but everything in there is something that came out of my dumb-ass mouth.

“I need a drink.”

Zee goes in search of some hard liquor. She knows Prosecco isn’t going to cut it right now.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I’m terrified to answer it. I already know who it is, and I just can’t face him right now. I let it go to voicemail, but it immediately starts ringing again.

With trepidation, I pull it from my back pocket to confirm my dad is trying to call me. He’s seen the report for sure. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Faith Constance Fairchild, please tell me this is all a gross misunderstanding?”

“Daddy, it’s not what you think.”

“Good, because it looks like you threw your virginity away on a known player, who is old enough to be your dad.” Hunter is at my side, reaching for my phone. He can’t charm his way out of this one.

“I’m not discussing this with you.”

“But, you did discuss it at a drive-thru for all to hear. Get your ass on a plane right now. I’ll deal with Hunter later.”

“I’m not coming home. Hunter and I are going to face this together. You just need to trust me.”

“I trusted him to look out for you this summer and look how that turned out.”

“I have to go. I’ll call you in a few days once this all calms down. Don’t worry about me, I’m okay. Zee is with me.”

“I’m disappointed, Faith. You just disregarded all the morals your mother and I have tried to instill throughout your life. The things you said were disgusting.” Now, I’m riled.

“How dare you speak to me like that. You don’t get to judge me, Daddy. I’m sorry this got out in such a public way, but I’m not going to apologize for falling for Hunter. You don’t get to make me feel bad about this!” Zee grabs the phone before I say anything else.

“Hello, Mr. Fairchild. This is Zoey. I don’t want y’all to say anything else that you might regret, so I’m going to hang up the phone just now and let you and Faith calm down a little. I’ll be right by her side while this plays out in the media. I’m sorry you’re upset, but I need to think about Faith. I don’t intend to be disrespectful, but I’m hanging up now.”

I stare at her in disbelief. I want to kiss and hug the crap out of her, but I can’t make my body move. I knew my dad wouldn’t be happy, but I never thought he’d call me disgusting. The mood is heavy, all three of them staring at me as tears begin to prick at the corners of my eyes. Thankfully, Coop steps in to break the deafening silence.

“Zee, I think I love you. That was hot as fuck. Let’s leave these two to digest today’s events. I need you in my bedroom. Now.” Zee takes my hands in hers, pulling me into a hug.

“Do you want me to stay with you tonight? We can go to the guest room.” Her voice is nothing more than a whisper.

“No, you go get yours, girl.” Her sweet giggle resonates against my shoulder. The familiar sound soothing my anguish.

“Love you, friend.” The moment she lets me go, Hunter has his hand in mine, leading me to the couch.

“Come sit with me.”

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