Page 65 of Tiny Fractures

My mom turns toward him, an eyebrow raised. “Really?”

“Yeah. I know my way around cars,” he says, his voice confident, and I smile again. Good-looking and handy. I wonder what else he’s good at. I’m surprised by my own thoughts; I can’t believe I’m even thinking about sex this early in the game. I’ve never slept with anyone, but after only a little over a month of knowing Ronan, I’m ready to drop my panties. You need to get ahold of yourself, Cat!

My siblings make themselves at home in front of the TV while my mom and I watch as Ronan gets to work on my mom’s car. My mom giggles and gives me a little shove with her elbow when Ronan leans over the hood, checking whatever it is he’s looking at.

“You got yourself a hottie,” she whispers at me, and I throw her a shocked look. “What?” she says. “It was a compliment.”

I smile to myself and return my eyes to Ronan. His shirt has ridden up, exposing just a sliver of his smooth back and the waistband of his black boxer briefs. It gets me thinking about what it would feel like to run my hands all over his body.

Ronan has my mom attempt to start the car while he’s still bent over the hood, but the car only makes a clinking noise.

“I’m pretty sure it’s your starter,” Ronan says, his head reappearing from under the hood as my mom slams the door shut.

“That doesn’t sound good,” she says with a frown.

“It’s not too difficult to fix, it just needs a new part.” Ronan’s hands are greasy, and I feel bad that he’s over here fixing my mom’s car rather than us spending some time together, alone.

“Okay,” my mom sighs, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side. “I’ll need to call a tow, get the car in the shop, and then figure out how to efficiently travel between my office and the clinic tomorrow morning.”

“Or I can get the part for you and put it in right now,” Ronan offers. He’s so damn sweet, and my mom is eating it up. This situation is completely different from my parents’ interactions with Adam. My dad couldn’t stand him from the beginning; my mom really, really tried, and she never said a bad thing about Adam to my face.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that,” my mom responds, but I can tell she likes the idea.

“It’s really not a problem. I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but you have kind of an old car, so it’s actually much easier to fix. It’ll take me a couple of hours to get it running again,” Ronan assures her.

My mom looks at me apologetically, and I give her a quick smile.

“There you go. Having an old clunker turns out to be a good thing,” my mom tells me, nudging me with her elbow after Ronan leaves to get the part for the car.

“Yeah, except if you weren’t driving an old clunker, Ran probably wouldn’t have to spend the next few hours fixing your car,” I retort.

My mom’s face falls. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hijack your afternoon with your boyfriend.” The word “boyfriend” catches me off-guard. Ronan and I haven’t put any labels on our relationship yet, but yeah, I guess he is my boyfriend. And I’m his girlfriend. A huge smile erupts on my face, and my mom gives me a quick squeeze, sensing my giddiness. “He seems pretty great, Cat. And he’s really, really cute.” She winks at me but turns thoughtful.

“What, Mom?” I’m unnerved by the sudden shift in mood.

She looks at me contemplatively. “We should get you on the pill.”

It takes me a few seconds to register what she’s talking about. “Oh,” I finally say as she grins at me. “Uh, I guess?” It’s probably a good idea, considering where my mind goes when I so much as think about Ronan; not that I want to rush things, but it’s good to be prepared.

“It’s absolutely happening. I’ve seen you guys together more than once now, and I have firsthand knowledge what can happen when boys look at girls the way Ronan looks at you. Why do you think I had you at only twenty?” She winks at me again.

I blush. “Eww, Mom. I don’t need to hear about your and Dad’s sex life, please,” I beg, and she laughs. “And I’m not rushing anything with Ronan,” I try to assure her and myself.

She only smiles at me. “Right. We’ll see about that,” she says, and walks back into the house.

Ronan

I run to the store alone, leaving Cat behind, assuring her that I’ll make it quick. I didn’t think she’d be interested in going car-part shopping with me. I quickly find what I’m looking for and pay at the counter. The guys at the small family-owned shop know me well; I’m in here all the time.

My phone vibrates on my way out the store. I pull it out of my back pocket; it reads “Mom” on the screen. Damn it. “Yeah?” I answer, my voice uneven.

“You didn’t put away the laundry,” my mom says stiffly, her voice barely containing her anger.

Crap! This is already my second fuck-up today, and it’s barely past noon.

I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning, disoriented by my surroundings, until I remembered I was at Shane’s. My pounding head rudely reminded me that I’d overdone it last night. And then I had an oh-shit moment when I realized I never let my parents know that I wouldn’t be home. I walked out to the living room of Shane’s mom’s beach house—no sign of Shane and Tori, who were likely still asleep in Shane’s bed—and sent Shane a text letting him know that I’d be heading home.

Both my parents were already up when I got home, and the look on my mother’s face when I stepped foot in the house, probably looking hungover and disheveled as fuck, spoke volumes.

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