Page 22 of Saved By My Buyers

Shaking himself off, he looks at Bee the way a father should. His gaze is warm and clear, and he grins widely at her. The shift is strange and abrupt, making me wonder who the real Gareth Davies is.

“Of course not, honey,” he says to her, winking. “We’re both a little tired. I think it’ll let us both rest before you get back.”

Mom nods slowly as Gareth walks around the car to her side. “A nap does sound nice. The time change is a little jarring.”

“You can say that again,” Gareth says, stifling a yawn. I feel as if I just listened to a conversation with two different people. “Thanks for taking the girls out, Jack. Bronwyn should have her credit card to pay for things.”

Jack just nods noncommittally as he watches them disappear. “Well then,” he grunts. “One, that was a very confusing conversation. And two, you’d have to light me on fire for me to even think about you spending a penny on today.”

“Can I pay for ice cream?” Bee asks, smirking. She shows no evidence of the exchange that just happened bothering her. It’s as if she’s already shrugged it off.

More so, her question shows that she’s onto me and my way of letting me pay for things.

“Negotiable,” Jack says, scowling playfully. “Let’s go before they change their minds.”

Grinning, Bee and I get into the SUV as Jack slides into the front seat quickly. He could be right, they may have some kind of parasite that doesn’t allow them to make decisions. That could be a thing, right?

“Alright, so what have you two been up to?” Jack asks as we shut the doors and he puts the vehicle in drive. He never turned off the engine, probably so he could make a quick getaway.

I blush, knowing he means in general, and Bee squeezes my hand as she starts to answer, allowing me to jump in after I get a damn grip.

“My favorite places have to be the bounce place and the pool,” I agree. I don’t explain that Bee jumping or in a bikini are the reasons why.

“You’re up to no good Dolly,” Jack says, chuckling. “Good for you. Don’t grow up too fast. Have fun.”

Bee smiles as she glances at me from under her lashes, and Jack shakes his head in amusement. Thankfully, he doesn’t make it weird. We spend the next two hours having a blast skating at the rink, and Bee and I hold hands together without anyone calling us out on it.

She’s gorgeous, and I want to do all the cutesy things that you do with your girlfriend.

“The first time I asked my friends if we could all spend time together, they asked me if I was into you,” Bee says, glancing at me as we skate. It’s freezing in the rink, but it’s refreshing after being outside.

“How did they know?” I ask, eyes wide as we turn a corner.

“Apparently, I was gushing about you,” she says with a giggle. “Chad just really wanted to make sure you were nice. There are people at school who aren’t going to be supportive of us dating for various reasons. Chad gets a lot of shit for being openly gay.”

“Why would I be mean about that?” I gasp. Remembering Jack’s speech about how you can’t help who you love, I realize how lucky I am to have him in my corner. He just wants me to be happy.

“You’d be surprised,” she mutters. “I just wanted you to know that I liked you disturbingly quickly, and to warn you that not everyone will be as accepting about it.”

“Okay,” I say slowly. “Do you want to keep it quiet at school?”

I can’t see why else she’d be telling me this unless she does.

“What? No!” Bee stops me abruptly, pulling me off the ice. Jack passes us by, raising his hand as he keeps skating. “I’m telling you so you can decide if you want to date me.”

We awkwardly walk in our skates toward a bench, sitting down to take a break. My calves are already beginning to shake, unused to this much activity.

“I don’t really care what people think,” I say bluntly with a smirk. “I didn’t have friends at the prep school I was going to, and it honestly suited me just fine since Mom was gone for six months. So, yes, I still want to date you.”

Sighing in relief, Bee gives me a huge hug as I grin.

“I still can’t believe she didn’t call you,” Bee grumbles as Jack walks off the ice. He does it much better than we did, though.

“She called once to check on me,” I correct, shrugging.

“I think I need fuel,” Jack comments, patting his flat stomach. “Burgers and fries? You’re the only ones I can eat it with, because my other friends are athletes.”

“Yes, please. Also, you have other friends?” Bee asks, teasing him as she begins to unlace her skates.

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