Page 17 of Sold on Them

“Blaze?”

Damon can’t seem to tear his eyes away from me either. “We’re good. Thank you for all your help tonight, Jen. Have a great weekend.”

“You, too.” She hesitates for a moment, but eventually, I hear the door shut behind her.

“What are you doing here, Damon?”

He smirks. “I think you know what I’m doing here.”

I make a face. “Don’t start thinking you can charm me like that. It might have been ten years since I saw you, but I still remember it well.”

“Damn, Mackenzie. I can’t believe it’s you.” He strides over, hesitating as he nods to the seat beside me. “May I?”

“Yes, please.” The moment he sits on the couch, my hands are reaching for him. “I can’t believe you’re here. But seriously. Why are you here?”

He chuckles. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“And I’ll happily tell you after you answer me.” Cocking an eyebrow, I fight against the smile, trying to sneak out. It might have been ten years since I saw him, but it feels like yesterday.

“Fuck. Fine. I forgot how you’d always do this.” Damon shakes his head. “After Reginald had me arrested for assault, I was sentenced to ninety days in jail—“

“I’m well aware. I was at your sentencing. And I would’ve come to visit you in jail if you hadn’t refused to see me.” My words come out sharper than I meant them to. I guess I’m a little annoyed at the man in front of me.

He sighs. “I didn’t want to drag you into my mess. Mr. Hilton was determined to take everything from me and my mom since my dad was dead. He punished us because there was no one else to punish. I didn’t want you or Parker dragged into that.

“By the time I was released, he’d already run my mom out of town. She was living in a tiny one-bedroom in the worst part of Detroit. Life wasn’t easy for us, but let’s not get into that right now. Mom was diagnosed with early-onset dementia about five years ago. Her treatment is anything but cheap, and I’ve been doing everything I can to stay afloat. Half a million dollars for a weekend of sex is much better than what I’ve been doing.”

“No. Not your mom.” I fight against the tears I already feel welling in my eyes. “She’s dealt with enough in her life. I’m so sorry the two of you are having to deal with that.”

He shrugs as if it’s no big deal, but it’s clear just how much it’s affected him. “It is what it is. Now, tell me how you ended up here.”

“After you were arrested, Mr. Hilton all but ejected me from their house—telling me I was a bad influence on Parker, and it was time to remove that influence. The next day, Parker was gone. His number was disconnected, and all I could get from his dad was that he was attending a military school for the rest of the summer and for senior year. I never saw him again.”

Sighing, I look away. It’s so hard to think about that time, and that’s not even the worst thing I have to tell him. “I only left Ashwood to go to college. As soon as I’d gotten my Master’s, I returned home. It helped me out and my family liked having me around again. Then, six months ago, my parents took Lilyand Ember on vacation in California. They were killed in a rockslide.”

“Jesus, Mackenzie. I’m so fucking sorry.”

I smile, still fighting tears. “It is what it is, right? Unfortunately, my parents had more debt than I knew. They’d taken out a second mortgage to cover my master’s degree. Their estate was just settled, and if I don’t come up with two hundred thousand dollars by the end of May, then I will lose the house. Well, five hundred thousand is more than two hundred, isn’t it?”

“Fuck.” Damon pulls me into his arms, and I lay my head on his chest. My eyes fall shut, remembering what it was like to be held by this man all those years ago. His body might have changed—somehow bulking out even more—but it still feels like this is where I belong.

It also gets me to thinking about the last time I saw him and Parker—somehow both the best and worst day of my life.

Chapter Nine

Mackenzie

Ten Years Ago

“How does it feel to be a graduate?” I ask as Damon pushes open the door to the Hiltons’ house.

Damon, Parker, and I have been the best of friends for as long as we can remember. Probably because, up until a few months ago, all three sets of our parents were close. Damon is a year older than me and Parker, so he just graduated last week. His mom took him on a trip to see his aunt for a week. The three of us have talked on the phone every day, but we’ve kept it mostly surface talk.

Neither me nor Parker wanted to bring up anything that would make Damon think of his dad. He’s only been gone for a few months, and we knew his death carried a black cloud over what should’ve been a glorious event.

It’s a black cloud that’s been hovering over Ashwood since February when Damon’s dad and Parker’s mom died in a car accident. In a car they weren’t meant to be in together. Damon’s dad was supposed to be on a work trip, while Parker’s mom was supposed to be on a girl’s trip with some girls she went to college with.

Apparently, they’d been having an affair. Our parents didn’t talk about it much, at least not where the three of us could hear. We don’t know how long it was going on, or what it meant for the four of them remaining. We just knew we wouldn’t let it affect our friendship—or more than friendship if things keep going in the direction they’ve been going in.

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