Page 31 of Everything I Desire

“Kayla, you look stunning. Much better than the hot pink dress.” Porter winks at me, and Kayla looks confused but walks over to her date, choosing to ignore his comment.

We all walk Kayla and Eric outside to his car after getting some pictures of them. The tension between Porter and I is palpable.

He is still avoiding me directly, but I’ve made sure to make myself known. A casual brush of my fingers on his, my gaze lingering a little longer on how good he fills out a dark pair of jeans with his open flannel, a tight tee underneath showcasing the muscles earned in the gym. My fingers are desperate to feel them.

He thinks he is avoiding me, but I didn’t miss the accidental brush of his hand across my ass during pictures. My sisters and mom didn’t either. No one can miss the way his eyes have been tracking my every move since he got to my house.

They excuse themselves back into my house to go clean up so I can get to the dance. And now I’m left with just myself and Porter in my driveway.

“Porter -”

“Thank you for giving this to Kayla. I’m going to head to the shop. I’ve got a restoration to finish but I wanted to be here for Kayla.” He nods and starts walking back to his truck in the driveway next door.

That’s itI pout to myself. After this dance, he’s done ignoring me. I’m done with him thinking heisn’t good enough and that he needs to leave me alone. I’m taking this into my own hands.

Chapter Twelve

Porter

It physically hurt to refrain from returning all Addy’s accidental touches tonight.

I want nothing more than to feel the soft skin she’s hiding under that damn black dress. I wish like hell we were alone when she opened that door tonight. The need to hike up her dress and bend her over the kitchen island was so strong it almost broke my barely there willpower. I knew I had to keep myself in check. I couldn’t act on it, no matter how much I wanted to.

Who am I kidding? I need to stay the course, avoidance.

So here I am, doing the only thing I know how to do when I need to avoid my feelings. I’m sitting in my shop, staring at the old Corvette I’ve been hired to restore to its original beauty.

“I knew that was you.” A voice slurs behind me.

Maura. She found me finally.

“Maura. You’re back,” I say tensely, refusing to turn around.

“You got my kid?” she asks.

I turn around to face her. She’s more of a mess than I remember. Swaying on her feet, dirty and ripped clothes on her equally dirty body.

“Where have you been, Maura?” I corner her with my stare.

“Not in my fucking house, you asshole.” She takes a drag off a cigarette.

I walk over to where my toolbox is to turn off the music and open the voice recording app. I want this for proof she doesn’t need to be Kayla’s guardian.

“That wasn’t a house, that was a dump. You let your child live in filth like that, with drug addicts coming around looking for their next fix, or dealers you work for looking for money, or god knows what else they’d take in place of the money. You just left her here for months, Maura. She’s a goddamn kid.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Oh like you’re some fucking saint. You fucking left us too. Fucking hypocrite.” She stumbles and falls to the ground.

“Yeah, I did. And I tried to help you, and Kayla. But you couldn’t let that happen.” I scoff.

“Fuck you.” She spits.

I turn back around, grabbing my wrench off the stool. “Go away, Maura. Go to rehab. Leave your daughter alone. She’s happy and doesn’t want to see you.”

A weight lands on my back and her arms loop around my throat. Luckily she’s too sloppy to actually do damage. I walk outside the bay and peel her off my back, setting her down in the parking lot.

I step into her space. “Get yourself help, Maura. Find a rehab place and send me the bill. You need to get it together. You’ll never get Kayla like this. I can promise you that.”

Blue lights light up the parking lot.

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