Page 12 of After the Vows

“Show’s over,” I tell the crowd. “Nothing more to see here.”

A woman rakes her gaze up and down my body. “I disagree.” She bites her bottom lip and flutters her eyelashes at me. “I’ll be at Mermaid Karaoke tonight.”

“Sorry. I have a kid at home.”

Weston slaps my back. “You’re using your kid as an excuse?”

I shrug. “I’m recently divorced. I’m not interested in a relationship.”

“Not even with Chloe?”

My cock twitches at the thought of my neighbor laid out in front of me. Her red hair spread over my pillow. I bet her porcelain skin blushes a pretty pink when she’s excited.

I clear my throat. “I’m on a break until my daughter is older.”

Weston rubs his hands together. “This is going to be fun.”

I ignore him. The same way I’m ignoring my body. My cock might want to discover all there is to know about Chloe. But it’s not happening. I don’t need a woman now. Especially not a woman who shows up to my house where my daughter is living without any clothes on.

Chapter 5

Natalia – an adorable preteen who’s currently in the middle of a breakdown

Chloe

Islam the door shut behind me and kick off my shoes. My feet are killing me, my back is sore, and I smell of beer. I work in a brewery. It’s not unusual to smell faintly of beer. But I smell like a beer factory since a customer threw his beer at me when I cut him off.

I enjoy a nice drink or two at lunch as much as the next person but there’s no reason to be smashed at two in the afternoon. Unless it’s the Moonshine and Merriment Festival and you’ve been hitting the Mermaid Moonshine all morning while watching pirates fight each other.

But the festival isn’t for a few more weeks. So, Mr. Drunk At Two had no excuse. And there’s never an excuse to waste beer by throwing it.

After I shower and wash my hair, I put on a pair of comfy shorts and a t-shirt. There’s no sense in getting dressed up since I’m not going out again.

I make myself a sandwich and plop down on my sofa to eat it. I switch on the television and flip through the channels but nothing interests me.

“How was your day, Switch? What about you, Bait?”

My guppies don’t answer. They never do. Probably because they’re fish.

I’d love to get a dog to keep me company, but I’m not home enough to care for a dog. I’m usually at the brewery handling the restaurant from eleven in the morning until eleven at night. I can’t leave a dog home for twelve hours by himself. I’m lonely. Not cruel.

“Chloe!” Natalia screams before ringing the doorbell.

I rush to the door and fling it open. “What’s wrong?”

Lucas’s daughter rushes inside. “Shut the door. Shut the door.”

“You’re freaking me out,” I say as I shut the door.

“It’s horrible. I’m so embarrassed. I don’t know what to do.” She flaps her arms up and down.

I grasp her hands. “Tell me what happened. We’ll figure this out.”

“I got my period!” She bursts into tears and I pull her into my arms.

“Hey. It’s okay.” I rock her from side to side.

“You don’t understand. It’s my first period and there was blood on my shorts. Everyone saw.”

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