Page 43 of Wandering Closer

Where was my invite, dickbags?

Thoren :

… I wanted alone time with Lily.

River :

*picture of Thoren kissing Lily in the hallway*

River :

“alone time”

Jake :

Damn. I guess you didn’t screw it up.

Thoren :

*middle finger emoji* that picture gets my dick hard

Jake :

…mine too.

River :

GAG I’m out. Happy for you bro, glad you could make it and drive home safe. Jake, stop by next time you go to your showroom, bud. I miss you.

Jake :

Will do.

Those two are absolute hooligans, but damn, I love them. I save the photo of Lily and me in the hallway because I wasn’t lying; it’s fucking hot. By the time I get my phone back in my pocket, the game is over. Hand in hand, Lily and I shuffle our way out with the rest of the fans and head to Freya for the drive home.

“I still can’t believe my truck has a girl's name.”

“Hey, don’t hurt her feelings. She’s a warrior and deserves respect,” she chastises me. I open her door, helping her in, and buckling her seatbelt.

“Maybe her name should be Lily then.” Her cheeks heat, and I love that I have that effect on her. “Are you hungry for dinner, or do you want to head straight home?”

“I had so many snacks there. I’m good with going home. A long shower after sweating in the sun all day sounds amazing.”

I do just that, taking us home after our perfect little getaway. A long shower is calling my name, too, but after I drop Lily off, I have to get Shadow from my parents and I know my mom will bombard me with questions. No doubt River has already told her that Lily and I are together now. I still am a little shocked that Lily is willing to take a chance on me, but I won’t waste it. Tyler treated her like a doormat, and I intend to treat her like the queen that she is.

Lily’s phone dings, and she slips it from her purse, checking the message. In my peripherals, I watch her face light up, only to quickly shut down again. Her cheeks turn red and her hands tremble as she turns away from me.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing,” her subdued voice says with a slight tremor.

“Baby, please don’t lie to me. What’s going on?”

She slowly turns back to me, silent tears tracking down her face. “It was my mom. She hasn’t talked to me in months, and she only reached out to criticize me.”

I flex my hands on the steering wheel, gripping tight as my anxiety bleeds into anger. “What did she say?”

“I guess the cameras at the game caught the interaction with Case and then me kissing you. Her friend called her to ask about it. She said I’m embarrassing her, and asked that if I’m going to continue making these choices, that I at least do it in private.”Her lower lip trembles as she squeezes her fingers together. “I don’t even know what choices I’m making that she’s talking about. Living my life? Having a relationship? What am I doing that’s so wrong?”

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