Page 61 of My Mistake To Make

I turn to look at her, not understanding, and she punches my bicep.

‘Ah, Zoe, what the fuck?’

‘She had never had an orgasm, dickhead. You fucking knew that.’

‘No, you said about the toys.’

‘She didn’t use them. We talked about it that day, but she hadn’t plucked up the courage yet.’

‘I didn’t know.’

‘But you knew no man had got her off, even if she had been using the toys or her fingers every second that she was alone, you knew that was going to mean something to her.’ Bree says a little more calmly than the feral cat on the other side of me. ‘You took her first orgasm and ran, Doug.’

Fuck.

‘I didn’t mean…’

‘Youdidn’t mean. It’s always that with you,’ Zoe snaps. ‘Youdidn’t meanto break our doll house when you were nine, youdidn’t meanto fuck Jessie in Mom’s bed when you were seventeen, youdidn’t meanto knock her up, youdidn’t meanto hurt Cara.’

I exhale sharply at the expression on Zoe’s face. She’s mad, like really mad.

‘She’s soft, Doug. I mean, she’s tough, she’s braver than she knows, but she’s sweet and careful. It took a lot for her to admit her inexperience and to want to take charge of it. It meant a lot to her, and you stole that experience.’

‘Thing is, I’m pretty sure there’s nobody she would have preferred it to be than you,’ Bree says, and I marvel at the difference in their tone. Zoe, pissed and frantic. Bree, disappointed and calm. Somehow, Bree is way scarier. ‘She likes you, Doug. She hasn’t said as much, but she jolts as though she’s been electrocuted whenever she hears your name, and she searches the diner, the bar, wherever as soon as she enters, looking for you.’

‘You don’t know that,’ I say, my voice quiet.

‘Yeah, we do. We knew from day one that she thought you were hot, but now she knows you more, it’s obvious. She doesn’t know we know, but we know.’

I lean forward, dropping my head into my hands.

I fucked up way more than I thought.

‘So, what are you going to do about it?’ Zoe places her hand on my back and speaks more softly, the change making me turn my head to the side to look at her as she smiles softly.

‘Zo, I can’t…’

‘Then tell her why.’

‘She deserves an explanation, Doug.’ Bree backs up her twin, and I nod. I know she does.

‘When is she coming back?’

‘Thursday night, said she’ll be back around six.’

Four days. Four days to think about what the hell I’m going to say to explain how much I like her and how I can’t do a fucking thing about it.

Daddy, I Need To Pee

Cara

‘Oh, my god,’ Missysays, an almost seductive tone to her voice. ‘Are you my sugar mama now?’

I stayed with Doris for a couple of nights, and it was amazing, but telling a nice old lady in detail about what happened with Doug didn’t seem quite right. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to his sisters about it, but I did need to talk about it, so I booked a couple of nights in a spa hotel and invited Missy along for some girl time.

I laugh. ‘You tell me what you need, sweetheart, and I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.’

Missy cackles as she links her arm through mine, and we make our way through the ridiculously fancy lobby.

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