Page 46 of Property of Big Daddy

“Only because you don’t litter.”

“Oh my God, he did not say that,” Cecilia shrieks through her laughter as we sprawl on her couch eating white chocolate covered pretzels.

“He did.And I can’t believe I didn’t slap him for it.”

“Girl, you’ve got yourself into a mess with him,” Cecilia admonishes gently, pouring us another round of wine.

Kidd shakes his head at us, but I can tell he’s secretly enjoying our antics.We took pity on him and invited him in when the rain started a torrential downpour.

Thunder cracks in the distance, followed by lightning.A loud boom pops off like a gunshot and the power fails.Cecilia and I scream at the same time as a large shadow passes by the living room window.

“Kidd,” I hiss.“There’s someone out there.”

Three heavy knocks sound against the front door.

“I’ll check it out,” Kidd says and then we hear him curse under his breath when he knocks into the coffee table.

I feel around for my phone and turn on the flashlight function.

Kidd cracks the door open, and Big Daddy shoves his way inside, sopping wet.“This doesn’t look like the fucking gym.”

“Plans changed.You didn’t expect me to work out in a storm, did you?”

“I expected you to be where you said you were going to be.”

“I’m not a child.I don’t need to ask for permission.”

He crosses his arms over his broad chest, taking up most of the space in Cecilia’s small living room.“You could have been anywhere.What if someone grabbed you?”

My laugh comes out more bitter than I intend.“Is that what you came here for?To scold me about my whereabouts?Or did you miss me?”I shoot him a challenging look, though he probably can’t see it.The light on my phone provides very little light.

“What are you doing here?”Cecilia asks.

“Big Daddy doesn’t trust me to go anywhere alone.”

“It’s not about trust, Gwynee.”

“Then what?”I cut him off before he can finish his sentence.“Because right now this feels a lot like control.”

“You know that’s not it,” he grunts, raking his fingers over his wet head.

“How did you know where I was?Do you have a tracker on my car?”

“So what if I do?”

“Maybe we should give them some privacy,” Cecilia murmurs, pulling Kidd toward her kitchen.

“That’s unnecessary,” Big Daddy’s voice comes out low and tired, sounding defeated.“Let’s go home, babe.Talk about this in private, yeah?”

“I’m not going anywhere until you apologize.”

“Not going to apologize for protecting what’s mine.”

“So what?Are you going to thump on your chest and throw me over your shoulder?”

“If that’s what it takes to pull your head out of your ass.”

“That’s nice.You can go home and sleep alone for all I care.I’m spending the night with Cecilia.”

---