Page 48 of Give Me Redemption

She pulls back, breaking our kiss and looking down.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

I feel her breath brush against my lips when she exhales.

“You sure you want to take things farther?” she asks me, her eyes darting up to mine.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I ask her, likeof course I do.

She smiles slightly, looking torn, like she wants to tell me something but doesn’t know how.

“Talk to me, Michelle,” I say. “I’m not a mind reader. If you don’t want this, then you need to say it.”

“That’s not it,” she says.

“Then what is it?”

She shakes her head and smiles. “Nothing. I’ve just… I’ve never done this before. I really don’t know how this works.”

“You’ve never taken things farther?” I ask.

“Not with anyone I cared about, no.”

Why does this make me so happy?

“Good.”

“Good?” she asks.

“Yeah. I like that I’m your first.”

She makes a face. “Well, you’re not my first.”

I put my hand over her mouth. “You know what I mean.”

She laughs behind my hand. I let go and move back a little. “You didn’t bring anything to cook.”

I remember how pissed I was when I drove over here. I forgot to stop and get the groceries.

“Damn, I did, didn’t I?”

“Why were you so upset?” she asks. She moves from the door and walks to the kitchen.

I follow her. “Oh, I just found out my brother has been secretly talking with our heroin addict mom for years without me knowing, but you know the fucked-up part?”

She turns to look at me as she opens the fridge. “What?”

“He’s been keeping her at his house for a few weeks, trying to get her clean. Now this woman was never, I repeat never, there for us when we were kids. She’s the reason why our father is dead, and she gave us up soon after. How can he even consider helping her?”

She pulls out some leftover pizza. “So, you’re mad at him about this, right?”

“Of course, I am,” I say.

“Have you thought about it from his side?”

“What? No? What side? The insane side? She’s an addict. She’s going to rob him blind and then take off.” I look down at the pizza box. “Also, we’re not eating that.”

“Why? Leftover pizza is the best.”

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