Page 11 of Blindsided By the Enforcer

“I heard that, Cade,” Mom says.

I close my eyes, wanting to disappear, but when I open them, I’m still in the same predicament.

“Sorry, Mom. Annie is a very nice girl,” I say because I don’t have something better.

“Your dad and I are flying out to Riverside in the morning. We can meet your new friend at breakfast,” Mom announces unexpectedly.

“Uh, what?” I ask, my jaw slack.

“We’re coming to Riverside,” she repeats. “We’ll spend time with you there and then we’ll fly to Mexico together. I’ll change the flights now.”

“Wait, Mom,” I begin.

“Love you, honey. See you tomorrow,” she says, and she ends the call.

I stare at Annie in shock. She takes off the scarf she was wearing, followed by her hat. Damn, she is pretty. She has a small smattering of freckles over her cheeks and nose. Her lips are naturally tinged red, and they are shaped like a heart. I remember kissing her and my mouth waters as I lick my lips.

“What just happened?” she asks.

“My parents are coming to Riverside tomorrow to meet you,” I say, but I am still dumbfounded.

“W-why? H-how?” Annie says and now she is stuttering nervously.

“My mom is very focused on my life,” I explain.

“That’s so sweet,” Annie replies.

“Trust me, it’s a little much.”

“Consider yourself lucky. My mom is super self-absorbed in her own life, and my dad is always busy working. Most of the time I feel like they don’t see me.”

I sigh. My dad is mostly checked out and does a bunch of stupid shit that Mom puts up with and, yeah, my family is dysfunctional.

“Look, Annie, this is getting complicated. My parents are coming to town tomorrow. They want to take us for breakfast,” I say to her.

“Oh, that’s weird. It’s a little early for me to be meeting your parents. Don’t you think? We’ve only made out in public once,” she says with a conspiratorial look on her face.

I look at her like she is off her rocker. “Huh?”

She bursts into laughter. “OMG, you have to see your face right now,” she says laughing. “I was joking, Cade. Damn, I know what we’re doing is fake. Trust me, I don’t do real relationships. I don’t believe true love exists. People do what’s good for themselves at the end of the day.”

“That’s the first logical thing you’ve said,” I agree. “I just kept giving and giving where Scarlett was concerned. Did she consider me when she had her tongue down that guy’s throat?”

“No, Cade, I told you people are selfish at their core.”

“I’m not selfish, Annie. At least I don’t think I am,” I say to her.

“Neither am I, Cade, which means we will make good friends, which will help with our little ruse.”

“Are you okay with meeting my parents tomorrow? I don’t want my mom worrying about me and if she thinks we’re together, she won’t worry so much,” I explain.

“A free breakfast sounds perfect,” she says. She places her hat back on her head. “I’m glad we worked things out. I’m really going to need your help next semester. Ford has been textingnonstop the last couple of days. I don’t know what I’m going to do at home over break.”

“Sounds tough,” I say.

She puts her scarf back on. “Okay, see you in the morning. Message me where we should meet.” She gets ready to leave. The snow is blowing hard now.

“You’re going to walk in that mess?” I ask.

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