Page 41 of Lilies in Autumn

“Last Thursday.”

Laughter greets my response. “Well, that’s quick. Tell me about her.”

I tell him about her wit, the sarcasm that’s been evident in every interaction we’ve had. I detail her gorgeous face, her deep, expressive eyes, and the dreams of opening her own restaurant that she shared with me. “She’s in one of Linc’s classes and the asshole agreed to be her partner.”

My dad lets out a low whistle, understanding the volumes it speaks for Linc to pair with her. “He’s more of a Type A personality than you, so she must be pretty talented to warrant that.”

“She is.”

“Grey, she seems like a special young lady. What else is going on? You said you needed my advice?” I laugh at my dad’s use of “young lady.” He’s thirty-eight but tries to act like an old man with this shit.

“Listen, I need you to promise that you’re not going to shit yourself when I tell you what’s going on.”

“Grey, what’s going on?” My dad’s voice is tense. To most people, they’d think he was over my shit, but I know it’s his concern bleeding through.

“We hooked up in a place we probably shouldn’t have, and some asshole took a picture and sent it to her.” My blood starts boiling again at the mention of those texts. “They’re threatening her with releasing it unless she stays away from me.”

“Fuck, Greyson. Is she okay? Jesus Christ, what were you thinking, hooking up in a public place? Haven’t you learned anything from my mistakes?” My dad doesn’t do relationships, but he dates… a lot. When I was in middle school, pictures of him and models would consume magazines. His bare ass has been on TMZ more times than I can count, and there are social media accounts dedicated to his dick. A twelve-year-old shouldn’t have to see his old man’s balls when he Googles him.

“Not really. She’s using this bullshit to push me away, but I’m trying to fix it without that happening. And it just happened. She left the house yesterday after this girl tried to lay claim to me. She wouldn’t answer my calls or texts, so I got her in a private room. Things… escalated.” That’s putting it fucking mildly.

“Do you know who is sending the text messages and the picture?”

“I have an idea, yeah.”

“You need to respect her wants and give her space. Son, I know you’re hurting right now, but if a picture gets out with your dick flapping in the wind, you’ll look like a hero. For a woman, she’ll be reduced to a commodity and will have to fight tooth and nail to recover from that kind of violation. I’m not saying either of you should be okay with your privacy being compromised, but you need to understand that she will take the brunt of the attack.”

“Fuck.” I grip the steering wheel tighter, all the color draining from my fingers. “I fucking know, okay. But how do I make this better? I can’t explain it but this girl, Jesus, Dad, she’s different. She’s special, and I don’t want her getting hurt because I pissed off the wrong person.”

“You think this has to do with you?”

“I know it does.” I tell him about Felicity, her near-obsession, and the shit she spewed at Ava yesterday.

My dad sighs into the phone, sounding much older than his thirty-eight years. “You’re going to give me gray hairs, Grey. Let me speak to some people I know and see what they say. I have a buddy in the NYPD that handles computer crimes. I’ll see what he thinks.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Thank me by keeping it in your goddamn pants, Grey.”

I hang up on my dad, not bothering to respond to his last comment. I get where he’s coming from; Ava stands to lose more than me if that picture gets out there. Running my fingers through my hair, I lock my emotions down before reversing and hauling ass home. My fingers grip the steering wheel like a vice during the drive, imagining that I could strangle the shit out of Felicity and whoever else is working with her on this. My speculation doesn’t do shit to help Ava, but the fantasy of ruining Felicity’s life helps my drive home pass quickly.

After parking my Jeep in front of the house, I grab my shit and make my way inside, heading right to the primary on the first floor. My phone is to my ear, and I wait for Ava to answer her phone. I warned her that I was calling, so she shouldn’t be surprised. The line continues ringing and my frustration grows. Clenching my fist, I drop to my bed, still listening to the ringing on the other end of the line.

“Hello?” Ava’s voice is a balm to the storm brewing inside me.

“Hey, vixen.” I rub a hand over my face, trying to wipe away the last eight hours. “I didn’t think you’d answer.”

“I almost didn’t.” I can’t help but laugh; at least she’s honest.

“So why did you?”

There’s a moment of silence before she clears her throat. “Because I know it’s not your fault, even though this person is obsessed with you.” Her voice rises at the end of her sentence, as though she’s annoyed that someone would be interested in me. I smirk at her jealousy, relieved that she’s feeling something besides disgust at me, the situation, and this asshole. “And,” she continues, “I enjoyed our morning before, you know, everything happened.” I lean forward, more than willing to follow her lead on this.

“Tell me what you enjoyed, pretty girl.”

“You know what I liked, Greyson. Don’t make me say it.”

I can picture her eye roll. Craving more of her sass, I tease, “Tell me, vixen, did you like it when I put my mouth on your sweet cunt?”

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