Page 7 of Craving You
“Cam?Nah,” she says.“He’s a big teddy bear.”
“I said the same thing about Bill, and then I limped for a week,” Mom says casually.Dad gasps in shock at her, but we all laugh heartily.Cam and Remy walk in from the back patio and look confused.
“What’s up?”Cam asks.
“Just talking about Dad railing Mom,” Tris laughs.
“Sorry I asked,” he laughs.“Hey, Sis.”
“Hey, Cam,” I smile.“You were looking for me, Remy?”
“Yeah.Come outside with me,” he says, motioning for me to follow him.I walk back through the house and out onto the front porch before he speaks again.
“Everything okay?”I ask.
“Yeah.I just got something for you,” he says.“Also, I explained to Cam what Tris has been doing.”
“Oh no,” I laugh as we stop at Remy’s truck.“I told her to talk to him instead of teasing him.”
“Well, she’s about to learn a lesson about why she shouldn’t be a brat to Cameron,” he laughs and picks me up to sit me in the driver’s seat.He reaches past me, pressing his body against mine, to grab a bag.He is so nonchalant about it; there’s no way he gets how… intimate that is.
“Mmm.Yeah.Someone should take that girl down a few notches,” I say.
“Someone should takeyoudown a few notches,” he teases.
“Are you volunteering, Remy?”I ask with a sweet smile.His face reddens and I giggle as I pat his cheek.
“You are a silly girl, Lori,” he says, grabbing my hand and kissing my palm.
Remy opens the bag to look inside before handing it to me.“What’s this?”I ask.
“Well, you said cramps were bothering you.I know they can get pretty bad for you, so I just got you a few things to hopefully help,” he says.“Didn’t want to make a big deal of it in there, so I thought out here was better.”
I look in the bag and he has bought everything from Midol, to chocolate, to a heating pad, and even pads.“Remington, you didn’t have to do this,” I say.“Thank you.”
“I know, but I wanted to,” he says as he hugs me.I bury my face in his neck and hold on to him.Tears suddenly surface, and he notices before I can stop it.“Hey.What’s wrong?”
Remy pulls back and holds my face as I choke back tears.“Nothing,” I lie.
“Lori,” he says softly.“What’s wrong?”
“You’re so fucking innocent, Remy.You’ll judge, and I can’t be judged by you.Cam is one thing, but not you,” I sniff as tears roll down my cheeks.
“Come on, Lori,” he encourages.“I won’t judge you.”
“In college… I worked at The Treasure Club for fun.I danced for money.I still work there on Friday and Saturdays… but… I… fuck.”
“Deep breathe and try again,” he says softly.
“I let men fuck me for money,” I say bluntly as I fight back the urge to sob.
“Did something happen?”he asks, and I nod.
“A client that has come in every week since I started brought two friends.He’s never been violent with me, but last night, he was.I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t,” I cry.“They hurt me.”
“Oh, honey,” he says as he hugs me against his chest.He lets me cry and doesn’t say anything until I calm down again.“I don’t know why I do this to myself.I hate being there.I hate letting people do that.”
“It’s hypersexuality, Lorelei.It’s a response to trauma,” he says.“Just because you respond that way doesn’t mean you always like it.Doesn’t mean they had the right to hurt you.”
