Page 58 of The Rowdy Ones
Gwen’s upper lip twitches as if my voice makes her skin crawl. “I suppose there’s no hurt in trying, but I want you both to have reasonable expectations of the end result. Little Scout here may just be a family dog only and that’s okay.”
Whatever, lady.
Scout barks over at me as if he’s thinking the same thing.
After Gwen passes Destiny the coffee bag and heads back inside, I begin to relax. I’ve been agitated all day, but a calm finally settles over me. About damn time.
I open the truck door for Destiny and she climbs to her seat. Then Scout hops up onto the edge of the seat, forcing her to scoot toward the middle to give him room.
“That dog thinks he’s a human,” I grumble.
She hugs him to her and he barks. After I shut the door, I round the truck and slide into the seat. Destiny sits in the middle, body close to mine. The heat radiating from her makes every nerve in me tingle.
“What’s the surprise?” she asks, shoulder bumping mine. “I’m dying of suspense.”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.”
She playfully huffs and then hugs Scout again. “I’m glad we’re getting to spend some time together. You going to tell me about Evan’s texts?”
Before I can answer, her phone alerts her to a text from Weston. She instructs it to read out loud.
Weston: Seriously, baby? I wanted to take you on another fun date. Maybe I can pick you up after.
She instructs her phone to reply back that she’ll see him tomorrow. Satisfaction flickers inside me. Knowing she chose me over him feels good. Family first.
Now that I have her all to myself, I don’t really want to talk about Evan. I want to talk about Destiny and all the things she’s learning at school. I want to discuss her audiobook, Scout, and anything else she cares about.
“So?” she implores. “What did he say?”
“He’s pressuring me to go to the gym with him and Alex. Alex can get me a free gym membership. There are only so many ways I can tell him no. He doesn’t get it. Persistent and pushy.”
And that’s on a good day.
At his worst, he was manipulative and hard-core pressured me until I gave in.
“Want me to block him for you?”
“It’s fine,” I tell her. “I’d honestly like to just forget about him. Have fun with you and Scout instead.”
She pats my thigh, sending a zing straight to my groin. It burns hot when she leaves her hand resting there.
Why would she do that?
My mind reels with a lot of wishful thinking. It’s all sick and crazy, but my dick likes it. It’s distracting and I almost rear-end a car that slams on their brakes.
“Learn to drive,” I bark out at the person in front of me. “Idiot.”
Her hand is still there. Still fucking there.
I try to focus on the road, navigating the streets on memory. Most places are the same from when I used to run around with Evan. Thankfully, the farm feed and supply store, and where I want to go next, is also still there.
“We’re here,” I tell her as I shut off the truck and open the door, reluctantly moving away from her hand. “Come on.”
She climbs out and Scout follows after. I shrug my shoulders. If the dog wants to go with her, who am I to stop him? The three of us make our way into the feed store. Once inside, Destiny wrinkles her nose and sniffs.
“Feed store,” I explain with a chuckle. “They have pet supplies here. Thought we could get some stuff for Scout. Uncle Atticus gave me a wad of cash.”
“Really?” She grins at me. “Lead the way.”
