Page 57 of Exile & Lula
“But you’re angry.”
“No, I feel guilty. I’m also worried about you whenever we’re away from your house. I just couldn’t hide it as well today.”
“Do you want to skip my parents’ house and stay here instead?”
“Yes, but I think we should make sure your sister is okay since I feel guilty over ditching my sister.”
“Are Zodiac and Nova close?”
“Zodiac isn’t close to anyone. He grew up in foster care and didn’t bond with anyone.”
“That’s sad. My dad and uncle were in foster care as kids. They had each other. They also bonded with a woman I view as my grandma.”
“Well, Zodiac didn’t get lucky like that, so he doesn’t act normal. And it’s not that he doesn’t know how to act normal. He just won’t do it.”
“Is Nova safe with him?” I asked, always unclear about Zodiac as a person.
Exile frowned. “Safe is a tricky word. He won’t hurt her. But he will stress her out. I’ve been texting her a lot to make sure he doesn’t have her hiding in the bathroom.”
“He sounds awful.”
“He is sometimes. But he also saw something in me worth adding to his club. I was out of the military and unsure what to do with myself. The old president didn’t want an outsider when he had the sons of his club brothers. Zodiac took me under his wing and pushed me to be me. But, yeah, he can be an asshole, too. Nothing in his life has encouraged him to be any other way.”
Sighing, I decided I shouldn’t make any assumptions about Zodiac right now. My feelings were fried, and my heart hurt.
“I love you,” I told Exile.
His mild scowl instantly flipped to a cocky smirk before settling into a lovestruck smile. “I love you, too. That’s the only reason I can keep my ass from jumping on my ride and heading home to check on Nova.”
“Well, let’s head inside and free Xena into the yard. While I watch her sniff everything, you can check on Nova. Then, the three of us will walk to my parents’ place for lunch. I’ll check on my little sister. Later, we’ll head back here for naked fun before Dillon gets home.”
“I can’t find a single fault with that plan.”
With Exile in a better mood, I found myself less anxious. The scene at the hospital left me uneasy. I wanted Cher to wake up and say something snarky. Or silly. Or serious. Anything would be better than the silence.
Soon, Exile and I walked with the dog next door to where Vanessa grilled chicken for lunch. Pax was out back, playing his music loudly to annoy Shay. Bebe alternated between hugging my sister and me.
Exile stood nearby, watching my family cope with our unprocessed feelings. Tomorrow, he would leave Little Memphis, and I would need to trust our love could withstand the distance.
EXILE
After lunch, Lula and I retired to her home for bedroom fun. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. At one point, Lula hung half off the bed from our vigorous fucking. Once she orgasmed, she pulled herself up and gently shoved me back so she could ride me on top.
An hour later, she danced around the kitchen to the sound of Pax playing Megadeath on full blast from his back porch. I could also detect the faint sound of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” from Ford’s house.
Pax and Shay were still at it when Lula frowned at the sound of a car pulling into her driveway. She checked her phone to find a security alert about a stranger entering the community with Louisiana plates. I walked with her to the front door, where I spotted a familiar mid-sized blue Mazda SUV.
“Ready to meet my sister and nieces?” I asked Lula, whose frown flipped to a curious smile.
Opening the front door, I stepped out to find Nova releasing our brown spaniel mix, Ramen. Still in her booster, Lyric called out for me.
“I have a new Band-Aid!” she hollered. “It has Ariel!”
Chuckling at my niece’s volume level, I walked to where a sleepy Skylar stood next to the SUV. She looked up at me and shook her head.
“You live too far away now,” Skylar said and dropped into the grass. “Mama said we’re camping on your lawn.”
“You heard her,” Nova announced as she unlatched Lyric, who ran over to me to be picked up.
