Page 24 of Wild Love
“You’re making me nervous. What’s wrong?”
“You told me not to hit on you, or you’d bust a bottle over my head, so I’m choosing my words carefully here.”
I snort loudly then remember my dad is sleeping. I wiggle my hand free from his and then hold both up to show him. “No beer bottle. You’re safe. As long as you don’t invite me to a threesome.”
“Don’t knock it 'til you try it.” He grins then his lips fall into a more serious line. “You’re fire, Kota. You won’t be single forever. You could have any guy you wanted.”
I try to laugh it off, but he steps closer, and the bubble around us loses all the oxygen. “It’s good to keep your standards high, but people can surprise you if you let them in. So they don’t get it right over text, or they occasionally like to indulge in threesomes, it doesn’t mean they aren’t also capable of giving you the things you want.”
He stops, but I can’t find my voice to respond. I can’t move either.
“That’s it. That’s all I wanted to say.” He moves first and sits on the bed. Charli sticks a leg out in his direction, wanting to be closer to him but too lazy to get up. Johnny is kind of like that. People extend themselves to be near him.
I force my feet backward and hold on to the doorknob as I twist my lips into a friendly smile. “Thanks, Mav. I’ll see you in the morning.”
* * *
When I wakeup the next morning, it’s to Dad’s and Johnny’s voices. I check the time, then get up and change into my running clothes. I make a quick stop in the bathroom to brush my teeth and put my hair up into a ponytail.
The smell of bacon greets me as I walk into the kitchen. Johnny is at the stove, shirtless, and Dad sits at the kitchen table with a bottle of Icy Hot and Ibuprofen in front of him and his back brace on.
“Oh no, what happened?”
“Eh.” Dad waves me off. “I tweaked it when we were loading the trailer.”
“Why didn’t you wait for me? Mav and I could have done it. It’s barely seven o’clock. Are you that eager to get rid of me?”
His smile softens, and I slump into one of the chairs and steal a piece of bacon off the plate in the middle of the table.
“These came for you.” Dad slides three identical envelopes in front of me.
I lift the top one, see the return address, and let it drop.
“Still bugging you to be in the school’s Hall of Fame?”
I nod and fill my mouth with another piece of bacon. For six months, the high school has been sending me invites for the school’s athletic Hall of Fame. I thought I’d successfully dodged them since the ceremony was last month, but apparently not.
Mav spins around. “That’s awesome.”
“It’s unnecessary and unwarranted.” I stand and drop them unopened in the trash. “I’m going for a run. Do you want me to take Charli?” I look around. “Where is she?”
Maverick’s lips twitch, and he points with the spatula to the floor. I lean down and see Charli next to Dad’s feet.
“You made a friend.”
Dad grunts a response but bends down and scratches behind her ears.
Before I leave, I glare at Dad. “No more moving things while we’re here.”
He holds his tongue, but the unimpressed look on his face tells me he’s going to do whatever he wants—stubborn old man.
I get only a few feet from the house when Mav falls into step beside me.
“Hey,” I say, surprised. “Need to get away from my dad?”
“Nah, he pushed me out the door and told me no respectable man lets a woman run by herself. Something about the neighborhood not being what it used to be.”
“Oh geez. I’m sorry. Also, I’m good. I can outrun most people.”
