Page 42 of Cougar

The smile on my face falls as I straighten in my seat. “Really?” Liam will lose his shit.

Coach exhales through his nose. “Jake,” he singsongs. “They’ve been together for over a year now. He’s a little prick if you ask me, but he makes my daughter happy.” He runs a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “Listen.” He slides out of the booth and I follow suit. “You know I love you boys as if you were my own sons, but Vanessa is my number one. She doesn’t want him in her life, and I have to respect her decision. If she changes her mind, I’ll respect that decision, too.”

I nod in understanding as we make our way to the exit. “He’s not gonna give up, you know.”

He clasps my shoulder and winks. “I’m counting on it.”

Emerson

Cam: You awake?

Me: Yes.

A second later my phone rings. “How’d you know?” I ask by way of answering.

“Because you’re in the last place you want to be.”

I sigh into the phone. “You’re right about that.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t made it over yet. I’ve been a little busy, and I wanted to give you some time to get settled.”

“It’s fine. We’ve been going nonstop since we got here. Jay starts school tomorrow.”

“Aaaah!” A loud scream echoes in the distance.

“What was that?” Cam asks.

“You heard that?” I climb out of bed and rush to the french doors overlooking the pool deck, but I don’t see anything.

“Do you need me to come over?”

“No, Bass is here.” Suddenly the entire back of the house lights up, followed by someone yelling. I recognize Bass’s voice. “I’ll call you back.” Tossing my phone on the bed, I grab my robe and rush toward the commotion coming from the kitchen.

A shiver races down my spine and I stop dead in my tracks when I see Jay come barreling through the service door that leads to the backyard. She’s a disheveled mess. Most of her hair has fallen from her hair tie, her neck is scratched, her shirt is ripped, and there’s blood in the corner of her mouth. My immediate thought is that she’s been attacked.

“What happened?” Grabbing her by the shoulders, I look her over.

If it weren’t for Bass’s guffaws in the background, I’d be freaking the fuck out right now. I wrap my arms around her, hugging her to me in order to calm my racing heart.

“She’s okay,” Bass chokes out through a laugh as he stumbles through the back door holding his side. He leans against the island in the kitchen. “She….” Laugh. “A bug….” Laugh.

She pulls from my grasp. “It’s not funny, B,” she snaps, pursing her lips. I notice the bottom one is swollen.

“I’m sorry, Princess, but that shit wassodamn funny.” He laughs again, wiping his eyes. “Em, I don’t even think her feet touched ground.”

She returns her attention to me. “I was attacked by a flying roach,” she informs me in a high-pitched tone. A clear indication that she’s on the verge of becoming hysterical. She full-body shudders. “It crawled on my face and then fell down my shirt.” She shudders again, jerking her body like she’s doing some kind of funky chicken dance.

I roll my lips inward between my teeth in order to keep from bursting out laughing. “It looks like it.”

She narrows her eyes, daring me to laugh. I can’t help it. The dam bursts and a loud laugh rips from my throat as I lean against Bass, prompting his laughter to continue.

“I’m glad you all find my traumatic experience hilarious.” She raises an eyebrow and looks over at Bass. “We’ll see how it goes, huh?” She gestures to the two new security guys I hired who are standing near the back door, trying their hardest to stifle their own laughter. “It looks like you’ve already made that decision.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, spins on her heels and stomps toward the stairs. “I’m going to take another shower,” she calls out in the distance. “You’re all fired,” she adds, which prompts us all to burst into another round of laughter. “Except Grace,” she continues. “She feeds me.”

And I’m done.

I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard.

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