Page 42 of Girl Going Nowhere

My brother rolls his eyes, drinking more of his beer. “Compared to ours, the guy is a saint. Just a selfish prick who stuck his dick where it didn’t belong.”

Slowly nodding, I try figuring out how to spin the conversation to see what he knows. “That’s got to be hard for her, being a single mom and all. She’s young.”

“So were our mothers when they had us. I don’t see why it matters to you,” he finally replies, staring at me. “Weren’t you seeing some chick a month ago that you were dick struck by? You should focus on her, not Blake.”

The girl he’s referring to was hardly wife material, but she definitely knew how to get me off. Any man would be dick struck by somebody who could move her hips like that.

“Brianna and I weren’t dating,” I tell him, noting how easily he changes the subject. It’s obvious he isn’t going to feed me any information on Blake or the man who gave her a kid. “It was casual. She wanted more, but I knew it wasn’t going to work, so I ended it.”

Dante watches the screen absentmindedly. “How’d that turn out for you?”

My lips twitch. Between her reaction and Vanessa’s, it wasn’t great. “She keyed my car. Thank God I’ve been riding that Buick to death. If it were something newer, I may have cried.”

He chuckles, saying nothing.

Scratching my eyebrow, I crack my neck and clear my throat. “I’ll be out of your guys’ hair soon enough. If all goes well during training, I’ll be put out to play in the fall. Plus, the apartment will be ready for me to move into within the next two weeks. Sooner, if Vanessa has her way.”

My brother smiles at me. “You deserve everything you’re getting, man. All the work you’ve put in is paying off.” He switches gears. “Have you heard from your mother recently?”

My mother has been mentally and emotionally battered so many times by Anthony Ramirez that she uses pills to check out of reality more days than not. I swore I’d get her help when I had the money, and I’m determined to stick by that as soon as the check clears my bank.

“Not in about six months. Heard from Anthony, though.” He doesn’t seem shocked by that tidbit of information. “He saw my name on ESPN and wants to congratulate me personally on the career change.”

Dante deadpans, “Was that before or after he asked for money?”

I click my tongue. “After.”

“Figures.”

We sit in silence, watching the court show playing.

Not knowing what else to say, I slide toward the edge of the chair to find something to do. I have calls to return that I’ve been ignoring all day. Business meetings always take a lot out of me, and they’ve been nonstop to get the contract cemented.

“Blake has been through a lot,” Dante tells me as I stand, causing me to look over at him. He’s still watching TV. “She’s gotten herself into some tough positions with people she should have never involved herself in. Maia’s father is well-off with deep connections, but none that he uses to help her. It’s better that he’s absent. She doesn’t want to live the life he does.”

I can admire that. “She’s an interesting girl,” is what I say, choosing my words carefully. “I can see why all of you like her so much.”

His eye twitches. “My eye isn’t on her.”

“Then who’s it on?”

Before he can answer, the front door opens, and Finn walks in. Dante’s eyes go to him and stay there without saying a word before he sinks into his seat, downs the rest of his beer, and remains silent the rest of the night.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Finn

Dante is leaningagainst the side of the building with a cigarette in his mouth when I come home from work. He’s unfazed by the trickling rain dampening his shirt, swiping wet hair out of his face as he takes another drag.

“I thought you quit,” I say, stopping a few feet away from him.

He turns his head away from me to blow the smoke out. “I started again,” he murmurs.

Something happened. “Who was it this time?” I ask knowingly, readjusting my bag over my shoulder. “Your mom? Dad?”

Dante stares down at the cigarette before shaking his head and bringing it back to his mouth. I try not to focus too heavily on the way his lips wrap around the end, but it’s hard when I know personally how good that feels. “Mom called me asking for money again. This time it’s because her rent is due. Last time it was her water bill. The time before that, it was her electric. She called at five this morning when I was still half asleep. I told her to ask Anthony for it if she needed it that badly.”

Shit.I know better than anybody what he’s like when he hasn’t gotten enough sleep. It’s like poking a sleeping bear. “How’d that go?”

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