Page 70 of Scoreless Nights

I turned her around and knelt in front of her as she sat on the passenger seat of my car. Her legs weren’t in yet because she was kicking and fighting, but when she saw me, she stopped immediately.

“What the hell are you thinking?” she screamed but somehow also whispered.

“I tried to call you and warn you not to drink the margarita. They’re strong here.”

“Are you on my mom’s payroll?” She yelled. “And how does that explain your kidnapping attempt?”

“I saw you leave and ran out the back. I had already moved my car back this way and had to get you back here somehow before your friend chased after you.”

“No one was—”

Her words were cut off by an incoming call and she reached in her purse to pull her phone out. The caller ID said Angel and I nodded at her that she should take it.

“Hello?”

“Where the hell are you? Your car is still here but you vanished.” Angel was screaming so loud, clearly worried, and I decided I liked her a little bit. Anybody that worried about my girl the same way I was, got extra points. Meanwhile, Jackie was at the top of my shit list.

“I took an Uber.” I could see her shoulders sag with the lie, and was sure they were starting to weigh on her. She needed to clear the air, to be honest, but we had done some things that would always be a secret, and I guess she was going to deal with that however she thought she could.

“That fast?”

“There was one dropping someone off. I just jumped in.” Hell, I was impressed at how well the lies were rolling for her. She barely had to think about it. It made me wonder if the conversations we had were real.

Lil hung up the phone and sighed before quietly putting her feet into the car. “Just take me home.”

I closed the door and got in, driving off without my dinner that I’d thrown onto the counter when I chased Lil. My mother was back there and saw the whole thing. She knew something was going on between us, and I figured before long, I would have to explain a few things to her.

Luckily, she let me go and never called me.

I held Lil’s hand all the way back to South Beach, assuring her everything was fine, but she kept taking her pulse like she was debating an ER visit. I rubbed her wrist and smiled, and she managed to laugh at herself for the first time.

When we got home, though, she was almost asleep, and I picked her up in my arms and carried her in. She pointed to her own room, keeping her head on my shoulder, but I disregarded her request and took her to my room. I had been sleeping next to her for almost a week and I was used to it. I craved it.

No way was I letting her out of my sight.

She undressed herself as she sat on the edge of my bed and I slid my jersey–now her jersey–over her head before pushing her back to lay down. It was still fairly early, but she seemed exhausted, so I climbed in next to her and pulled her into my arms.

We silently laid together, my hand stroking her hair while her cheek laid on my chest. I knew she was awake, but I didn’t expect to feel a tear slide onto my skin.

“Lily?”

“I don’t like Jackie.”

“That makes two of us,” I told her.

She repositioned herself so that her chin was on me and her eyes were looking up at mine. “But I've been a shitty friend, too.”

“You’ve been under someone’s thumb your entire life. I never realized how much until you were here with me. It makes you guarded and untrusting. And I get why you don't want them knowing about me. You’re right in the fact that Jackie would use you to get what she wanted.”

“But maybe I should have realized I didn’t want a friend like that before it got this far.”

“The lie was told way before you came to Miami.”

“True. But I don’t want to lose Angel.”

“You won’t,” I tried to assure her. She laid her head back on my chest, and was quiet for a few more minutes before she looked back up at me.

“Would you have taken Jackie up on her offer if she wasn’t my friend?”

---