After we returned Mr. Serrano to his room at the facility, I was on my way to clock out for the day when Troy stopped me in the hallway.
“Hey, Aspyn…”
I turned to face him. “Yeah?”
“Thank you for today—helping me look for him. The situation freaked me out. Having you there made it easier.”
“Yeah, well, he wouldn’t have left if we weren’t arguing in the first place.”
“It’s crazy how this whole thing happened, huh?”
“What are you referring to specifically?”
“You and me having to spend time together. What are the chances? Terrible luck on your part.”
“I’d have to agree.”
Troy snickered. “It’s a small world after all.”
It took me a few seconds. “It’s a Small World After All.” The Disney song. I rolled my eyes. “Stop with the Disney jokes.”
“Stop with Disney clothes, and I’ll stop with the Disney jokes.” He winked before walking away.
The fresh air that hit me as I went out to the parking lot helped clear my mind and mood a little, but the events of the day ran through my head the entire ride home. I couldn’t stop thinking about how easily Troy still got to me after all these years.
Since I was stopping at my parents’ on the way to my house, I thought I’d give my mom the flowers Mr. Serrano had bought.
I parked in front of my parents’ place and reached over to the passenger side for the Vera Bradley clutch where I kept my money and phone. I patted the seat. Where is it?
I couldn’t remember bringing it back into Horizons with me. My heart dropped.
I left it in Troy Serrano’s car.
Troy
On the way home from Nonno’s, I stopped at the home improvement store to pick up a shoe rack for the closet in my room. When I opened the back of my Range Rover to place the flat box on the seat, I noticed something: a wallet made of flowery fabric with a thin strap. It was on the side of the seat where Aspyn had been sitting. I picked it up.
Shit. I was just about to text her when I realized her phone was tucked into the front flap. Damn it.
I opened the wallet and looked inside for her license. Her photo featured the same resting bitch face she’d aimed at me most of today. The address listed wasn’t all that far from where I lived, and even if it were, I needed to get this back to her tonight. Returning to the driver’s seat, I popped the address into my GPS and took off down the road.
On the ride over, I thought about today. Aspyn had seemed to soften a little by the end, but overall she’d been really on edge around me. Was I that much of an asshole in high school? Deep down, I knew the answer was yes.
I always remembered her as an odd duck. Back in the day, she’d tag along with Jasmine and me but not really say much. I liked her enough—until she went batshit crazy. She’d given me every reason to dislike her after that. I thought I’d long moved on from anything that happened back then, but it was clear she hadn’t. I respected her for sticking up for her friend, even if she’d fucked me over to do it. But at the time, I’d taken her actions as a personal attack.
I have to say, Aspyn was definitely cuter than I remembered. She’d really grown into herself over the past decade. Her long, sand-colored hair was beautiful—straight and voluminous, practically down to her butt. Her ass looked pretty nice in those Goofy pants, too. They fit like a glove. She was tall, curvy, and jiggled in all the right places. Scrubs don’t lie. No, I definitely wouldn’t throw Aspyn Dumont out of the bedroom, although she’d probably cut my dick off in the middle of the night.
When I pulled up to the house, I double-checked to make sure the number on the mailbox matched the one in my GPS. I grabbed the wallet from my passenger side and headed toward the door.
After knocking, I waited.
About thirty seconds went by before I knocked again.
There was no answer, but through the window, I could see the television was on. There seemed to be a kid’s show playing. I knew she liked Disney, but damn.
I rapped on the door a third time and called out, “Hey! Aspyn, are you home?”
“Go away!” A child’s voice came from behind the door. It sounded like a little girl.
“Uh...” I blinked. “Who am I talking to?”
“Are you crazy?” she said. “I’m not telling you my name!”
“Why?”
“Stranger danger!”
“I promise I’m not a dangerous person. My name is Troy. I just need to get Aspyn her wallet and phone. She left them in my car today.” After she didn’t respond, I said, “How about this…if you open the door a crack, I can just stick it through. You won’t even have to see me.”
“Open the door just enough so you can shoot? How do I know you don’t have a gun?”
“Technically, I could shoot through the door if I had a gun. But I don’t have a gun, and I promise you I’m totally legit.”
I could hear muffled talking and then the door suddenly opened. Aspyn stood there with her hair dripping wet, looking like she’d just gotten out of the shower. She seemed out of breath.
Before I could even utter a word, I looked down to find the pint-sized girl with a gigantic water gun aimed at me. I held up my hands, but not before she began to shoot. A deluge of water came at me. Because of her height, the line of fire was aimed straight at my dick.
Shit!
Bursts of water continued to pummel me.
“Kiki, stop!” Aspyn finally shouted.
It took her long enough.
“What the hell?” I said, looking down at my drenched pants.
The girl’s chest heaved as she withdrew her weapon. “You shouldn’t have opened the door!” she told Aspyn.
“He’s not a stranger. I know him.” Aspyn turned to me, a hint of amusement on her face. “I’m really sorry.”
My brow lifted. “Are you?”
“Kiki, go to your room, and please put that away,” she ordered.
The little girl shot daggers at me before she marched off.
I held out the purse, which somehow managed to stay mostly dry. “You left your wallet thingy and phone in my car.”
Her eyes fell momentarily to the gigantic water spot on my crotch before she looked back up at me. “I know. I tried to get in touch with your grandfather for your number, but they said he was asleep. And for some reason the office staff couldn’t locate your contact information. Nancy was gone for the day, and they couldn’t reach her. I was going to look you up on Facebook to try to message you as soon as I got out of the shower. You just beat me to it. Thank you for bringing it by. Sorry about the attack just now.”
“I’m surprised you told her to stop shooting.”
“Yeah, well, you were nice enough to drive here with my purse, so…”
I looked beyond her shoulders. “Is she…your daughter?”
Aspyn hesitated. “My niece.”
“Ah. You don’t have kids then…”
“No.”
“Babysitting?”
She looked down at her feet. “Not exactly.”
“She lives with you?”
Aspyn looked up at me. “My sister…died. So, my niece divides her time between my place and my parents’ house.”