“Whatever,” Jolie says.
She walks out of the kitchen.
“Who the hell is that?” Anna asks.
I pause and lean toward Anna. “That’s the queen of everything around here, sweetie. So you might want to shut your mouth and show some respect.”
With that said, I take my time to go upstairs.
We had fun last night, but today we have to be serious.
I have to be serious.
I write out a list in my mind of shit I need to get done.
That list, of course, turns to ash when I open the bedroom door and I find Jolie standing in nothing but her panties.
Holding her coffee mug in her hand.
Sunglasses back on her face.
I shut the door and twist the lock.
My eyes scan her body like I’m a fucking x-ray machine.
As my eyes move up, I take note of her plum colored panties. They’re almost innocent. Even with the lace edges that squeeze tight against her perfect skin. Then my eyes stop at her breasts. Her nipples are soft and puffy. I lick my lips, knowing what I want to do next.
She sips her coffee.
So casual.
And yet so bold.
The girl on the beach the day I met Jolie would never do this.
She knows what she does to me.
And if she starts flaunting it willingly and uses her body against me… I’m screwed.
Truthfully, I’m okay with it.
I move toward her and she sticks out her other hand.
“I’m taking a shower,” she says.
“And I’m taking what I want too, sweetie,” I say.
I put my left hand to her right hand and lower it.
My right hand touches the small of her back and I pull her toward me.
Coffee spills out of her mug onto her hand.
She starts to gasp but I quickly move my mouth over her right breast.
I taste her morning skin, my teeth scrapping just enough against her nipple to make her move to her toes.
I pull away and then move at her again. Engulfing more of her into my mouth.
I move my left hand from her hand and touch her waist.
As I start to kiss down her body, I move her back to the bed.
“Mac… fuck…”
“I know,” I whisper as my hot morning breath spreads across her stomach.
My hands move to the lace edges of her panties and I pull them down.
She sits down on the bed.
I look up at her.
Her hair is a mess. Sunglasses on her face. Still holding her coffee mug.
My hands ease up her body and cup over her breasts.
She leans back on the bed, to her elbows.
I kiss below her navel and keep going.
I know exactly what I want for breakfast this morning.
Jolie runs a brush through her wet hair.
When she looks at me, her cheeks turn red.
She was breakfast and my dessert.
Dessert happening in the shower.
But now we have to get serious.
Then again, when I look at her, I can’t help but smile.
Watching her brush her hair. The way her hair is still damp, leaving small wet marks on her shirt.
I smoke a cigarette and wish we could just waste the day away in my room, together.
“Ready for today, sweetie?” I ask.
“No,” Jolie says.
“I know,” I say. “I’ll be there with you, Jolie.”
“No. You won’t.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“Mac, just listen to me for a second. This is a really big thing for me. Personally, I mean. It’s my family. I have no idea what my father has going on. Okay?”
“You’re trying to tell me you want to do this alone?” I ask.
“Yes,” Jolie says.
I shake my head. “No way, sweetie.”
“Mac, please.”
I grit my teeth and take a deep breath.
“Mac,” Jolie says. “If you show up it’s going to be chaos. I need to talk to my mother alone.”
“What if your father is there?” I ask. “What if he’s been there since yesterday? What if he has your mother all fucked up in the head?”
“I don’t know,” Jolie says. “Set off the alarm like you did last time.”
She smiles at me.
I shake my head.
“Taz is going with you then,” I say. “He’ll stay outside.”
“Okay, fine,” she says. “Why can’t you just stay outside?”
“I’m going to Mama’s,” I say. “I have to tell her everything that’s going on.”
“So we’re splitting up for the day,” she says.
“I guess we are, sweetie,” I say. “I don’t like it though. At all.”
“I just have to do this alone,” Jolie says. “If my father is who he showed… he won’t be home. Believe me. He won’t be home.”
I nod. “You’re probably right. That’s why I have to talk to Mama sooner rather than later.”
Jolie frowns. “I can’t stop thinking about…”
I finish my cigarette and flick it out the window.
I know what she’s thinking.
I hug Jolie.
We’re not going to talk about it.
There’s a whole lot of fate in motion right now.
So much is out of my control.
But holding Jolie is in my control.
And that’s something I don’t mind at all.
16
JOLIE
I drive.
Taz is behind me.
I’m halfway to my mother’s when my phone rings.
It’s Violet calling me.
I look in the mirror and smile, then grab my phone.
“You’ll never guess who’s behind me,” I say.
Violet bursts into tears over the phone.
I hit the brakes and pull to the side of the road.
“Violet, what’s wrong?” I ask.
“Wh-where are you, Jolie?”
“I’m in my car. I have to go talk to my mother. Where are you?”
“I’m on the beach,” she says. “I’m standing at the shore. I feel like just walking into the water. But I bet the waves would throw me right back. Just reject me, right?”
“What happened?”
Violet cries.
Taz is still behind me.
He starts to get out of his truck.
I put my window down and wave him off.
“Violet, tell me where you are on the beach,” I say. “I’ll come find you right now. We can talk. Okay?”
“You have so much going on though,” she says. “My problems shouldn’t be yours.”
“It’s fine. You’re my best friend.”
“I just… I’ve been trying really hard to lose weight, Jolie. You know? I just want to be good enough…”
I shut my eyes.
Fuck.
“Just tell me where you are,” I say. “Or text me. I’m coming your way right now.”
“Thank you, Jolie,” Violet says.
I get out of my car and Taz is almost standing in the middle of the road.
“What the fuck, darling?” he yells to me.
“I have to turn around and go somewhere else first,” I say.
“Why?”