“I got you dirty. Now it’s time to clean you up.” He makes a gesture with his head for me to follow.
Like the lovesick girl I am, I scramble off the bed after the stupidly hot boy.
This thing between us is fiery and intense. It grows and grows each day, an unstoppable inferno. All I can do is cherish each moment, hoping it’s not the last.
As soon as we find Lacey and get Zella back, I have a feeling I’m going to lose him. It’s painful and I should walk away now, but I can’t.
Even if this is all we get, I’ll take it.
It’s more than anyone has given me my entire life. I’ll be damned if I don’t enjoy every second like it’s the last.
Terrence
Two weeks later…
I’m a father.
Fuck, I knew this already, but the results of the paternity test made it real.
There’s no question.
Zella Teejay is mine.
The moment the test came through, proving what we already knew, I was ready to storm over to Jack’s and take my baby girl from him. Unfortunately, the law doesn’t work that way. According to Samantha, there are steps and procedures and hearings. Each day that passes feels like torture. She's locked away with a monster and there's not shit I can do about it.
My main worry is he’ll run with her. He’s done it before, with Lacey, and then with Zella back here. Who’s to say he isn’t planning to bolt the second he can? It’s unnerving and stressful—always on my mind.
“Here!” Penny barks at Tierra, jolting me from my thoughts and bringing my focus back to the game.
Tierra chest passes the ball to Penny, who snags it, flies around her opponent, and dribbles toward the goal like her ass is on fire. She shoots and scores. Penny will make it wherever she throws from. That girl doesn’t miss, especially not in a game. I learned that after our first game where we destroyed the other team, mainly due to Penny and all her impossible shots.
Penny and Tierra are a fearless duo who play incredibly well together. Pride surges through me. My girl is a beast and I fucking love that about her. Tierra steals the ball again, running it down the court. Penny shows up out of nowhere and ready for it. Like always. The other team can’t keep up. They’re exhausted and bummed, that’s evident.
Penny goes to shoot and someone from the other team elbows her right in the nose, sending her falling to her ass.
“Foul!” I yell at the referee, who’s already blowing his whistle.
Tierra helps her to her feet. She’s not bleeding, which is good. Penny takes her free throw and drops it in with the most bored expression on her face. She flashes the girl one of her signature bitch smiles.
Our girls get possession of the ball and once again score. They’ve tripled the other team’s score.
Finally, the buzzer signifies the end of the game. The girls are hyped by the win, but not many of them congratulate the stars. Kind of pisses me off. It seems that most of them are in solidarity with Liv. The bitch wishes she were half as good as either Tierra or Penny.
“Bring it in,” I call out. “Good game. Way to kill those girls out there. Get some rest because next weekend we need to destroy Rockford like we did this team.”
Liv sniggers and whispers to Ericka.
“Care to share?” Tierra snaps at her.
“Nope, Rockford Reject.”
Tierra fists her hands and I shake my head at her. “Enough. Go home, ladies.”
They disperse and Tierra is once again grinning. We bump fists before I turn my attention on Penny. Her face is flushed and she’s not smiling, but her eyes smile for her. She’s pleased with her playing.
“Good job, Zero.” I smirk at her.
“Couldn’t have done it without you, Coach Smash.”
It’s sweet of her to say, but we both know Penny doesn’t need much coaching. She’s a natural.
“Congrats, angel,” Garrett says, pulling Penny to him for a hug. “You did awesome out there. You too, princess.”
Tierra preens. “I told you. It’s queen.”
Garrett smiles at her. “My sincerest apologies, your majesty.”
“Go shower, stinky ass,” I say to my cousin, giving her a playful shove.
She shoots me an embarrassed look before punching my arm. “Asshole.”
“Penny and I are going out for a late dinner to celebrate. Jace is meeting us up there. Cal had something to do with his dad, but Charlotte and Loden will be there too. You two should come with,” Garrett says, darting his attention between me and Tierra. “My treat.”
His treats are all too frequent where I’m concerned.
“We’ll come, but I’m getting mine and this knucklehead’s meal,” I tell him, tugging on Tierra’s ponytail. I want to get Penny’s too, but her dad might see through that shit.
Another day.
He’ll find out one day and I’m glad it’s not this one.
Garrett seems like a cool guy, but I don’t know how cool he’ll be if he knows I’ve been all but fucking his daughter. We haven’t gone through with it yet. I’m in no rush. Just having her in my bed to kiss and hold would be enough. Of course, Penny never lets it be enough. She rolls into my bed, naked and eager every damn time. I can’t tell that girl no. Never.
“We should go to Jordy’s place to eat. He’s working tonight,” Garrett says, a knowing glint in his eyes. “Maybe Roux could even come down and see us.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you there.”
The restaurant is bustling with activity. Saturday nights draw in a big crowd. Thankfully, Garrett must have called ahead and reserved the large, corner round booth for us. I’m on one end on the outside with Penny to my right and Tierra to her right. Garrett sits beside her with Charlotte on his right. Loden is beside her and Jace is next to him, sitting directly across from me.
“Stop playing footsies with me, Lo,” I complain.
He laughs, slinging his arm around Charlotte’s shoulders. That shit used to piss off Cal, but now he treats Loden like an annoying little brother and puts up with his flirtation shenanigans. If he weren’t gay, Cal would have probably already drowned him in Hood River.
Jace smirks at me, amused that Loden always projects his advances my way. Truth be told, I think Jace scares the shit out of Loden. He’d probably crush his guitar playing hands in his fists if Loden put the moves on him. Lo definitely doesn’t attempt his playful flirtations toward Jace. No, that shit is reserved all for me.
In a nonchalant move, I put my arm around Penny, pretending to just need to stretch out a little. Jace shakes his head, barely hiding his stupid smile. I don’t care if he knows. He’s Penny’s friend—albeit a strange pairing. It’s her dad I would like to keep that shit from.
I glance toward the kitchen, where Jordy’s working his ass off. That boy has always loved to cook. He told me last we spoke that Bob’s been traveling a lot to see his sick mom, leaving Jordy to manage the restaurant. He’s pulling long hours, which is hard on Roux, but whenever he gets a break, he runs next door and up to their apartment to pay them a visit.
“How are the headaches?” Garrett asks, drawing my attention his way. I don’t miss the slight glance at my proximity to Penny, but he doesn’t say anything about it.