I nod my head and smile down at him, glad he understands me so clearly.
“Can I take you somewhere tomorrow?”
I sigh, disappointment filling me instantly. “I have my first day of work tomorrow.”
“I’ll pick you up after,” he says. Patting my thigh, he gets up from the bed, making me almost fall to the floor.
“Douche,” I remark up at him.
He stands over me with a sexy smirk on his face. Pushing his hair out of his eyes, he extends a hand down to me. I wrap my hand around his, and he yanks me up and pulls me hard into his body. His arm wraps tightly around my waist, and mine go around his neck for stabilization.
“But I’m your douche,” his husky voice whispers.
Lips brushing against mine, he gives my butt a pat with a wink.
Okay, yeah … he is my douche.
* * *
I spent the entire day with Leonidas. We talked until there was nothing to talk about. He took me out to lunch and held my hand the entire time. I caught him smiling at me when I wasn’t looking. When our eyes locked, he wouldn’t break the stare after being caught. He would just intensify his gaze before calling me beautiful. The tiny strokes his finger would make on my skin drove me crazy.
It’s always the little things that make my heart pound harder than before.
But I have a dilemma. The entire night and day I spent with him, I forgot about Mom. I didn’t come home last night or this morning. Texting or calling her never crossed my mind. I know I’ll be in trouble when I walk through that door.
I shouldn’t even bother sneaking in because she’ll definitely know I was gone for hours. Especially since I haven’t been out in years. When I got back to Leonidas’s house, I checked my phone for any messages. But I got nothing from her. Maybe she knew I was here, and she wasn’t worried.
For all she knows, I was with Amelia. I’ll just tell her we were watching a movie and fell asleep. Problem solved. That doesn’t mean I need to tell her whose bed I actually slept in last night.
But as I walk through the house, it’s quiet.
Her shoes aren’t on the front mat like they usually are. Mom isn’t here.
My gaze roams around the dark house, trying to find signs of life. I frown when I find nothing. I wonder where she is. She’s never gone AWOL before.
Walking over to the fridge, I look for a note.
Nothing.
Maybe she’s working late. Yet I know work never keeps her that late. It’s ten o’clock at night. Worry fills every bone in my body. My gut tells me there’s something wrong.
I guess I’ll be the one staying up late, waiting for her to come home.
* * *
She walks through the door with dark bags under her eyes. Her hair is a mess. Her red lipstick is smudged on the corners of her lips. Her tight black dress is wrinkled, fitting like a second skin on her. I know she doesn’t dress that fancy to go to the bank.
When I watch her feet stumble, my stomach drops.
She came from someone’s house. A man’s house.
Mom drops her purse on the kitchen table with wide eyes when she sees me. “Trinity. Hi, sweetie. I didn’t see you there.”
No duh.
I lean against the counter and stare her down. “Hi. I’ve been waiting to make sure you got home safely. I didn’t know where you were. I called you, but you didn’t answer.”
Stepping out of her black heels, she smooths down her dress with her hands. “I know this must look bad.”
