Cam backs out of the driveway slowly. The whole time we drive through my neighborhood, I sneak little peeks over at him.
My face burns as I wonder if he can read my mind or my heart or between my thighs—all the parts of my body that are speaking to me right now.
We’ve just left the Minneapolis outskirts when my phone buzzes with a text.
What I see causes me to bite back a gasp.
A photo of my father kissing the pregnant belly of an unidentified woman. Her face isn’t in the shot, and all I can see of Daddy is the back of his red hair. Hair that’s now graying. Yes, I knew he was having a new baby, but this photo just makes it all the more real.
Courtesy of Uncle Fred.Celie’s text reads.Figured it was better you see this from me first. We’ll talk when you get back. Love you.
“Everything okay?”
I look up from my phone. Cam’s glancing at me.
“Yeah,” I say in a strangled tone. “Everything’s fine.”
* * *
We make good time on the highway. A few hours in, we stop to use the bathrooms.
As we’re pulling into the rest area, Cam’s cell rings.
“Shit. It’s my father,” he says before picking up. “Hi, Dad.”
Mr. Wild’s voice is muffled as Cam opens the door and gets out, shutting it behind him.
I watch him walk off into the picnic area until he eventually disappears around the corner of the rest area building. I follow in his general direction but veer off for the ladies room.
After using the toilet, I step out of the stall and head for the long line of sinks. I wash my hands and glance in the mirror.
God, I look exhausted. That text from Celie hit too close to home.
The idea of my father starting over again with a brand-new family when he didn’t give his old one even a polite heads-up that he was leaving…I shake my head and bring my focus back to the problem at hand. Namely, the pale, washed-out face I see looking back at me in the mirror.
I go digging through my purse until I find my blush, along with some old eyeliner, at the bottom of my bag. I don’t see an expiration date, so I figure why not, and I put it on, along with more lipstick. Maybe Cam will return to the truck and be so mesmerized by me that he’ll throw his phone to the floor, grab me around the waist with one hand, unzip my coat with the other, and…
No. Not happening.This isn’t an erotic novel. It’s my life, the story of a good girl who isn’t about to go bad just because she’s never dared to before.
* * *
I’ve been in the truck for a few minutes when Cam gets back into the driver’s side and turns the key in the ignition.
“Sorry about that interruption,” he says without looking at me.
“No worries.”
“My dad’s just…he’s always disappointed in me.”
I sure as hell know that feeling. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just didn’t want you to think my bad mood was in any way directed at you. I’ll snap out of it soon.”
“I appreciate you letting me know that,” I say softly.More than you know.
My neck starts to itch underneath my black turtleneck sweater.
I try not to make it obvious, but of course, Cam turns to look at me.
