I cringed at the use of that word and continued listening.
‘We haven’t caught up in a while and, boy, I tell you, it was a real shocker you didn’t accept the draft. I’m glad you didn’t after I saw how much signing bonuses the others got. You deserve more. Give me a call.’
Fucking money. That was all he wanted. Every time he came back, he conned money out of my mom. He’d done it when I was six, had come back when I was eight, got my mom pregnant and bolted when he’d learned one of his sons was blind. Cleaned out my mom’s bank accounts and took off. He’d been smart enough to always approach me in front of people the last seven times I’d seen him. The bastard deserved my fist to his face.
My phone rang again, the number I hated, and I picked up without thinking. “Leave me the fuck alone.”
“Nice to talk with you too.”
“We have nothing to talk about and I sure as hell am not meeting up with you. Nothing’s changed since the last time you wanted to talk about money.” I wished he was in the room so I could grip his arms in my hands and break them. “Stop calling me.”
“You’re my son.”
“You left our family three times. I am not your son.”
“Legally, I am.”
Yes, the only retort he had in the argument we had every couple of months. “Sure, Roy, your claim to fame is the fact your stupid-ass name is on my birth certificate. That guarantees you nothing.”
“I just need money for—”
I hung up.
Bastard. Fucking worthless.I chucked my phone across my room, the device hitting the small desk lamp and sending it to the ground with a loud crash. Kenzie dashed into my room, still wearing the Cubs shirt, and brought her hands to her mouth. “Tanner! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, fine,” I barked at her and rifled through my drawers to find a pair of jeans. I stripped down, put them on and found an old shirt that didn’t smell. I needed air. Beer.Something, anything.“I’m heading out.”
“What happened?”
I hated the worry in her voice, as though she had any idea what Roy could do to my insides. An hour ago, I’d been so happy. This part of my life had to roar back and remind me I wouldn’t be happy until I had money. “I’m heading out. Just leave me alone.”
“Oh, you’re heading out? Where are you going?” She crossed her arms, the little line between her eyebrows begging me to tell her everything. I wanted to share the burden with someone so fucking badly I tasted it. But I wouldn’t do that to her. She had enough to worry about with her little list to find her place in college. She deserved better.
With a wave of disgust at myself, I said words that would surely get her to back off. “Just because we had sex doesn’t mean I need to tell you where I’m going.”
She recoiled, but dropped her gaze to the floor then back to my face. “That’s fair. But just because I wrote twenty times doesn’t mean I can’t erase it.”
God, I wanted to smile at her attitude. My lips quirked and the entire charade was almost over—a moment of weakness I wasn’t equipped to deal with.Sure, self-destruct the best thing that’s happened to me in a while. Do it, idiot.“We’re not in a relationship, Kenzie. It’s not great style to pine after a guy after a good fuck.”
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, her knowing gaze studying me with a scrutiny that made me nervous. Then she laughed. “It was agreatfuck and if you think for one minute that your stupid insults are going to get me to leave you alone, nice try.”
It was an incredible fuck.I picked my phone off the floor and headed to the door to do god-knew-what, but I hadn’t taken two steps out of the room before her body pressed against my back. “What are you—hey!”
She had her arms wrapped around my neck, almost choking me, and her legs crossed around my waist. “Go on about your business. Don’t mind me.”
“Get off me, seriously.” I tried removing her, but my hand kept sliding off her smooth skin.Does she use lotion? What kind?“Kenzie. I’m not joking.”
“I’m not either.”
“Let go.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“Nothing happened. Christ.” I walked down the stairs and opened the front door before a thought occurred. “Are you wearing anything underneath your shirt?”
“Nope.”
“Fucking hell, Kenzie. You can’t—get down. I’m going outside and you don’t need to flash everyone your ass.”
