My heart stuttered. “Wh—what makes you say that?”
“Well…” She lifted a hand and tapped her neck meaningfully, smirking. “You might want to check the mirror, sweetheart. Unless you’ve suddenly developed a rash shaped kind of like a mouth.”
Heat flooded my face. I pressed my hand to my neck automatically, mortified. Of course one of them—probably Devin, if I had to guess—had left a mark.
Even after so little time knowing him, I knew that he liked leaving evidence of himself on my body, and that he was justbrazen enough to do it then drive me to see my mother without saying anything.
I swallowed hard. Another opportunity for truth in the deceit, if I could pull it off. Edit the real story down to something more easily digestible. “Okay. You caught me.”
“Oh my god.” Mom clapped her hands together. It made her look ten years younger, like her old healthy self before hospitals took over her life a few years back. “My baby isfinallydating!”
“Finally? It hasn’t beenthatlong?—”
“Who is he? What’s his name?”
I bit my lip, scrambling for an answer that didn’t involve the words,“Well, there are three of them, and they’re maybe criminals, and they’ve been fucking my brains out ever since they bought my virginity at an auction.”
“Uh…a friend of a friend,” I lied. “They’ve—um, he’s been really great, Mom. He’s…strong. Protective. A little intense, maybe.”
Her expression softened even more. “First relationships are always intense. Especially when you find someone who actually makes you feel all the right spicy feelings. Which I can guess you are.” Her eyes flicked down to where the love bite was still visible on my neck.
I nodded, laughing and blushing even as I felt the truth of it deep down. “Yeah. That’s exactly it.”
Mom reached out and patted my hand. “I’m happy for you, sweetheart. Just promise me you’re being careful.”
“Of course,” I said, trying to think of anything besides the feeling of the guys’ naked cocks sliding inside me, the Plan B I’d taken after that first night.
Mom shifted the energy away from anything dirty in a simple sentence, though. “And I hope that he treats you well.”
Of course she wanted my first boyfriend—who she thought of as my first boyfriend, anyway—to be kind to me.
She was my mother, and I was her only child. But there was a deeper reason for Mom’s caveat, too.
My father hadn’t exactly treated her like a queen before they divorced. Though I never saw or couldn’t remember seeing any kind of violence in our home, I could still feel it in the way she jumped at the tiniest surprise, the way her hands shook when she worried someone would be upset with her, the way she still carried a haunted sadness to this day.
“He does,” I said quietly.Even when they’re punishing me for misbehaving, I love every second of it.
Mom smiled, satisfied, and leaned back in her chair. “Well, since we’re sharing, I guess I should tell you something, too.”
I blinked. “Oh?”
Her smile turned shy. “I’ve actually been…seeing someone, too.”
My jaw dropped. “What? Mom!”
She laughed, a little embarrassed but clearly pleased with herself. “Don’t sound so shocked. I may have some gray in my hair, but I’m not dead.”
“Who is he? Do I know him?”
“His name’s Derek. He’s one of the physical therapists at the clinic. We started talking a few months ago, and he’s been helping me get my strength back. Then he asked me out for coffee, and, well, he’s been really sweet. Nothing serious yet, but it’s made me want to…get back out there, I guess.”
I grinned so hard it made my cheeks ache. “Mom, that’s amazing. I’m so happy for you.”
Her eyes misted a little. “It feels strange, starting over at my age. After everything with your father…”
Her voice trailed off, but I knew what she meant. My father had broken her heart in slow motion over years until finally she’d had the courage to leave.
She’d been sick after that, both in body and spirit.
