She gives a non-committal hum. “Well, since he’s busy, how about you show me where you’re staying now?”
“Sure.” I glance over at the men. Are they wanting a tour, too?
Zane scribbles something on a small pad from his back pocket and shows it to the others.
“Yeah,” Lex says, “let’s do that.” He looks to Vani. “We’ll go and play some pool in the clubhouse, let you girls catch up.”
I’m relieved at the suggestion. It would have felt kind of awkward being in the house with the guys, too.
Vani says bye to her men, and the two of us keep going until we reach the place that’s currently on loan to me.
“This is nice,” Vani says, appraising the front.
“Yeah, could do with a little color, though. Maybe some flowers in the window boxes and some planters on the porch. Not that I’m planning to stay that long, of course. Once things settle down, I’ll either come back to the college or go and join my mom and brother.”
“You need to graduate first,” she says in alarm.
“I know, and I want to, but it’s… complicated.” I don’t want to tell her about my money worries.
I let us both into the house and guide her from room to room, pointing out the obvious… this is the kitchen, this is the living room…
She looks around. “Well, it’s… modern.”
I laugh, thinking about how she has her home decorated back at the college. It’s full on, French inspired, I think. Definitely nothing like this.
“I guess we can’t expect bikers to have much taste.”
“Hey,” she protests. “I’m a biker… kind of.”
I wince. “Sorry.”
“Show me the bedrooms,” she says.
I lead her along the hall and into my room, or at least the room I’ve claimed as my own for the moment.
Something is on my pillow, and my stomach lurches. Shit. I lunge for the item, but Vani gets there first.
“Isn’t this my dad’s?”
She holds up a huge t-shirt with a band called Motley Crew on the front. I swallow, hard, and my face burns. “Um, yeah. He lent it to me to sleep in.”
That’s a lie. I stole it from his house when I’d been there. It smells like him, and as pathetic as it seems, having him so close has soothed me. It’s about the only way I can get any sleep, and I refuse to feel guilty because my entire world has been torn apart.
“Why did he do that? I packed a whole heap of your clothes, and I know I grabbed pajamas. Why didn’t you wear those?”
The heat drains through my body, out of my toes, and is swiftly replaced by an icy chill. “I-it was the first night. I didn’t have any stuff here then.”
“But you could have given it back to him by now. Why is it on your pillow?”
A flash of moments of me with Jack scroll through my head, and I feel so guilty it’s as though I think Vani can see them on my face.
“I-I don’t know,” I stammer.
“Bullshit. You think I don’t know why girls sleep with a guy’s t-shirt?”
She’s glaring at me.
“I don’t want your dad, Vani.”
