Chapter 27: Papaw & Memaw
Allie
I stepped into the shower with the echo of Nico's words in my head."You're the absolute fucking best I've ever had, love."I wasn't sure I believed that - after all, he'd been with dozens if not hundreds of women - but it was definitely nice to hear.
I'd only had five lovers, including Nico. I'd lost my virginity to my high school sweetheart our senior year, only to find him getting a blow job from the school slut a few weeks before graduation. That summer, I had a rebound fling with a guy my ex-scumbag hated. He's the one who taught me you didn't have to love someone, or think you loved them, to have sex with them. He also taught me the art of giving a great blow job. I was a particularly good student. I tested my newfound knowledge with another guy the night before I left for college, and he reciprocated by screwing my brains out in the back of his car. Then, I met Alex. Our sex life was wonderful, and neither of us had any complaints, but I was a much different person now than I was with Alex. I'd grown more independent and was stronger and more capable.
Whether it was a by-product of losing Alex and having to fend for myself and Gracie alone, or whether it was because I was older and more mature, I wasn't sure. With Alex, we'd clicked from the moment we met, and things were easy and comfortable between us, even the first time we'd made love.With Nico, I felt like we'd fought hard to get here, and maybe that's what made everything so much more intense between us than anything I'd ever experienced before.
I was still contemplating the changes in my life when I dressed in the clothes I'd worn here this morning and headed down the stairs. I'd grabbed my phone and purse, knowing I'd need to be getting back to my parents' house soon for Gracie. I could hear Nico yelling about something and hurried down to the living room. I found him pacing back and forth, with his cell phone pressed to his ear. From his end of the conversation, it was clear that Matt was on the other end of the phone and that Nico was livid.
"Is Lana working on getting that shit taken down?" he listened to Matt's response, which apparently wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"I don't fucking care how hard it is, Matt. I want that shit down now before-" he whipped around to face me when he heard my footsteps.
"I'll call you back." He ended the call and tossed his phone on the end table before striding over to pull me into his arms. His entire body was tense, and I could almost feel the waves of anger emanating from him.
I pulled back to look up at him. "What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.
He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. "Nothing, Sunshine. The online shit is just pissing me off, but Michael and Lana are working on it."
I rolled my eyes and gave a bitter-sounding chuckle. "Anything new I need to know about?" I asked, pulling my phone out of my back pocket and tapping the screen.
Nico pulled it out of my hand and dropped a kiss on my forehead. "Nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart." I frowned at him and reached for my phone, but he held it just out of my reach.
"Give me my phone, I want to see what has you all pissy."
"No, Allie, you don't need to get online right now. Please, you know how those assholes can -"
"Give me my phone, Nico. I don't need you to protect me. I'm a big girl, remember?"
He signed and dropped his shoulders in defeat. He handed me the phone and said "Dammit, I don't think you should do this, Allie."
I tapped the screen to bring it to life again and typed in my passcode. I pulled up my social media notifications that I had set to alert me about anything related to Nico, Storm Front, or me, but didn't see anything new at first glance. Just the same shit that they'd been regurgitating for the two days. I looked up at him questioningly.
"What am I looking for, honey? What set you off? I'm not seeing anything new, except for more support for us after the truth about that redheaded hoebag came out."
Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them to stare at me for a moment. "Some stupid motherfucker put a video together with a bunch of goddamned pictures, and it pissed me the hell off. Matt saw it and sent it to me. He said Lanaand Michael are working on getting it removed from the site and pulled from everywhere else it's popping up at. Something about copyright infringement because of some fucking song playing on it."
"Ah, the lovely Sesame Street video?" I asked, sounding more self-confident than I felt. At his look of confusion, I clarified by singing the opening lines 'One of These Things Is Not Like the Others, One of These Things Just Doesn't Belong'.
He winced, his mouth tightening in anger. "You've seen that shit?"
"Yeah, I had the pleasure of seeing that little gem on Sunday. I have to give the guy credit, he's pretty creative," I choked out a laugh, trying to pretend I didn't want to crawl in a hole right now. I looked back down at my phone, scrolling through it and pretending that I could actually see the screen through the haze of my tears. I turned toward the kitchen, hoping to be able to wipe my eyes before Nico realized I was upset. I was embarrassed enough about that fucking video, I refused to cry over it anymore.
"Allie?" Nico called softly behind me.
I tossed a look in his general direction over my shoulder as I kept walking. "Be right back. I just want to grab a water," I said, proud of the steady tone of my voice. I took two more steps before I felt his arms close around me, pulling me to a stop with my back against his chest.
"Sunshine, talk to me, please?" he whispered, his lips brushing against my ear as he spoke.
I sighed, and allowed him to turn me in his arms, keeping my gaze fixed on his Adam's apple. I couldn't look him in theeye. I didn't want to see the pity, or sympathy, or whatever he was feeling. Nico apparently wasn't going to let me get away with avoiding him, because he put a finger under my chin and lifted my head, giving me no choice but to look at his face.
"I need you to listen to me, Allie, listen and truly hear my words. The fuckwad who made that video doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. I'm not even sure who half of those women are, and I don't give a shit about any of them. You are the one I love, you are the one I want, and you are so gorgeous and sexy you make me ache." His words were quiet but stern, his gaze unwavering as he stared into my eyes.
The tears I'd been trying to hold back slipped down my cheeks, and he groaned, pulling me into him and burying my face in his neck. "Please, don't cry, love. Your tears kill me."
I hugged him tightly around the waist and allowed myself a few brief seconds to pack away the miserable remnants of the pity-party I'd been throwing myself since Sunday morning. With a shuddering sigh, I pulled away a little, and ran a finger underneath both eyes to wipe away the last of the tears.
