Her words are followed by yet more howling. How is it she and Samantha Conway are related?
I blink. ‘Hold up a sec,’ I say. ‘Who’s your girlfriend?’
‘Well, itwasCarlie Kessler, until she broke up with me!’
‘DJ Stash?’
‘Yes!’ she yowls. ‘But Momma doesn’t know that yet!’
‘Oh, Jesus,’ I say, more to myself, rubbing my eyes. I have bigger things to worry about right now than Lemon’s dating dramas or her interfering mother.
‘Can you please call her?’ Lemon asks in a shrill tone.
‘Who? Carlie? What? No. Lemon. I can’t get involved. This is between you and your mom. And Carlie. I can’t help it if your mom doesn’t know you’re into same sex relationships.’
‘Momma thinks that I need to be with aguy… like you. You know… handsome, successful… athletic… a golden boy. Me bein’ gay is not exactly in her playbook.’
I growl at the use of her term ‘golden boy’. I’m done with it. Her voice is getting higher and higher, and I’m exasperated.
‘Lemon. Pull it together. You like this girl, you gotta tell her. You gotta come out to your mom and tell her to back off.’
‘But how do I convince Carlie there’s nothing between you and I?’
I let out a heavy sigh. Shake my head. ‘Send me her number.’
I hear Lemon trying to calm herself. ‘Thank you,’ she murmurs through her sniffles. We say our goodbyes and I hang up.
It doesn’t get weirder than this, and my guess is I’ll soon be paid another visit by Samantha Conway.
If only I could tell her what her son’s been up to.
‘Hey, honey, how was the gym?’
Mom’s at the sink with the faucet running when the front door slams behind me. Okay, so I’ve had a workout, just not the kind she’s imagining. I toss my car keys onto the side and wander through to the kitchen.
‘Good. Uh. Yeah,’ I say. ‘It was fine. River’s friends go home?’
‘Oh, they stayed for dinner,’ Mom says. ‘What delightful boys. So tragic how Wylder was hit in his car like that. He’s determined to walk again. Such a brave soul.’
‘Did River tell you he invited her to the winter formal?’
‘She did! Honestly, I’m so pleased for her. Now I just need to find you a nice girl. How’s Lemon? Are you taking her out again anytime soon?’
‘Uh,’ I begin, unsure what I should even tell her anymore. ‘Yeah. I will. Where’s Dad?’
‘Watching the game. River’s upstairs.’
‘I’m, uh, gonna get a shower.’
Upstairs, in my ensuite, I stand under the shower and relive the time I spent with Serenity at her house. I fantasize that she’s here with me, naked with the hot spray running down her skin, between her breasts and over her nipples, and in a second I’m rock hard again, remembering the look on her face as she rode out her orgasm, shortly before I joined her there. One hand flat against the tiles, I fist my dick, bringing myself to a climax in under a minute, thinking of how good she looked in her bedroom mirror. After I’ve lathered myself up, my head goes back, and I curse because I hate that I still have to keep our relationship a secret.
In my bedroom, I’m almost dressed and pulling on a shirt when there’s a knock at my door.
‘Come in,’ I say, and River opens the door. I rub the damp towel over my hair.
She looks at me through slanted eyes. ‘Gym, huh? Wouldn’t you have showered there? Before you came back?’
‘Showers were out of order. Problem with the, uh, water pressure, I think.’
