“I don’t want you to do anything stupid. I think he got the point.”
“I’m not so sure. Leave it to me.”
“I’m glad school will be over soon… for a lot of reasons.” She stroked the top of Jerry’s hand with her thumb.
The flickering candle in the holder cast an amber glow over her face, and she looked stunning. He stared at her lips, the way her front teeth bit into the corner of her lower one. He wanted to lean over and lick and kiss her delicious mouth. It felt good being with her, just eating and talking.
“You’re staring at me. What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“That I want to come inside you,” he said huskily. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.
“Let’s go,” she murmured.
He paid the bill, and in less than thirty minutes, he had her pinned against the wall, her tits exposed, her jeans off, and her legs wrapped around him. As he kissed her hard and deep, he played with her breasts, making her nipples into rigid peaks. When his fingers slipped under her panties, she gasped, digging her nails into his shoulder. Since she was new to fucking, she wasn’t very adept at screwing against the wall, so he carried her over to the bed and hovered over her.
It was still early—the sky had just turned dark, and dancing stars glinted in the sky. In the distance, an owl hooted. The radio played a sultry tune by Barry White, and Jerry kicked off his boots and stripped naked. He loved the feeling of his skin against hers. Hours stretched before them, and he vowed she’d be purring and exhausted before the sun rose.
Chapter Twelve
Jerry looked athis phone as it vibrated and he stiffened, the muscles in his jaw twitching. He brought the phone to his ear. “What do you want?” he asked sharply.
“I just called to see how you’ve been. I haven’t seen you in a while. I’ve missed you,” a shaky voice said.
“How much money do you want, Wanda?” He rubbed his brow.
“Why do you think I want money? Can’t your mother call you to see how you’re doing?”
“Yeah, she could if she was normal, but you’re not. Tell me how much you want or I’m hanging up.”
Her breath crackled over the phone. “Five hundred bucks.”
“Fuck. What did you do with the thousand I gave you a few weeks ago?”
She coughed fitfully, then rasped, “I got bills to pay. Your sister’s an expensive one. Anyway, five hundred is nothing to you.”
He narrowed his eyes. He should tell this sorry excuse for a mother to fuck off, but he knew he wouldn’t. “I’ll be over in an hour.”
“Can you come over later? I got to go over to Vicky’s. She’s having man trouble and wants my help.”
He laughed dryly. “That’s a joke. I’ll be there in an hour or I won’t come. You choose.”
Another wheezing cough. “You’re a hard one.” He heard her inhale—either weed or cigarettes.
“I learned from the best. One hour.” He broke the connection. Clouds of dust rose up from the dirt as he kicked the ground. He didn’t know why he bothered with Wanda. She hadn’t given a damn about him, his brother, or his sister since the day they were born.
Pete was the oldest of the three. At twenty-seven, he was two years older than Jerry. He’d graduated from college and lived in Anaheim Hills in California. He was married, had a two-year-old son, and he wanted nothing to do with Wanda, Jerry, or their half-sister, Kelsey. Jerry was fine with that because he didn’t really know his brother, and what he did know he wasn’t eager about. His brother worked for the corporate world, and Jerry had no use for his high-paying job, overpriced house, or conventional life.
Wanda had been a meth addict who’d used before, during, and after her pregnancies. The state came into the home after his little sister had been walking around the neighborhood barefooted and dressed in a bathing suit in thirty-two-degree weather, and several neighbors called the police. When the cops had knocked on the door, his strung-out mother had refused to open it. Jerry had waded through trash on the floor to answer it. The wave of putrid stench assaulted the officers, and they’d pushed their way into the abode.
Jerry remembered reading the report where the badges described the living conditions as being the worst they’d seen. The only thing in the refrigerator had been a gallon of spoiled milk and cans of beer. Jerry and his siblings had eye infections so bad they had oozed yellow discharge. Of course, all three had been promptly removed from the house.
They were separated and placed in foster care. Pete lucked out and had a good family who actually wanted to try and help the traumatized young boy. Jerry had ended up with three different families over the course of nine years. Each one was greedier than the next, until the last family let him do whatever the hell he wanted as long as they received their check. They were the best because they didn’t pretend to give a shit.
He rounded the corner into the Cedars Trailer Park on the northwest side of town. It was a rundown rat hole, and a favorite for dealers cooking up meth. The perfect place for his mother to wallow in her addiction.
When Wanda had first reached out to him, he hadn’t wanted anything to do with her. But when he’d been reunited with his sister, he’d softened a bit and decided that he shared the same blood as Wanda, so he’d give this family shit a try. Deep down, he felt sorry for the used-up woman who’d sired him. She’d been abused by men her whole life, and she never had anyone in her court before. He hated what she was, but he felt sympathy for who she could have been.
Kelsey had moved back with their mother a couple years before. She’d be graduating high school, if she ever bothered to attend. She’d been removed from her last foster home because she’d accused the foster dad of messing with her. As far as Jerry knew, nothing came out of it, and she’d been placed back with their mom. At the time, their mom had stopped using, but Jerry suspected she’d been lured back to the drug.
