Page 14 of Other Woman Drama (Content Advisory #4)

Twelve

What is it called when you hate people for no reason?

— Silver’s secret thoughts

SILVER

“I’ll give her a ride home,” Eedie chirped.

Every last bit of excitement deflated from me as Eedie offered this.

“That’s nice of you, doll, but you’re going to give me a ride home,” Brittnie pointed out.

“I can drop you both off,” Eedie suggested.

“You could, but neither one of us want to have to wait for the other to get home, and we’re both in opposite directions,” Brittnie said gently.

“Fine,” Eedie sighed. “Would you like to come here with me next week?”

“If I can get in before I have to go to work,” I said. “But sometimes I’m late as hell, and don’t get out of my bed until I absolutely have to.”

“I know that feeling,” Eedie muttered. “I’ll text you when I’m going. Maybe you can find the time.”

I felt something sink in my belly. “What day are you going? I’ll go.”

Eedie perked up. “Monday for sure. I can go to any class that you want, but I’m at school from eight to one. I have to work, but I can change with someone if I need to.”

She wanted me there.

I could feel it in my bones.

“Okay, you choose whichever one is easiest and I’ll work with it,” I said.

“Fine.” She smiled, looking relieved.

It took five minutes to say our goodbyes, and I was left standing outside Slow Roll wondering what in the hell had just happened.

Webber cursed under his breath when they finally pulled out of the parking lot.

I looked over at him. “What?”

“I fucking hate Elizabeth,” he growled. “She never goes to anything. Eedie’s so starved for female attention that it’s nauseating to think about.

Elizabeth is so self-centered and selfish that she doesn’t see what she’s doing to Eedie.

And I can’t keep up. I only see her for a couple of hours here and there now that she’s seventeen.

Elizabeth throws a goddamn fit if Eedie’s not staying with her, too.

So it’s not like she can even stay with me without her mother making her feel like dirt.

Eedie already said she wasn’t living with her anymore, but she changed her mind. ”

I sighed. “I’ll see what I can do, Webber. I’m not sure how you fix this, either, but I’ll do what I can to give her someone she feels like she can talk to.”

Webber’s hand came down on my shoulder and he turned me to him. “Thank you for giving her your time. That’s everything to her. And to me.”

I pressed my head against his wrist before saying, “Will your bike also fit a box of cookies?”

He snorted. “As long as you don’t mind them being strapped down sideways.”

I frowned. “I have no clue what their flavors are this week. Maybe I’ll have to do a check on that.”

He took my hand like he’d done it a thousand times and led me into the Cookie Explosion.

I couldn’t even bask in the smell of cookies because I was in such a euphoric state due to him touching me of his own free will.

His man hand felt massive against my skinny girl hand.

Callused and strong, I never wanted him to let me go.

“What do you want?” Webber asked, breaking me out of my contemplation of a lifetime of him holding my hand.

“Uhh.” I looked at the board in front of me, studying all the cookies, and settled with, “All of them?”

Webber snorted. “Like, you want all the cookies they have? Or you want one of each flavor?”

I bit my lip. “One of each flavor.”

“You are going to eat nine cookies by yourself?” he asked.

“I was sort of hoping that maybe I could eat some of all of them, and maybe you’d help me,” I admitted.

He looked down at me, and his blue eyes caught mine. “Is that an invite?”

“Yes,” I squeaked.

He grinned and turned back to the wide-eyed teen and said, “We’ll take one of each flavor, please.”

I had to force myself not to squeal in excitement.

The teen put all of the cookies in the box when Webber paid, and then he took the cookies. He never let my hand go.

Was this what it felt like to be on top of the world?

Because I was definitely riding really high right now.

He held my hand until we got to his bike, then he let me go to strap my cookies down along with my bag.

“Need to rent a locker at Slow Roll so that you don’t have to keep lugging your bag around everywhere you go,” he muttered as he got it into position, likely smooshing the cookies in the process. “It’d be easier to get you here on the bike, too.”

I swallowed that same squeak of excitement that’d been threatening for the last ten minutes and said, “Or maybe I get a backpack.”

“Backpack makes you off balance, though,” he admitted. “I want you to be comfortable on my bike, and safe.”

He wanted me safe.

Shit.

That felt like he’d just offered me the world.

“Come on,” he said as he held out the dreaded sweat jacket to me. “Arms in.”

I put my arms in and turned to zip it up but he got there before me, zipping me up and then reaching for my helmet.

He fit that into place next, then said, “Hop on.”

I did, after him of course, and scooched in as close as I could, plastering my body to his from crotch to head.

He chuckled at the spider monkey impression I was pulling and started the bike up after getting his own helmet on.

The bike started with a throaty roar, and soon he was back on the road, heading back for the shop.

It took us seven minutes, which sucked.

I could’ve spent a lifetime behind him on his bike, but he likely had places to be and things to do.

But still we had to split these cookies…

“Here,” he said as he held his hand out.

I took it and swung my leg off, holding onto his hand until I was steady on my feet before he said, “If I stop for beer, can you get some pizza or something for us? I’m starving and haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.”

I felt giddiness once again take root inside me.

“Of course.” I hesitated. “Do you want to come over to my place?”

Not that I was embarrassed of my place, per se, but I wasn’t totally comfortable inviting people over because my place barely qualified as a home.

I barely spent time there, so what was the point of having anything but a bed and some dishes? I didn’t even have décor. The most decorating I’d done was leaving my clothes in various piles around the apartment.

“Come over to mine,” he suggested, not realizing just how relieved I was that he’d invited me over. “Do you know where I’m at?”

“I know you’re close to where Eedie lives,” I admitted. “But I don’t know exactly where.”

I chose to say where Eedie lived instead of where my dad lived.

It was better not to bring attention to the fact that my dad lived with his ex-wife and daughter.

I didn’t want him to get mad at me about my parentage all over again.

He nodded, then said, “I’ll send you my address. You can head to get the pizza.”

We parted ways, and as soon as I got in my car and started it up to head in the direction of the pizza place, I called my sister.

“Hey,” she said. “Are you showering already?”

I licked my lips. “Actually, no. So…”

My day slipped out.

Every single detail of my day, from start to finish, ending with, “What do I do?”

“Go to the pizza place next to your apartment,” she said. “Grab a change of clothes while you wait for the pizza to get done. Then go to Webber’s place once he sends you the address and spend the evening with him.”

“But what do I do when I get there?” I asked. “I’m absolutely disgusting. I’m covered in grease and sweat. Do I just say hey, I’m going to shower really quick? Do I ask first? What do I do?” I paused. “Maybe I should just shower at home.”

“No, don’t shower at home,” Aella rushed out. “Just grab a change of clothes and head to his place when he sends you the address.”

So that was what I did.

I headed to my place and gathered my clothes before ordering a pizza from the pizza parlor just around the corner and waited for him to send me his address.

And waited.

And waited some more.

By the time an hour had passed, I was well and truly heartbroken.

And more than a little bit disgusted in myself.

What had I been expecting? Happily ever after?

That kind of thing didn’t happen to women like me.