Page 65 of Rival

“Fuck, Fin. Would you just tell me already? Jesus, man.”

“Would ya give me a damn second? It’s... I might’ve fucked up pretty bad.”

His arms fall to the side, and he actually looks a bit panicked. “Like, with the law or somethin’? Howfucked upare we talkin’ here?”

I scowl at him. “Would you stop it? Of course not like that. Just morally, I guess. As a man, for sure. Okay, so I’ll tell ya, but I’m not givin’ names because it’s her privacy, too.” My brother’s brows hit his hairline, shocked about my “her” comment, but he keeps his mouth shut.

“Alright, so, I know this gal, and only recently have we sort of started the whole flirtin’ shit, and I’ll admit, I really like her. Quite a bit, if I’m being honest. Thing is, she’s younger than me and pretty new to relationship shit.”

“New... likenew?” he asks, stressing it to imply exactly what I’m not saying.

“Yes,” I bite out. “Thatkind of new. She’s not real comfortable with people seein’ us together, but that’s not so much the issue, or it wasn’t until it was.”

I pause, gathering my thoughts when Corbin kicks my foot. “Would you just tell me? I’m not gonna judge you, man.”

“I fucked her.” I blurt it out and immediately feel relief at getting this off my chest, then I just pour out the rest. “I took her virginity, and it was a pretty great night. The thing is, the next mornin’, I got the impression she regretted it and wanted nothin’ to do with me when it came time for lettin’ someone know. So, to save her the awkwardness of layin’ out expectations, I jumped the gun and gave her the out I assumed she wanted.”

“Sooo... you fucked a virgin, then said ‘hey thanks, had a great time, I’ll see ya around’?”

Well, when you put it like that...

“It wasn’t exactly like that, but in general, yeah. But now that I’m thinking back on it, I’m pretty positive I misread thesituation. Then on the flip side, that concern of hers isstillgonna be a concern, so I don’t see how there’s a possibility for a different outcome.”

Corbin scratches his head while studying me as I stay seated on the floor. “I don’t know, man. Are you asking me for advice or just my thoughts?”

Shrugging, I wave my hand at him. “Whatever you’re feelin’.”

“I think you shouldn’t have fucked a virgin if you weren’t gonna stick around. No matter the situation, that shit means somethin’ to people. I don’t know what you ought to do goin’ forward with her, but you should make a decision. If she’s not in a place where ya’ll could make it work, then evenifyou were a dick about it, you should just stay away. Let her save some face.”

I’m not sure I like that, but I’ll definitely think about it. For now, maybe giving her some space is the smartest thing to do. Especially with her not wanting her dad to know. “I guess. I’ll figure it out. Let’s finish this shit up. Sorry for bein’ a dick today.”

“Sorry you’re such a pansy ass motherfucker. Now we can move on with the day.”

Laughing, I slide back under, and we work together to finish up the job. As we’re cleaning our mess, Corbin’s phone buzzes, and once he’s done reading his text, he looks over at me.

“Think you could swing by and grab Jennice from work? Apparently, the wife dropped her off this mornin’ and forgot about an appointment. I have to head out with the boss for a pick up.”

Shouldering my bag, I nod. “Yeah. I’ll grab her.”

He smacks my shoulder in thanks, and I send out a text letting my supervisor know I’m done for the day, then head over to Thorton’s place where my niece has been working for a bit now.

With my truck idling, I head inside and come face to face with Jaxon. He always had beef with Clayborn since I was young, and I know it surrounds his sister. Throw in that he and Edith are friends, I kind of want to get in his face about everything, but I won’t embarrass my family like that. I definitely won’t do it in his place of business.

Lifting my chin, I step to the side. He’s keeping an eye on me like he’s not sure what the hell I’m doing here, so I make it easy for all of us. “Just pickin’ up Jennice.”

He looks over his shoulder and frowns. “Somethin’ wrong with your car, Jennice?”

My niece lifts her head and looks confused, then her face lights up with pleasure when she sees me. “Uncle Finny!” I roll my eyes at her use of that ridiculous nickname, but smile anyway. “And yeah, beater didn’t want to start up this morning, so my mom dropped me off. Am I good to go?”

He waves her off and at least has a friendly smile for one of us. “Have a good night and thanks for your help again today.”

Aannddd fuck you Jaxon for makin’ her happy. She lights up with pleasure from his compliment and I have to admit, she seems to be incredibly happy with her job.

Quickly shoving her things into her bag, she joins us by the door and asks, “You headed back out to the church thing? Want me to forward the calls?”

“That’s right, you’re headin’ that up, aren’t you? Got a friend volunteerin’ over there.”

Jaxon just flicks his eyes toward me and doesn’t elaborate. Not sure what I was looking for, but I wouldn’t have minded dropping Edith’s name just to see his reaction. Since they’re friends and all.