Page 119 of Rock Bottom Girl

“What’s the last gift you bought?”

“Mmm. I got this painting for my mom. A custom job of her dog. Got it framed and everything. Her birthday’s coming up. She’s coming out from Jersey for a weekend. We’re doing up a dinner party at my uncles’.”

“Do you and your mom have a good relationship?” she asked.

By going to school with me, Marley would have a general knowledge of my messy teenage years. My dad dying. My mom not being able to handle a rebel without a clue. Being shipped off to bumfuck Pennsylvania to live with my uncles I didn’t know well. It had been the best thing she ever could have done for me. But it had taken me some time to come to that conclusion.

“Yeah. We’re good now. Things were rocky back when I first moved here. But honestly? I can’t imagine not growing up with Max and Lewis. Those guys took none of my teenage shit and made sure I turned out to be someone they could be proud of.”

“I like how you talk about them. Like you can just tell how much you love them,” Marley observed.

“Come to the birthday thing,” I said. “Meet my mom. Meet Lewis. My cousin’ll be there.”

“I liked Adeline,” she admitted. “And her husband.”

“Max and Lewis decided they did such a good job with me that they’d adopt. They ended up with Adeline. Now we’ve got a full house for the holidays with her four kids.”

“Is it nice? Having family nearby?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, you go on vacation, you’ve got a cousin’s kid to cut your grass. You’re under the weather, you’ve got an uncle bringing you chicken soup and Gatorade. Your birthday rolls around, and even just dinner turns into an instant party.”

“That sounds nice,” she admitted, focusing on her plate. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s hard for my parents that Zinnia and I both moved away. You know?”

“I’m sure they miss you,” I told her, trying real hard not to push the big, shiny red button I was seeing. “But there’s the family you’re given and the family you choose. They don’t have to be sitting home alone on Thanksgiving if you’re not around.”

She nodded and scooped up another forkful. “Right. Yeah. You’re right.” She sighed. “It’s just, I think maybe they’re a little lonely. They’re both retired now, and they don’t have their office and their school friends every day. I think that’s part of why they decided to do the Airbnb thing.”

“You think they’re lonely?”

“Yeah. A little.”

“What about you, Mars? Are you lonely?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she picked up her coffee and took a contemplative sip. “Yeah. I am.”

I laid a hand on her shoulder. “Me too, pretty girl. Me too. But you know what?”

“What?”

“We have each other now.”

She gave a soft laugh.

“I’m serious, Mars. We’re dating. We’re banging. We’re basically in a real relationship.”

“Yeah, until Christmas,” she scoffed.

We’ll see about that.

“Well, what’s wrong with not being alone until Christmas?” I prodded.

“Nothing,” she sighed.

“Exactly.”

“So, seeing as how it’s a lazy Sunday morning and we just had an incredible breakfast, what do you want to do?”

Her face lit up, and she leaned in close. “I have an idea.” Her voice was husky, and my dick was already standing at attention.