Page 27 of Tight Ends & Tiaras
Her shoulders slump. “I know, okay? I know. I’m sorry.”
Whatever.
I look down at Liliana, who’s forgotten her meltdown and is double-fisting cereal and shoving it into her mouth. At least this stuff is off the napkin.
I’ll admit I know nothing about kids, but I have sisters—Gabby and my younger cousins, Bianca and Hannah, who are Tío Julio’s kids. They were older than Liliana when my uncle adopted me, but how hard can one child be? I mean, we already got the tantrum out of the way, right?
I crouch down by her, taking note of her thick black hair. With her chubby cheeks, big brown eyes, and thick long lashes, she looks exactly like my baby picture. My heart does some weird twisty thing in my chest.
In my head, I hear what Dr. Patricia said this morning about opening myself to Liliana. I have no clue what that requires, but I suppose it begins with talking to her.
“Hey, Lily. How’s it going, kid?”
She never turns away from the TV where some sparkly dragon drags his ass across a stage and sings about being happy.
I run my hand over her silky locks and smile when she finally looks up at me. Rider always talks softly to his kid, so I try to imitate his voice. “Hey, baby. How are you?”
Christ almighty, now I have to pretend to be a nice guy. But it’s not like I want to be an asshole to my daughter.
“Num-nums.” She holds out a gooey palm of cereal. “Eat beefass.”
Beefass?
“She means breakfast,” Janelle says as she plops down on the bed. “She really means lunch because she ate breakfast at the crack of dawn and then a snack and then a second snack.”
It’s barely eleven in the morning. I guess it’s a good thing I’m an early riser.
I glance around the small room. Aside from a pile of dirty laundry in the corner and a mini-fridge, Janelle didn’t bring much.
“What do you guys need? Besides a highchair?” I stand and pull out the notes app on my phone and type that on my list. “I can make a run to Target or Walmart or whatever and get her some basics.” Remembering all the crap Rider had to buy for Poppy gives me pause. “Course, I’m not sure where it’s all gonna fit.”
Janelle sits up and fidgets. Bites her lip. Fidgets some more. “Can’t we stay with you? You said you were going to think about it.”
“Do you really wanna stay with me and my girlfriend?” I blurt, a little shocked with myself.
I’m not sure where those words come from, but now that they’re out there, I’m glad to have some kind of barrier between me and Janelle. I don’t want her thinking we’re ever gonna be an item again.
Her eyes narrow. “You have a girlfriend? Since when?”
“Keeping tabs on me?”
She flushes. “I mean, yeah. Maybe. I just... your cousin didn’t think you were dating anyone.”
“My family doesn’t know shit about my life here in Charming.”
Her brow furrows. “So... is it serious? So serious you came here for a booty call on Friday night?”
Busted.
But it’s not like I’ll ever confess anything to her.
“I came here because you begged me to talk, remember? But yes, I was planning to move in with Sienna for the remainder of the summer and our senior year.” Sienna needs a roommate, so this isn’t farfetched.
Maybe Olly was onto something with our neighbor pretending to be my girlfriend. How much would that really require anyway? Maybe nothing if I can convince Janelle she doesn’t want to stay with me in the first place.
She runs her finger along the bedspread and laughs. “Just... I’d be really grateful if we could move in.” Her voice drops to a sultry purr. “You and I already have a baby, but we could always be friends with benefits, Ben. No one would have to know.”
Her nipples are hard and poking through the flimsy sports bra. They barely contain her big tits. She tilts her head, and her long hair spills over her shoulder as she smiles.
