Page 46 of Finding Us
As I round the corner to enter the kitchen, I pause when I see Mason bent over, grabbing something from the fridge. Is he making the most of the freebies while he’s here?
His eyes narrow when he stands to full height and sees me standing in the doorway. “Where’s my kid, Red?”
“In my room playing video games. And my name is Jacinta,” I snap, moving further into the kitchen.
His arm comes out to stop me as I try to pass, and I intake a sharp breath when he leans in, because for a split second, I think he’s going to kiss me. I hate that my body immediately reacts, zinging at the prospect. “I only know you as Red,” he whispers, tugging on my ponytail. “You know, like the colour you stained my sheets when I stuffed your tight virgin pussy full of my big fat cock.”
My face heats at the vulgarity of his words, and when I turn my head in his direction, I can tell by his smug look he was going for the shock factor—he succeeded. “You did not just say that to me.”
A smile tugs at his lips as he straightens and cracks the top off his beer. “I believe I did. I’ve seen you in action, Red, and this sweet and innocent act of yours is a complete farce. And by the way, I have a video of your awkward and rather comical escape from my place.”
“You’re lying,” I accuse, although I don’t think he is. How else would he know it was awkward and comical?
He slides his phone out of his pocket, moving his finger over the screen. He holds it up in front of me, and I gasp when I see myself diving behind the bush. I reach out, trying to grab hold of his phone, but he must anticipate my move because his arm rises above his head, holding it out of my reach. “I’m thinking of uploading it to YouTube.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I screech.
“I most definitely would.”
I take a step towards him, stomping down on his foot. “Delete it this instant!” I demand.
He barks out a laugh as he turns to exit the room. “Not a chance in hell.”
“I’ve never made popcorn like this before,” Blake says as I empty the last of the corn kernels into the pot and cover it with a lid. “Braydon’s dad cooked it in a bag in the microwave when I stayed at his place.”
“This is so much nicer than microwave popcorn. And you’ll be able to see the kernels pop through the glass lid.” I slide my hands under his arms, lifting him up to sit on the counter so he can get a better view.
“Nothing is happening,” he says disappointed as he leans over to peer through the lid.
“Give it a few minutes, but don’t touch the pot, it will get really hot and I don’t want you to burn yourself.”
“Okay, Jazzie.”
Could this little boy get any sweeter? How his mother could mistreat him is beyond me.
As time passes and nothing happens, I see his disillusionment grow. I double-check that the stovetop is turned on, which it is, so I reach for the handle on the lid, lifting it. As I do the first kernel pops, flying up into the air and landing on the countertop.
Blake squeals with excitement. “It’s working.”
Before I get a chance to replace the lid, a few more pop in succession, with one piece hitting me square between the eyes. Blake throws back his head and bursts out laughing.
“You think that’s funny? I almost lost an eye,” I say grinning, which only seems to make him laugh harder. His shoulders bob up and down as his arms hug his middle.
When I bend down to collect the few pieces that landed on the floor, I notice Mason standing in the doorway watching us. There’s a huge smile on his face as he observes his son, and you can clearly see the love there.
He’s still smiling as his eyes move to me, and for a split second, I think he forgets he hates me, but his face quickly sobers when he remembers. “What’s going on in here?”
“We’re making popcorn for our movie,” I reply.
“A piece hit Jazzie in the face, Dad. It was so funny.”
“It’s a shame I missed it,” he replies.Ugh.I don’t even know why he’s so mad at me. Is he upset that I snuck out of his house? He was the one who reinforced we were a one and done, and made it perfectly clear he wanted me gone once we were finished.
Standing, I walk over to the bin and discard the pieces in my hand, before helping Blake off the counter. “Why don’t you go wash your hands, the popcorn is almost ready?”
“Okay,” he says, dashing from the room.
I turn my back on his father to grab a bowl, and the last thing I expect is for him to come up behind me and cage me in with his arms. His close proximity has my traitorous body zinging back to life again.
