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I twisted my lips to the side. “It’s a bit more than we budgeted for.”
Liem scoffed, collapsing onto the love seat in the adorable little living room. “That’s because you budgeted thinking I was destitute. I’m a twenty-one-year-old who lived with his parents until now. I have money. And you’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you pay for 70 percent of the rent.”
I glanced at Vinh, who was pointedly pressing his lips together. I nudged him with my elbow. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I’m on both of your sides.”
“He’s right, Princess. We’ve found our unicorn. It’s a Halloween miracle.”
It was Tuesday now, and Halloween. We’d lazed at the houseboat and pretended the outside world didn’t exist for an entire two days, the only interruptions being Sunday morning when Vinh was gone for a little under three hours and midday on Monday when he had to take a video call for work.
And the nearly countless times he pushed me against the wall, or onto the bed, or the kitchen table and devoured me.
Which had only stoked the fire within me, while also doing wonders for my mental health. I was desperate to feel him inside me, but he’d been right. If this was it— if Vinh Lott was my person, the forever kind—then I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life associating that part of our relationship with all of Saturday’s… drama. And trauma.
In a very Vinh way, he’d tried to make our hibernation from the world only about me, and by Monday evening, I’d had enough, finally catching him off guard when I dropped to my knees after breakfast and shoved his sweatpants down his legs and took him into my mouth.
The look of surprise on his face that instantly transformed to euphoria was now one of my core memories.
Vinh’s arms circled around me as his breath washed over my neck. “What are you thinking about?”
Your penis.
My eyes flicked to Liem, who had his eyes glued to his phone, before returning to Vinh. “I’ll show you later.”
His eyes heated, hands tightening briefly before he planted a delicate kiss to my neck and stepped away. Just in time, too, as the realtor, who Cody’s dad had referred us to, walked back in.
“What do we think, friends? I just spoke to the owner, and because the other renters dropped out, you could sign the paperwork in the morning and start your lease then too.”
Liem looked at me with a hopeful expression, and that was all I needed. “We’ll take it.”
The trailer was gone.
A rectangular patch of dead grass and the crate I’d used as a step up were the only evidence that it’d ever existed.
“This is my fault,” I said through a grim smile. “I did tell her I’d have my things removed by the end of Saturday.”
“It really isn’t,” Vinh responded, holding my hand. “Any decent parent—which is what she was supposed to be to you—wouldn’t have done this.”
I shrugged. “Maybe she had my things packed up and put in the Big House?”
He pulled me away from the trailer’s grave and up the side yard. “Do you feel comfortable going to check?”
“No. Not without her consent.”
We navigated around multiple muddy puddles, the rain having finally let up this morning. The bad weather was one of the reasons I hadn’t tried to come and get my things, but apparently it hadn’t kept Barbara Ann Copeland from taking care of business.
We reached the Rav, and I opened the door, then sat sideways in the seat. “May as well get this over with,” I groaned as I pulled out my phone.
“Somehow I can’t picture her with a cell phone.”
“Oh, she has one, but she’s terrible at charging it and even worse at answering it. I’m not gonna try that number first.”
I dialed the other number, and a pleasant female voice answered. “Fortuna Casino and Resort. How may I direct your call?”
“Room 7-1-7, please,” I requested, and the efficient customer service concierge transferred me within moments.
Grandmother answered on the fourth ring, and I would never be sure if that was luck or a huge bit of misfortune.
