Page 72 of The Penalty

“And now that the semester is over, I’ll be able to work more shifts again. And I don’t have as many credits next semester. I should be able to afford an apartment a little away from campus.”

“McKenzie, no. Save your money. Stay here for free. I like having you here. Kylie likes having you here.” I may sound desperate, but I don’t really care.

“I don’t think Kylie would like having me here if she knew I was sleeping with her dad.”

Ok, she has a point. “I want you to stay,” I say again.

“Tyler. It’s not a good idea.”

“None of this,” I motion between us, “is a good idea, but that hasn’t stopped us.”

“Well—”

“Don’t even go there, McKenzie.” I cut her off. There is no way we’re stopping this, so I don’t need her to finish whatever she was about to say.

She sighs. “I just feel like I’m mooching off you, and I hate that.”

“Mooch away, baby. Please, just think about it. I want you here with me. And you’ll be able to save money so when you graduate, you’ll have some savings.”

She purses her lips before she sighs. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”

“Good.” I grab her phone out of her hand and put it back on the bedside table before I make my way down her body again.

“What are you doing?” she asks as I pepper kisses on her bare stomach.

“I’m gonna eat your pussy.”

Her eyes go wide. “But your cum is still inside me.”

“I don’t give a fuck.”

Then I devour her, showing her just what she’d be missing if she wasn’t living here with me.

TWENTY-NINE

MCKENZIE

“Ok, open your present now,” Tyler says over a video call late on Christmas night. He’s whispering because he’s staying in his old room at his parents’ house in Georgia, and I’m in my room at my mom’s house.

Being home for Christmas without my dad has been really hard. But my family and I tried our best to make sure we laughed more than we cried and remembered all the happy times with Dad instead of thinking about the fact that he’s not here with us anymore.

“Ok. Ok.” I reach for the envelope that he snuck into my bag before he left.

I open it up and find a plane ticket. “What’s this?”

“It’s a ticket for you to come to Georgia for the Peach Bowl,” Tyler says like it’s no big deal.

The La Vista University football team is in the semi-finals for college football, which means they’ll play in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on New Year’s Day.

“What?” I look at him through the phone with wide eyes. He’s smirking because he knows this is huge for me.

“Yeah, and it’s not just a plane ticket. I got you and Kylie tickets to the game.”

“Oh my gosh!” I yell before I remember that the rest of my family is sleeping, so I need to keep it down. I whisper it this time. “Oh my gosh!”

“I’ll be back in Nebraska the day after tomorrow to practice with the team, and then I’ll have to fly back down to Atlanta with them. But I’ve got you a hotel room at the same place I’m staying. Kylie will still be at her mom’s, but she’ll come to the game with us.”

“Tyler. . . this is insane. It’s too much.”