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Riley
“Oh my god! You got in?”
My body lifted a clear foot off the ground as my mom’s head appeared over my shoulder, her excited shriek piercing my ear.
“Jesus, Mom!” I shouted, breathlessly, as my heart lodged somewhere in my throat. I spun to face her. “You’re like a goddamn stealth ninja! Where the fu-flip did you come from?” I was never sure why I tried to avoid cursing in front of my mom. Given the stuff that had spewed out of her mouth over the years, my reserve seemed almost ridiculous. Yet, I always corrected myself. Go figure.
Her shoulders wiggled a little, a bright smile stretched her face. “From Marshall’s place.”
“And Marshall is...?” I asked, then slammed my mouth shut too late, internally cursing myself. When would I learn? Do not incite conversations with Mom about guys!
Her eyes glazed as she reached down to swipe off her heels, tossing them aside before falling back onto the couch in a dreamlike state.
“He’s a dreamboat, hon.” Bliss coated her words. “I went there straight from work, been there all morning. You got my text, right?” she asked, wide eyed, like she was about to get in trouble, like I was the parent here. I rolled my eyes but nodded yes. “Great. Anyway, my God, he's insatiable!”
I pinched the bridge of my nose between my finger and thumb and muttered, “Jesus.”
“He’s the new bartender at the club. Ah, the things that man can do with his hands. You know, I’ve always said you can tell a lot about a man by looking at his hands, haven’t I said that, Riley?” She looked at me expectantly. I just blinked back at her. That didn’t deter her, though. “And this guy, wow, I just knew. When I was watching him rub down those glasses, I knew. I said to myself, I need those hands on me.”
“O-kay.” I ambled backward, edging away from whatever direction this conversation was heading in. “Always fun sharing, but I think I’ve heard as much as I want to for today, so I’m gonna...” I hooked a thumb over my right shoulder.
A tinkle of laughter burst from my mom. “Sweets, I bet you’re appreciating how honest and open I’ve always been with you about these things over the years, you know, now that you and Maddox are—”
“Christ, Mom.” I threw my hand up. “That’s... that’s not how these... discussions go. You talk, it’s majorly inappropriate, I pretend to listen but really, I’m singing that la la la song in my head, and then I go bleach out my brain and pretend like it never happened. We don’t—” I spread my arms out, searching for the right word, “... reciprocate.”
Jumping to her knees on the lumpy sofa, she clapped her hands together. “But now we can! Now we can share stories!”
“Oh my god, why? Why would we do that?” I asked, face incredulous. This woman!
Her lips pursed. “Hon, I know you and Maddox are having sex. And that’s great. As long as you’re old enough, being careful, and its consensual, sex is the most wonderful way to express your feelings for one another.”
My mouth fell open. What an absolute hippie: free love and weed. “Why would you know I'm having sex? If I even am!” I hastily added.
“A mother knows these things.” My eyebrow lifted, arms fitting tight across my chest. She rolled her eyes. “Fine, I saw you sneaking out of his trailer a couple of weeks ago. I was sharing a joint with Kayleigh after she dropped me home when I saw you creeping back here.”
Striving for patience, I inhaled through my nose, my lids sliding closed as I muttered under my breath, “Was there anyone who didn’t see me leaving his damn place?”
“What, hon?”
I blinked my eyes open. “Nothing. Look, I really gotta go get dressed. Liss will be here any second. I’ve done all the laundry and emptied the trash.”
“Hey, wait.” She shot forward, her slim fingers circling my forearm. “You got in?” Her smooth forehead tipped to the letter in my hand.
I cast my eyes down. My fingers tightened around the slips of paper before I tugged them behind my back, like I could pretend they didn’t exist if we couldn’t see them. “Oh, um, yeah. I guess. “
Her brow crinkled a little. “That’s what you wanted, right? That’s fantastic.”
I shrugged, looking away. “I guess. I’m, uh, I’m still... undecided.”
“Undecided?” she asked, eyes assessing me, head tipped to the side. “Ri, is something wrong?”
“No. Uh, nothing,” I lied. Something was wrong. I didn’t want to leave him.
Reno had never planned to go to college, even before Brett and Owen died. He was great with cars and had years of experience working at Brett’s garage. They’d wanted to expand, had big plans for the place. We hadn’t broached the subject recently, but I didn’t have to ask to deduce that he wouldn’t be coming along with me. And given the fragility of our current situation, a long-distance friendship probably wasn’t in the cards either. This thing between us already felt like trying to hold on to sand, the tiny grains constantly slipping through my fingers. If I left, it would just blow away.
Besides, even if I wanted to leave him, I couldn’t do that. It had been less than three months since he’d lost his only family. I couldn’t leave him here, all alone. Sure, Leon was staying local, and the Donovans were always around, but they weren’t me. He needed me. Right?
My mom’s fingers contracted around my arm, snapping me from my thoughts. Her concerned gaze scored my face. “You sure?” she asked again, taking in my tight brow and pinched lips. I nodded and backed away before I did something stupid like cry. “Ri? If it’s money, I told you I would help you out. I’ve been putting some away. For you. For college. So, you don’t have to worry if you don’t get a job right away. Plus, there’s financial aid. You applied for that scholarship, right? We’ll make it work, hon.”
