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Wow, I hadn’t thought about her all day, which was strange since she’d captured so much of my attention on Monday.
Just as I wondered why I hadn’t seen her since Monday—when she’d been everywhere that first day—Mom asked, “Reese? Are you okay?”
The sitter whirled guiltily our way, shifting so that the light in the kitchen was finally able to splash over her face, and… Oh my God, holy shit, no.
“I’m fine,” Glowing Girl said, waving her hand in apology and laughing nervously as she popped awkwardly into the kitchen with us. “Sorry about that. I’m just the queen of clumsy.”
That’s when another dose of hot and then cold rushed over me, because Glowing Girl was standing in my kitchen. Three feet away.
How was this possible?
Except I already knew.
Karma, you son of a bitch.
Confession #5: So I wasn’t the best at introductions.
“Reese,” Mom said, causing a wave of shock to ricochet through me.
Reese.
Glowing Girl had a name, a real, legitimate name.
I didn’t want to know her name. I didn’t want to learn another single detail about her. This was so not going to help me stay away from her and never think about her again.
“This is my son, Mason,” Mom went on. “He works most evenings at the Country Club, so you may or may not see him coming and going whenever you’re here. Mason, this is Reese Randall.”
God…damn.
I got the last name too? No! Why did I have to learn her fucking name? Now it was going to repeat through my head like a skipping record. Reese Randall, Reese Randall, Reese—there it went already.
When I felt Sarah nudge me in the leg, reminding me I was staring badly and hadn’t said a single word in greeting, because my brain was already whirling her name through the fourth cycle, I shook my head and cleared my throat before glancing away and mumbling, “Hey.”
“H-hi,” she croaked just as nervously, which pretty much told me she remembered me.
Shit. Had I affected her the same way she’d affected me? Or…no. What was I thinking? She probably only remembered me from whatever gossip Eva had told her, except she didn’t seem horrified to learn she was going to be babysitting for the infamous gigolo’s little sister. She just seemed rattled and dazed, which made me wonder if—huh—maybe I’d left a good impression on her, one as big as the impression she’d left on me. But that didn’t make sense either, because I’d pretty much only been a moody, silent jerk to her so far.
It must be a bad impression, then.
Except, her curious blue gaze drifted over my work uniform and her face seemed to go flushed as if embarrassed about so openly checking me out—because she liked what she saw—which made me feel all hot and needy for things I should not want. I squinted, trying to abate the rush of blood that flowed south, but it didn’t help.
“Mason just started taking classes at the community college this semester too,” Mom told Reese. “Maybe you two will see each other there.”
“Yeah,” Reese murmured vaguely, smiling tightly at Mom before turning back to me. “I…I think I might’ve seen you around campus already.”
I don’t know what made me say it. She clearly didn’t want to let on that she remembered me as much as I knew she did. Maybe I wanted to be vindictive and pay her back for making me feel shit around her when I most certainly did not want to. So I dryly reminded her, “You dumped a bag full of books on my feet before my calculus class on Monday.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as if she were mentally flipping me off for calling her out. Then she feigned surprise and said, “Right,” before she blurted out a nervous laugh. “That was you, wasn’t it? Yeah, sorry about that…again.”
That’s when I knew for certain. She’d heard the rumors. She knew the truth.
I hated how much that bothered me. I didn’t want to care what she thought of me. I’d never cared before, otherwise I certainly wouldn’t have started selling my body for money. All that mattered was providing for my family and making sure they had everything they needed. So what if this cute, clumsy bundle of pep thought I was trash? Wasn’t any skin off my back. Except, it really freaking bothered me to think about her knowing what I was.
“Oh, so you two have already met, then.” Mom brightened. “That’s great.”
Yeah. Great. About as lovely as a bullet to the brain.
This entire situation had trouble written all over it. I could just feel it.
