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I snort. “Yeah, your mom would love that.”
“Ugh.” The mention of her mom shrinks her smile.
I regret the words as soon as they’re out, but I meant them lightly. I didn’t mean to make her think of her stupid mother.
Kennedy rolls out of my arms, but at least she seems reluctant to go. She grabs her phone off the bedside table, then rolls on her back so she can check her notifications.
Teenagers.
While she’s doing that, I roll out of bed and head for the bathroom.
I consider waiting for her and showering together, but showering with her and not fucking her seems too difficult. I’ve given my self-control a good workout these past 12 hours or so. It deserves a break.
I shower alone, then head back to the bedroom once I’m dressed in a gray knitted sweater and black jeans.
Kennedy’s sitting up in bed with my blanket draped over her crossed legs. She looks up when I come in and flashes me a smile, her gaze drifting over my body.
“I should have probably planned better,” she tells me. “I don’t have any clothes to change into.”
“I can give you something to wear. What have you got going on today?”
“I have to work.”
“Oh.” Hearing that disappoints me. I was hoping to spend the day with her since she’s already here, and I’m home alone.
She nods, no more excited about it than I am. “Yeah. The manager’s annoying me, though. I texted him while you were in the shower because I don’t have my uniform, and I really don’t want to go home to get it. I know they keep extra shirts and hats there, and the money usually just comes out of your paycheck if you need to buy stuff for your uniform so I could get those, but I don’t have the right pants or shoes, either. They don’t have those there, you have to buy those at a store. There’s no point buying a new shirt and hat if he’s going to make me go home and get the rest of my uniform, and he’s just not getting what I’m saying at all.”
“Therightpants and shoes?”
She nods. “You have to have black work pants and black non-slip shoes. It’s a whole thing.”
The manager must text her back, because she throws back the blankets and climbs off the bed, but her head is down, her thumbs flying across her phone screen as she walks.
When she stops texting, she pulls a black leather case out of her purse and hands it to me. “Will you give these to Jet when he gets home and see if he can fix them?”
I unzip the case and open it to find a pair of mangled headphones. “What the hell happened here?”
“My mother. She threw a fit and destroyed them. It took me ages to save up enough money to buy them. It’ll probably take me a couple of months to get new ones, so if he can make them work before then, I would be immensely grateful.”
“Your mother deliberately destroyed your headphones?”
She nods. “She’s a bitch. It’s not news. But I’ll basically die without them. They’re noise-canceling headphones, and I like to listen to music in my room when she’s home, especially when she has her gross new boyfriend over. I can’t properly escape without them.”
That settles it. I zip the case back up and set the broken headphones on my dresser. “Tell your manager you can’t come in today.”
Her gaze jumps to mine. “I can’t. I need the money. Didn’t you hear? I have to buy new headphones.”
“I’ll buy you new headphones. It’s probably my fault those ones are broken. Order the new uniform so you have one to keep here in case of emergencies, and I’ll take you out to get new headphones and whatever else you need to complete your uniform. That way, if this happens again, you’ll have everything you need here. We’ll get you an outfit to keep here, too.”
Her eyes light up. “Are you serious? You’re going to get me out of workandtake me on a shopping spree?”
“I’m the best,” I say dryly.
She grins and throws her arms around me, kissing me and murmuring against my mouth, “Yes, you are.”
I can’t help smiling as she kisses me a few more times, her arms wound tightly around my neck. Her gratitude is delicious, and it makes me happy to see her so excited as she heads into my bathroom to shower.
I don’t know how she’ll feel about it, but the only women’s clothes I have in the house are Edie’s. I donated most of her clothes after she died, but I kept a box of items that had special meaning to me. The sweater she was wearing when we got engaged, my favorite shirt, her favorite jeans, things like that.
