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“You didn’t need to drive me,” she says for the tenth time. A quick sideways glance shows me she’s picking at a loose thread in her hoodie again. I’m surprised the entire thing hasn’t unraveled by now, which sends my mind off on a tangent where I think about what she’s wearing beneath it. Not a good idea. My cock is semi-hard in seconds. I shift in my seat, grateful she’s staring out of the window and not at me, as I’m not sure I could hide my erection.
“I needed to take the car for a spin,” I tell her. “It’s new.”
Now she looks at me. “What happened to the fancy car that screams ‘I have a small dick?’” she asks.
A huff of laughter escapes. This woman. She’s like a breath of fresh air in my stagnant life. “I think we both know I don’t, sweetheart.”
Her cheeks flush a cute pink color but she doesn’t disagree.
“Happy to remind you, sweetheart. Just say the word.” Her eyes narrow and she scowls at me, but I don’t miss the way she squeezes her thighs together or the fact her nipples are poking through her hoodie. She might not want to admit she’s still attracted to me, but I’m not an idiot.
“I’ll pass, thanks.” She curls back into herself and stares out of the window as we drive through increasingly derelict streets. The neighborhood she lives in is poverty-stricken. There are gang tags everywhere and virtually every corner boasts a beat-up old car and a vagrant or two. It makes my blood boil to think she’s living around here, but I know if I say anything, she’ll insist she’s ‘fine’. The woman is fiercely independent, which I respect, but she really needs to learn to let someone else - aka me - take care of her.
Chapter 24
Rory
Being in a small, confined space with the world’s sexiest man is a bad idea. I can’t think when he’s sitting so close. I should be worrying about Mom and trying to figure out how to juggle Joel’s kindergarten sessions with hospital visits, but all I can think about is him.
I’m heading straight to Hell. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
The spicy scent he favors soaks into my skin. It’s subtle, with a hint of pepper and tangy orange that makes me want to rub myself all over him like a cat, just so I can smell like him too. God. What is wrong with me? I should be over him by now.
It feels like forever before we pull up in front of my apartment building. The scuffed door is propped open by a brick and a kid slouches on the front step smoking a joint. I feel like asking whyhe’s not at school but what’s the point? The city likes to describe our neighborhood as ‘up and coming’, but in truth, it’s overrun by gangs and most of the people who live here only stay because they can’t afford to move out.
Like me and Mom. Back when she was a kid, this was a nice place where blue-collar families raised kids. Then the meat packing plant closed, and jobs dried up. Now the main income stream around here is drugs. There are a few mom-and-pop stores still standing, like the bakery where we buy our bread and pastries, but the vast majority are shuttered.
I can tell Romano thinks it’s a dump. Well, he would. He lives in a billion-dollar apartment building surrounded by every luxury money can buy. He doesn’t have to scrimp and scrape to put food on the table or work two jobs just to keep the debt collectors from the door.
Am I bitter? I probably should be. But no, I’m more ashamed than anything else. The last time he gave me a lift, it was dark and the place didn’t look quite so bad. Nighttime makes most shitty neighborhoods look more desirable. In the day though? Not so much.
Before he even switches the engine off, I’m halfway up the steps. Part of me hopes he drives away and goes back to his charmed life doing whatever mafia bosses do. But the rest of me hopes he stays. Once I collect Joel, I need to head over to the hospital to check on Mom. Joel’s going to have to miss kindergarten today. He’ll be disappointed but there isn’t a lot I can do about it.
“Ruth! Thanks so much for having him!” Ruth is a treasure. She beams at me.
“It’s no problem, dear. This little one has been an angel.” Joel grins up at me. There’s a gap at the front of his mouth.
“Mommy, my tooth fell out and the tooth fairy brought me a coin!” He shows me the coin and dances on the spot with excitement.
“Oh wow, aren’t you a lucky boy!”
Ruth winks at me. “I told him she wouldn’t come if he didn’t get to sleep.”
“Roof was right, mama! But I got to sleep and she came in the night.”
“Go and fetch your things, baby, we need to go and see Grandma.”
He scoots off, still clutching his coin. “How’s your mom, honey?” Ruth asks, her face pinched with worry.
“She had to have surgery, but she was recovering when I left her early this morning.”
Ruth pulls me in for a hug. “Try not to worry, Alice is a fighter and we’re all praying for her. If you need anything, just knock on my door. You hear? Any time. I don’t sleep well these days so I’m often awake at odd times of the night.”
“Thank you, Ruth, I can’t thank you enough. I’m sure we’ll be alright once Mom is well enough to come home.”
Ruth nods then steps back and looks past me, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“Taken a wrong turn, young man?” I don’t miss the way she reaches around the door for her trusty baseball bat. Ruth doesn’t suffer fools gladly and she knows as well as I do the risks of living in a place like this.
