Damaged Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,49

That part I wasn’t completely sold on.

I didn’t want to be excited.

I wanted to be focused and ready for revenge.

Being at the ball - or whatever you wanted to call it - wasn’t about pretending to be as rich and powerful as their families. This was about information. This was about watching how their families worked and finding anything out that I could use to destroy Noah, Easton, and Xavier.

Plus, I was still thinking about what Talon had said to me.

Giving me those little nuggets and hints about some dirty money deals.

I groaned and continued to stare at my phone.

The debate that raged in me came to a sudden end when I clicked on Talon’s name.

Hey. You up?

I shut my eyes after I sent the text.

Really, Winter? You’re beautiful. You can have any Bump you want. And yet you’re texting a Troc at two in the morning. And you know exactly what you want Talon to do. YOU.

I’m always up for you, Winter.

I read the reply and knew I was in trouble.

It was decision time.

A text was one thing. But I knew what I really wanted.

We’re both awake. Want to come over?

My face burned hot as I stared at the screen before I even sent the text.

This was something I had never done before.

And it looked like it was going to be the first time…

Send.

Talon began to reply right away.

My mind flirted with images of what could happen. What would happen. We would have to keep everything a secret. Nobody needed to know about my memory or my enjoyment of a Troc.

Damn, darling. Someone must be lonely tonight. Can’t come over. Have plans. Type me a text message with your finger but don’t touch your phone. Get it? ;)

The wave of heat that had just sorted through me gave way for embarrassment.

Fuck.

I had just put myself out there for Talon, and he rejected me.

And that meant he would bring it up next time I saw him.

I put my phone on the dresser and rolled up in my covers, my heart pounding.

I couldn’t believe what I had just done.

That was stupid.

Really stupid.

All because of jealousy and spite.

My mind played images of Noah, Easton, and Xavier with those girls. All the things they were doing. Or could do. Or would do.

“Ohgod,” I whispered to myself.

As a Bump my life was to avoid anything that resembled work and manual labor. That was just how things went.

But I was certainly good with a shovel, huh?

Digging the hole for myself one breath at a time.

I was almost afraid to look at my phone the next morning.

I expected dozens of texts from Talon teasing me.

But my phone was quiet.

I found that to be a disappointment too.

It was like living in a no-win situation.

That was my life.

No matter what I did, I could not win.

But I could get some coffee and breakfast.

So that was a win. A small one, but a win.

My mother was in the kitchen, which wasn’t a surprise. She looked at me and her eyes told me she hadn’t slept yet.

“Long night?” I asked.

“Very.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Eh,” she said. “I stayed, hoping it would get better.”

“Let me guess… it didn’t.”

“Nothing worse than mediocre,” she said. “You spend hours waiting for the moment to come and then it does…”

She cringed.

“Was it a is it in moment or a that was it moment?”

My mother tilted her head. “Look at you asking these dirty questions. Hmm. How was your night?”

My face instantly turned red.

Because of what should have happened with Talon.

“Boring,” I said.

“The color on your face says otherwise.”

“Trust me, it’s not that.”

“Why are you blushing?”

“You’re my mother,” I said. “The subject matter is…”

“So mothers can’t talk to their daughters about sex?”

I poured myself a cup of coffee and prepared it.

I sat at the counter and took a sip. “No offense, but you were never around. So this is new and weird for me.”

“It always goes back to that, huh?”

“I mean, it’s the truth,” I said. “I’m not holding it against you. I’m not throwing it in your face. I’m just telling you what it is.”

“Does it hurt that I wasn’t around?”

“What?”

“Just an honest question.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t want to think about it.”

“You had a good life, Winter. Everything was taken care of.”

“Maybe I did,” I said. “Maybe that wasn’t what I wanted.”

My mother frowned. “I…” Her phone buzzed on the counter. She looked down at it and then flipped it over.

Her cheeks looked a little flushed.

“What is it?” I asked.

“You don’t want to