sucking in her cheeks. “You’re right. It is a lot. And maybe next time you’ll think twice before mouthing off to an officer. Maybe if it had been your first offense, they would have lessened it.”
“Seriously? Come on…I get it. I learned my lesson. Couldn’t we get that talked down a little more?”
“Yes.” The word was clipped, and I knew the conversation was over simply from her tone. “We could. But your father and I chose not to.”
Sighing, I opened up my email. “Fine, I get it. I’ll do my penance.”
“You start tonight.”
“Tonight?” Jesus. Much notice? “Mom, I’ve got plans tonight—”
“Then cancel them,” she boomed, then cleared her throat. It was such a rarity that she raised her voice, I had no doubt she’d strained her delicate vocal chords. “I’ll text you the address. It’s an inner city tutoring center.”
I hung up on her before she pissed me off even more, and tossed the phone down beside me. They were really great at cherry-picking parenthood. And usually their best parenting happened when my dad was campaigning and there was a camera around to capture the moment.
Buddy trotted over, dropping his head in my lap. I patted the couch next to me, but he didn’t jump up right away. He just stood there, staring at me with chocolate brown eyes. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you’re taking their side. It was just a joke.” Buddy sat down, tilting his head, but not breaking eye contact. “Okay, maybe it was a little stupid to use you for a laugh at the cop’s expense. I’m sorry.” I should probably be apologizing to the cops, not my damn dog, but it was a bit late for that now.
Buddy finally jumped up, circling before lying down beside me. His tail thumped against the leather, and I scratched the sweet spot above his tail. My mind wandered to Shelby—she was…odd, that’s for sure. And while I certainly didn’t love it when girls went out with me for my money, I liked it even less when they didn’t go out with me at all.
Why was she on my mind? Since when did I let one girl—admittedly a fucking gorgeous one—get so far under my skin that I couldn’t even focus in class? I squeezed my eyes shut, willing her face to leave my brain, and leaned my head back against the couch. The empty apartment surrounded me with silence, and her soft, husky voice rang in my ears. She wasn’t whiny or shrill like other girls our age. She was sexy in an understated way.
I groaned, opening my eyes and willing my focus back to my email account. There were a couple of unread emails, one spam, another from my best friend, Brad.
Hey,
Is poker still on for Saturday? Feel free to ante up with your sweet Audi. I look forward to calling it mine.
PS – I know your bed’s been empty lately. Maybe the hum of the computer screen will replace the nonexistent hummers. =P
At the bottom was a link, and I sunk into the couch even more. Yep, leave it to Brad to send his friends porn. I rolled my eyes. I watched it every now and then. I wasn’t opposed to it, but didn’t depend on it like some people I knew. Then again, maybe today it was just what the doctor ordered.
I clicked on the link and holy hell. I shook the fog from my brain, because for a moment, I swore it was Shelby on the screen. Upon a second glance, it clearly wasn’t, and relief flooded me. Not that I didn’t want to see the girl on her knees, full lips sealed around my cock, but no man wanted to date a porn star. Well, except maybe Brad, I thought with an eye roll. I watched closer as the woman on screen went down on the guy. She didn’t even really look like Shelby other than the dark blond hair that caught on her eyelashes, and her big, golden-brown eyes. But even with a naked woman right in my line of vision, Shelby’s was the face I thought of. Porn stars were supposed to be hotter than real world women, right? Wasn’t that the whole point of a fucking fantasy? Since when did real girls infiltrate my daydreams?
I sighed. Since Shelby, that’s when.
I closed my eyes, feeling excitement stir in my pants. Moans echoed from my laptop but in my mind, Shelby’s face was all I pictured. Would she nibble her