Cocky Notes - Leesa Bow Page 0,39
it’s premature, but I was trying to get across how much you mean to me.”
“Not this time, okay? I need to spend Christmas with Dad.”
Reef starts the engine. “So, it’s just you and your dad?”
I nod. “Yeah. You don’t have to look at me with pity. She never died. Well, in my heart, she did. The day she walked out the door and said we were too much for her, her wings had been clipped, and she needed to fly out of the cage we kept her in.”
His eyes widen before veering the car and merging with traffic. “Sounds like you’re better off without her around.”
I don’t say anything.
“Is your father home?”
“What? Oh, yeah, he is.” I want to plead to Reef not to push me for more today. “You’ll meet him soon, okay?”
I reach for my phone and see a missed call from an unknown number. I hesitate because of spam calls. It rings again in my hand. It’s the same number.
“Macy, it’s Bernadette.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask quickly.
“Yes, yes. Your dad can’t find his phone. So, he asked me to call you and let you know he’s coming to mine for dinner tonight. He didn’t want you to get home and panic. I’ll drop him home later.”
“Sure. Thanks for letting me know.”
I end the call and breathe through the tightness in my chest. It’s crazy to feel like this. I love my dad is finding happiness with another woman, but I hate how he doesn’t need me right now. Tonight I had hoped to talk to him about the way I feel about Reef.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. My dad’s not home for dinner. He’s found this woman and…” I don’t want to talk about this now, so I shrug.
“Are we going to mine or yours?”
I’m grateful he’s concentrating on the road. He has no idea what a big deal it is to me that my father has a girlfriend. “Mine. I just want to go home.”
“Fine with me,” he says as though it’s an invitation.
“Reef…” Before I say I want to be alone, my brain resorts to thinking as I always have, using sex to numb pain. “Would you like to come in?”
“You sound hesitant.”
I’m nervous about him seeing my personal space.
“I want you to come in,” I say in a stronger voice when we pull up out front of our quaint cottage.
Reef looks past me to the front door. “Number eleven.” He smiles.
“What?”
“It’s my playing number. Has to be lucky, right?”
“So, it’s why you always sit at table eleven.”
“Yep.”
“Are you superstitious?”
He chuckles. “In a way.”
Holding the key to the front door, I pause. “Stepping into number eleven could be the start of your nightmares.”
“If you’re giving me an opportunity to head back to the car, it’s too late. I’m already possessed.”
I place a hand on his cheek and leave it there for a second before pushing up onto my toes and kissing him on the lips. It’s a quick peck before I drop my hand and lead him down the hallway pointing to doors of importance as we pass. “Bathroom. Loo. Lounge room… would you like a cold drink?” I ask when we reach the kitchen.
“Sure.” He gulps down water and places the glass on a sink. “You missed an important door.”
I don’t say anything. Instead, I pick up my bag and lead him to my room. I open the door, and I’m grateful I made the bed before dashing out yesterday morning. “It’s not much. Nothing like your room.” I look at the walls with photographs and inspirational quotes. “But… it’s me.”
Reef drops onto my bed, kicks off his shoes, and lies back to stare at the ceiling, hands linked behind his head. “So, this is what you see.” He looks around the room from a lying position, then he holds out a hand for me to join him. “I lie awake thinking about you at night. Imagine where you are. What you’re thinking.”
I snuggle in beside him. He untucks an arm for me to lay my head on and pulls me closer to him.
“I usually fall asleep quickly because I’m exhausted. Sometimes I read.”
He eyes the stack of books on my side table. “Stephen King.”
“In the darkness, I lay awake thinking about stuff. Stuff I can’t change or have no power over, but I can’t help but worry.”
He kisses my forehead. “I do the same and tell myself so be it.”
I have no idea what he’s worried about unless it’s football and being selected in the team