Dad scowls, but I continue.
“Zella is Terrence’s. There’s no doubt about it. The timeline matches up. We need to get Blowjob Barbie to help us get her back,” I exclaim.
Jace chuckles. “Blowjob Barbie. I’m so gonna call Samantha that when I see her next time.”
Dad pinches the bridge of his nose before finally sitting down next to Terrence. “We can pursue this. Legally. No more recon missions. I’m serious.” He turns to Terrence. “You want to see that little girl? Then you need to play by the rules.”
Jace leans into me. “Your dad has such a hard-on for rules.”
“And you have a hard-on for skanks in spandex. We all have our faults, pet.”
“Let me…” Dad trails off. “Let me get with Samantha and we’ll get the ball rolling.”
Terrence clears his throat. “I, uh, just started my job as coach, so I can pay my way now. For everything.”
Dad arches a brow at him. “I can barely afford Samantha. Trust me, she’s too expensive. I’ll handle it.”
“She does me for free,” Jace says, his lips curling into an evil grin. “Does Jordy for free too.”
“Maybe Samantha has a hard-on for deviance,” I offer. “In that case, Terrence is a shoe-in for Blowjob Barbie pro bono work.”
“Penny,” Dad says in exasperation.
“Yes, Daddy?” I bat my lashes at him.
He sighs heavily. “You’re my most difficult child.”
“It’s why I’m your favorite,” I explain slowly because he’s old.
The smirk on his face tells me I’m not wrong.
Terrence’s penetrating stare has me recoiling. Dad and Jace start discussing something, but I lose focus, fixated on the way Terrence sees inside of me.
With Terrence, I sort of forget about my walls. He’s seen me break down a few times lately. When I’m around Dad, I have to keep a huge-ass brick wall up in front of me. He’s a doctor and senses when people aren’t right.
I like my life, even if it is a little loud.
I certainly don’t need Dad giving me pills to numb my world, or worse yet, send me away to some asylum because everyone around me makes me positively insane simply by breathing, chewing, and existing.
Terrence’s eyes narrow. He sees me. Thankfully, for me, his nice pink lips stay firmly pressed together. Our secret. I can handle Terrence knowing I’m a freak, but if I want to stay Daddy’s favorite, I need to keep this little tidbit away from my father.
Terrence
Every time I close my eyes, I see her face.
My daughter. She has to be. I see Lacey in her, but I see so much of me. With thoughts of Zella comes the anger. Why was she kept from me for four and a half years?
Lacey owes me an explanation.
Furthermore, she needs to explain why she’s not here with her.
I’ll make her talk to me eventually.
In the meantime, I have Samantha on the case. I only answered a thousand questions this morning over the phone. She promised to get the ball rolling on requesting a paternity test. I’m going to go crazy until I find out for sure.
“I can’t wait to see baby Emilia,” Charlotte chirps from the front seat of Cal’s truck. “I never get enough of her.”
Cal reaches over and takes Char’s hand, bringing it to his lips, and kisses it. They share a quiet moment, loaded with unspoken words. I’m glad this girl has my best friend. She’s his, which means he’ll take care of her until his dying breath. Maybe one day they’ll pop out a kid like Little Hoodlum and Jordy.
Then all the Hoodlums will have kids.
When the fuck did we grow up?
My phone buzzes in my jeans’ pocket. I pull it out and sigh after reading the text.
Grandma: Come get your mail, Terry.
Me: I will this weekend.
“Goddammit,” Cal complains. “Someone needs to teach that brat how to fucking park.”
Charlotte and I both laugh.
“Let’s hope you’re not the teacher,” Charlotte says. “You suck at it yourself.”
We all climb out and I smirk at the fact Penny drove her orange Jeep around all the other cars, parking in front of them, right in front of the stairs at Hollis and Roan’s. She drives and parks just like Cal. It’s fucking funny to me.
I head up the steps behind Cal and Charlotte, nursing my leg. It’s been aching today, putting me in a bitchy-ass mood.
The front door opens and the first thing I notice is the music. It’s not loud by any means and mostly background, but it’s still more than I care for these days. I grit my teeth and endure as I make my way inside. Their quaint apartment is decorated with gaudy New Year’s gold and silver. The table is loaded down with snacks and shit. I forget what a little entertainer Hollis is until it’s time for a birthday party or holiday. It makes me wonder if his siblings are the same way.
Charlotte, sure.
Penny, no way.
I find my grumpy girl sitting cross-legged in the recliner, a beanie pulled low over her brows, nearly covering her eyes. It’s her outfit, though, that has me freezing.
I’ve only seen Penny once in something that wasn’t comfortable and baggy. At Jordy’s wedding. And back in October, I was still so fucked up from my migraines, I didn’t take the time to notice.
I notice now.
Fuck.
An irrational spike of anger shoots through me, jealous of anyone who can see her. A quick assessment of the people here has me relaxing. They’re all taken or related to her, aside from Lo, who’s chatting it up with Roan, and he’s gay.
Chill the hell out, man.
Her expression is a bit more scowly than usual tonight. But she’s wearing makeup. Her lashes have been painted with mascara and her blue eyes are lined with black eyeliner. Pouty lips are stained Barbie pink and she chews on her bottom one like it’s personally wronged her. I skim my gaze to her outfit that made me crazy in three seconds flat. Dark, painted on skinny jeans that have more holes than actual material covers her long, slender legs. She wears a black pair of ankle boots that I’m shocked she even owns. Her white tank under her black, fitted leather jacket is loose and hangs low. A long, black necklace sits right between her perky tits, a bunch of silver and gold house keys attached. The tank is thin, so you can see the outline of her black bra underneath.
I can’t with this goddamn girl.
“Smash,” she says, tipping her head at me, barely looking up from her phone. “What’s up?”
Ignoring the laughter of the guys in the kitchen, I stalk over to Penny. I sit down on the coffee table right in front of her, drinking in her sweet floral scent. Fuck. She’s too fucking pretty and distracting.
Only seventeen.
Until April…
The thought feels like a lifeline I cling to. Soon she’ll be legal. And then what? I don’t like Penny. Not like a chick I want to stick my dick into.
No, you like her more than that.
She starts to shed her leather jacket. My mouth goes dry as she reveals her creamy arms that have cute curves of muscle from her being on the basketball team.
I’m not going to survive her.
I can feel it in my bones.
I’m going to do something regrettable—something that breaks the Hoodlum code.