Chasing Fate (Dark Love 5)

I lean forward, resting my chin on Charlie’s seat to catch her attention. “So, you’re not going to talk to us?”

She remains quiet, purposely moving her head toward the window.

“You can’t avoid me forever,” I say nicely.

“I asked you to do one thing,” she says, livid, seething through her teeth.

“It’s not entirely his fault,” Kate jumps in. “It was my idea. You can blame me.”

“You don’t need to defend him, Kate. He’s a big boy,” Charlie argues back.

I turn to look at Kate, who’s shrugging her shoulders at me. Aside from my mom, who is a relatively laid-back woman, I’ve never had to answer to anybody.

As much as I love Charlie, I can tell we’re going to butt heads very soon, like in minutes.

“It’s just so…” Charlie bellows, “… irresponsible! I’m not even going to ask about the nudity part. You were both drunk, swimming in the ocean. God knows what could’ve happened to both of you! Haven’t you ever watched Baywatch? There are no lifeguards at night to save you. David Hasselhoff needs his sleep, you know.”

Baywatch? What the hell is she going on about?

“It’s not like you can talk,” I argue back. “When you were fifteen, you got busted doing the same thing with that boy you always hung around with.”

Her head snaps my way, eyes like daggers.

Shit.

Lex interrupts our conversation. “What boy?”

Kate mumbles under her breath, “Here we go. I can’t believe you mentioned another guy.”

“I don’t know. Some boy she always hung around with who everyone thought was her boyfriend,” I say out loud.

“I wasn’t naked,” Charlie disagrees, keeping her tone pleasant.

“According to the town gossip, you were.”

“The town gossip is your mother!” she responds, this time in a huff.

“Well, maybe so. But here you are, quick to scold us for our ‘irresponsible’ behavior, yet you did the same thing. And much younger, I might add. You weren’t even of legal age.”

Lex grips onto the steering wheel tight, turning his head to question Charlie, ignoring both Kate and me. “So, you skinny-dipped with what’s his face, yet in Cabo when I asked you, you got all prudish on me?”

“Oh my God,” she shouts in frustration, throwing her hands in the air like a child. “First, I didn’t skinny dip. I was wearing a bra and panties. Second, sitting in a Mexican jail isn’t on my bucket list. And Noah, you better believe I’m calling your mom.”

“What?” I yell back. “Mom doesn’t need to know. Leave her out of this.”

Kate shushes everyone in the car, attempting to create a Zen environment. “Look, let’s forget this night happened. We’re all grownups here. Let’s thank the Lord that nothing more happened… it could’ve been worse.”

“How?” Charlie shoots back. The steam is shooting out of her ears. “Tell me how it could be worse than getting a phone call that your cousin and best friend are arrested for public nudity? Do you know you’ll have to go to court? And I bet you expect me to represent both of you since I’m a lawyer.”

“I’m not pregnant,” Kate blurts out.

Charlie falls into silence. I thought Kate would throw me under the bus, but instead, she saves me and buries herself under Charlie’s overbearing ways. The car pulls into the driveway, and as soon as it stops, I quickly get out and follow Lex’s lead. Charlie’s not shy about lecturing Kate.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You fucked him bareback, and do you even know how many women he’s been with?”

I stand beside Lex as he removes his keys from his pocket. Unlike Charlie, he keeps his opinion to himself.

“Sounds like you guys had fun tonight.”