“What’s the fun of becoming rich if you can’t spoil the people you love?”
“You’re going to make some lucky lady very happy one day.”
“Hope so.”
“Oh, you will.”
Clarissa’s scowl crosses my mind, and I can’t help my chuckle.
“Yeah, well, I have a feeling she won’t come easy.”
“You’ve met her already?” Her voice lifts, hopeful. She’s been hard on me growing up, especially when it comes to the ladies. I’m nowhere near ready to deal with the confrontation that’s coming once I reveal the truth but decide to use her mood to start the process.
“Mom, there’s something I need to tell you. Something that—”
My words are cut short when I pull into my drive and see Clarissa wrapped around her boyfriend. They’re kissing and not in a friendly way. Every bit of my high evaporates when I see her grab his hand and pull him inside.
“You there? Troy?”
“Yeah, I, shit Mom, something’s come up. I’ll have to call you back.”
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Just keep those good thoughts coming, okay?”
I run a hand over my jaw as Clarissa’s porch light clicks off.
“What happened, you were just chipper. Who pissed in your Cheerios?”
“Nothing. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay. Love you. Proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Is she about to sleep with him? With Dante in the house? I can’t say shit, I would’ve gladly taken a side of her bed if she’d given me the opportunity on Halloween.
Resisting the urge to shoot off another text, I white knuckle my wheel. The hardest part of wanting what you can’t have is the realization it might not ever be yours. And that’s where I am, swallowing the verdict after years of the same woman closing the door in my face.
Jealousy for the man who’s taking what I desperately want courses through me, my eyes burn as I keep them fixed on the house I want so much to call home, the family inside to claim as my own.
The idea of what’s going on behind that door is ripping at me, and there’s not a fucking thing I can do about it. Her mind’s been made up for years, and I’m the one who needs to face facts. I have got to let it go.
Clarissa: I’ve got company. See you in the morning?
The burn inside my chest worsens as I raise my phone to my ear and put my truck in reverse.
Kevin answers on the second ring.
“Sup?”
“Where are you?”
Jennifer’s Sausage Dip