“Wow, this is huge!”
“It’s good, though. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
She giggled. “That’s what my grandma used to say. She only ever said it as an excuse to eat these large breakfasts. When she wasn’t eating, she’d always complain that eating so much on a busy day was only set to put her in a sour mood.”
“You loved your grandma?”
“Yeah. It was hard after she died.” She lost her smile.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, and you know, your parents, back then.”
She lifted her head, and this time, it was a fake smile. The insincere kind that people put on. She didn’t believe him and was only acting a part. Sadness swept through him, but he pushed it aside, determined to make her see him differently. “Thank you.”
He watched her eat before he started his own food.
“This is good,” she said. “You didn’t have to cook for me.”
“I wanted to do something good for you.” He winked at her.
She stopped eating and looked at him. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing is going on.”
She ate some more, chewing before responding. “I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t have to believe me. Just know that it’s true. I’m being nice to you.”
“Why?”
“Have you ever thought that I might like you?” he asked.
“You don’t know me.”
“We used to go to school together.”
She chuckled. “Twelve years ago. A lot of things can happen. People change.”
“Exactly.”
“Exactly what?”
“People can change.”
She took a deep breath. “I know where you’re going with this.”
“Good. Then why not give us the benefit of the doubt? Would it be so hard?”
She stopped eating. “I don’t know you guys. I only know what I remember.”
“Then fuck what you remember and think about now. Think about today. Don’t think about the fucked-up past. It doesn’t matter. None of that shit matters. There’s just today.” He put his knife and fork down, placing his hands flat on the table and standing. “Give us a chance.”
“None of that shit matters?” She stared past his shoulder and knew he’d fucked up. She put her knife and fork in one hand and picked up her plate. “Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious.” She got up and he cursed.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Yes, you did. You don’t need to lie to me. It’s easy for you. For all of you. None of you were on the receiving end of that shit. I was and I can’t so easily forget.”
“You were quite happy to do it on Eric’s tongue.”
Again, wrong thing to say as she threw her dishes into the sink and without a word, stormed out.
****
“So, they can’t leave?” Bethany asked.
“According to the cops, no. I imagine they’ve done something.” Daphne speared the ground, getting angrier with every passing second. Bethany was on video cam, and she had her propped up against her basket as she did the gardening. Her best friend hadn’t done her hair and was eating a bag of potato chips, looking in her element.
“Like what?”
“Like bribe them or something. I don’t know. Now I sound crazy.”
She giggled. “Sure, I’d go crazy with three hot guys forced to live with me.”
“It’s not like that and you know it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know it, but what if Dean’s right?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.
“It has been a long time.”
“So?”
“So, Daphne, come on. Don’t be a pain in the ass.”
“I’m not. I just don’t believe for a second they’re here to make it up to me. Do you ever hear of bullies looking for forgiveness?” She stopped to blow out a breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to yell.”
“You’re stressed. It’s understandable.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not. You’ve always been there for me, and I’m being such a negative bitch.”
“I still love you and wish I was there. So, did you let Eric Cants lick your pussy?”
Daphne groaned. “Don’t call it that.”
“What? That’s what it is and I know you’ve got a really intense dirty side. You try to hide it but I see you, baby. You want to be between those three sexy hunks. I tell you what, that’s not such a bad idea.” Bethany began to smile.
“I hate that look you get,” Daphne said.
“What look?”
“The one that says you’ve had a fantastic idea, which usually means you haven’t, but I’m going to be the one to suffer.”
Bethany chuckled. “Come on, babe. You need to lose your V-card eventually. Being a thirty-year-old virgin isn’t funny, and I know you watch porn and have fantasies. You must be the only virgin in history to even search for anal. I was there when those three guys checked in. I get that it’s not fair that your bullies turned out to look way hotter than they did as boys back in high school, but what if you use them?”
“Excuse me?”
“They’re into you, right? All three of them. We don’t know how long this lockdown is going to last. I say have some fun. There’s certainly no harm in it.” Bethany winked at her. “And you can call me with all the necessary details that will keep me thoroughly entertained.”