Craving Trix (The Aces' Sons 1)
“What’s going on? No one tells me shit—but Cameron’s living in my apartment all of a sudden. It’s annoying.”
“They don’t tell me much, either,” my mom said ruefully, pulling the towel out of her hair. “But your pop’s not sleeping, and things are tense.”
“Maybe I should just move back in here.”
“You want to move back in?”
“Not really.”
“Do you want to stay with Cam?”
“Hell, I don’t know.” I dropped my forehead and proceeded to bang it against the tabletop as my mom laughed.
“Shit, don’t do that. You’re going to leave a bruise,” she worried.
“Not everyone bruises like you, Princess Peach,” I replied, turning my head to the side so I could look at her.
“You’ll figure it out—we all do.”
“He’s a manwhore.”
“He’s a guy.”
“Did Pop ever cheat on you?” I asked, making her jolt in surprise.
“No way. I’m your dad’s be-all-end-all. I don’t think he’s ever even been tempted.”
“It’s not like that with Cam.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s exactly like that,” she commented dryly.
“He’s a whore. He’s slept with freaking everyone. I can’t even walk into the club without tripping over a chick he’s had sex with.”
“Yeah, I dealt with that, too.”
“You did?”
“When we got here, your pop was with someone.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Yeah, well, she wasn’t around for long. She glared at you one day and I knocked her ass out.”
“Go, Mom!” I sighed in surprise. My mom was not the type to get into it with another woman. I couldn’t even imagine it.
“Not my finest moment.”
“Sounds pretty great to me.”
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think Cam would cheat on you, and neither does your pop.”
“Yeah, he already said it wasn’t his business.”
“Trix, babe, you’ve always been able to read between the lines with your father. So why the hell are you missing the point today?”
“I got his point,” I argued.
“Your dad is in an awkward position, alright? He loves you more than anyone on this earth—maybe even me. But he has to work with Cam, he has to trust him, and one day, he’s gonna get the gavel and he’ll have to lead him. If he thought Cam would hurt you—emotionally or physically—he would’ve never let him near you. But he can’t step in later if Cam’s being an asshole—not if you’re Cam’s old lady. Okay?”
“Yeah, I get it,” I mumbled back, letting her words roll around in my brain. “You don’t think he’d cheat?”
“Let’s put it this way—are you a virgin?”
“No.”
“Have you ever slept with Cam?”
“No.”
“So, you’ve slept with other men?”
“Obviously.”
“You love Cam?”
“Yeah, but we weren’t—ahh, I see what you did there.”
She stared at me silently.
“Fine,” I grumbled, standing to stretch. “I should probably go smooth things over with Pop.”
“That would probably be a good idea, baby. He’s wound pretty tight already, doesn’t need to be fighting with you, too.”
“You wanna walk over with me?”
“Nah, I’m going to mop the floors.”
“Have fun.”
I left the house and walked slowly toward the clubhouse in the distance, swishing my feet through the long grass. Apparently, when I was little, my mom had dropped me out her window and I’d had to run across this same field to get my pop when her psycho estranged husband showed up. I didn’t remember any of it—which was probably a good thing—but I’d heard the story a dozen times. I think whatever happened that day had been the reason my parents never moved off the club’s property. Her first husband was dead, but my pop was still crazy protective of us, which made what I’d insinuated that morning even shittier.
Cameron made me crazy. He always had. After our little make-out session when I was seventeen, I’d lost my ability to be rational about him. While my mom had made a valid point about my sexual history and the hypocrisy of judging Cam because he’d fucked other women, I still couldn’t get over the number of women he’d been with. I’d slept with two other guys—both boyfriends. Cam, however, was indiscriminate in his bed partners.
I couldn’t decide which of us was worse—me, who’d been in actual relationships with other men, or Cam, who’d never cared about any of the women he slept with.
Chapter 3
Cameron
“That girl’s gonna give you trouble,” Grease informed me, pointing at Trix as she crossed the field, coming toward us. “Glad I’m done with all that.”
I took a drag off my cigarette and nodded. I knew she was. “Got any advice?” I asked, glancing at him before looking back at Trix, who looked pretty deep in thought.
“Yes, dear,” he said in a completely subdued voice before slapping my shoulder and putting out his cigarette. “Only two words you need to know.”
“You’re so full of shit,” I scoffed.
“You’ll figure it out, we all do.” With a slight nod, he walked away as Trix reached me.
“What’re you doin’ here?” I asked, dropping the butt of my cigarette so I could wrap my arms around her.