Chapter 4: Mom Invasion
Dean.
There's a note on the fridge when I get to my flat overlooking the sandy beach.
'We need to talk. I will come over for dinner tonight.
Love, Mom.'
My mother is shameless when it comes to breaking into my apartment. Every second of my day has to be accounted for. They’re no better than Lace Higgins when it comes to my past. Everyone expects me to have some kind of relapse and get into another horrific car crash. My parents need to cut me some slack. People change—they're always reminding me, so why the hell does my mother keep looking for clues to suggest I might've slipped up?
I wonder what she and the old man have up come up with after reading the shit Ugly Betty posted. More charity work? No. It has to be something more serious.
My blood runs cold for a moment. I've always been perceptive when it comes to my parents, and this time I sense they've outdone themselves. Mom is particularly sensitive to what society thinks.
Screw society.
My mother will go to any lengths to keep her reputation intact, and her ideas usually border on unreasonable. What could my mother possibly have planned now?
Why does anyone have to take anything Ugly Betty says seriously? Sure, she's amazingly popular in blogging circles in California. But why the hell do people pay any attention to the shit she posts? She'd had over ten thousand comments the last time I checked her post. It's like she posted pics of my hard, thick cock the way people were reading her blog.
I’ll take my nap later. Right now, all I want is to confront Lace Higgins. Maybe it will help me feel better.
The traffic's eased up by the time I head out of Arcata for the neighboring town of Jewel Rocks. This seaside town is definitely the most laid-back, beautiful place I've lived in. I love the anonymity of living here and being able to surf the waves before heading to campus every morning. The best part is the sunshine. Winter is almost nonexistent on the coast. We get the odd cold days but it’s nothing a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate won’t solve. People here don't really care if you're a celebrity or just a regular person minding your own business. They just let you be. It’s what I love most about this place.
That is until Lace Higgins painted herself into my idyllic picture.
"Arriving at destination," my GPS says, cutting into my mental rehearsals of me shaking sense into Lace Higgins. I've pictured her with braces, unkempt, mud-colored hair, and garish makeup.
Lace lives in a pretty decent apartment complex near the only shopping center in Jewel Rocks. There’s a good stretch of pristine beach nearby. I can’t believe it took me this long to find this place. In fact, the complex Lace lives in is near enough for fine sea spray to drizzle on me when I get out of my van. The small town is mostly a one-street town guaranteed to help anyone blend into obscurity. I bet her acid fingertips are the reason she has to live in a place where people give a shit about who she is and what she does for a living.
Lucky for me, security is pretty lax. I race up the stairs and pause outside her door. A split second before my knuckles can connect to door number eleven to knock, it swings open.
"Alison...dammit, you forgot..." The leggy blonde pauses after realizing I'm not Alison.
Her mouth drops open, and so does her satin robe.
Oh, Lord. She's as naked as the day she was born beneath the butter-yellow fabric. My cock hardens in seconds. She shivers slightly, and her nipples harden, and...I look down before she pulls the robe together... Her muff is shaved and so smooth I almost reach out and stroke her. Damn. There's not an ounce of fat on her. Her tummy's flat, her breasts full and ready to be tasted, and her skin's a creamy white I could lick and bite until every inch of her was covered in little red marks.
"Show's over, punk. Can I help you?" Green eyes flash blue murder at me while she knots the belt of her robe securely in place.
The acid in her voice is enough to soften my cock. "Maybe." I can do acid too. "I'm looking for Lace Higgins."
She gasps like I've proposed sex on the cold, hard floor. Her loose bun falls out of place, covering her face in fine, golden strands. She pushes the hair off her face and then looks me in the eye. "Why?"
"None of your business. This is between Lace and me."