“When I met you and your family, I was still in a bad place after the blowup with my dad. I’d come into work, tense and even depressed. Once I saw you though, everything bad faded away. I looked forward to your visits. After the Devils, you stopped coming in and I missed the way you made me feel.”
Pausing, I rolled back on my heels like a scolded kid caught red handed. “So I’d drive by your house. I just need to know you were real. Soon, I was driving by before and after work. After awhile, I’d park a few houses down. I rarely saw you, but I knew you were close and that settled all the stress I was feeling. Eventually, I ended up sleeping in the car some nights.”
Winnie frowned. “You were sleeping in your car? You know that’s weird, right?”
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“Like mentally f’ed up weird. Stalker stuff.”
“I never had any evil plan to grab you or hurt you,” I said, defending my weirdness. “I just needed to be close.”
“But it’s still weird.”
“Yeah, but not dangerous weird. More like pathetic weird.”
Winnie smiled slightly. “Sorta crazy weird.”
“I guess.”
“You know,” Winnie said, smiling wider, “when you said you were an asshole, I didn’t believe you. I thought you were just trying to make me feel better about having phobias and all my issues. But you really are f’ed up too.”
“You like that?” I asked, frowning.
“I saw you as too perfect. Out of reach. I kept thinking you would realize how messed up I was and leave me. Now, I know you’re messed up too. Maybe not as messed up as me, but weird is still weird.”
“And that makes me more attractive?” I asked, stepping closer.
Winnie nodded. “I can’t be with someone who doesn’t have something wrong with them. It doesn’t seem fair for one of us to be perfectly normal and the other to be messed up.”
“I don’t think you’re messed up.”
“Because you’re messed up too,” she said, placing a hand against my chest and lifting her lips to mine.
Sucking at her pretty pink lips, I wrapped her gently in my arms. A part of me was still afraid Winnie would change her mind and push me away. Or her parents would walk outside and tell me to stop stalking their daughter.
“When you sat in your car at night, did you think about naughty things?” Winnie asked, gripping my shirt.
“No, never,” I lied.
“Too bad. I think naughty things about you especially in the shower.”
“Hell, woman,” I growled, wrapping her tighter in my arms. “It’s cruel to tease me when minutes ago I thought I’d lost you.”
“Did you really think I’d stop seeing you, just because you’re a little bit of an obsessive stalker?”
Sharing her smile, I couldn’t believe she saw me at my most fucked up and still wanted me. I saw no hesitancy in her gaze, no second thoughts. Winnie wanted me, warts and all.
Chapter Fifteen ~ Winnie
Much like his sisters, Jace had issues. Tonight, he hid behind Mom at the restaurant, didn’t want to order his food, and whispered everything. Dad said Jace was already a preteen at ten. Mom babied him while he ate up the attention. I didn’t blame him for enjoying it. Mom’s hugs were the best.
Harlow was edgy too. She wanted me to dump Dylan or at least take things slower. Besides feeling confused about my love life, she suffered a brutal fight the night before at the Thunderdome. Her jaw sported a big ugly bruise and I suspected eating was painful. Dad wanted to say something nearly as badly as Mom did, but they kept their thoughts to themselves. With Harlow, they decided to give her space to make mistakes.
I hope they felt the same about me.
“Dylan and I are going out tomorrow,” I said after our appetizers arrived. “I’d like to go without a chaperone.”
Jaw clenching, Dad gave me a fake smile. “Are you sure? Harlow needs to get out more.”
My sister ignored this comment. Jace was also in his head. I felt alone with my parents.
“I need to try,” I said, smiling at Mom. “I’ve been getting stronger and I need to be alone with Dylan to know if I can handle it.”
“And if you can’t?” Mom asked, giving me a smile that didn’t reach her blue eyes.
“Then I’ll know I need to slow down.”
Dad nodded first then Mom nodded. They said nothing until our dinners arrived. Their silence made me second-guess my decision to be alone with Dylan.
“Life is about taking chances,” Mom said, cutting her steak. “I took one with your dad and it’s been a hell of a ride.”
Dad gave her a naughty smirk. “That ride ain’t ending anytime soon, baby.”
While my parents shared a marital horny moment, I imagined myself alone with Dylan for a few hours. No buffer. No grumpy Harlow tapping her watch. No security blanket.
I needed to break free of my past to build something real. No longer was fear standing in my way.
Chapter Sixteen ~ Dylan
Our first un-chaperoned date ended at my one bedroom apartment. Winnie asked to see the place I called home and I took the hint. When we arrived, I retrieved us drinks and we sat on the balcony.