"Fuck off."
Zane grins at my irritation and focuses on his phone for the rest of lunch. I'm happy for the silence. Anything is better than another lecture or pity conversation.
I've finished my overcooked chow mein when I spot the girls walking down on the first level. The three hats make them obvious, and I focus on Sawyer's curly hair sticking out of the back of her ball cap.
I love that hair. When we were kids, I called it her poodle tail. She always laughed before trying to hit me. When were lovers and I said the same thing, she punished me by making me play with the curls between her legs.
On the way back to the house, Zane grooves to Darius Rucker. Ignoring him and the music, I stare out the window and remember my dream of Sawyer at the beach. Her hair was in a ponytail as my fingers played with the curls. I also think about the freckles on her shoulders. They're the only freckles on her entire body. I claimed them after we changed from friends to lovers. I'd counted fourteen on one shoulder, twenty on the other.
I miss those freckles.
As soon as we get back to the house, I take my tux up to the room I slept in the night before. Too tired to drive back to the hotel, I flop on the bed. Everyone will be asleep soon, so I give into the McLaughlin way. Just like I hope, I dream of kissing Sawyer's freckles as we swim in the river near her family's home.
Someone screaming, "Mama didn't raise no fool!" wakes me from my sleep. The clock reads after three, so I roll out of bed and open the door to find Sawyer disappearing down the hall with the twins on her ass. I think to follow them, but sense they're playing a game. Or acting out their version of an alarm clock.
When I go downstairs, one of the "Mamas" is in the kitchen. She speaks in a thick European accent when she hands me a sausage sandwich.
"I'm Mama Hilde. Eat this, so you won't be hungry until the gala."
"Thanks," I say while she sizes me up.
"I like tall men. If I was younger, I'd shove your ex out of the way and make you see sideways."
"Thanks," I say again, unable to think of anything else to say.
Nodding, Mama Hilde leaves the kitchen, so I take my sandwich and a beer outside. The twins are bouncing on a trampoline. I sit down at a long patio table and watch.
"Bodie isn't your type," Sawyer grumbles, coming up behind me with what smells like a tuna sandwich. "She'd eat you alive."
"Not interested anyway," I say as she joins me. "Her hair is too straight."
Sawyer refuses to smile, but I know she wants to. Her eyes give her away.
"I've never been to a gala," I mumble with my mouth full. "I mean duh, but I have no idea what the hell to expect tonight."
"I don't either. The twins said a fat guy will be there, and he likes to grab asses. Not just girls' asses either. That's all they say when I ask about the party. They're useless sometimes."
"Don't be nervous," I tease.
Mouth stuffed with sandwich, Sawyer can only narrow her eyes at me. I laugh and return my gaze to the twins.
"I'd like to see you bouncing like that."
"They have bigger tits."
"You have European porn star tits," I say, and Sawyer chokes on her beer. Laughing, I pat her on the back. "Sorry. I should have made sure you weren't about to swallow when I said that."
"Was that a compliment?" she says, catching her breath.
"Yeah. If you knew porn, you'd get it. You have the glamorous, yet natural porn body."
"Is your obsession with porn something you picked up after you dumped me?"
"If a guy doesn't have the real thing to look at, he's gonna have time to look at the fake stuff."
"Right because you were hurting for the real thing all these years."
When I say nothing, Sawyer glares at me. I smile slightly, causing her frown to soften.
"The last few months when bragging with the club guys, I might have claimed more pussy than I actually hit."
"How much more?"
"A sorority amount."
Sawyer twists her lips, stuck between relief and anger. "I don't believe you."
"Okay," I say, downing half of my beer to get rid of the heavy sausage flavor.
"I slept with a lot of guys after you."
"I don't need to know that."
"Hot college guys who made me come the first time around."
"Again more info than I'm in the mood for."
"I once did two guys in one night," she says, smirking at me. "Not at the same time, of course. I'm not making a damn porno. Unlike you, I don't find that shit sexy."
I say nothing. Show nothing. Just turn everything off to avoid losing my temper. I don't know what pisses me off more. Her fucking other guys or rubbing it in my face after we shared a nice time last night.
Sawyer realizes I'm genuinely angry. She actually seems a little shocked by this fact. Before she can say anything, the twins finish bouncing and run over to us.