SIX MONTHS_(A Seven Series Novel Book 2)

Chapter 18


“What is that naughty grin all about?” Trevor remarked. “And where the hell were you all night?”
“Well, I think you might have answered your own question,” I said, hardly able to conceal my smile. I closed the door to the trailer and locked out the sunshine before heading to my room to change clothes. I’d taken a shower at Reno’s house that morning, but I wasn’t about to skank around in yesterday’s panties. Not to mention I wasn’t wearing a bra because he had cut it off with a knife.
After my fifth orgasm I was spent, and Reno had encased me in his arms and held me all night. He’d questioned me about my trouble with Sanchez. I told him everything I knew about him and Delgado. I didn’t know what trouble it could bring, but it was time for me to come clean and start being honest with those who cared about me.
“If he wants a pissing match, he just f*cked with the wrong guy, because I’ve got the longest dick,” Reno had declared.
I wanted to let sleeping dogs lie, but I couldn’t talk him out of going after Sanchez. It didn’t matter; Reno said Sanchez was going down on sheer principle for messing around with his girl.
His girl.
It wasn’t an epic moment of poetic words, but that one declaration made my heart flutter. My feelings for Reno were blossoming into something I didn’t have a grasp on because I’d never felt anything like it before. After he did some heavy cussing, I kissed his chest and he settled down, stroking my arm until I fell asleep. That morning, Reno had dropped me off at home so he could have a talk with Austin and smooth things over with his pack. I had doubts Austin would accept what I’d done, regardless of the reason. Lexi probably wanted nothing to do with me, and I didn’t blame her. But a pang of remorse struck deep when I realized I’d lost a friend.
Trevor came into the bedroom while I changed into a pair of jean shorts and long sleeves.
“I’m sorry for leaving you alone all night, Trev. I should have called, but I was a little… tied up,” I said with a mischievous smile.
“You got whisker burn on your face,” he pointed out, shaking one of my snow globes.
I ignored him, tying my shoelaces into double knots. “Don’t ruin my morning with a fight.”
“That good, huh?”
I fell back on the bed and smiled at the ceiling. “Blissfully good.”
He crawled next to me and relaxed on his side, poking his finger in my exposed belly button. “Just don’t fall in love with sex.”
“Why do you have to be so obtuse? I know what I’m doing.”
“It means you’re young and maybe this is the first best sex you’ve ever had. Don’t translate that to love, and trust me, it’s easy to do.”
“Trevor, you’re two years older than me. I hardly think that makes you wise beyond your years about sex and love. So you can drop all that young and na?ve business. It’s time for me to start having relationships with men instead of reading about them.”
“Yeah, but why does it have to be him? Anyone but him.”
I sat up and frowned. “Just because he knocked you out? Bruised pride. Yeah, I get it.” I hopped off the bed and made my way to the kitchen.
He trailed behind and leaned against the wall by the fridge. “Look, babe, he’s bad news all around. I know exactly what his game is and you’re…”
I slanted my eyes. “I’m what?”
“Just a plaything to him.”
I poured milk into a bowl of cereal and sat in the chair. “Maybe he’s a plaything to me, ever think of that? I’m not the victim here, Trevor. It’s what I want. I’m finally heeding your advice and taking control of my life.”
“One night of phenomenally great sex and she’s taking back her life.” He swung the door open and leaned outside. “You hear that, world? April had great cock and now she’s turning over a new—”
I reached around him and slammed the door. “Cut that out! My neighbors will hear you.”
“Who? Mr. Dongshlonger with all the gnomes?”
“Great, now I’ve lost my appetite,” I said, whirling around and taking a seat at the table. I watched Hermie making bubbles at the top of the waterline.
Trevor snorted. “I’d ask what’s got into you, but I think I already know.”
A laugh bubbled out and I shook my head as he flashed an amused wink at me. I swirled the spoon in my cereal bowl, stretching out my legs and crossing them at the ankle. “You’re so childish.”
“Well, now that I’m speaking with the new and empowered April, I hope she’ll know when to cut off the bootie calls,” he said, peeling a banana and leaning against the counter. “Taking control also means learning when to let go of something that isn’t healthy. It was hard as hell for me to leave my ex, but what we had wasn’t right and would have eventually destroyed us.”
“So why did you stay together?”
His cheek puffed out when he took a generous bite of the banana. “Sometimes you just want to hold on to the fantasy and the only thing you end up with is the reality. The reality was, James made me feel like shit on a regular basis, and as a result, I spent his f*cking money just to piss him off. It was toxic because he didn’t want to accept who I was.”
“What do you mean? I hope you at least told your boyfriend you were gay,” I said with a crooked smirk.
“Never mind,” he muttered, dropping the half-eaten banana in the trash. “I have a few job interviews lined up for today.”
I flew out of my chair and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Hey,” he laughed. “What’s all this lovey-dovey business for?”
“Because it means you’re staying. I was afraid you’d eventually go back to him and leave me here by myself.”
Trevor gave me a big squeeze. “You’re family to me, April. I look after my family. Look, I can’t leave you by yourself all day, so let me drop you off at the mall.”
“The mall?” I laughed and pushed away.
He held my wrist and arched his right eyebrow. “Yeah. The mall. That place we met at, remember? Don’t act like you’re so high and mighty that after one night of blistering sex, you’re too good to mingle with the passionless sheep hitting the clearance racks.”
“Okay, it’s getting less funny,” I said, glaring up at him.
Trevor smiled devilishly and leaned against the counter. I don’t know how he managed to get every hair on his head combed in such a way that it looked messy and neat all at once. “Then where do you want to go? The candy store?”
“No, I’m not working there anymore.”
“What?” He stood up straight and crossed in front of me. “What happened?”
“Retail isn’t helping me with my career goals.”
“You suck at lying.”
“Cut it out, Trev. It’s my life.”
“So when are you going to tell me what kind of trouble you’re in?”
“How about tonight? I promise. Give me one day to float around like a girl who just had the best night of her life, then I’ll let you anchor me down to the depressing reality after we have tacos. Deal?”
He cupped the back of my head and pulled me in tight. “Sorry,” he whispered softly against my hair. “And PS: your roots are showing and it’s appalling. I’ll pick up some dye later on and fix you up.”
“Maybe I should just let it go natural.”
“It’s up to you,” he said. “Or I’ll dye it black.” Trevor held me at arm’s length, studying my face and hair. “Shit, that would look awesome with your complexion. You’d look like a badass heroine from one of those urban fantasy books who wears tall lace-up boots and ripped tank tops.”
“Think I can find some of those at the mall?”
***

Trevor dropped me off at the mall and actually stuffed fifty bucks in my pocket. I had to laugh because he knew I wouldn’t spend a dime of it. Since it was close to lunch, I stopped over at the sandwich shop and ordered a grilled panini with an avocado smoothie. It was relaxing to sit at my square table and watch people. A redheaded boy hopped in a circle on one foot, a teenager with mischief on his face flew by on a skateboard as an overweight security guard ran after him, and one exhausted mother had her hands full with five kids who all wanted something different to eat. I played a game with myself, guessing what everyone was doing at the mall.
I wondered if anyone sitting around me was doing the same and had guessed I was hiding from a pinky-chopping maniac who worked for a loan shark.
Halfway through my shake, I spotted a familiar face. I think she recognized me more than I did her. Naya James had breezed into our store on a few occasions to purchase pinwheel lollipops, but she was also a close friend to Lexi.
“April? I almost didn’t recognize you!” Naya shouted, running in short steps to my table. Her black pumps made her bronze legs look impossibly long beneath her powder-blue skirt. Naya was all kinds of beautiful with thick curls of brown hair and exotic eyes.
She leaned down and kissed my cheek.
“Hi,” I said, feeling at a loss for words at her unexpected appearance. “Did you find anything good?”
She threw a large bag onto the adjacent table and set her purse on the chair beside her as she sat down. “Whew! I’ve been shopping for an hour and my feet are killing me.”
“What did you get?”
“Oh,” she said with a sly grin. “Nothing I can pull out in front of all the children. It’s for work. When I buy real clothes for me, I go shopping with Lexi. Girl time,” she explained. Naya was a stripper, or exotic dancer. I wasn’t sure which term was politically correct. She had a bubbly personality that was fun to be around, not to mention Naya was drop-dead gorgeous.
“Oh, girly, what is that?” she asked, staring at my green drink with her red lips scrunched.
“Give it a taste. It’s an avocado smoothie,” I said, sliding it across the table.
Naya pushed it back. “The only thing green I put in my mouth is Ben Franklin,” she informed me with a suggestive wink. “So where is Lexi?”
I felt a flush rise on my cheeks. She had no idea what had gone down between us, and I was a little relieved. “Work, I guess.”
“You guess? Don’t you know her schedule?”
I glanced around to think of an answer.
Oh. My. God.
My trip to the mall had just escalated from awkward to epic fail when I saw Wheeler strut by with his sleeveless black shirt, showing off his tats that wrapped all the way down to his wrists. A woman walked by him and did a double take, snapping a picture of him with her phone. He lingered in the pizza line and I sank down in my chair. Naya caught on and turned to look around.
“I have to go,” I blurted out.
“Already, chickypoo? Don’t you want to hit the shoe stores on the lower level with me?”
“No, but I appreciate the offer,” I said, untangling the strap of my purse from the chair. When I sat up, my elbow knocked the smoothie over and the cup clacked all over the floor. Several people turned to look.
Including Wheeler.
The moment he spotted me, he slammed his tray on the counter and stalked toward us with a venomous look on his face. His brows slanted fiendishly and his lips were tight. Wheeler’s dangerous streak might have turned on some women, but it intimidated the heck out of me. He’d trimmed up that beard, which is more than I could say for the tangle of brown hair on top of his head. I guessed it to be about two inches long and hoped it would be enough to grab if this confrontation turned physical.
Wheeler’s shoe stepped in a puddle of green liquid and he slammed his fist on the table.
“Stay away from my brother before you break up the pack,” he said through clenched teeth, leaning forward with both hands gripping either side of the table. “You hear me? Being with someone like you is nothing but bad news for him all the way around.”
Naya’s chair scraped back and she stood up as straight as an arrow, throwing her shoulders back. “Don’t you talk to her that way,” she snapped, lifting a defiant chin.
I stared in shock between the both of them. Wheeler cannibalized me with his gaze, and then I noticed a fresh bruise on his eye.
“You may be f*cking him, but you’re not welcome on our property.”
Wheeler hissed and recoiled when Naya swiped her hand and sliced him on the arm with her nails. He stood up and peeled his lips back angrily.
Without warning, Naya slapped him in the face.
Hard.
The crack snagged the attention of several people and they stopped to watch.
She wagged her finger angrily at him. “Didn’t your mother teach you to treat a woman with respect?”
“And who the f*ck are you?”
“Naya James,” she said in the most badass way a woman could say her name. She looked like a heroine with her brown curls spilling across her broad shoulders and her fists resting against her shapely hips.
“You’re Lexi’s friend,” he muttered, rubbing his cheek.
Naya stepped forward and before Wheeler could flinch, she gripped the back of his neck. I waited for her fist to smash into his nose. Instead, she kissed him softly on the mouth. As she did, her body moved until it was flush with his. Her tongue swept out in a subtle motion as her fingers tenderly caressed his neck. When she leaned in once more with an even softer kiss, his body went lax and his expression altered. Wheeler stood catatonic, looking down at her and not reciprocating. Naya casually stepped back and my eyes were wide and unbelieving at what just happened.
Wheeler turned as bright red as the lipstick stain on his mouth. A few people nearby chuckled and went back to eating.
“What did you do that for?” he asked in scattered words, his voice cracking mid-sentence.
Naya’s full lips turned up in a smile and she snatched her shopping bag off the table, batting her curled lashes. “Because it’s the only time you’ll ever feel my lips on your body. I like my enemies to know two things about me: what they’re up against and what they’ll never have.” She winked at me and pulled the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “I’ll be sure to tell Lexi how you’re treating her friend.”
“By all means.” He attempted to sound pissed off but failed miserably.
“Yes. By all means,” she said with a purr, swinging her hips like a pendulum as she strutted off.
Wheeler watched until she disappeared around the corner. He licked his lips and sliced me with his gaze as if he wanted to let me have it. Instead, he pivoted around and stalked off, leaving a one-footed trail of green juice. His exit wasn’t near as sultry as Naya’s because his hands were curled into tight fists, and he looked ready to pummel the stuffing out of a punching bag.
I wanted to give that woman a high five for standing up to him. Wheeler had every right to be upset with me about the money, but my personal relationship with Reno was none of his business.
Which also planted another seed in my head: Reno must have said something to give him the impression that we were an item.
And that made my toes curl in my sneakers, just a little bit.