He turned the car off. “You don’t owe her anything.”
I looked at him. “I do. It’s not that I blame myself for what happened to her, but if I don’t talk to her, she’s never going to understand why I didn’t say anything. And I need her to.” Because I really would like to go one week without getting a nasty message from her.
Drawing in a shallow breath, he pulled his hands off the steering wheel. “And of course you want me to stay out here?”
I nodded.
He sighed. “I don’t like this.”
Leaning over, I kissed his cheek. “But you like me.”
“I love you.” He turned his head toward me. Sliding his hand around the back of my neck, he brought his mouth to mine. “Doesn’t mean I’m happy about sitting out here while you go into some random, possibly psycho chick’s house.”
“She’s not psycho.”
“Says you.”
“Says me.”
His lips curved up on one side. “If you’re not out in five minutes, I’m coming in, guns blazing.”
“You don’t have a gun.”
“She doesn’t know that.”
I laughed softly. “I’ll need more than five minutes.”
“Six.”
“More,” I replied.
“You don’t need this, sweetheart.” When I said nothing, he groaned. “Seven.”
“You’re being ridiculous. I’ll be okay.”
Cam sighed again. “Okay. Please be careful.”
“I will.”
Before I could slide out from his grasp, he tightened his grip and captured my mouth. The kiss started off softly, turning deeper and hotter as his tongue slipped inside, moving in ways that reminded me of what he’d done last night and this morning. I moaned into the kiss, and when he pulled away, I was panting.
A wicked glint filled his blue eyes. “The faster you are in there, the faster you get more of that.”
“That is so wrong.” I slipped away, but I was grinning.
“I love you.”
I would never get tired of hearing that. “I love you too.”
Pulling myself from that car was almost impossible, but I did it. My sandals smacked off the cracked pavement as I hurried to the front door. I’d been out in the late morning sun for only a few seconds and sweat already dotted my brow.
I raised my hand to knock, but the interior door flew open, revealing a short, skinny girl with black hair and large gray eyes—wary eyes. They shifted to me and then over my shoulder. She was a pretty girl, one that looked bone-tired and weary.
“Who’s that?” she demanded.
I recognized her voice immediately. “That’s Cam. My boyfriend.”
Her face puckered as if she tasted something sour. “He can’t come in here.”
“I know.” I was quick to reassure her. “That’s why he’s staying in the car.”
Molly’s expression slipped into a scowl, but she stepped aside. Opening the screen door, I followed her inside the dark living room.
“Is this your parents’ house?” My eyes scanned the many pictures lining the walls and the well-worn furniture.
“Yes.” She stalked into the living room and picked up a remote. Turning the TV off, she tossed the remote onto the couch beside her. “They’re at work.”
“It’s nice.”
She smirked. “Says the girl who’s from Red Hill.”
The jab at the stretch of road my parents lived on wasn’t missed. I sat in a chair, crossing my ankles. “Okay. I’m glad you wanted to see me.”
Molly didn’t sit, but stood only a few feet from me. “Are you really?”
“Yes.”
She laughed harshly. “I somehow doubt that considering our last conversation and the fact you’ve spent a good nine months or so ignoring me.”
Okay. This was not going to be easy. “I’m not a big fan of reading emails from people I don’t know after being in high school and getting bombarded with hate mail. And there’s the fact that you sent me a ton of not too pleasant messages.”
Crossing her arms, she lifted her chin. “You know why I sent you those messages.”
“Because I didn’t respond in the beginning and because you blame me.” When she didn’t say anything, I leaned forward. “I wasn’t lying when I said I knew nothing about you until I spoke to my cousin in January of this year. I didn’t check the first emails. That’s the truth.”
She pressed her lips together. “So you’re still sticking with the ‘not a lying whore’ story?”
I exhaled through my nose as I stared up at her. Anger pricked at my skin, but like with my mother the day before, I kept my cool. “Like I told you on the phone, I hadn’t lied to the police.”
“Then why did you drop the charges?” she demanded.
“It’s a long story.”