Page 48 of Trick or Treat
With that, Lindsey continued on to the living room, picked up her purse and left through the front door without a single goodbye or kiss my ass.
What. The. Fuck. Just happened? His back? What the hell was the woman going on about? He stepped into the bathroom and turned to get a look at his back. “Fuck me.” He’d completely forgotten about the scratch marks Teresa left on his back. Yep. That would do it. Seeing the marks another woman left on him would most certainly send Lindsey running.
Fuck.
He went back to the kitchen and found a clean shirt in the pile of clean clothes he needed to put away and pulled it over his head. Not wanting to deal with it, he set his stack of clothes on top of the dryer and closed the accordion doors. He got himself a beer from the refrigerator and returned to the living room where he plopped on the couch and turned the television on. He ran his hand through his hair and let his head drop back. He thought he and Lindsey had been sharing a moment there for a minute. That was until she got a look at the scratches Teresa left on his back, then he was dead in the water.
He took a long pull from his beer and mentally chewed his own ass out. He hadn’t been trying to rub the fact that he’d had sex in her face, but it didn’t make the pain on her eyes hurt any less.
What was it about this woman? They’d spent an amazing weekend together and he’d thought they could maybe make it last, or at the very least see where it might lead. Then Michelle, the bitch, fucked it up for him. Despite Lindsey telling him they couldn’t see each other anymore, it didn’t stop him from thinking about her all the time. He compared all women to her, which wasn’t fair to the sweet butts and club whores. Those women, most of them anyway, were nice women just looking to have a good time.
Reagan came running and jumped on the couch. She bounced and landed in Trick’s lap. Luckily, he was used to this and had managed to raise his beer out of her way and cover his jewels at the same time. Getting racked up by his little girl hurt just as bad as if a grown man had nailed him.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah, baby girl?” He brushed her shiny black hair back from her face. Her piercing blue eyes, so much like her mother’s, were absolutely beautiful.
“Where did Keegan’s teacher go?”
“She had to get home. She had things to do before Thanksgiving tomorrow.” He took a drink from his beer, a heavy weight settling in his chest.
“Can Keegan’s teacher pick us up again tomorrow?” she asked innocently. “She’s really nice and she plays games with us.”
“I don’t think so, princess. Lindsey is really busy being a teacher.” God, he fucking hated having to tell her that. He would love nothing more than to have Lindsey around all the time. Fuck. Coming home and finding her playing games with his kids had warmed something inside him. She was a natural with kids. She’d been having as much fun as they were. Then he wondered how long it had been since Michelle had played like that with their kids. He didn’t want to ask because the answer would only depress the hell out of him.
Keegan came back to the living room and looked around. “Where’s Miss Hicks?”
“She had to go, bud.” Seeing the disappointment in his son’s eyes gutted him. He felt the same way about Lindsey’s leaving. Now that he’d fucked up and gotten another taste of her, it was going to be doubly hard to forget about her.
11
“Uhhh. I’m stuffed. I don’t think I can eat another bite.” Lindsey agreed with Cami. Between the Thanksgiving dinner leftovers her mom sent home with her, the two bottles of wine she already had and the cheesecake Cami brought over, she didn’t think she could eat another bite. She leaned back into the couch, stretched her legs to rest on the coffee table and rubbed her full stomach. Thank God she’d put on sweatpants and a loose fitting long-sleeve shirt for their traditional Post Thanksgiving Day Girls’ Night. Her friends had come up with the tradition after she divorced Doug so she wouldn’t have to come home from a huge family get together to an empty house.
“Oh my gosh. Me, too.” Jenna groaned from the other end of the couch.
“You guys are such bad influences on me.” Cami had the recliner back, her feet up and was rubbing her flat stomach. “I never eat like this unless we’re all together.”
“What are friends for?” Jenna replied. “Where did you get that cheesecake? It was amazing.”
“I know, right? One of my clients made it for me as a thank you for helping them manage their money so that they were able to open the bakery they’ve always dreamed about opening.”
“If all their baked goods are this tasty, they’re going to be a huge success. What’s the name of the business?” Lindsey asked,
“Heaven Scent. Spelled s-c-e-n-t. Like the lovely smells that hit you when you walk through the front door.” Cami breathed deeply, her eyes closed as if she was really there and could really smell it.
“Sounds like you’ve been to the bakery.” Jenna shared a look with Lindsey.
“I have. I swear I gained ten pounds as soon as I walked through the door and I hadn’t even bought anything yet.” Cami smiled at the memory. They never understood what Cami complained about. The woman could eat anything she wanted and never gain a pound. She was blessed with her mother’s high metabolism, who looked more like Cami’s sister than her mother.
“Dang it. Now I’m going to have to go check out this place for myself. What else do they have?” Jenna asked.
Cami jumped up and went to the kitchen. “You have to try these cookies. I’ve never tasted anything like them.” She held out a cardboard box, holding it under Jenna’s face.
“How am I supposed to choose? Look at all that sugary goodness.” Jenna bit into her bottom lip, assessing her choices.
Lindsey tried to hold out but soon found her curiosity getting the better of her. Despite being full, she leaned over and inspected the contents of the box for herself. “Whoa.” There was a wide variety of cookies. There were oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip with walnuts, sugar cookies with a fluffy icing, lemon cookies with cream cheese icing, some kind of strawberry thumbprint looking cookie. She wasn’t even sure what some of them were, but they looked heavenly. And they smelled divine. She chuckled to herself, realizing how well the name of the bakery fit.
“Take one,” Cami encouraged.
