I’m seriously not in the mood for this today. “What’s that on her butt?”
“We ran out of diapers, so we wrapped her in Tank’s old t-shirt, but we figured that wouldn’t hold in the piss, so we fortified it by wrapping her ass in a plastic grocery bag and duct tape.”
I open my mouth and close it again.
I’m so out of my element, it’s not even funny, but I know Bree and Gabby would not let this shit fly, so I open the Target bags and pull out the diapers. “Please put this on her.” The girls showed us how to change a diaper before we went shopping.
Surveying the room, I consider the hundred people who marched through here last night and cringe. “Let’s get her off that floor.”
Maybe I can keep this kid from needing to bathe in disinfectant.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to think through this. The girls are coming over in a little while, and I’d like to have this situation in hand before I give Gabby another reason to think I’m an idiot.
My stomach rumbles, and I glance at Poppy. I’m guessing her bottle is long gone by now.
I hand off a container of formula to Olly, who seems to understand what I want him to do without me explaining.
After I retrieve the rest of our Target haul and make sure Olly will keep an eye on things, I take a quick shower.
The moment the hot water hits my skin, I groan. I took a nasty hit in the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game, and my muscles aren’t letting me forget it.
Once I’m clean and dressed, I attempt to get some homework done, but all of the words run together on the page. I give in and take a nap. While it helps my aching muscles, my brain is still foggy when my alarm goes off an hour later.
I return to the living room and collapse on one of the sofas. It’s quiet for once, and I’m immediately thinking of that conversation with Gabby.
I scrub my face, wishing I could take back what I said this morning. None of that shit came out right. I wanted to tell Gabby I missed our friendship, that I fucked up three years ago. That I wanted to make amends, but every word out of my mouth was wrong somehow.
I never wanted to hurt her. I wanted to protect both of us. To put some distance there before I did something I couldn’t take back.
What I said was true. What happened was one hundred percent my fault. I was stressed as hell that semester, and I was freaked out by what happened when I went home that weekend. I was desperate to get my head on straight when I got back to campus and made mistakes that I regret, but I’m guessing she’s not interested in the details.
Freshman year feels like a million years ago, and I’m not sure digging up the past will help make things right, but knowing I’ve injured her feels like a lead weight.
What really resonates with me, what’s been sounding in my head like a gong all afternoon, is the hurt expression in her eyes. She’s always so confident and buttoned up. Almost closed off. Today, though, I saw it. Saw that I really wounded her.
Add that to hearing more about what happened to her as a kid, and I feel like the biggest dick on the planet. Knowing I added to her burden kills me. That woman is smart and driven and fucking tough. I respected her before, but now, she’s in a league of her own.
Ben, Knox, and Tank charge in like a herd of wildebeests and settle around the living room as the front door opens and Bree and Gabby stroll in. Gabby has a clipboard in her hands and a pen behind her ear and looks so fucking cute, I wanna bite her stubborn ass.
It hasn’t been long since we parted, but I’m stupidly excited to see her. Except judging by the death glare she sends my way, she hates my guts even more than she did before I tried to clear the air.
When I think of the past, I can’t help but consider that agonizing detail she shared with Bree. That she gave her virginity to some guy she dated sophomore year.
Yes, I was reluctant to go there with her, reluctant to form any kind of serious attachment with a woman. Especially when I knew what kind of damage that does when it goes south.
And it always goes south.
That doesn’t mean I want to think about her fucking another man.
I slump back and wonder what she’s seen living across the street. I hope she’s not painting me with the same brush as the rest of the guys who live here. I’m not a saint, but I’m not half as degenerate as some of my roommates.
My eyes lift to her. She’s wearing a hoodie and those leggings that make her ass look amazing. I almost swallowed my tongue last night when I spotted her in that Marie Antoinette costume. Gabby looked sexy as fuck in that getup, and I thought long and hard about that outfit in the shower this afternoon. But even now with her hair pulled up in a messy bun, zero makeup, and comfortable clothes, she’s still gorgeous.
Olly comes from the kitchen with Poppy strapped to his chest. “This baby carrier is incredible. Two thumbs up.”
“You look adorable.” Gabby waves her pen at him. “Pretty sure that look is a huge chick magnet, so be prepared if you head outdoors with her.”
“Really?” His lips pull up further. “Wait. What should we say if someone asks who she is?”
