BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) (163 page)

“That was pretty incredible,” he said slowly. “You were amazing, Leda,” Stratton said. “I can’t believe you stood up to her like that.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well I can’t believe she barged in our house like that,” I replied. “Did you even know she was coming?”

Stratton shook his head. “I got home from soccer practice and there she was,” he told me. “I can’t believe she did that. That was one step too far. I should have known it would happen after the email.”

“What email?” I looked at him. “What happened? Did she threaten you?”

Stratton rolled his eyes. He pushed a hand through his tangle of brown hair and flopped down on my bed, sending the pillows flying. “She emailed me a few days ago,” he said, covering his face with his eyes. “And I was angry and told her to stay out of my life. This was apparently her way of retaliating.”

I almost laughed. “I mean, what does she think she’s going to accomplish?” I asked. “You’re an adult. She can’t force you to do anything. Just tell her no.”

Stratton peeked at me through his fingers. “That’s easy for you to say,” he scoffed. “She’s always been tough on me and Suzan. She likes to think that because she created us, she has a say in everything we do.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I replied. “She should know better than that.”

Stratton shrugged. “I know Germany is progressive, but in some ways, it’s not like here. My sister and I were always expected to do what our parents wanted for us. Because I broke with them, they’ve been angry with me ever since.”

“I can’t imagine that,” I said honestly. “So you told your sister that we got married?”

Stratton wrinkled his nose. “I was hoping to get away with that,” he said, grinning at me. “Yeah, I did. I’m sorry, Leda. I had no idea she would tell our mother. Suzan and Miriam have been friends for a long time and she kept asking me questions about what I was doing in this country. It was the only way to get her off my back.”

The air whooshed out of me like I’d been punched in the gut. “And you just went along with it? You couldn’t lie?”

Stratton shook his head. “I really am sorry, Leda. I had no idea this would happen, honestly. Suzan’s always been trustworthy. Obviously, I’m never going to share anything with her ever again.”

“It’s fine,” I lied. “You did what you had to do.”

“No one else will find out,” Stratton promised me. “I swear, Leda.”

“What about Miriam? Wouldn’t Suzan tell her, if they’re as close as you say?”

He shrugged. “He might, but who cares? She doesn’t even know where I live now, Leda. She’s not going to tell anyone. I promise, no one that we know here will find out.” He held out his pinky to me and I smiled. Something about the gesture was endearing and cute. We shook on it and I laughed nervously.

“Sorry, this is just kind of a lot,” I admitted. “I can’t wait for our trip.”

Stratton grinned again, for real this time. “I’m so excited,” he said. “Thank you again. That was a really awesome present, Leda.” He leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. “I can’t wait to get away from Ursula and go skiing with my wife.”

I blushed when he said ‘wife.’ “Ursula?” I wrinkled my nose. “Really?”

Stratton laughed. “Yep,” he said. “That’s my mother.”

There was a buzzing sound and Stratton looked at his desk. When he saw that it was his phone, he made a face. “Answer it,” I said. “What if it’s Ursula and she wants to apologize?”

Stratton laughed; we both knew how unlikely that would be. “I doubt it,” he said as he reached over and swiped the device on. “I don’t recognize this number,” Stratton said under his breath, more to himself than me. “I have no clue who this is.”

“They sent you a picture,” I pointed out. “Maybe it’s one of those promotional things where you can get a free burrito if you show up with that on your phone.”

Stratton held his phone angled away from me so I couldn’t see the screen. I watched as all of the blood drained from his face.

“Stratton,” I said quietly. “What is it? Did something happen?”

He bit his lip. “I’m not sure I should show you this,” he said in wary voice. “But I have a feeling that if I don’t, you’ll find out anyway.”

My heart started thudding in my chest like a caged animal. “What?” I demanded. “Show me what?”

Stratton held up the phone so I could see. The picture was of a naked blonde girl, sitting cross-legged on a desk. She wore a grin and some red lipstick on her chest in a language that I couldn’t read. I backed away as though I’d been slapped.

“What the fuck, Stratton,” I hissed. “Who is that?”

Stratton looked at me and tossed the phone aside. “That’s Miriam,” he said in a dull voice. “And she says that she misses me.”

Angry tears came to my eyes. I knew it wasn’t Stratton’s fault, but I still felt hurt. “And what are you going to tell her?” I asked, looking away.

Stratton put his arm around me. “Leda, I’m done with her,” he said. “She knows that. I bet anything my mom called her as soon as she left here. Don’t you understand that you’re the only person I want now?”

I blinked and nodded, feeling foolish. “I get that,” I said slowly. “I’m sorry. It’s just weird, that’s all. Most of the time, my boyfriends’ parents always liked me.”

Stratton chuckled, a deep-throated and pleasant sound. “I bet,” he said. “But I’m not really your boyfriend, am I?” 

Chapter Six

Stratton

“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath after Leda had gone. “How am I supposed to get out of this one?” I pulled my phone out of the pocket and looked at the photo of Miriam again. She still had a tight, perfect little body – I owed her that much, at least. But her grin seemed artificially bright and the red lipstick on her chest made her look like an attraction in a side show. She’d scrawled “Ich vermisse dich” or “I miss you” right above her perky breasts. Despite the fact that I wanted nothing to do with her, I felt my mouth go dry. Shaking my head, I deleted the picture and tossed my phone on my desk.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking of Leda, and Miriam, and my mother. I couldn’t understand why my mom was so hell-bent on making me unhappy. It wasn’t as though she’d liked Miriam while we were together. She’d always found her annoying and immature. But she must have reached out after Leda kicked her out of the house. Morosely, I rolled over in bed and buried my face in the pillow.

An hour later, I was still awake. Finally I got out of bed and grabbed my laptop. I had three new emails, all from my mom. Seeing that the first and second emails were brief, I deleted them in favor of the most recent. I began to read:

“
Stratton,

I have told Miriam your plight and she’s just as sympathetic as you could imagine her to be. Why you had to leave her years ago still confuses me; don’t you want to be with someone who cares about you?

I may not know your friend Leda, but I wasn’t born yesterday. Stratton, she’s a typical American. She cares about no one but herself. Did you see the way she treated me? Do you want to be with someone who disrespects her elders, and furthermore, disrespects her in-laws? She should have been begging my acquaintance, like Miriam did when the two of you were together. Stratton, if you had to get involved with an American whore, why couldn’t it have been an attractive one?

Miriam knows everything, Stratton, and she’s still willing to take you back. I beg you to consider it. If the two of you are married, your father and I will pay for the entire wedding, as well as a nice vacation for the two of you. Please don’t break your mother’s heart, Stratton. You know I have my ideas that Suzan might be a lesbian; how would she give me grandchildren? You’re my only hope, Stratton, and you can’t let me down.

Please take a moment to consider how deeply you are hurting those around you. Stratton, a little empathy would do you good at the moment. If you want to continue to break my heart as well as the heart of your father, be my guest. But please know that if you continue to act in the same way, you will no longer be welcome in our home. You will no longer enjoy our support, nor our blessings. We will be happy to be a family of three, lesbian daughter or not. Stratton, you have already disappointed me more in the past year than Suzan has done in her entire life. Can’t you see how deeply I am hurting?

Mutti”

I rolled my eyes and hit ‘delete,’ sending the email back to the depths of the hell from which it had come. My mother was literally insane. She’d never cared so much when I still lived at home; what was the big deal now? I had a sinking suspicion that the only reason she was angry with me was that I’d made a decision that had nothing to do with her. If anything, this just made me angrier than before. It was just my mother being controlling out of an urge to dominate, not because she loved me.

With a sigh, I closed my laptop and crawled back into bed. When I did sleep, my head was filled with nightmares of Miriam and my mother, sometimes collaborating, always laughing.

When I woke up the next morning, there were loud voices in the hallway. When I heard my mother’s voice, I thought I was still dreaming. But there she was, and it sounded like she was talking to….

“Hi, Megan,” I said, opening my door. Megan was standing in the hallway in a yellow sundress. She looked cold. My mother was standing next to her and glaring at me. “Mom, you’re not invited here, remember?”

My mother and Megan glared at me. “That’s not very nice,” Megan chided me. “Your mom came all the way from Germany to see you!” She turned to my mom with stars in her eyes. “Mrs. Müller, you have the most gorgeous accent,” she said. “How long are you visiting for?”

“For as long as it takes,” my mother said stiffly. I glared at her.

“Megan, this is personal, I’m sorry,” I said, but my mother cut me off.

“Don’t listen to my son, dear. He thinks that he knows everything.”

Megan laughed. “Boys, am I right?” My mother giggled alongside of her and I narrowed my eyes.

“Megan, can I help you?”

She shrugged. “I’m supposed to go shopping with Leda, but she’s not up yet. When I showed up and knocked on the door, your mom let me in. We’ve been talking for an hour or so. She’s so cool,” Megan gushed. “I can’t believe you haven’t had her visit before now.”

I rolled my eyes. “She didn’t tell me she was coming,” I said flatly. “And she’s not supposed to be here right now.”

Megan frowned. “She’s fine, Stratton,” she said. “Really. I think it’s sweet that your mom wants to visit you! Mine barely cares,” she added. “I’m getting married and my mom isn’t even interested,” she told my mother. My mother’s eyes widened.

“How charming,” she said, grinning at Megan. I clapped a hand to my forehead.

“Megan, why not just go wake up Leda?” I suggested sharply. “She’s in her room.”

My mother took me by the elbow. “Stratton, your other housemates are so nice,” she said. “I came over and one of them let me in without a word. Isn’t that sweet? He even offered me tea.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, willing myself not to lose it on my mom. “Mom, that’s fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “But you’re not welcome here, okay? I thought that was made clear yesterday.”

Just then, Leda burst out of her room. Her face darkened when she saw my mother and she whipped her head towards me. Oblivious to everything, Megan bounded over and wrapped her friend in a hug.

“Have you met Stratton’s mom?” Megan asked Leda excitedly. “She’s so cool! We’ve been talking all morning.”

“Unfortunately,” Leda sniffed. Megan frowned. “I’ll tell you later,” Leda whispered. My mother’s eyes focused on Leda and narrowed like a hawk’s.