The Bad Boy Next Door: Lance & Chastity (31 page)

Reluctantly, she does.

I ask, “Did you cut your hair?”

“No. Why?”

“Cause you never wear a hoodie unless it’s freezing.”

She flips it back. “See? Still there.”

Dad smiles when he sees her pile of blonde hair. Then he looks between me and her. “You two look exactly like each other. It’s uncanny.”

“Do not,” Charity grouses. “I’m so much better looking than Chaz.” She flips her hair and smirks.

I laugh, “Geez, Charity! Don’t be so vain.” I regret my words immediately because I sound like Mom.

“You’re both beautiful,” Dad assures. “What do you want to eat?” He stands up.

“Tacos,” Charity says.

“Me too.”

“Copy cat,” Charity jabs.

“I’ll get tacos for everyone,” Dad says, “because I like the taste of cat.”

Charity wrinkles her nose, “What?”

Dad shakes his head. “Bad joke. What kind of meat do you guys want?” he asks.

I say, “Make mine cat too.”

“Nast!” Charity laughs.

Dad goes right up to the window to order because no one is in line.

“Dad is really glad you’re here,” I mutter.

“I can tell.”

“How are you doing?”

She shrugs. “Mmmm.”

“Sounds like you’re having a party without me.”

She sighs. “I’m fine.
So
glad I don’t have to listen to Mom bitch about everything every single second.”

“I feel you,” I nod thoughtfully. “Sorry I bailed on you with Lance.”

“I can’t blame you. I would too. He’s hot.”

I blush. “I guess.”

She snorts, “Don’t be lame. He’s gorgeous. Is he nice too?”

Despite the fact Charity and I talked plenty before she ran away, I didn’t go into detail about my arrangement with Lance. I didn’t want to make her more jealous. But I can tell her some of it. Assuming she comes home, she’s going to find out eventually. “Yeah. He gave me a job.”

“What happened to Marble Slab?”

Charity still doesn’t know about Mr. Molton catching me and Lance and I’ll probably never tell her. Maybe when we’re both eighty. So I lie. “Oh, uh, Lance offered me a really good job. He pays better than Mr. Molton.”

“That’s awesome. What kind of job?”

“Oh, I’m pretty much a receptionist. I answer phones and keep the office organized.”

“Sounds boring.”

“I guess.”

“But it was cool of him to give you a job.”

I’m relieved she doesn’t ask any more questions about Lance. What would she think if she found out Lance was a semi-famous DJ? She’d probably never come home.

Charity grabs a chip and squirts a ton of salsa on it and pops it in her mouth. Her eyes bug. “Hot!” She waves her hand in front of her mouth.

I laugh. “Eat another chip. It’ll cool the burn.”

She does.

Dad sits back down and we chat about whatever for a while. Charity polishes off most of the chips by herself in like two seconds.

Dad says carefully, “Chair, are you getting enough to eat?”

“It’s only been a few days, Dad. I’m fine. But yes, I’m getting enough to eat. Do you know what marmalade is?”

I don’t.

Dad narrows his eyes. “Isn’t that orange jam?”

Charity nods. “It’s disgusting.”

“Please tell me you’re eating something other than orange jam.”

She rolls her eyes, totally exasperated. “Yes, Dad. I’m eating real food. Stop worrying about me.”

Dad leans his forearms on the metal table. “Hey, I love you. I will always worry about you.” He means it.

Charity feels it and nods solemnly.

Dad’s eyes sparkle with impending tears. He cracks a smile, “I can’t have my youngest daughter eating orange jam every meal, can I?” It’s supposed to be funny, but it isn’t really.

Oddly, all three of us laugh, overcome by emotion.

The Mexican guy inside calls out our order.

“I’ll get it!” I bolt to my feet so Dad can have a minute alone with Charity. When I set the tray down, they’re both laughing about something. “What?”

“We were talking about your mother.”

“She’s always good for a laugh,” I say sarcastically.

We all laugh even harder than before even though my comment wasn’t very funny either.

I sit down and we fight over the tacos. “Which one is the cat?” I giggle.

“This one,” Dad chuckles, handing me a Carne Asada taco. “I think it’s still meowing.”

Somehow, that’s also really funny even though it’s not.

Charity and I always have fun with Dad. Every summer with him has always been a blast.

He says to me, “We missed you this summer.”

“Maybe
you
did,” Charity laughs. I know she doesn’t mean it. Unless she’s trying to claim Dad all for herself. The important thing is that for a few minutes, everything feels normal and I don’t want to shatter this fragile moment.

Dad says, “Remember how much fun we had at Raging Waves out in Yorkville?”

“It was awesome,” Charity says.

Dad grins at me, “See? You missed out, Chaz.”

I laugh, “You guys know Blazing Waters in San Dimas is way better. Too bad you don’t live here in LA, Dad. We all could’ve gone.” I stop myself, realizing I’m probably hurting his feelings. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

Dad smiles, pretending. “It’s okay. If I lived here, I would’ve bought season passes to the Blaze and taken you two any time you wanted.”

Charity rolls her eyes. “Nobody calls it the Blaze, Dad.”

“I do,” he chuckles.

After the laughter fades, we all fall into uncomfortable silence.

I keep waiting for Dad to mention Charity’s running away, but he keeps avoiding it. Maybe it’s for the best. Talking about normal stuff feels so much better.

Dad says, “And speaking of living nearby, now that you’re a high school graduate, Chaz, have you given any more thought to college?”

“I have terrible grades, Dad.”

“They’re not that bad. But that doesn’t matter. You can go to a community college for two years and transfer to a four-year after.”

“I guess.” I’m not going to remind him that I’ve got a good job with Lance. For now. I’m still waiting on that first paycheck, but I want to believe it’ll work out and I can forget about college and tests and grades for good.

“What do you think about the idea of moving out to Illinois and going to Oakton for two years? Then you can transfer to a university. Chicago has so many good schools to choose from. And you could live with me and save on rent. Your sister could live with us too.”

Charity’s eyes light up. “That would be awesome, Dad! Don’t you think that would be super cool, Chaz?” She beams at me.

I grimace. That would mean leaving Lance. I don’t want to do that, job or not. He may be evasive about saying he likes me, but the way he stepped up when Charity ran away has me seeing him in a whole new light. I mean, I’m
living
with him.
And
working for him. We’re practically married, which secretly thrills me. I can’t walk away now. I have to give Lance a chance to come around. As much as I would hate for Charity to move away to Illinois, maybe it’s time. It would get her away from Mom faster than I ever could.

Excited, Charity says, “What do you think, Chaz? You, me, and Dad in Illinois?”

“We’ll have to talk to your mother,” Dad says, full of hope. “In light of the circumstances… who knows? Maybe she’ll consider it.” Notice he didn’t say
change her mind
or
let Charity move to Illinois
. Nope.
Consider it
.

The idea makes me sick.

Whir.

There goes that dentist’s drill.

“Please say yes, Chaz!” Charity begs. “We can both say goodbye to Mom for good! She’ll be all alone like she deserves.”

Dad smiles uncomfortably at that.

So do I. It’s not like I hate Mom. Or do I?

Charity stares at me like I hold her future in the palm of my hands.

Whir.

“Yeah, that could be awesome,” I say anxiously. Notice how I said could and not would?

Lance was right. I’m definitely my mother’s daughter.

Whir.

Chapter 23

CHASTITY

Dad and I convince Charity to spend the night at Lance’s.

We don’t tell Mom and literally sneak her in.

Lance buys a sleeping bag for Dad who insists on taking the couch so Charity can have the second air mattress. It’s like a sleepover. We stay up late that night talking about everything and nothing. Most of all, we laugh. It’s amazing how well Dad gets along with Lance and Mr. McKnight. They trade jokes and friendly insults and share stories all night long while Charity and I mostly listen in awe. Without Mom around, we’re both in heaven.

The next day, Dad convinces Charity to go back to living with Mom until he can talk to his lawyer and start talks with Mom’s lawyer about moving Charity to Illinois. Nobody mentions it to Mom because we all agreed she would call in the Army and the National Guard if anyone tried to take Charity away from her.

That night is bitter sweet. I’m going to miss Dad. He makes having parents seem like a good thing, unlike Mom. With Lance and his Dad around too, it’s perfect. There’s nothing like having three strong men around protecting you and caring for you, especially when they all have a sense of humor that makes life seem like it’s full of fun and infinite possibility instead of drab and dangerous. Not once does anyone mention heaven or hell or sins or damnation or blah blah blah.

Dad goes home the next day, optimistic about everything. Lance and Rod are both sorry to see him go. Not half as sorry as Charity and me.

A few days later, Charity calls me up at work.

“Hey, Chair. What’s up?”

She groans, “Mom is freaking out again.”

“What now?”

“She’s making a huge deal about me being a freshman at North Valley. We had to go buy new clothes appropriate for my age. The outfits she picked out make me look like a dweeb. Then she lectured me about all the evil things boys will try to do to me. As if I didn’t figure that out in middle school. She thinks I’m still twelve.”

I snort, “Mom thinks
I’m
still twelve.”

“Truth.”

“How are you holding up?”

“Oh, you know. Mom. Has Dad said anything to you about moving us to Illinois?”

I wince when she says us. She’s still hoping I’ll go too. “No, not yet.” It’s the truth. “I’m sure it’ll take some time for his lawyer to figure everything out.”

“Yeah,” she sighs. “Do you think Lance would mind if I slept on his couch again?”

“No, but Mom would.”

“Yeah.” She sounds miserable. “Oh, hold on. The wicked witch is summoning me. I have to go. Do you want to see a movie tonight or something? You can bring your date,” she giggles.

“Who, Lance?”

“Yeah. But no making out if we’re sitting together.”

“Of course not!” I chuckle. “I’ll have to ask Lance. He’s been busy lately.”

“Okay. Mom is about to burst a vein, so I better go. Call me later.”

“Okay, bye!” I sound more cheerful than I feel.

I can’t help but worry about what will happen if Charity ends up moving in with Dad. I don’t want to leave Lance. I hate being forced to chose between him and my sister. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous.

Whir.

After a few days, I don’t even notice the nausea. I get used to it. Work is a good distraction. There is a new flurry of calls from potential investors. We drive to a lot of meetings. This time, it isn’t fancy entertainment offices and talent agencies. It’s doctors and lawyers and real estate agents that Lance knows. One guy is literally Lance’s dentist. Lance sells his butt off, doing his best to charm the pants off everyone. Unfortunately, we get nothing but no’s. Lance acts optimistic, telling me and Micah and Beaver that the next one will be the one.

I can tell the stress is starting to wear on him and he’s starting to doubt himself.

It’s wearing on me too because I think it’s making Lance more distant. Our sex life skipped the cooling off part and went straight to frozen. We still haven’t had sex since before Charity ran away, since that time at his office when I told him I loved him. I can’t help but think what I did ruined things between us. He doesn’t even flirt. At work, he’s still fun and irreverent, but that sexiness between us is long dead. I’m afraid Lark was right and I scared him off. Not literally. Just emotionally.

I don’t know.

Whir.

It drives me nuts because I want to ask him what’s wrong, but even I know guys hate talking about their feelings. I don’t want to pry. I just want to take back telling him I love him.

Which I still do.

Sadly.

Maybe I need to stop loving him.

Can you do that?

I don’t know.

Maybe I need to go back to living with Mom and Charity. Charity would like that. Then things would be back to normal. They’d be so normal it would be like Lance never moved in or turned my world upside down.

The only upside in my life is that my first paycheck clears when I cash it. I’m all smiles when I deposit it at the bank. $1,148.14. So many numbers on one check! I’ve never made a deposit this big in my entire life. I’m rich! But it doesn’t make me nearly as happy as I wish.

I’d trade all the money I have in my savings and checking account if Lance would just look at me with that same fire he had in his eyes in the beginning.

That night, I make a move in bed.

Lance lies beside me in his boxers, his back to me.

I can tell he’s not asleep. I peel off my T-shirt and panties and scoot up against him until I feel his sexy butt pressing against me. I kiss the back of his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” he asks in a low but friendly voice.

“Nothing,” I grin, sliding my top hand around to caress his chest. Even relaxed, his muscularity is a total turn on. I slide my hand down his abs, still kissing his shoulders. My heart starts to hammer. I’ve never initiated like this before. I’m out of my element. But I think I can figure it out. I trace the V of his abs down to home plate. To the root. I’m surprised he’s not hard. I can fix that. I take him gently in my hand, savoring the warmth of his softness. Feeling the heat pouring off his back against my chest. I stroke him slowly, hoping to coax him to hardness. I can take this all the way to orgasm, or he can take over whenever he wants. I don’t care. I’m just happy to be holding the most intimate part of him, knowing I have access to this man who I have such strong feelings—