Page 99 of Secrets

Luckily, Noah was on his route away from the stroller to hear, but Calla wasn't out of earshot. "Sex!" she shouts. "Sex!"

"Oh, Lex, I'm so sorry!" Sutton gasps.

She just laughs instead. "It's better she gets it out of her system now. Maybe she won't be interested by the time she's a teenager. Wishful thinking."

"So, you and Nelson..." Hannah looks between them, "... fell into bed together?"

Groaning, Sutton looks up at the sky. "Is it a terrible idea?"

"Depends. Was it good?" Lex asks.

A beaming smile spreads across Sutton's face as she continues to stare up. "Sooooo good."

"I never pictured him as the real boyfriend type. I mean, he and Daphne were a walking disaster," Hannah says.

"He says he wants to be with me because I won't do the friends with benefits thing, but he's kind of... lacking in the boyfriend department. Bedroom? Totally fire. Outside of it... not so great."

"If he's not good outside of the bedroom, maybe it's a sign that he's really only interested in the bedroom portion."

Lex nods, but Sutton just sighs. She's had so much pain recently with men in the club letting her down. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"No."

"Well, if there is one piece of wisdom I can impart on you, young one," Lex says with a smirk, "is that men are stupid. Beyond stupid. You have to really spell things out for them sometimes until they become in tune with you. And even then... you still have to sometimes."

"I just worry that he'll freak out and run away. He's not exactly known as the commitment type of guy, you know," she says. "But he does this thing with his hips in the bedroom that makes me see stars and bright, white lights. I don't want to not have that yet. It's really the only pleasure I have these days."

Hannah groans. "I miss that."

"You had that," Lex reminds her. "But you walked away from that."

"I know. It's really the main thing I miss."

"How about things with Cannon?" Lex asks. "How's that going?"

"It's not," Sutton says with a sigh. "I don't really know what I'm doing. I mean, I know he's not my dad, so I can't pretend he is. But I also want to forget that he isn't."

Lifting a hand up to her shoulder, Lex squeezes. "Heisyour dad, kid. For all intents and purposes, he's your dad. Fuck DNA. He raised you, and he loves you."

"That's easy for you to say. You have a dad who's your dad."

"And he's one of the reasons I left Griffin's Beach. Diesel, though? I consider him a dad. More of a dad than my actual dad, and I would do anything for him. Blood doesn't mean shit. What matters is who is there when you need someone. Who can you count on? I can promise you that you can count on Cannon to be there. If you called him right now, and you needed anything, he would make it happen."

Her shoulders slump, and she nods. "I know, which is what makes it worse. I feel guilty. I feel like I ruined his life or something, and I fucking hate my mom."

"You did not ruin his life," Hannah jumps in. "I can promise you that. Rocky and I weren't always on talking terms while I was at home, but he did tell me how devastated Cannon was to learn the truth. How he was going to let you deal in your own way and your own time, but he still wants you as his. You’re his buddy."

The hair on the back of Lex's neck stands up, and she slows down to look around. The neighborhood they ended up walking in doesn't look the safest, and she feels like trouble is right around the corner. As her eyes scan the houses, they lock on something that jumps out at her as out of place. When she realizes what it is, she stops dead in her tracks.

In the basement window of one of the houses facing the street is a brunette woman staring at them, her hand on the glass. A familiar brunette woman. Lex's heart races with familiarity ofthe woman she met only a couple of times before, but she knows without a doubt it's her.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asks, her eyes looking to where Lex stares. "Oh my God!"

Lex grabs her arm as she starts to walk across the street. "Wait."

"What? That's Dani!" she exclaims.

Sutton's eyes widen as she sees Dani, too. "Oh, God!"

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