Page 91 of Please Hate Me

“Are you ready to cum, sweet girl?”

I nodded, still choking on my breath.

“Good girl. I’m gonna count down, and the second I hit one, you’re free to let go.”

She plunged her fingers into me once more before returning to my clit.

“Five… four… three…” The seconds between each number were almost unbearable. I just wanted to finish, but I needed to please Sophia, so I did anything I could to make it the rest of the way.

I reached up to grip her forearm and held my breath.

“Two… one-and-a-half.”

A whiny breath exited me at her half-assed attempt at torture. Sophia giggled.

“One.”

She sped up as she finished, and I bit my lip to stop myself from being loud. My core muscles pulsed, sending shockwaves through my fingertips, and just when I thought I’d combust, my whole body released every ounce of tension it held. Pleasure rippled through me, leaving me to come completely undone for Sophia.

Chapter 25

Cameron

I sat alone in our silent house, contemplating the handwritten list of dualities in my lap. Sophia was always telling me to write down my emotions to get them out of my head, and I desperately needed to sort out how I felt about Mason. The answer should’ve been cut and dry, but... it wasn’t.

She was too young for me, but based on our conversations, I knew she was wise beyond her years. I didn’t want to be a father, but the idea of never getting to hold my baby girl was physically painful. I didn’t want to love Mason, but I wanted her to love me.

That last bit was selfish, and I knew it. I tossed my notebook aside and stood up, hoping to find something more productive to do. I wandered into the kitchen looking for chores, but frustratingly enough, Sophia had already cleaned. The dishes were done, floors mopped, counters spotless. There wasn’t even any trash to take out. So, I checked upstairs—surely the twins had made some kinda mess up in their playroom. But I forgot they’d been away for several days. Lucian had gone through and organized their toys, sorting them into neat little rows on theshelves that lined the walls. I meandered back downstairs to my room, but I didn’t own much to begin with, so there was nothing to sort.

Unfortunately, I ended up back in the living room with nothing to do. I plopped myself back down on the couch next to my infernal list and decided to distract myself by watching videos on my phone. I always liked the ones with drunk guys trying to drive lawn mowers. But before I could type anything into the search bar, another video caught my eye:

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW! Mason Albright opens up about her latest album!

God always did find the strangest ways to speak to me.

I ended up watching a few of Mason’s old interviews. In the more recent ones, she resembled the woman I knew: intriguing, yet reserved, keeping everyone at a distance. But in her older videos, I began to see someone completely different. Her smile was bright, she was witty and outspoken, and it was easy to see how she attracted so many admirers. I had to wonder... did that person still exist in her? If she could heal from the wrongs that’d been done to her, would I be able to meet her true self someday?

Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was getting close to supper time. Mason and Sophia would probably be thrilled if I had food already on the table when they got home. I’d been inspired by one of Mason’s interviews; she said her favorite food was roasted mushroom caps, and I figured I could come up with a decent meal around that. She and Lucian could have mushrooms, and I could make chicken for Sophia and myself.

I pushed myself off the couch and snipped a few sprigs of rosemary from our herb garden in the window. Once I’d gathered enough, I brought it to the cutting board. I stripped the thin green leaves off the woody stem, then grabbed a chef’s knife and began chopping them into tiny specks.

“Rosemary,” I mumbled as the scent of the herbs tickled my nose.

Oddly enough, it wasn’t dinner I was thinking of; it was my daughter. Mason had given her that God-awful name—Lavender. In theory, if I were to step up and help raise my kid, if I did everything Sebastian’s been doing besides the doctor’s appointments, would she view me as the baby’s father?

And if she did, would she consider changing that laundry-detergent-sounding name she’d already decided on?

“Rosemary,” I repeated, a smile begging to grow on my lips. “Rosemary Gale Albright.”

My smile grew so wide it hurt my cheeks. I didn’t want to risk the baby being linked to me, so passing the last name ‘Cole’ to her would be out of the question. But I figured it was safe enough to let her borrow the middle name I’d been born with.

Hell, I was putting the cart before the horse. Mason must’ve liked the name if she was willing to give it to her daughter, and I had no reason to believe she’d be willing to change it. Still, it was nice to dream.

A rush of cold air from the front door interrupted my musings. Excitement mounted in my chest at the idea that it could be my girls walking in... But I only heard one set of footsteps. Lucian had told me he’d be working late, and his sister Leona wasn’t due to drop off the kids until tomorrow morning. Aside from a burglar, there was only one person who could be walking into the house.

Sebastian.

The drop of a suitcase echoed through the house, followed by footsteps drawing near. My shoulders went stiff, and I prepared to have a civil conversation with the one person I simultaneously feared and envied.

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