Page 56 of Driftwood Daffodil

“Those are my binoculars.” He scowled back at me.

“Yeah, well this is my stalking.” Henceforth I should be the one to have a look inside.

“It’s not my fault…” Atlee was cut off by a loud clanging.

We both turned to see Nova’s crazy neighbor beating the shit out of a trash can. And I meant beating the shit out of. He was whacking that thing so hard I could feel the metal denting.

What in the hell was happening in this place?

“Maybe he doesn’t like garbage?” Atlee suggested.

I opened my mouth, then shut it again when the crazy fucker smacked his broom down on the ground, hard. He did it a couple of more times, then ran to the back yard screaming something about bandits.

Neither one of us knew what to say, nor did we notice when the screen door on Nova’s trailer opened. The racoon jumping up on the fence had our full attention. Funny thing was, I could’ve sworn the animal flipped him off before it ran away.

“Hey,” Atlee slapped my chest and nodded out the windshield. “There’s your girl.”

“She’s not my…” the last word lodged in my throat the second my eyes locked on the target.

Nova was strutting down the patio steps with her hazelnut hair piled on the top of her head. There was something about amessy bun that got to guys, but it was the dress she was wearing that rendered me speechless.

The teal button up fabric was more along the lines of a uniform, but it hugged her curves perfectly. Every step she took caused the skirt to mold up against her ass. It was a far cry from the mess I’d seen at school. She even had a touch of makeup on her face.

“I’d fuck her.”

My eyes snapped over to Atlee. “Don’t even think about it.”

Not sure why I said that. Atlee was a walking hard on. I’d be more surprised if he had no interest in a girl. Yet for some reason my fists tightened around the steering wheel.

“My bad,” he flattened his palm on his chest. “I didn’t know you wanted to fuck her.”

“I don’t want to fuck her!”

Atlee gave me an exaggerated eye roll and sang, “whatever you say, Mr. Normal.”

I don’t know what he found so hard to believe about that statement. Sure, Nova might’ve gotten me hard a couple of times. So what? That didn’t mean shit. Had I thought about what she would look like bent over with a red ass, maybe. But I also had fantasies about Snow White. That didn’t mean I was sitting in my room at night jerking off to cartoons.

“Darry said he’d fuck her.”

Good for Darry.

“The football team was talking about her today…”

Was there a point to this?

“Glen Ferguson said he’d…”

“I don’t give a shit,” I growled.

Jesus fucking Christ would he drop it already.

“I’m just pointing out that there are people interested.” I damn near clocked him when he laid his hand on my shoulder. “No one would blame you for wanting a piece.”

“No one is fucking her!”

The only interest I had in Novalee Ford was the suffering she would face before her inevitable end.

Atlee shot me a look, “Look at that shit, Gio.”

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