Page 160 of Driftwood Daffodil 2

“What?” Gio asked.

Yeah, I didn’t sell that very well. I needed to find better romance books than the ones in Maw Maw’s stash. Or, I could commit to the role and play the part, which was exactly what I decided to do because my Maw Maw didn’t raise no quitter.

There was only one problem–my lack of grace.

When one attempted to feign a faint, one should be aware of their surroundings. My foot slipped out from under me as I crumpled to the ground and clacked the back of my head off Gio’s Range Rover. There really wasn’t a way to fall on the ground softly.

On the upside, it worked. Gio let go of Atlee and jumped off the car to stare down at me.

“Can’t you go one day without hurting yourself?”

I groaned and rubbed the back of my skull. “I didn’t hurt myself yesterday.”

“Yesterday.” Gio folded his arms over his chest. “You mean when you went after my brother with a bat?”

Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I guess I did get hurt, although technically I didn’t push myself. Therefore, I didn’t hurt myself.

Atlee let out a chuckled snort. “That was great.”

To which Gio swung his finger back and pointed at him. “Don’t encourage her.”

Hey!“No one encouraged me. I’m perfectly capable of making stupid decision all on my own.”

Based on the glare Gio shot my way, I was going to guess that was the wrong thing to say.

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

That was easy. “I was thinking that I was going to beat your brother’s head in.”

Duh.

“Uh, huh? And how did that work out for you?”

“Not very well.”

It was more like an epic failure, and not one that I cared to relive. So, I picked myself up, brushed my hands on my skirt, and turned to walk away.

I made it two steps before my arm was jerked, pulling me back into Gio.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

Was that a trick question? “Um, school?”

That was kind of why we were all here.

“Not like that, you’re not. Everyone can see your tits.”

“No.” Atlee corrected. “Everyone can see her bra.”

Exactly. And Gio was the one who told me to wear red, so he had no one to blame but himself.

“Fuck off Atlee.”

“Yeah Atlee,” I sang. “Fuck off.”

Gio’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t get smart.”

How was that smart? I was agreeing with him.

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