Page 92 of From Nowhere

He closes the dishwasher and sighs. “If he’s a decent guy, then he’s probably implying that he doesn’t plan to screw anyone else right now.”

I nod slowly.

“But he’s mostly making a case for his dick feeling optimum pleasure.”

“Why must you ruin a good thing?”

Will heads toward the stairs. “I believe you started this conversation with something along the lines of ‘men are perverts,’ so we should end it with the same sentiment.”

I briefly stare at my phone’s screen before sliding my thumbs across it.

Maren: I have an IUD. See you in an hour or so.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ozzy

“Let’s go!” Lola says, speeding past me on her bike. “I can’t believe I get to spend two days with Grandma and Aunt Ruth.”

“Slow down, Speedy.” I pedal after her.

“Aren’t you going to be lonely while I’m gone, since Nana and Pa are gone too?”

“As much as I love you, it’s sometimes nice to have time alone so I can get stuff done around the house.”

“Are you going to paint my bedroom and put up the LED lights I got for Christmas?”

“I’m not sure I’ll get to it.”

“Pleeeease! You promised to do it last month, but you didn’t.”

“We’ll see,” I say.

“That’s a no. You always say ‘we’ll see,’ which means no.”

“Lola, that’s not true.”

She makes a harrumph sound and gives me the silent treatment for a few minutes before changing the subject. “Why was Nana and Pa’s car still in the driveway?”

“It didn’t start for them this morning, so they got a cab. I took the afternoon off to work on it. That’s why I’m covered in grease.”

“Dad, you’re always covered in grease.” She glances back at me and smirks.

“You’re always filled with sass.” I speed up to ride alongside her.

Lola sticks out her tongue, but she can’t hide her smile. “You’d better paint my room.”

My plans for the weekend didn’t involve paint, but I fear they might now, just like I wasn’t supposed to spend my afternoon working on a broken car. I hope this isn’t an omen for the whole weekend. I need to hurry home and finish fixing it before Maren shows up.

My plan fails.

After dropping off Lola and speeding home, the issue continues to give me grief. But I have to fix it before they get home, or they’ll wonder what I did all weekend. Unfortunately, I’m not fast enough. A vehicle pulls into my driveway while I’m still under their car on my creeper. I speed up my motions, the wrench clicking in double time.

“How can I help?” Maren asks.

I tip my chin to see her light-gray jeans and cream ankle boots. “You can make yourself at home. There’s a bottle of wine in the fridge. I’m about ready to call it for the day. Sorry. I didn’t think their car wasn’t going to start this morning. Gah! Fuck ...” I wheel out from under the car.

Maren lifts her eyebrows into peaks as I stand and stomp into the garage for a different wrench.

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