Page 16 of Rebellious

I clear my throat. “Yes or no, Jake? Answer the lady’s question and move on.” I’m in no mood after what I’ve been through last night. No sleep and blue balls will drive any man to insanity.

Aspen blows a bubble with the gum in her mouth and grins when it pops. “I’m sorry, Jake. Don’t mind my driver—good ones are hard to find. They tend to be a bit…” Her smile widens as she keeps her gaze hidden behind the squared sunglasses. “—bitchy.”

I don’t have time for this shit; exhaustion is setting in. “Yes or no, Jake?”

The harsh tone of my words snaps Jake out of his frozen state.

“Yes.” He looks at me, not Aspen. “I can do that, Aspen.”

Aspen lowers her shades and glares at me over them. I return her look with one she recognizes—I don’t give two fucks. Jake will lose an eye if he looks at her tits again.

“Alright then,” she confirms. “I’ll call you next week.” She holds her hand for Jake to shake.

He doesn’t take it.

Instead, he waits for my permission to touch her.

Now, I may not want him touching Aspen, but I also don’t want to be screamed at the entire ride home, so I nod curtly. I can tolerate him shaking her hand.

However, Jake, the smart guy he is, goes in with a low-five—fast, awkward, and perfect for getting him the hell away from Aspen in a hurry.

“Have a good one.” I dismiss him.

He tips his chin and heads to the car.

“Look up and tell me what you see,” Aspen says when I just stand there, watching Jake get in his car and drive off.

I toss my bag on the ground and sigh dramatically as if I don’t have time for her games. It doesn’t faze Aspen since I’ve established over the years that I will always have time for Aspen Von Bremen, even her ridiculous observations.

Closing one eye, the sun blinding me, I look skyward like she’s doing. Puffy, white clouds fill the air, reminding me of cotton. Straining, I attempt to find what she sees. At first, it’s just a bunch of jumbled shapes, but then I see the handle, following its length to a widened top. “A baseball bat.”

She sucks in a gasp and pauses, narrowing her eyes. “Do not play games. You know that cloud looks like a penis.”

“Don’t call it a penis.” I cringe at the word. I know the technical term is, in fact, a penis, but honestly, I’d rather Aspen never refer to a man’s third leg or appendage at all. Ever. It conjures up images that take far too long for me to clear.

“Okay, word diva,” she teases. “Cock. That cloud up there looks like a massive cloud cock.” She rights her shades before lying back on the hood. “Better?”

I hear a couple of chuckles behind me, reminding me we are not alone, and this is definitely not the place to be sunbathing in a crop top while throwing out words like cock and penis.

Grabbing her ankles, I pull her body down the hood, ignoring the scratching sound of her bracelets etching into the paint. Her feet slide between mine, and when the soles of her shoes are firmly on the ground, she lets a full-blown Aspen-original smile loose. “Since you’re a little moody today, I’ll give you this one.” She fingers my shirt, letting her knuckles brush along my abs as if by accident. “It’s a bat with a dick shaped handle.”

I cut her a look, a frown firmly in place, but even I’m not immune when she bubbles out a fit of laughter, grabbing my shirt and hauling me to her chest. “You should see your face right now,” she tells me, sucking in more air before laughing again. “You would have thought I shouted ‘debauchery’ in the church pew.” She grips my hips. “You’re so uptight right now.”

And pent up.

I change the subject fast.

“I thought you were spending time with your parents today.”

She shrugs, burying her face into my shirt and inhaling. “They got distracted.”

Ah. Distracted is another way of saying her dad needed to spend quality time with her mom, naked. It was something we had to learn to avoid as teenagers. Aspen’s parents are very liberal with their sex life.

“Theo dropped you off?” I scan around the parking lot, noting no car here. “No, Fenn did. I was hungry, and so was he.”

“He finally woke up?” And then decided he wanted to eat without her?

“Yep. He wanted to get away from the house before Dad finds him again.”

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