Page 128 of Mountain Daddy
“Where’re you hiding, Baby?” Luther’s quiet voice has me releasing my breath.
“Over here.” I stick my arm straight up, but I’m not sure if my fingers show over the top of the mattress.
Lifting my head off the pillow, I watch Luther round the foot of the bed.
His gaze holds mine before glancing at the pile of furry rugs beneath me. “Why are you on the floor?”
“It felt weird to stay in the bathroom.” I spent ten minutes doing just that, poking through his drawers and using his deodorant when I realized I forgot to pack mine. “And I didn’t want to be on the bed, in case, you know… So, this seemed like a good solution.”
He nods. “Solid assessment. But I can tell you right now, Ashley would never just walk into my room. I’m not sure she’s ever even set foot in here.”
That sounds unlikely, but when I think about it, I can’t think of a single reason I’d ever walk into my dad’s room.
“So…” I sit up, crossing my legs. “This is a pickle.”
We can’t let Ashley see me.
Even if we were serious enough that Luther would feel comfortable telling her, she knows my dad. And I’ll be back here on Saturdaywithmy dad.
So no, she can’t know I’m here. We can’t involve other people in our lies.
And if that means I have to hide all night, then I’ll hide all night.
Luther sighs and lowers himself to the floor in front of me. “She was supposed to come home tomorrow.”
“I heard.” I admit to eavesdropping. “At least we got interruptedafterward.”
Luther snorts. “No shit. That would’ve—Fuck.” He leans back and shoves his hands into his pants pockets. “Shit, I bent them.”
“Bent what?”
Luther holds up two Ziploc bags filled with slices of cold pizza. And I have to hold my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.
“I can bring up more, or something else…” He grimaces,unbendingthe slices.
I drop my hand and take the bags from him with a smile. “This is perfect, thank you. I assume you’re going to stay up for a bit.”
Luther’s expression is apologetic. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. Our luck is just… not great,” I say at the same time Luther says, “Cursed.”
I reach out and poke his chest. “I’ll be fine.”
He grips my finger. “I have a water glass next to the sink in the bathroom. The tap water is good.”
“Luther, I’ll be fine,” I tell him again. “I already tried to see if I could get an Uber out here, but there aren’t any available.”
He starts shaking his head before I even finish. “You’re not getting into a stranger’s car.”
“There aren’t any. It’s not an option.”
He shakes his head again. “Even if it was. I’ll drive you home. We just have to wait and go early in the morning.”
“Works for me.” I open one of the bags and pull out a slice of pizza. “You’re super certain Ashley won’t come in?”
“I’m certain.”
I nod. “Okay, but fair warning, if you’re gone for more than an hour, there’s a one-hundred-percent chance I’ll be asleep in your bed when you come back.”
