Page 33 of Lore
The last thing I need is him noticing me checking him out.
“So what’s going on with you two?” Ora blurts out, glancing between us. “He can’t stop looking over here, like he’s making sure you aren’t going to disappear. I’ve never seen him like this.”
“He’s got it, bad,” Xanthe nods, picking up a strawberry and taking a bite. She chews thoughtfully before adding, “We know where his head is at. Where’s yours?”
Where is mine?
“He broke my heart,” I admit, looking over to where Dove is asleep next to me. “It’s been seven years, and he’s still the same. He hasn’t changed. Has he ever had a relationship? Has he ever committed to anyone?”
Ora winces, and Xanthe clears her throat.
“Exactly.” I sigh. “And let me guess, he has you cooking for him, fussing over him?”
I bet they don’t even know that he can cook.
“Shit,” Ora whispers, and Xanthe just laughs.
“And I bet he’s slept with a heap of the club girls. I bet he’s their favorite. I bet he gives them the boyfriend experience.” I raise my eyebrows. “I know him. I believe he was faithful to me at the start until I caught him with my cousin half-naked on his lap.” Ora gasps, and Xanthe mutters a curse. “But he obviously was just dreaming about this.” I wave my hand around the clubhouse. My breath hitches as I try to lock down my emotions. “He wanted to be free, and now he has it.”
“You know, once we were snooping through the drawers in his nightstand, and I found a photo of you,” Ora says, smiling gently. “It was sitting there on top, like maybe sometimes he would pull it out and have a look at it. I remember wondering who this beautiful woman was. It felt too personal, so I put it back and didn’t say anything. And imagine my surprise when I saw you with him in the clubhouse. I’m not saying he’s perfect. In fact, I kind of want to murder him right now, but you’re definitely special to him.”
“I don’t know how to feel about that,” I admit, sighing. “I guess he never forgot me, either.”
But it doesn’t really change our situation.
We all watch as Rose, one of the club girls, comes out and gives him an ice-cold lemonade. He takes it from her, and she kisses his cheek. He smiles down at her, and she beams.
I turn to the women with an I-told-you-so look.
Ora purses her lips, and Xanthe wrinkles her nose.
“You know what? Fuck him,” Ora mutters, shaking her head when he watches Rose walk away. “I love Lore, but I can see where you’re coming from.” She mutters something about losing money.
“Yeah, I was team Lore, out of loyalty to the Baddies chat group, but what she said,” Xanthe adds, tilting her head to the side and studying me. “Lore the whore.”
I burst out laughing, which gets the whore in question’s attention. He comes over and sits next to us, picking up a handful of grapes. “What’s so funny?”
“Girl talk,” I reply, looking beyond him to check on Rider, who has just taken his little top off to copy his dad. One of the twins is crouched next to him, showing him the instructions, their heads together.
“Oh, stop, that’s so cute,” Xanthe coos, pointing to Rider.
“He’s adorable,” Ora adds.
“He might have said he wants tattoos just like me too,” Lore admits, wincing a little.
I smile and shake my head. “A conversation for when he’s eighteen.”
“So, Atiana. Do you have any tips for me for when I’m in labor?” Ora asks, rubbing her stomach. “I feel like pregnancy has been so long, but now that it’s time, I’m terrified.”
“You’ll be fine,” I promise her. “Just be open to your birth plan changing. I had two very different labors.” I notice Lore going still as he leans forward and takes in every word. “Rider was thirteen hours, and Dove was nine.”
“You must have been so young with Rider,” Xanthe says softly. “Did you have someone there to help you? Siblings or parents?”
Lore stiffens, and his jaw tenses, probably because he knows I don’t.
“No, I gave birth alone,” I admit, looking down at my hands. “I’m an only child, and my parents died when I was in high school.”
They all go silent, and the air thickens with tension. I try to ease it. “But I was fine. I was living in a share house until then, but they didn’t really want a baby there, so I had to move as soon as I brought him home and?—”
