Page 14 of The Man in Mom's Bed
I giggle. I’m starting to get giddy. “Like…I’m yours.”
He smiles and tugs the buttons down on his jeans. “You are.”
I gasp a deep breath and watch as he reaches into his pants.Oh my God, he’s going to fuck me again.I don’t know why I’m surprised after what I just did. A sense of excitement mixed witha beautiful ease comes over me, and I let my legs just fall open for him, inviting him in. And that’s when we both hear it.
The sound of tires on gravel outside.
We both freeze.
“It can’t be,” I hiss. “She said she was going to Cheryl’s! She shouldn’t be back until tomorrow!”
But without even getting up, I know it’s her. I could recognize Mom’s dying car from a mile away. But there’s another sound—the cackle of male laughter, unfamiliar and clearly drunk.
Cam’s expression hardens from lust to protector in the blink of an eye. He stands, tucks his bulge into his pants, and somehow manages to button his fly while I rush into my room and scramble to get dressed.
The door bursts open just as I get my right leg into my pants. “What the hell?” my mom blurts out. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be at Cheryl’s?” Cam counters.
Talk about a dysfunctional relationship. It pains me to even think about the fact that Cam is technically in a relationship with my mom. But is he? It’s just a label on something that doesn’t truly exist—never did. While she was gone, Cam took the opportunity to claim me. And when Mom thought Cam would be gone, she found another man to bring home. Yeah, just end it already.
“This your man, baby?” the stranger grumbles. “The car guy you said was never home?”
I glance out from my room down the hall and see Cameron staring back at the two of them, my mom’s face twisted in indignation. “Well,thisis rich. You gonna j–judge me? While you’re here with my daughter!?”
She knows!? How could she?Has she seen me looking at him? Him looking at me? It can’t be. Maybe she’s just throwing wild accusations to try and defend her own behavior.
God, what a mess.
“Your daughter,” Cameron growls, “was the only reason I stayed here as long as I did.”
His words go off like a bomb in the small space of the trailer. My mom’s eyes widen, and her face cycles through a cyclone of emotions—rage, disbelief, and finally, humiliation.
“Get out!” she shouts, pointing at the door. She turns and spots me. “Both of you! Out!”
Cameron stands firm like an immovable statue. “We’ll go, Mercedes. But let Katie get her things first.Allof them.”
“Hey, you don’t make the rules here, pal—” the strange man starts to say, but Cameron cuts him off.
“Shut your mouth. No one’s talking to you.” Even from this far away, I can see the glint of violence in Cam’s eyes, and I don’t blame the man for taking a step back and looking away. Cam turns to me. “Get what you need, baby. We’re leaving.”
My mom scoffs as I head back into my room and start packing. “Babynow is it? You’re pathetic! You’re nothing, and you’ll always be nothing!”
Her voice is cold, piercing, and fills me with anxiety. I need to get out of here. I should have been gone a long time ago. This is a new beginning for both of us. Cam’s garage, his dreams, our future.
I hear my mom cursing at me as I stuff clothes into a bag, but I’m his now.His.
7
CAMERON
TWO WEEKS LATER…
It’s beenfourteen days since I took Katie from that trailer, Mercedes’ curses following us like toxic smoke from a burning building. Fourteen nights in the tiny apartment above Sal’s shop where he lets me stay in exchange for the extra hours I put in. Fourteen mornings where I’ve woken up and found her lying next to me like a dream, a fantasy.
I transferred the money last night. I did it. And she has no idea. Maybe buying this place and building something honest will make up for the way I took her. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when I show her. And I didn’t drain my account either. Fifty thousand is what I needed, but I saved up sixty-three, so I still had thirteen left.
Idid, until I bought the ring…
