by R. D. Berg
Nodding our heads, we all walk out of the room and into the hallway just outside his door.
After a few minutes, the doctor knocks on his door and walks inside, shutting it behind him.
I grab Lundyn’s hand and intertwine our fingers. It’s a foreign feeling being able to just touch her whenever I want, but I like it, and so does she going by the blush that covers her face.
“This is Harlow reporting LIVE. The love-vention has been a success, please email me to help you with any love-vention needs you may have.” Harlow records with us in the background.
“Did you just snap us, Lo?” Lundyn asks knowingly.
“Surprise! That was the first commercial,” she cheers. “Would you like to give a testimonial?”
Lundyn and I both laugh and shake our heads no before we hear a shrill scream coming from the room Finn’s in.
“Maybe I should snap this, ‘Horrors in the ER.’” Harlow raises her hands in the air like she can see it in lights, but the door opens before her idea can take flight.
The doctor walks out and then the nurse, who tells us, “You all can go back in the room now. I’ll be right back with discharge papers. He’s a little shaken up…” Then she walks off down the hall with purpose.
I enter the room first, and when I do, Finn is rocking back and forth on the bed.
“Hey, buddy, you okay?” I question softly.
“Don’t fuckin’ buddy me. You left me in here alone, to be tortured. If this ice pack doesn’t resolve this issue they showed me a huge needle they’ll want to stick inside my dick dude!”
At the end of that sentence, the nurse walks back inside, “I don’t think it’ll come to that. You’ve shown a significant decrease in blood flow since arriving at the hospital. Could you please sign here?” Finn mumbles mockingly and then takes the paperwork, signing it and then hands it back over. “You’re free to go. Follow up with your family doctor within the week and always know what you’re taking. It’s not safe to take things that aren’t in a marked container.” The nurse then leaves us to help Finn to the car.
“Now I’m a hoodrat giving unmarked drugs to my friends,” Harlow remarks sarcastically and makes a show of her hands.
“It’s a hard life, but someone has to live it, Lo,” Lundyn giggles.
Finn stands, a bit unsteady, and limps holding the ice pack to his package. “Lo, you fucking owe me for this.”
“I owe you and your dick, nothing. You just labeled me as a drug dealer. Call it even,” she huffs.
“I’ve heard entirely too much today about Finn’s appendage,” Lundyn admits.
Harlow scrunches up her nose. “Don’t ever say appendage when you refer to a cock again, Grandma Gertrude.”
“Whatever! Let’s go!” The girl’s laughter continues even once we’re in the car.
Finn’s quiet on the ride back to the cabin, but the girls talk enough for both of us.
Although the day was warm enough to wear t-shirt and shorts, this is Texas, so naturally, we are sitting in front of the crackling fire in the cabin’s living room. Finn after his traumatic experience turned in early, and Harlow is doing lord knows what.
I watch intently as the firelight casts a soft glow against Lundyn’s smooth alabaster face as she takes a swig of her beer. The way her lips expertly maneuver over the lip of the bottle makes my cock jump to attention. Call it the southern in me, but there’s nothing sexier than a woman who isn’t too dainty to drink beer from a bottle.
“Mav?” She asks more into the fire than to me.
“Yeah?”
She turns stretching her arm out to set her bottle down on the coaster before turning to me, pulling her bare leg underneath her. “I was just wondering, what did you do the year I was gone? Every time I talked to Lo, she would always just say, oh Mav is being Mav.”
I clear my throat, giving myself enough time to sway my thoughts from her naked body underneath mine as I take her in front of the fire. I shift my eyes to the fire then finally rest them into hers. “Well you know I went to the academy, and that was about it.” I give her a one shoulder shrug. She tilts her head, studying me for a moment. “What is it?”
Her mouth scrunches to the side as if she’s disappointed in my answer. “Oh.” She grabs her beer, taking another long gulp.
Oh…What the hell is … Oh? “Sorry to disappoint you, Lundy. My life is pretty darn boring” Picking up my beer, I offer a quick chuckle before taking a drink myself peering at her from over the bottle.
She absentmindedly twirls a finger around the bottle. “Did you date anyone?”
“No,” I answer and she quickly jolts her eyes to light up as fierce as the fire. “After you left, I focused my energy on the academy, hung out with Finn and Lo, and worked out –” I jump my chest muscles and waggle my brows just to prove my point.
She giggles, and I’m relived we are back to our crazy normal. We fall into a comfortable silence, as we both stare at the flames performing a sultry rendition of the tango. Slowly, my hand reaches out until it’s met with the softness of Lundyn’s hair that matches the pitch black night outside. She cradles her head in my hands then snuggles her body into my chest. I need to be inside her now.
There’s a loud slam from Finn’s parent’s bathroom followed by a “What the fuck,” and I know its Harlow rummaging around in the cabinets. I say a silent prayer hoping she’s not trying to find another reason to send one of us to the hospital. The medicine cabinet gets my mind moving.
“Hey, Blue?”
“Hmm?” she snuggles further into my chest, fitting perfectly into my arms.
“We didn’t get a chance to discuss it, but are you on birth control?” Last night’s shenanigans need a repeat, but we have to stay safe. “I’m clean, in case you’re worried.” Babies are on the list, however, further down the line from now.
She lifts her head raising her ocean blue eyes to mine, “Yeah, I am— on birth control that is. I’m clean, too.”
Kissing her forehead I snuggle her further into me making our bodies seamless. Loving the feel of her warm soft body against mine. Lundyn’s phone pings and she raises her hand while holding it and swipes it open.
It’s a Snapchat from Harlow, and it’s a little blue pill with the caption:
Never trust any little blue pills. Never again, Aleve. Never again.
“This stays in this car, but I have to give it to Finn and Lo. They made the impossible – possible,” I admit to Maverick.
He steadies the wheel with one hand, glancing at me briefly, wearing a gorgeous smile. “They certainly did, but you’re right, it stays between us; we don’t need them throwing it in our faces.”
We are almost home from what turned out to be one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long while. Since Maverick and I have reached a peace treaty, sealed with a few romps in the sheets, we decided that riding home together would be great opportunity to talk—with our clothes on.
“So how's your mom doing?” he asks while pulling into a gas station so we can get some gas.
The mention of her makes me break out in hives. She’s not a horrible person, but man does she make horrible decisions. “She’s all right, last time I talked to her she was headed to Vegas with Jim.”
“Do you miss her? You know not being in the same town and all?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I look out of the window twirling a piece of hair. “When she first left I really missed her, but I was so pissed at her for leaving me even though she never was the motherly type. I always saw her as a fun big sister. I mean who throws their daughter a going away party and hires both male and female strippers?”
He chuckles as he maneuvers into a gas lane. “That was one hell of a party, Blue. Especially, the free lap dances.”
I frown. “That must be your dick talking.”
He puts the car in park and turns to me. I love this continued expression of joy he's been wearing since our truce. “My dick wants to know if you want anything from the store?�
� His smile broadens, and he waggles his brows.
“Tell him no, I have to go pee anyway,” I say slipping my flip flops on and opening the door.
He gets out as well and leans on the hood. “You sure? He says he's very generous.”
“Tell him to save his generosity for tonight, I have a hairless cat that's dyin’ to be pet.” I wink and lightly jog to the store leaving a shocked Maverick staring after me.
A few minutes outside of town, I get a text from Harlow.
Emergency at the Casa, the eagle has landed.
“So apparently, there's an emergency at the house, and the eagle has landed,” I tell Maverick.
“What does that mean?”
“Coming from your sister, who knows?” I sigh. With every passing minute, I grow a little sadder knowing we are ending our weekend. The drive home was perfect, and I'm not ready to be out of his presence.
He taps the wheel with his fingers, humming an unknown tune. “Sooo, would it be ok if I picked you up later for dinner? I’ve been dying for some catfish from Mae’s.”
I barely let him finish before excitedly yelling my answer, “I’d love too!”
A smile pulls out the corners of his mouth. “And to play with a sweet little kitty.” His gaze shifts from playful to lustful in one breath. I have no choice but to clench my thighs together to stifle the fire that’s been ignited.
We pull into the drive of Harlow’s house, and he kills the engine of his truck turning toward me. I reach for the handle of the car to get out.
“Hey, hold on a sec,” he says.
“Yeah?”
He reaches in the back seat and retrieves a plastic bag. “I got you something,” he states excitedly.
My eyebrow raises in question, wondering what he could’ve gotten me at K & J’s Super Mart.
“Here,” he says as he thrusts a package of Sour Patch Kids into my hands. When I look up, he is beaming with pride.
“Well, thanks for candy Maverick,” I say, offering my sweetest thank you smile.
“Ok, let me explain. I was in the gas station getting my drink when we stopped and I saw these,” he pauses a moment.
“So, you thought I liked them?” I say fishing for a legit explanation.
He runs his hand over his face. “I’m not explaining myself well. Ok, I saw them and laughed because this is us, we are sour patch kids, just like the package says. First, they're sour, then they’re sweet.”
Realization hits me, and my heart melts as a result. “Maverick, that is the sweetest thing in the history of sweet things.” Placing the candy in my lap I reach over, pulling him in for a hug. I could stay in this embrace forever at this moment. Unfortunately, destiny has it out for me as Maverick’s door swings open.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Maverick growls.
“Lundy, we have a serious issue,” Harlow pants out ignoring Maverick’s glacial stare.
I peek around his broad shoulder. “What?”
Before she can even speak, I hear it.
“Well hello, sweetheart,” a smooth voice says from behind Harlow.
Deer in the fucking headlights. “Hiyah, Mom,” I greet, as I start to immediately scratch at my neck. Blaire, my own personal drama llama aka my mom, stands before me, dressed in her signature pink button down blouse, cream cardigan, pearl necklace, gray starched slacks and five-inch heels. What the hell is she doing here?
“Hey, Mrs. B,” Maverick greets with a small wave.
“Hello there, Mav,” she coos while grabbing his bicep. “You been working out haven’t you?” He turns beet red and chuckles nervously while looking at me confused.
“How about we all go in,” I suggest. I don’t wait for everyone to confirm before I leap out of the truck, forgetting my bags in the process. Before I get to the door, my mom grabs me and pulls me in for a hug. She smells of cigarettes and a half bottle of floral perfume. When she releases me, she holds me at arm's length. “You look good, sweetie. Like the hair.”
I force a wobbly smile. “Thanks, Mom. Let’s go inside, okay?”
She claps her hands once before looping her arm through mine. “Okay, we have a lot to talk about.”
Immediately when we enter the house, I notice something is off about the space. Oh yeah, it’s the five suitcases in the middle of the living room, that’s throwing off the peaceful ambiance. “Mom where’s Jim?”
“Oh, he couldn’t make it darling,” she states from the side of me, fidgeting with her strand of pearls.
“Then why did you bring so many suitcases?” I ask with dread, not wanting to hear the answer. Don’t get me wrong I love the woman with all my heart. I was devastated when she left and moved to California. It wasn’t till I moved to Virginia that I realized she was what they call a person who takes withdrawals from your life with very little positive deposits.
“Come on honey, let’s sit down.” She leads me to the couch, and I sit just as Harlow and Maverick enter carrying my things.
“I’ll put these in your room, Lundy,” Maverick says just before disappearing down the hall. Harlow looks at me with pity and follows him.
“What’s going on?” I ask, wanting her to cut straight to the point.
She does what she always does when she delivers life-altering news— down casts her eyes, and picks at her nails. “Jim and I broke up,” she blurts out.
Okay, I’m not surprised by this news since this is her fourth marriage. I raise my brows encouraging her to continue.
“It was an awful fight we had in Vegas over a Cirque Soleil dancer from the show Zumanity, one minute the dancer was swinging from the rope, and it just spiraled out of control from there.” Tears well up in her eyes, and I know she is about to blow. Everyone seek shelter the drama storms a coming.
“Mom, married people have fights, it’s common. Just… why are you here, when Jim is in California?”
She throws her head in her hands as sobs rake through her body. “He kicked me out Lundy, and I have nowhere to go.”
I gather her in my arms, feeling like such a bitch. Although, I want to know what exactly happened, I don’t press the issue. “Mom it will be fine. He might just need some time to blow off some steam.”
She raises her head, and her usually flawless makeup is smeared. “You really think so?”
“Mom he’d be stupid not to tell you to come home,” I say, praying that my words hold some truth.
“I’m sure Harlow will not mind you taking the spare bedroom until you can figure out what you’re going to do next.”
She bursts into another round of sobs, just as Harlow and Maverick enter the room. They know my mom, they know how dramatic she is, how she always tends to find Mr. Right, but he always turns into Mr. What the Fuck Was I Thinking. I mouth to Harlow asking if she can stay. She vigorously shakes her head no at first and when I mouth to her “you owe me,” she rolls her eyes, and finally obliges, with a hushed “fuck my life.”
“Mrs. B, let’s go get you settled,” Harlow offers sweetly. She’s such a great actress.
“You kids are all so nice, so glad you kept together after all these years,” Mom says as she manages to pull herself together and stand up.
“So great right?” Harlow replies feigning excitement as she rolls one of her suitcases out. “Just follow me and I will show you your room.”
Mom gives me a wink, and squeezes Maverick’s bicep —again— before following after Harlow.
Maverick rocks back in forth on his heels and places his hands in his pockets. “So I guess dinner is off?”
I throw myself back on the couch with a heavy sigh. “Yes, I will have to take a raincheck. Harlow might kill her if I leave her alone with her,” I say with a laugh.
He laughs too, and soon we are both laughing, and then I remember how much I love our laughs together; and the situation is not so bad anymore. “Well, I will just have to play to with my kitty some other time?” He pouts out his bottom lip and falls next to me.
“Wh
en did you get a cat Lundyn?” Mom asks looking around the living room.
“You have a cat Lundyn?” Harlow urgently asks as she joins us. “You know I’m allergic,” she exclaims as she runs out the room.
“What color is it, oh I love cats!” Mom says clapping her hands excitedly.
“It’s a sphinx cat,” Maverick jokes. He lets out a grunt after I jab him in the side.
Mom crinkles her nose. “Why would you get a bald cat? Those things are ugly.” Her shoulders shiver.
“I don’t have a cat, Mom,” I finally get out.
“But Maverick said he wanted to pet the cat,” Mom replies confused.
Maverick snickers and Harlow comes barreling down the hallway her eyes wide with fright.
“It’s happening, I feel it,” she yells as she scratches at her throat. “My throat is closing, and I’m wheezing.” She holds an object up in her hand. “Lundy I am going to kill you for bringing a cat in here!” She breathes out in pants.
“What the hell is wrong with you Lo, I don’t have a cat.” My explanation falls on deaf ears.
“Liar!” She screams just before she raises the EpiPen.
“Harlow stop,” Maverick barks just as he knocks the pen out of her hand.
“You want me to die?” She wheezes out. My best friend seriously needs an Oscar for this performance.
“Lundyn does not have a cat, there is no cat in this house,” Maverick declares. ”We were talking about a sphynx cat when Mrs. B overheard us and jumped to conclusions.”
“Well, why didn’t you say that in the first place,” she grits out through clenched teeth, her fist balled at her side. We all watch as she marches over to pick up the EpiPen from where it landed by the fireplace, and stomps out of the room.
“I don’t remember her being so dramatic,” Mom whispers. “Anyhow, why were you two talking about a sphinx cat?”
We’ve all been hit with the reality that comes with starting your work week again after a vacation. No matter if you were taken hostage or not. That’s how I’m referring to the whole ‘Love-vention.’ Surprisingly, my little sister had one of her schemes work. I know she included Finn in on it, but let’s face it, this had Harlow written all over it.