“Goo goo gah gah? What the hell is that?” He was keeping an eye on his rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t being chased. “Isn’t that what babies do?”
“Well, maybe. But I mean you look at her and you’re all ‘ooh, Sloane, beautiful.’ You’re squishy and weird.”
“I’m squishy and weird? We’re friends, River. That’s all.”
“You’re in love with her.” She popped a pretzel in her mouth and spoke around it, pretzel bits flying out of her mouth. “I know des tings.”
“Don’t talk with food in your mouth,” he said automatically.
River may be smart but what the hell did she know about adult love? Nothing. Her mother had followed the example of Rachel’s mother and his mother and rolled on out on her kid. There were no examples of healthy marriages in River’s life, so he was going to assume for whatever reason she had it in her head that this could be a thing.
She was wrong.
Because sure, he liked Sloane. He’d been lusting after her for years. He thought she was smart and compassionate and generous. That wasn’t love.
Or was it?
Fuck.
“Give me a pretzel.”
Eleven
Sloane took Winnie up on her offer and cut out of work early. She drove over to her dad’s house. “Hey, Dad, are you leaving for Tap That?” she said, calling him from the driveway.
“Five minutes. What’s up? Are you in the driveway? Come in.”
“Yeah, okay. I just wanted to go through my old room and some of my stuff.” To look for her uniform. She thought it was likely it was still there because her father didn’t throw anything away.
“Sure. Stay as long as you want.”
She got out of the car as her father opened the front door. “You hear anything about Kate?” he asked. “I heard there was an issue.”
The pieces clicked into place. She went up the walk. “So Rick called you, huh? He’s the only one who knew about it, and clearly someone gave him Tom’s address.”
“Guilty. And I regret nothing. I’m guessing your dog is fine since you’re smiling?”
“She is almost here. Rick said they’re about thirty minutes out. She’s fine, she was just thirsty and hungry, and probably bored.”
“Good. That’s great news.” He let her into the house and followed her. “He’s a good kid.”
“Who, Rick?” she asked, amused to think of Rick as a kid. In a mere week her opinion of him had totally changed. Gone was her brother’s annoying friend. Now he could only think of him as a fully grown man.
“Yes, Rick. He must like you to do something like that.”
Shit. Here it was. “Dad. Please stop. He doesn’t like me. We’re just friends-ish.” He felt bad for her, that was all. He liked her body, sure, and her company with no strings-attached. But he didn’t like her, like her.
“Whatever you say, sweetheart. I’m off to the bar. Lock up when you leave.”
“Will do.” Sloane ran up the stairs and opened the door to her bedroom. It was like an homage to the mid-2000s. Complete with Mean Girls quotes on the wall and posters of O-Town, her boy band crush at the time.
Everything was exactly the way it had been the day she left for college. The closet was empty of clothes but her dresser wasn’t. It had all her old school spirit T-shirts and some random pajamas and funky socks. Then there it was—not her official cheerleading uniform, because the school had owned that. But the less expensive one they had used for parades and pep rallies and had to pay for themselves. She distinctly recalled her father bitching about the cost of it, making her wash glasses at the bar as her contribution.
She took it downstairs and found a plastic grocery bag where her dad had kept them for the last twenty years. Left hand side of the pantry, stuffed in a brown bag hanging from a plastic hook. Shoving the uniform in, she wondered if there was any possible way she would still fit in the damn thing and left, locking the front door.
Her weight hadn’t really fluctuated much but she definitely had more booty than she had back then. She’d been known on the squad as “Flat Ass.” That, coupled with somewhere in the neighborhood of an extra ten pounds and Rick was in for the legitimate slutty cheerleader experience.
When she got back to the apartment building, she got a text from Rick.
In my apartment.
She ran up the stairs, shoving the plastic bag in her purse so River didn’t get too curious about it. Impatient to see Kate, She knocked on the door to Rick’s apartment. When it opened, Kate came flying out at her. “Oh, my goodness, hi, baby.” Instantly she started crying. Kate looked thin and her coat was dull. “Hi, hi.”
Going down on her haunches, she laughed when Kate jumped on her and knocked her back on her ass. “That’s my girl.” Hugging Kate to her she looked up at Rick. “You’re amazing.”
“No big deal. Glad to help.” He actually looked sheepish.
Sloane closed her eyes and just held Kate, overwhelmed. She felt so horrible for having let Kate down. “Has she eaten?”
“Yes, I got some dog food on the way home.”
“I’m going to take her downstairs and give her a luxury spa experience. She smells like dirt.” She kissed Kate’s head and stood up. River was hovering the doorway. “River, do you want to help me?”
“I would but my dad is coming to pick me up. We’re going to dinner and a movie.”
“Oh, okay, that sounds fun.” She smiled at her. Her heart rate kicked up a notch. That meant she and Rick had a few hours. Alone.
“I’ll help you,” Rick said.
“Perfect.”
They heard a knocking on the door downstairs to the apartments. River ran into the apartment and hit the buzzer to unlock it. “Dad’s here,” she said.
Sloane was curious to see Rick’s father. She didn’t remember ever really meeting him as a kid. Rick had said he was a hoarder which meant he clearly had a clinical disorder or some sort of mental health issues. But like she imagined a lot of hoarders were, nothing about his appearance gave away his living conditions. He was cheerful, smiling as he came up the steps. He was a slightly shorter, thinner version of Rick. Older than her own father, he was attractive. Clean, tidy clothes and a clean shave.
“Hi, son, how’s it going?”
“Good, Dad. How are you?”
“Can’t complain, can’t complain.” He stuck his hand out to Sloane. “Hello, young lady, I’m Ralph.”
“Nice to see you.” She shook his hand. “I’m Sloane O’Toole, Sullivan’s sister.”
“Is that right? Wow, look at you. All grown up.” His eyes swept over her appreciatively. “Did you move back home?”
“Yes, I’ve been back a few weeks.”
“Well, if you’re looking for company, I’m available.”
“Dad,” Rick said, practically snarling. “She’s thirty years younger than you.”
He shrugged, giving an “aw, shucks” smile that somehow managed to not be creepy. “So is River’s mother. Love is love, Rick.” He pulled River into him to give her a hug. He kissed the top of her head. “What’s up, Girl Genius?”
“Just genius works. No need for a gender qualifier.”
“Got it. But anyway, the invitation is there, Sloane.”
“Don’t mind my father,” Rick said. “He doesn’t understand subtlety.”
“You’re as big of a flirt as I am,” Ralph protested.
“He’s right,” River said.
Was that Rick’s future, to morph into his father? Sloane wondered if he ever thought about that.
“Thanks,” she told Ralph. “But I’m straight off a divorce. I’m focusing on me for right now.”
And Rick.
There were goodbyes and promises to have River home by ten, then she and Rick were alone in the hallway. “Come in for a second,” he said. “I need to put on shoes.”
Rubbing Kate’s head and telling her, “Come on, girl,” she followed Rick inside. She’d been so focused on Kate s
he hadn’t noticed he was barefoot. He definitely made the whole T-shirt, jeans, no shoes thing super sexy.
“I’m sorry about my father. He doesn’t seem to grasp he’s in his sixties.”
“It’s fine. And hey, like he said, River’s mother went for it, so who am I to judge?”
“River’s mother has borderline personality disorder. She’s very extreme. She was all in for about four months, obsessed with my dad, then she was out. My father seems to have an uncanny ability to pick out women who are as compulsive as he is. Like my mother. Rachel’s mother.”
“That’s really sad,” she said, and she meant it from a place of compassion. “It must be hard to always be chasing that intensity.”
“I’m sure it is.” He watched her glance around his apartment. He was very neat. The place was spotless. Maybe even stark. Probably a reaction to the way he’d grown up. “Do you talk to your mother?” she asked. “I barely remember mine.” She watched Kate wandering around the apartment, sniffing here and there.
“Nope. Last I heard she was in Mexico working at a resort as a singer.” He sat down and reached for his shoes. “It’s kind of weird, isn’t it? We both grew up without our mothers.”
She sat down beside him and touched his knee, briefly. “I say it doesn’t matter to me, but of course it does. You know none of us O’Tooles talk about our feelings. I’m sure that’s the reason. Plus I think I married Tom because he had a career and I thought I could have everything, you know? The marriage, the house, the kids, the dog. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.” It made her feel wistful. “I don’t understand how my mother could walk away from all of that.”
“I guess because she wasn’t you,” he said simply. “But yeah, I totally understand where you’re coming from. I always loved being at your house because to me, you had a normal family. I know my father’s actions affect me. No doubt about it. I don’t want to be that guy,” Rick said, shoving his foot in his sneaker. “The one who tosses the word love around like it’s no big deal. Who makes promises of a fucking castle in the sky and how he’ll treat her like a princess and none of it is true. It’s a run-down house filled with garbage. Literal garbage.”
Sloane wanted to touch him, but wasn’t sure she had the right. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I think you’re amazing for being a surrogate father to River. She’s going to grow up knowing she was loved by both you and her father.”
“That’s the other thing,” he said, turning to look at her earnestly. “What woman is going to want to be a part of my life? I live in an apartment with my kid sister.”
Sloane thought there were plenty of women who would easily take on that role. “It’s no different than being a single dad. It doesn’t drain your entire dating pool.”
Kate seemed to realize Rick needed a hug. She nudged between his legs and licked his hand. “Get a dog? Is that what you’re telling me?” He rubbed her head.
Sloane didn’t know what to say. What she wanted to say was that there were women who would be thrilled to have a man in their life who took care of the people he loved. Who ran a business and still managed to laugh. Women like her. But she didn’t want to make it awkward between them so she just said, “I think you can have whatever you want.”
He gave her a small smile. “That’s always been your motto, hasn’t it?”
She wasn’t sure that was a compliment or an insult. “I guess so.”
What she wanted was him.
And she was starting to think for more than just sex.
For real and for forever. Because she and Rick were two sides of the same coin. He grew up insecure about his looks and his living conditions, while she hadn’t. But then the end of her marriage had brought out all those feelings of unworthiness in her, so they understood each other. And yet, despite some bumps along the way, and neither having a mother, they both were people who just wanted companionship. A family. Easy happiness.
The way she felt when she was with him.
Sloane jumped up, terrified by her thoughts.
She didn’t want to ruin their friendship.
Or his friendship with her brother.
And she didn’t want to lose what they had by pushing for more.
“Let’s go give this stinky girl a bath,” she said.
* * *
“Here, let me help you rinse her,” Rick said, taking the sprayer. He hit Sloane in the chest with a stream of water. “Oops.”
She jumped back and gasped. “Oh, you are so going to get it for that.”
Rick laughed. “How? I have the sprayer.”
She made a grab for it, but he pulled his arm back. “I’m taller and stronger than you. You’ll never get it back.” Even though he was a little preoccupied by her now-damp shirt. It was clinging to those delicious tits. Unfortunately, her shirt was dark gray so the view wasn’t as good as it could be, but the fabric was making her nipples obvious.
“No?” she asked. Her hand slipped over the front of his jeans and she found his cock easily.
She stroked him up and down. “Damn, Sloane. Straight for the kill.”
“Give me the sprayer.”
“No. I promise to behave.” Rick made a concerted effort to turn and rinse off Kate, who was standing in the dog wash like she had found her bliss. She was calm and seemed to enjoy the water.
Sloane gave him one last stroke and let go. “Fine. I’m holding you to that.”
“Keep an eye on the time,” he said. “I don’t think Dad will bring River home early but we better stay aware. And we probably should go to your place if that’s okay.”
“For what?” she asked, feigning innocence. “I don’t recall having plans with you.”
“Cute.” He used his free hand to reach behind her and squeeze her firm ass. “You told me anything I wanted I could have. I want this tight little ass.”
“You mean, actual anal?” she asked, eyes widening.
Rick’s dick got hard. “Well, no, I meant your ass figuratively. I didn’t know that would be on the table. Is it?” That was exciting. He got a lot of push back on up the ass because his cock was too big for most women to handle comfortably.
“I don’t know. I mean, maybe. I guess we’ll see.” She looked intrigued.
Rick groaned. “Beautiful, you’re killing me. What happened to the woman who told me her sex life was vanilla?”
“You,” she said. “That’s what happened.”
Holy shit, that was hot. “Kate, you’re looking great. I need to take your mommy upstairs now and fuck her brains out.”
Sloane covered Kate’s ears. “Not in front of my child.” She toweled Kate off.
“Is the dog going to be okay?” Rick asked Sloane after Kate hopped down, all squeaky clean and grinning in happiness. “She isn’t going to weird about us getting it on, is she?”
“I don’t think so. But I don’t really know. She’s never watched me enjoying sex before.”
Rick laughed before he realized that wasn’t really funny. “Sorry. Too soon?”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s funny now because I never even really knew my sex life sucked. But I don’t know about role playing as a cheerleader. That’s a lot of jumping around.”
Jumping around sounded like something he wanted to see. “Maybe we should put her in my apartment for an hour. We don’t want to stress her out.”
“True. Isn’t she a sweetheart?”
He nodded. “She’s a cool chick just like you.” Kate was a very calm dog, especially considering everything that had happened to her the past few days. Hell, the last three months. He was pretty sure that’s when Sloane had gotten divorced.
She put a leash on Kate and they went back upstairs. The dog didn’t even protest when they put her in Rick’s apartment. He conceded to give her a pillow and a blanket and let her sleep on the couch. He closed the door to River’s room. There was a stuffed animal village in there that might be tantalizing to Kate.
“Sit down,” Sloane said, wh
en they were in her apartment. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be a minute.”
She had done more unpacking. There were only a few boxes sitting around still. She had hung up some personal photos. One of Kate. Two of Finn. One of her, Sullivan, Liam, and Kendra at Sullivan and Kendra’s wedding. The smile on Sullivan’s smile made him sad for his buddy. The guy had loved his wife so much.
What would it be like to love someone like that?
Sloane walked into the living room and every thought Rick had left his mind. He was pretty sure his jaw hit the floor. “Holy shit…”
She posed in the doorframe, raising her arms up, which lifted the tight sleeveless top even more. She grinned. “What do you think? It still fits, but barely.”
In the dozen years since high school Sloane had developed more womanly curves so that her old uniform was clinging to her tits. The skirt had raised on her waist, pushed up by her more generous, making it short as sin. He had a view of legs that went on forever, long and lean. One false move and he was going to see her panties. He couldn’t wait.
“It fits like a glove.”
She laughed. “Hardly. But given the look on your face, I’m going to assume you approve of the tighter version.”
“Oh, I do, baby, I absolutely do.” He wanted to touch her, run his hands up under that skirt but he didn’t want to cut short whatever she was planning. “Give me a B.”
There was a B for Beaver Bend emblazoned on the shirt. The uniform was a royal blue with gold lettering. Their mascot had been a hawk, which made no sense for a school called Beaver Bend High. He and his friends had all been disappointed they couldn’t make beaver jokes at school events.
“I’m kind of sad I don’t have pom-poms. That really would have sealed the deal.”
“I don’t even miss them,” he said in total honesty. “I don’t want any of you covered up.”
She walked into the living room and spun, so that her skirt twirled from the sharp movement. He almost caught a glimpse up her skirt but not quite. Back to him, she touched the screen on her phone. Jock Jams came blaring out.
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