Page 74 of Stroked Hard
Fuck, I don’t want to find out I’m not enough again.
“I can see you’re not in the mood to talk about this. That’s okay,” she says while walking next to me to my apartment. “I would like to have a nice rest of an afternoon with you.”
“I would like that too, Mom.” Opening my apartment, I let her in and go to the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Do you have those flavored sparking waters I like?”
“Of course.” The doorbell rings; Chinese food is here. “Mom, can you get that? Cash is in my wallet.”
“Sure, sweetie. Grab me a strawberry kiwi.”
It’s the only kind I buy whenever my mom comes to visit because I know she’s obsessed with it and she’s too cheap to buy herself such a “luxury.” She drinks water from the tap and that’s it. Kind of depressing so I always make sure to have her favorite sparkling water on hand.
“Oh my goodness, you’re not here to deliver us Chinese food, are you?” my mom says from the entryway.
What is she talking about?
Turning the corner, her drink in my hand, I see her with her hands clasped in front of her chest . . . and Hollis standing in front of her.
“You’re Hollis Knightly, the Olympic diver. Oh my goodness. Are you taking donations for your road to Rio?”
“No.” Hollis chuckles, eyeing me from over my mom’s head. He towers over her. He’s smiling but when he makes eye contact with me, his pupils go dark, and I know he’s not happy. Shit, could this timing be any worse? “I’m here to see Melony.”
“You’re here to see my daughter?” Turning to me, she gives me a confused look.
“Daughter? Wow, you two look like you could be sisters.”
So fucking cheesy, but my mom eats up the compliment like it’s the Chinese food she’s been craving.
“Uh, is this apartment 2D?” a teenage voice speaks up, holding a big brown bag of takeout.
“It is,” Hollis says, taking hold of the bag himself. “Let me get this, bro.” Not even asking how much it is, Hollis grabs a few twenties from his wallet and hands it to the boy who looks more than pleased.
“Gee, thanks man. Hey,” the boy points, “you’re Hollis Knightly.”
“I am.”
“Awesome, my sister has a poster of you on her wall. Can I snap a picture with you? She’ll be so jealous.”
Talking to this boy as if they are long-lost friends, Hollis says, “Hey, I have a sister. Making them feel jealous is one of the best feelings ever. Snap away.”
My mom and I watch the odd exchange in the hallway, Hollis taking a few pictures and then a quick video for the boy’s sister saying he adores her while blowing a kiss. Yeah, he’s yucking it up big time but it’s endearing. Any other celebrity might have been annoyed by now.But not Hollis. Of course.
“Tweet me her reaction, I would love to see it,” Hollis calls out as the boy descends the stairs with a wave. Turning back to us, Hollis walks in the apartment, saddles up next to me, only to set the food on the counter and pull me into a hug. Gently, he kisses my temple. “Hey, baby.”
For the first time, I cringe from the pet name. I really don’t mind it, doesn’t mean anything to me but to my mom . . . oh hell. This is going to be tough to explain.
“Baby?” my mom asks. From my viewpoint, I can see her with her hand on her hip and a very confused look on her face.
“It’s not what you think, Mom.”
“Aw, come on, pumpkin, you didn’t tell your mom about me?”
“There’s nothing to tell.” I push away, putting some distance between us.
Turning to my mom, Hollis says, “She’s still in denial. The girl wants me, but she’s too afraid to admit it. Even after the night we shared.”
“Night?” My mom’s eyebrows lift in question.
