Page 54 of Love Expert

You’re raising an overbearing, possessive prick of a human being just like you, Billy Caster.

Bravo, dickhead.

“I mean… Maggie’s entitled to privacy when she wants it, right?” I straighten my back and stare down at her hair splayed across my pillow, and her elongated neck, exposed and so fucking tempting.

Fuck, I wish I’d grabbed on in the second grade and demanded she stay.

Which is dumb and all, since it’s not like a couple of elementary school kids got an opinion on the matter. But still…

“It’s not right for us to listen to her phone calls, buddy.” I grab his shoulder and steer him out of my room. “Don’t do that anymore.”

“But—”

“No buts. Go to the toilet, brush your teeth, get ready for bed. I’ll be back up in five minutes to tuck you in.”

“I’m gonna sleep in your bed.” He stops on the threshold of the bathroom and stares up at me in challenge. “You said I could sleep up here with her, and you would sleep down?—”

“I said you can sleep up here… in your own room.”

“But Dad!”

“It would be weird, buddy. Maggie has a rightnotto wake up in a bed with someone else, even if that someone else is cute and eight and really friggin’ possessive.” I tip my chin toward the bathroom. “Are you this weird to her face, or do you save it for when you’re talking to me?”

“I’m not weird!” he whisper-snaps. Yet the viciousness of his words remains in full effect. “She’smyfriend. She’s not even yours,” he hisses. “When she sees you, she gets cranky, cos she knows you’re gonna shout at her. When she sees me, she smiles, cos she knows I’m nice.”

Ouch.

“She told me you used to bewaynicer when you were my age.” Pissed, he broadens his shoulders and stares me down. “I’m gonna grow up andstillbe nice to her. And I’ll inherit this house, which means she can always be my next-door neighbor.”

Fuck me. Ramone might’ve been right.

“The instant you set legal documents in front of me, I’m sending you to military school. Now get.” I push him through the door. “Toilet. Teeth. I’m heading downstairs to empty the dishes I brought home so they don’t smell by the morning, but I’ll be back soon. You better be ready for lights out.”

His nose wrinkles with contempt. “The lights are already out. Duh!”

He got that shit from his father.

ROUND TWENTY-ONE

MAGGIE

I wake to sunlight streaming through my bedroom window, each ray penetrating my closed eyelids and warming my retinas. And yet, I’m impossibly comfy, so I keep my eyes shut and snuggle into a mattress that feels like a cloud. I curl onto my side and hug my pillow, and with a smile curving my lips, I draw a long breath in, holding the familiar scent in the base of my lungs for as long as my body allows it, then I exhale again and hum in pleasure.

Half-dozing, I search my consciousness and try to remember if today is an early workday or a late workday. If it’s an early, then the sunlight warming my skin means I’m already incredibly late.

Fortunately, the panic doesn’t come. Because it’s Friday, which means I get to sleep in. It means I can crawl out of bed when I’m good and ready, and make a cup of coffee at a leisurely pace. I get to sit on my back porch and stare across the fence separating my yard from Billy’s, and if I’m lucky, I might get to watch Jeremy play basketball for a few minutes before school.

If I’m really,reallylucky, I might get to watch both Casters playing basketball before school. Those are the days he’s happiest of all.

Friday is my favorite day of the week. Except Sunday; Sundays are even better.

“Are you awake, Maggie?”

I startle and freeze as whispered words trickle into my consciousness.

Am I dreaming?

“Maggie?” Jeremy’s warm breath caresses my skin. “It’s time to get up, Maggie.”