My hands grip his forearms, trying to hold myself steady.
“Get in before I change my mind and fuck you right here in this parking lot.”
“Fuck,” he mutters, when I let out a small moan, pausing to adjust himself before shutting the door behind me.
When he shoves the keys in the ignition and pulls out of his spot, I don’t bother asking again where he’s taking me, but it’s clear he isn’t going for an aimless drive. He has a destination in mind. With the cloud of desire still hanging over us, I sit back and enjoy the ride.
“It’s a little too late for a swim, don’t you think?” I mention when he turns the truck onto the road leading us down near Carolina Beach.
“Even if that’s what we were doing, I wouldn’t be looking to just swim anyway.”
Picturing the two of us skinny dipping in the ocean has me folding my legs, desperately seeking some friction at the mere thought.
He pulls his truck up along the beach. The typical crowd filling the boardwalk is missing, leaving only the midnight sky twinkling overhead.
He puts the truck in park, leaving it on and adjusting the music to a playlist.
“I want to say I’m sorry for earlier. It’s been a shitty few days. I’m guessing you’re probably wondering where I was and why I didn’t come home. I want you to know it’s not what you probably think.”
“I didn’t know what to think, honestly.”
“Well, I knew you had to have noticed I was gone when you woke up. I wanted to text you, but I didn’t know what to say or how much to tell you. I had a lot of shit going on.”
“You know you can talk to me, right? Whatever it is, whatever you need. You can tell me.”
He tilts his head back against the headrest, turning to face me. His eyes fall on my lips, staring at my mouth.
“It was my mom,” he murmurs. I don’t bother to tell him I reached out to Kyla and asked her to talk to Madden. I don’t push him to explain further. I give him the time to collect his thoughts and tell me whatever’s on his mind.
“She has an alcohol problem, has for years. The last time this happened, she had passed out in her car outside the bar when the owner found her. She at least had half a mind not to drive home. She decided to sleep it off in the front seat of her piece of shit car. That was probably the worst I’ve ever seen her.” He pauses, staring out through the windshield, lost in thought.
“Anyway, this wasn’t the first time something like this has happened. She’s woken up in places and not remembered how she got there or even where her car was. I picked her up that day and immediately took her to the hospital. I was fed up, ya know? I told her she needed to be admitted, it was time for her to get some help.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy for you, but it’s what she needed.”
“Well, I wish I could say it helped. When she got out, she was mad. She didn’t stay sober for long. She pushed me away and stopped talking to me. My uncle Travis called, told me he found her passed out again. This time I was going to help her through her detox, and when she was done, I was giving her a choice. She either got the help she needed, once and for all, or I was walking away.”
“I’m sorry, Brix.”
Unbuckling the seat belt, I slide across the seat closer to him. There’s not much room for us, but he welcomes me, pulling my legs over his, draping them over his lap.
Silence fills the space around us, as he runs his hand up my thigh.
“Your skin is so soft,” he says, changing the subject.
He stares up at me under his dark eyelashes.
Covering my hand with his, he continues, “Anyway, it took a lot of fighting and arguing with her. She was livid when she found out we went through her house and threw out all her alcohol. She had nothing left. She called me all sorts of names, told me I was a piece of shit, but in the end, she agreed.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, tipping his head back against the headrest once again.
“I can’t believe she’d say that to you.”
“She’s not wrong, though.”
“What?” I grab his chin in my hand, forcing him to face me.
“C’mon, Ivy. Be honest. I’m a fuckin’ prick. I do and say shit without even caring about the consequences or how it hurts people. Look at how I’ve treated you. For years, YEARS, I’ve treated you like garbage. Don’t sit here and tell me I’m wrong when we both know that’s a load of bullshit.”