Falling for Hadie (22 page)

Something sparked in Bennett’s eyes and he grabbed the back of my head and pressed his lips against mine. The kiss was very short-lived, because I wrenched myself away from him and punched him in the face as hard as my small fist could manage.

Bennett groaned and stepped back, swearing loudly. “What the fuck was that for, Hadie? I’m trying to tell you that I love you and that I want you back!”

My fist was throbbing with pain, but it was being numbed by my growing anger which coursed through me like a fiery whip. “And if it wasn’t already obvious from my fist in your face, I’m trying to tell you that I’m not interested. Besides, I saw you sucking face with that bimbo from Penthill at the field party. I doubt you’re that much in love with me if you’re still sleeping with her.”

Bennett’s eyes were desperate, pleading. “Hadie, I’m serious. I want you back. I made one stupid mistake. We’ve had something between us for years. It doesn’t just go away because some asshole came to town. You’re
my
girl.”

Fighting the temptation to punch him again, I stared him down. “I am not your girl. You don’t own me. I make my own decisions and at this very moment I am choosing not to kick you in the groin. Get out of here before I change my mind!”

“Come on, Hadie, don’t be like that,” he said, grabbing me by the shoulders.

“Get the hell away from me!” I snapped, shoving him as hard as I could.

Bennett didn’t move very far, but he must’ve sensed that I was being dead serious about kicking him in the groin because he took a step back for good measure.

“You’re making a huge mistake,” he said, turning to leave when I didn’t say anything further.

His back was to me and he was halfway out the door before I responded. “The biggest mistake I ever made was going out with you.”

From the way he flinched as though I’d punched him again, I knew he’d heard me loud and clear.

Lincoln

“Are you seriously standing there asking me if you can go out” Mom asked in disbelief as she flicked through the channels on TV. “After I grounded you and you snuck out anyway?”

I sighed and leaned against the wall. I was not backing down without a fight. “Look, Mom, I’m sorry for sneaking out the other day but tonight is really important. Hadie’s parents invited me over for dinner.”

Mom pursed her lips and stopped her perusal of the TV channels to look up at me. “And it’s important for me that you stay home tonight.”

“Why?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “What could I possibly do at home?”

“I don’t like that girl,” Mom said with a frown.

“Hadie is a perfectly nice girl. You haven’t even met her so how can you judge her?”

“A mother always knows, Lincoln.” Mom seemed annoyed that I was questioning her judgment. “Call it an instinct if you will. I can just tell she’s trouble.”

Holy fucking hell. Once again, my mom was judging someone without knowing anything about them first. Hadie was as close to perfect as you could get, but even that wasn’t good enough for Mom. Was anything ever good enough for her?

“Well, you’re wrong,” I shot back. “She is right for me. She’s exactly what I need.”

Mom arched a perfectly plucked brow. “And does she know about you? What did she think when you told her?”

“I haven’t told her yet,” I muttered. “But I will soon.”

“How long has it been now? Two weeks? Three? How do you think she’s going to react when she finds out that you’ve been lying to her all this time? She’s not going to want to be with a boy like you, Lincoln. It’s cruel of you to string her along like that.”

“I…haven’t been lying,” I said through clenched teeth.

A dull ache started up in my chest and I clutched my heart, wanting the pain to go away. Bitter tears were stinging at my eyes but I tried to keep them at bay as I stared my mother down. I refused to let her see me cry. I refused to show any sign of weakness.

Mom shrugged and turned away to look at the TV again. “Call it whatever you want, Lincoln, but I still don’t like it. And I don’t like her.”

I swallowed down the lump that had risen in my throat. “At least meet her first! At least get to know her!”

Mom didn’t look at me again, but I saw her stiffen. Finally, she sighed. “Fine. Ask her over for dinner on Friday night. I might as well try and figure out why you’re so enamored with her.”

A thought danced in the back of my mind—something that was important. Finally, it struck me. “But Friday’s when…”

“I know what Friday is,” she said, looking put out. “They can meet her too.”

I wasn’t so sure if that was such a great idea but I didn’t want to get into another argument with Mom so I just nodded.

“Thanks for giving her a chance,” I said, the ache in my chest dying down. “So, can I go over there for dinner? It’s only five minutes away and I’ll call you if I need anything.”

Mom sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Do whatever you want, Lincoln. You never listen to me anyway.”

I hesitated in the doorway, not wanting to leave anything unfinished with my mom. As alienated as I felt in this family, this was still my family and they had done a lot for me. Believe me, I wasn’t ungrateful, only frustrated.

“Mom,” I said, trying to rack my brain for something I could say to appease her. She looked in my direction and raised a brow in question. “Thank you for everything. I don’t think I tell you that enough.”

Mom’s forehead creased and she pressed her lips together, her expression softening. “It’s fine, honey.”

She promptly turned back to stare at the TV, but I could tell she wasn’t really seeing the flickering images on the screen. Her mind was obviously on me, her hopeless son who couldn’t be saved.

Sighing, I walked back into my room to call Hadie and ask her if she would pick me up. Her house was only two and a half blocks away, but I wasn’t feeling the greatest and I didn’t want to ask my Mom to drive me since she was already in a bad mood.

Hadie was outside my house fifteen minutes later, and I got into her car, relieved to be away from my family, even for a couple of hours. Their presence stifled me, suffocated me in a way that made it difficult to breathe. My mind was the clearest when I was away from them.

Hadie smiled at me warmly and squeezed my hand, before driving down the street and towards her house. “You don’t look well. Are you nervous?” she asked.

I actually wasn’t nervous at all. Hadie was always saying how great her parents were and I was eager to see what they were like in comparison to my own.

“Nah, I’m not feeling too great but I’ll be fine,” I said with a reassuring smile. I didn’t want to worry her, not when I didn’t have to yet. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure, what is it?” she asked, nodding to let me know that she was paying attention.

“My mom wants you to come over for dinner on Friday night. Just something quick, nothing special.”

“What time?” she asked without hesitation.

“Probably at six. Is that alright with you?”

Her response was to chew on her bottom lip.

“You’re the one who looks nervous now,” I said, my tone light.

Hadie turned into her street and pulled into her driveway. Once she was stopped, she turned to me. “It’s just I was going to ask you to go out with me on Friday night. This guy, Eddie, who I work with is in a band and they’re playing at a bar in town. I kind of already promised him that I’d go, but meeting your family is more important so I don’t mind cancelling.”

Dammit! I wish I’d waited until Hadie had told me this before I’d invited her to dinner. I’d rather eat snails than take her to my house to meet my family.

“I’m sure we can work something out. What time does this band play?”

“At eight.”

“There’s plenty of time to do both. You worry too much.” I gave her a teasing smile and planted a kiss on her bare neck. “Maybe there’s something I can do to fix that?”

Hadie shivered against me and her large, brown eyes regarded me in curiosity with a hint of nervousness. “Mmm…that sounds good. What did you have in mind?”

Tugging her towards me, I pulled her onto my lap with ease. Immediately I was reminded of the night she’d been drunk and had climbed on top of me. I’d been reluctant to do anything with her, but now she wasn’t drunk and I wasn’t going to fight my feelings for her. You only lived once, right?

“I just had a feeling of déjà vu,” Hadie said, a smile playing around her pretty mouth. “Have we done this before?”

I kissed her, grinning against her mouth. “Mmm…I think so. Should we try a different position this time?”

Hadie whacked me on the arm, but she was laughing as she did it. Her small hands wound themselves around my neck and she was so close that I could see where the lighter brown in her eyes mixed with the darker tones.

We were so happy, so lost in this moment that I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth. Would a few more days really change anything? Was it worth ruining all this just to tell her something that wasn’t even her problem to deal with? No, it wasn’t. I would wait until she met my family. I would wait until the weekend to tell her what was really going on.

My lips found their way to the nape of her neck where I knew she was most sensitive. She pressed into me, those gentle hands of her finding their way underneath my shirt and to the taut muscles of my stomach. I breathed in her clean, crisp scent, my mouth lingering on her skin.

I couldn’t get enough of her. She was the relief to my pain; she washed away all my problems.

There was a loud banging on the car door and Hadie sprung off my lap and back into the driver’s seat, breathing hard. Her face was quickly turning a dark red as she stared past me and out the window.

Turning in the seat, my heart pounded in my chest when I caught sight of an older man standing outside the car, peering in at us. It was easy to make the connection that this was Mr. Swinton.

Crap. Busted by my girlfriend’s dad—not exactly what I’d had in mind.

I hastily buttoned up my shirt, noticing that two of the buttons on my shirt had broken off. Damn. Just what I needed when I wanted to make a good first impression on Hadie’s parents. Now they were going to think that I didn’t even own a nice shirt.

Hadie jumped out of the car, and her dad stepped aside so I could get out too. I slid past the door and stood there awkwardly, waiting for someone to say something. Anything. Someone please save me from the most awkward moment of my life.

Mr. Swinton stared me down, his expression stern. He certainly wasn’t going to cave and talk to me first, and I was way too nervous to form words. My palms were actually sweaty! Mr. Swinton had an excellent poker face.

“Dad!” Hadie said brightly. I had never been more grateful to hear the sound of her voice. “This is Lincoln. You remember I told you about him?”

His expression still stern, Mr. Swinton looked me up and down. To be fair, he had just caught me making out with his daughter so I couldn’t blame him if he wanted to rip out my throat.

A few minutes ago, I hadn’t been worried about going over to the Swinton’s house for dinner, but now I was terrified.

“Yes, I remember,” Mr. Swinton said, pausing to study me again. “He’s the guy I was looking forward to meeting up until two minutes ago when I caught him deflowering my daughter.”

Deflowering? Was Mr. Swinton for real? I didn’t know how to react to his strange observation so I just stood there like a statue, racking my brains for something non-idiotic to say.

Hadie snorted and grasped her dad by the elbow. “Dad, no one says “deflower” anymore. This isn’t the 19th century and you’re not Jane Austen.”

Her dad allowed Hadie to lead him towards the front door. “Oh, darn. You just shattered my dreams of ever becoming a real lady.”

“Dad, Lincoln’s going to think you’re a cross dresser now.” Hadie glanced over her shoulder at me, her face lit up from her dad’s comments. “Come on, Lincoln; don’t let him scare you away. He has a strange sense of humor, but I swear he really is joking.”

Mr. Swinton was already at the front door with Hadie as I started after them. “No one’s going to be laughing when I bring out my shotgun.”

Hadie rolled her eyes as she pushed open the door. “Dad, you don’t even own a shotgun; you’re a lawyer. Stop trying to intimidate Lincoln.”

I gave Mr. Swinton a quick once over. He was a couple of inches taller than Hadie, but I still towered over him like a Colossus. His height didn’t intimidate me; it was more the fact that he’d just caught me making out with his daughter that was bothering me. If my mom had caught Hadie and me in a compromising situation like that, she wouldn’t have started cracking jokes that’s for sure. Cracking skulls more like it.

With a non-committal shrug, Mr. Swinton held out his hand for me to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Lincoln. I hope you like lasagna because that’s the concoction my wife has decided to torture us with tonight.”

“Uhh…it’s nice to meet you too, Sir,” was all I managed to say as I shook his hand.

Was he being serious or was he still joking? I wasn’t used to my family making jokes the way Hadie’s dad was, so I didn’t know whether or not to take him seriously.