I watch her move in the shower, her hands moving over her skin as she lathers up her body. I’d get in there with her and fuck her against the wall, but she’s too sore. I feel like a prick for being so rough. Every time she looks at me she smiles sweetly, so she can’t be hurting too bad.

“You sure you don’t want to go out for lunch?” I raise my voice enough that she'll be able to hear it over the sound of the water. She didn’t eat anything for breakfast; I should at least take her to lunch.

She sighs heavily. “My mom wants me to go home. She thinks I’m mad at her.”

“Aren’t you?” She should be mad at her.

“Yes. But I don’t want her to feel bad.” I rub my jaw, deciding on how involved I want to get with this. Fuck it. She’s too sweet to watch her being used like that.

“Tell me what happened.” She stops washing her hair and looks at me with surprise. “I wanna know.”

She goes back to doing her thing and sighs. I almost have to get up to spank that ass for ignoring me, but then she starts talking. “She likes to move around and latch onto men. As long as I can remember, it’s what she does.” She rinses her hair and the lather washes down her curves. Her nipples are hard and it takes everything in me not to go to her. I want her again so fucking bad. I have to concentrate on how she couldn’t walk straight. She’s too fucking sore.

If I’d known that would have happened, I would’ve gone easy, so I could have her again.

“She always picks losers who are drunks like her or have some sort of problem.” My eyes snap up to her face and I have to try to remember what the fuck she’s talking about. Oh yeah, her mom.

“So what’s this guy’s deal?” I ask.

“Well, Patrick is a gambler and lost his house because of it. So my sweet mother bought them one after a whopping two months of chatting online.”

I huff a laugh. “And now what? She needs you 'cause he lost this one?”

“Yeah, that, and my name’s on it.”

“What?” All humor leaves me and I lean forward on the bench. Anger rises in my blood. That’s fucked up. I don’t know why I feel so defensive, but I do. No mother should do that kind of shit to their daughter. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, she forged my name on the paperwork. Luckily, whatever bet he made he couldn’t use the house as collateral, but she drained her bank account bailing him out, and now I have to come save the day.”

“You don’t have to do a damn thing.” It takes a moment for her to look at me. “Except get your name off that mortgage.”

She watches me for a second and then nods her head. “It’s just...” She trails off as she turns off the water and grabs a towel to dry off. I keep my ass planted firmly on the bench so I don’t get any more ideas about fucking her. “She’s my mom,” she finally concludes.

“So?” I ask, like I don’t understand. I do, though. I really get the sympathy. But there’s a point when you’re being used where you have to put your foot down.

“If I don’t help her, no one else is there for her.”

“There’s a reason for that. There’s a reason she’s alone.” I say.

“I don’t want her to be alone though. I want her to be happy.” She sounds so sad.

“That’s real sweet of you, babe, but sometimes you have to stop letting people use you.”

She shifts uncomfortably and then sits down on the bench next to me. I grin when I see her mouth open, and her eyes close in ecstasy. She likes that little hint of pain and I’m pretty sure her clit is still throbbing, priming her for my dick again.

“Vince?” Her tone is off and I don’t like it.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” I keep my tone neutral until I can figure out what's wrong this time.

“I was just wondering what all this means to you.”

Oh. Fuck. It’s one of those conversations. I’m not too sure how I want to answer that. So I play dumb. “What do you mean?”

“What’s going on between us?” I know it takes a lot for her to be so straightforward, and I respect that.

“We’re having fun, babe.” The sadness that swarms in her eyes fucking kills me. I have to admit I want to keep seeing this girl. I really want to do all sorts of things to her body. I’d love to test her responsiveness, but it wouldn’t be smart. I run my hand through my hair. Fucking her this morning wasn’t smart either.

Her eyes fall to the floor, but she nods her head slightly. “I like just having fun. No strings or anything, that’s okay,” she says. I can see she’s hurt and that she wants more. She’s just saying what she thinks I want to hear. It tears me up inside.

“You sure you don’t want to go to lunch, sweetheart?” I pull her to sit on my lap, still wrapped in her towel. “I’ll take you wherever you wanna go.” Just one more moment with her, before I have to say goodbye.

She gives me a forced smile and shakes her head. “That’s alright. You don’t have to do that.” Fuck she looks so sad. Like it’s just a pity date.

“I don’t have to. I want to.” I don’t realize how true the words are until they leave my lips.

“I have to get back.” She pushes off of me and reaches for the bag of clothes from Neiman Marcus and turns her back to me as she begins to get dressed. I know she’s upset, and it hurts.

I wish I could tell her I’ll see her tonight, but I’m not fucking inviting her to dinner. I’ve got one of her textbooks downstairs and I’ll text her later tonight to swing by and come pick it up at my parents' house. That way Pops sees her, and I don’t get my sweetheart wrapped up with my Ma. That shit’s not happening. Ma will have all sorts of ideas going through her head if I bring her home.

“Take your time.” I give her a small smile that grows as she turns and smiles back at me. She’s not that upset. Something’s off, but she knew what this was. I take a few steps towards her and kiss the crook of her neck. Her hand comes around the back of my head to hold me there and I admonish her by nipping her earlobe.

“I’ll see you downstairs.” She bites her bottom lip and nods with that blush staining her cheeks.

* * *

“You alright, sweetheart?” She’s been quiet since she came downstairs, even after we left my place. Maybe the high that was keeping the regret from her is wearing off. I don’t know what it is. But her sweet smiles are gone now. I hope her memory isn’t coming back to her. Seeing her anything but happy makes me nervous and uneasy.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” she answers with a forced upbeat in her voice.

“It was fun hanging out with you.” I rest my hand on her thigh. We’re parked in front of a decent enough house in an average neighborhood.

“Yeah,” she says. Her smile falls and she noticeably swallows. “It was fun for me, too.” My heart drops looking at the sadness in her eyes. I don’t get it. I don’t understand why she’s so upset.

That’s a fucking lie. I know she wants more. But she can’t have it. It’s over between us. It’s better this way. She can’t be coming around after the shit she saw. Even though she forgot, I’m not bringing her around the familia. I can’t.

For fuck's sake, I want her, too. But I can’t have her.

Her small hand grips the handle to leave before I can get out of the car. That’s not happening. “I’ll walk you up.” I don’t give her a moment to respond. I’m out and around to her side before she can swing the door fully open. I offer her my hand, but she’s hesitant to accept. Finally, she does. She gracefully steps out and we walk in silence.

This fucking sucks. I don’t know if I want her more because I can’t have her, or if what I’m feeling is more than that. It doesn’t fucking matter though.

I can’t have her, and I need to end this in a way that she knows that. She turns to face me as we get to her door.

But I can’t go through with it. Her wide blue eyes focus on me and I find myself leaning forward and wrapping my arms around her waist. She moans into my mouth and kisses me back.

I shouldn’t be doing this.

My tongue dips inside, tasting her. My hands find her ass and grip her cheeks. She pulls away from me. Her breathing comes in pants. She wants me. I nip her bottom lip and give her one more kiss.

I may not be able to see her after tonight. But I’m not going to crush her heart until I absolutely have to. I don’t want to see her sad. I don’t want her angry at me. Not like she was. I fucking love this side of her. I love that she wants me.

“See you later, sweetheart.”

She hums in satisfaction and watches me as I walk to the car.

I wait to leave until after she’s in the house.

I’ve gotta get some shit done and then I’ll send her a text. My heart hardens in my chest. The familia comes to Sunday dinner. I don’t want her around them. I know by now everyone will know. An intense urge to protect her makes my muscles tight as I drive away.

I’ll just show them she’s fine. Let her wait in the foyer or something where they can see her. Then she can go.

And then I’ll really have to say goodbye.