I opened the wallet and looked inside for her license. Her photo featured the same resting bitch face she’d aimed at me most of today. The address listed wasn’t all that far from where I lived, and even if it were, I needed to get this back to her tonight. Returning to the driver’s seat, I popped the address into my GPS and took off down the road.
On the ride over, I thought about today. Aspyn had seemed to soften a little by the end, but overall she’d been really on edge around me. Was I that much of an asshole in high school? Deep down, I knew the answer was yes.
I always remembered her as an odd duck. Back in the day, she’d tag along with Jasmine and me but not really say much. I liked her enough—until she went batshit crazy. She’d given me every reason to dislike her after that. I thought I’d long moved on from anything that happened back then, but it was clear she hadn’t. I respected her for sticking up for her friend, even if she’d fucked me over to do it. But at the time, I’d taken her actions as a personal attack.
I have to say, Aspyn was definitely cuter than I remembered. She’d really grown into herself over the past decade. Her long, sand-colored hair was beautiful—straight and voluminous, practically down to her butt. Her ass looked pretty nice in those Goofy pants, too. They fit like a glove. She was tall, curvy, and jiggled in all the right places. Scrubs don’t lie. No, I definitely wouldn’t throw Aspyn Dumont out of the bedroom, although she’d probably cut my dick off in the middle of the night.
When I pulled up to the house, I double-checked to make sure the number on the mailbox matched the one in my GPS. I grabbed the wallet from my passenger side and headed toward the door.
After knocking, I waited.
About thirty seconds went by before I knocked again.
There was no answer, but through the window, I could see the television was on. There seemed to be a kid’s show playing. I knew she liked Disney, but damn.
I rapped on the door a third time and called out, “Hey! Aspyn, are you home?”
“Go away!” A child’s voice came from behind the door. It sounded like a little girl.
“Uh...” I blinked. “Who am I talking to?”
“Are you crazy?” she said. “I’m not telling you my name!”
“Why?”
“Stranger danger!”
“I promise I’m not a dangerous person. My name is Troy. I just need to get Aspyn her wallet and phone. She left them in my car today.” After she didn’t respond, I said, “How about this…if you open the door a crack, I can just stick it through. You won’t even have to see me.”
“Open the door just enough so you can shoot? How do I know you don’t have a gun?”
“Technically, I could shoot through the door if I had a gun. But I don’t have a gun, and I promise you I’m totally legit.”
I could hear muffled talking and then the door suddenly opened. Aspyn stood there with her hair dripping wet, looking like she’d just gotten out of the shower. She seemed out of breath.
Before I could even utter a word, I looked down to find the pint-sized girl with a gigantic water gun aimed at me. I held up my hands, but not before she began to shoot. A deluge of water came at me. Because of her height, the line of fire was aimed straight at my dick.
Shit!
Bursts of water continued to pummel me.
“Kiki, stop!” Aspyn finally shouted.
It took her long enough.
“What the hell?” I said, looking down at my drenched pants.
The girl’s chest heaved as she withdrew her weapon. “You shouldn’t have opened the door!” she told Aspyn.
“He’s not a stranger. I know him.” Aspyn turned to me, a hint of amusement on her face. “I’m really sorry.”
My brow lifted. “Are you?”
“Kiki, go to your room, and please put that away,” she ordered.
The little girl shot daggers at me before she marched off.
I held out the purse, which somehow managed to stay mostly dry. “You left your wallet thingy and phone in my car.”
Her eyes fell momentarily to the gigantic water spot on my crotch before she looked back up at me. “I know. I tried to get in touch with your grandfather for your number, but they said he was asleep. And for some reason the office staff couldn’t locate your contact information. Nancy was gone for the day, and they couldn’t reach her. I was going to look you up on Facebook to try to message you as soon as I got out of the shower. You just beat me to it. Thank you for bringing it by. Sorry about the attack just now.”
“I’m surprised you told her to stop shooting.”
“Yeah, well, you were nice enough to drive here with my purse, so…”
I looked beyond her shoulders. “Is she…your daughter?”
Aspyn hesitated. “My niece.”
“Ah. You don’t have kids then…”
“No.”
“Babysitting?”
She looked down at her feet. “Not exactly.”
“She lives with you?”
Aspyn looked up at me. “My sister…died. So, my niece divides her time between my place and my parents’ house.”
Shit. I swallowed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“You don’t have to feel sorry for me. I can see that look in your eyes again.” She mocked, “Poor little Aspyn stuck in Meadowbrook.”
My heart sank, regretting the stupid shit I’d said earlier. “That’s not what I was thinking at all. Not in the least.”
The sad look in her eyes hit me hard. I wanted to hug her, which was weird, considering how much I knew she disliked me.
Droplets of water dripped down her T-shirt as she blew out a breath. “Anyway…thank you for dropping this by. I really appreciate it.”
“Yeah.” I slipped my hands into my pockets. “No problem.”
I lingered for a few seconds until she grabbed the door handle. I took that as my cue to leave. Nodding my head, I made my way out the door, and she wasted no time closing it behind me.
Aspyn couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.
? ? ?
Because I’d had to drop off the wallet, I was ten minutes late meeting my buddy Eric for dinner at a local bar and grill. Eric had gone to high school with us, and this would be my third time hanging out with him since arriving back in Meadowbrook.
He was already seated in a booth when I got to Boone’s Pub, where the air always smelled like a mix of burned meat and alcohol.
Eric immediately looked down at my wet spot. “What the hell, man? Did you piss yourself?”
“No.” I took a seat across from him. “I got shot at with a Super Soaker. I didn’t have time to head home and change.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yeah…this little girl—long story. I’ll explain later.” I grabbed a menu. “Let’s just order. I’m starving.”
After we put in for our food, I asked him the question that had been weighing on me the entire ride over. “You ever take one look at someone or something from the past, and it just brings back all this shit you’ve tried to forget? Makes you realize all these feelings you thought were gone never really went away?”
Eric nodded. “That’s how I feel when I look at Stoli vodka. Reminds me of the time I puked all over Christy Hemingway in tenth grade.”
Aspyn was like my very own pile of vomit.
“You remember Aspyn Dumont from high school?”
He ripped apart a piece of bread. “Yeah, sure.”
“She works at the place my grandfather’s at.”