He whistled softly behind me, making me toss him a smile over my shoulder.
"Excuse me, while I clean up," I told him as I walked into his bathroom and closed the door.
I felt him moving about the RV, likely discarding the used condom, and looked at myself in the mirror.
I didn't look any different.
Sure, my neck was beard burned, and my face was awash with color, but it wasn't that different than my usual.
And the funny thing was, was that I felt good.
Definitely not nervous like I thought I'd be, or embarrassed.
I didn't once think about my colostomy bag until I sat on the toilet to clean myself.
During when he had me up on my knees, my back to his front, he had to have felt it. It was nearly impossible not to notice.
But he hadn't said a word. He didn't make a big deal of it, and he didn't seem to really even care.
And that made me … happy. Exceptionally happy.
I liked that he didn't make a big fuss about it. At least not the way my brother had when he'd first seen it.
The icing on the cake, though? That was knowing that the man I'd slowly been falling for the last few weeks had the hots for me just like I had the hots for him.
Yes, it was good to be Naomi Beth Salazar. Very, very good.
Chapter 9
I don't need fun to have alcohol.
-Fact of life
Naomi
It was bad to be me.
Very, very bad.
Especially right then.
"Hi," I said, embarrassment flooding my cheeks as I walked down the steps of Sean's camper.
Big Papa looked up at me, took one look at my attire, and grinned.
"Morning, girl," he rumbled, clearly amused by my embarrassment.
I waved, then hurried to my car that a prospect had so nicely brought over for me, which happened to be directly next to the motorcycle that Big Papa was mounting.
He was dressed in his police uniform, and he had a revolver at his hip that was about half as long as his leg. His hair was unkempt, and he had a helmet in his hand that he was lifting to fit onto his head.
"Have a safe day," I called, opening my car door.
Big Papa's lips twitched. "You too, girl."
I shivered, knowing that I would never hear the end of this, and dropped down into my car seat, wondering if it was too early to call my best friend.
I checked my watch, bit my lip, and then shrugged.
I didn't really care if it was too early. Four forty-five wasn't that early, and I needed to talk to Aspen about as bad as I needed to get to work.
Looking at my watch as I started my car, I came to a decision.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed the number that I had been calling since I was in high school when we both got our new phones, and placed it to my ear.
Aspen answered on the first ring.
"Where have you been?" she hissed, sounding angry.
I grinned.
"Good morning to you, too," I said cheerfully. "How are you and the fam?"
Aspen didn't waste time. She only demanded answers.
"I've dealt with my brother going to the ER because they think he has appendicitis, and I've been trying to get a hold of you for going on six hours now."
It was going on nine hours, but I wasn't going to correct her. She sounded like shit.
"Is your brother okay?" I asked, worry filling my tone.
"Yes," she sighed. "It was only gas."
I covered my mouth, trying really hard not to laugh.
Unfortunately, I wasn't successful.
The motorcycle at my side roared to life, and I looked just as Big Papa started to walk his way backward down his driveway. Once he reached the end, he pushed something with his foot, and then the big man shot forward down the road, not caring if he woke the entire neighborhood up with the loud beast.
"What was that?"
I sighed, put my car into reverse, and then backed down the driveway, too.
"That," I said as I watched my rearview mirror as I went, "was the father of Sean."
"You're sleeping with an old man?" Aspen gasped. "Please, tell me you at least used a condom. Gross. There's no telling where his old cock has been."
I put the car into drive, and just barely missed another motorcycle that was sitting on the side of the road two houses down from Sean's.
"Shit," I cursed, swerving slightly.
I hadn't seen the thing at all. Jesus, that was close.
And there was a man on it! Fuck!
I waved at the man, who did happen to be sitting on a black motorcycle in the dark night, while also wearing black himself. Jesus, was he asking to be ran over?
"Seriously," Aspen continued to rant. "You're a pretty woman. There's no reason in the world that you should be fucking old men."