Ugly(36)

“I’m so sorry, baby. So sorry.” He kisses the top of my head. “But it looked like he was hitting on you, and you were just letting it happen.”

“I wasn’t, I promise.”

“Okay, I know that now. But next time, don’t talk to men the way you were talking to him. You were leaning in toward him, you looked like you were hanging on every word he was saying.”

I was? I thought I was just sitting normally, talking normally. “I’m sorry, I’ll make sure I’m more aware of that.”

“That’s okay. Just don’t do it again, alright?” he says as his hands travel up and down my back and he leans in to rest his chin on the top of my head.

“Shayne and I need to get back to work. Will you think about us going out with Liam?”

“I’ll consider it.” He moves me away and kisses my cheek, which feels like it’s on fire. He then goes over to Liam, offers him his hand and apologizes. I’m so glad he recognizes he was in the wrong and is saying he’s sorry.

“We gotta go,” Shayne says, and side-steps Trent. Her eyes keep focus on him as she’s coming toward me.

“I’ll pick you up after work,” Trent says and stays back to talk to Liam.

“What the hell just happened?” Shayne whispers while we walk quickly toward the store.

“He thought Liam was trying to hit on me, that’s all.”

“Did you see how he flew at Liam? He went crazy.”

“I know, but I was leading Liam on, too. The way I was flirting with him.”

“What? Are you serious? You weren’t leading him on or flirting with him!”

“Yeah, I was. Trent said he got mad because he thought Liam was flirting, and the way I was sitting and listening to Liam, made him think I was into him.”

“Lily?” Shayne stops walking and turns so we’re facing each other. “I was right there. You were not doing that. If I thought you were I would’ve said something. But you weren’t flirting with him any more than he was flirting with you.”

“I just have to watch myself, because it upset Trent. That’s why he hit him, because of me.”

Shayne draws her eyebrows in together and shakes her head. “It’s not my business Lily, but you better be careful of Trent. What he did back there? That’s not right. Not right at all.” She points toward the park where Trent punched Liam. “And, he hit you.”

“That was an accident, he didn’t mean to. He said he was sorry.”

“You’re a good person. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

I smile at her, because I know she wants what’s best for me, but I do need to watch how I interact with people, too. “Okay.” I take a deep breath, “Come on, let’s go back to work before Stacey docks our pay.”





Trent stands from the bed and puts his jeans on. He’s been really quiet lately, and I’m not sure what’s happening. Maybe it’s because we leave for college in five days, maybe it’s because I’ve been working a lot at the store. I’ve been picking up as many shifts as I can, and I haven’t been able to spend much time with him.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” I say, trying to break the tension in the room.

“What? We just had sex, what else do you want?”

I didn’t want to have sex; it’s always him who instigates it. “Um, I was thinking maybe I can get my permit and you can teach me to drive. What do you think?”

He’s putting his t-shirt back on and once it’s over his head, he comes and sits beside me on the bed. “Why do you need to learn to drive? I take you wherever you need.”

“What if you can’t take me one day because you’re not with me?”

“Where would I be, Lily? You’re everything to me. If you and I ever broke up, life wouldn’t be worth living.”

“I’m not saying anything about breaking up, just…you know…what if you’re out and I need to go somewhere?”

“Where would you need to go without me?”

“I’d like to get a job when we move. And what if you’re in class and I need to get to work?”

“Our apartment is really close to campus, and the bus comes right outside our door. If you need to go to work you can go by bus. Or you can find a job close to the apartment and walk. You’ve put on some weight around your hips, and it doesn’t look like the dieting is working, so maybe walking will do you good.” He leans in and kisses the tip of my nose. “Go take a shower. You smell like a well-used whore, and unless we’re going out somewhere, I don’t like you smelling like that around my parents.”