, Watching Haley's denial, I couldn't help but mock her with a twisted smile. “You think you know him better? I've been his ride or die for a decade, sharing pizza slices and knowing every little detail about each other, down to who farted and how many times we hit the bathroom.

", I was borrowing the jest Jeff Daniels once made about me and Conrad., Haley staggered, shaking her head in disbelief,

"No, that's not true.

",

"Try me,

" I said with a menacing tone., She couldn't utter a word, just stood there with a blank stare before turning on her heels, her departure as shaky as her conviction., Watching her retreating figure, I mulled over her behavior today and, after a few seconds of hesitation, dialed Conrad's number., For a moment, I forgot he was playing his vanishing act, screening everyone's calls.,

"Felicia,

" Conrad's voice came through, pulling me back to reality., He had answered my call. That alone snapped me out of my reverie, reminding me of everyone's concerns and Herschel's current health scare. I blurted out,

"Where have you been? How old are we to be playing hide and seek?

", I never thought I'd lash out at him, nor did I think his disappearance had anything to do with me., But my spontaneous outburst and irritation made it clear how much his actions bothered me., Conrad was silent, igniting my temper further.

"Conrad.

", “Did you call just to yell at me?

" His voice was low, almost resigned., I snorted,

"I'm not that bored.

", “Yeah, apparently I'm not even worth your boredom anymore,

" his self-deprecating tone really got to me.

"What's with the emo act, Conrad? Since when did you start acting like a brooding poet?

" I mocked., He let out a laugh, tinged with sarcasm. “I'm human, I have my moments of weakness too.”, Hearing that, I didn't want to argue any further, simply saying,

"Well, keep your moments to yourself then.

", Conrad went quiet for a beat,

"What's wrong with Haley?

", See, he automatically knew it was about Haley, which was ironic to me., But I had moved past that, simply, stating, abortion and had a contr,

"She's considering an, We, Aiden's mom today.

" ,

"That's a death wish,

" Conrad suddenly snapped., His response left me speechless, and then the line went dead., Standing there, dumbfounded,, phone slipping from my ear, I, realized I hadn't even mention, Herschel. ,

"What are you doing out here?

" Ernest's voice broke through my thoughts., I looked up at him, mouth opening but no words coming out.,

"Mommy, the lady's got blood on her butt,

" a child's innocent voice suddenly chimed in.,

"Shh!

" the mother quickly hushed her child., But that comment made me glance their way, realizing they were looking at me., That's when it dawned on me. In a panic, I grabbed Ernest,

"My pants...

", He paused, then saw the situation.

"You...

", The embarrassment had me burying my face into his chest. “Period.”, The next second, he gently pushed. me back, then started pulling off his T-shirt, tying it around my waist, quick, efficient moves. Costhet, , with, My eyes were fixed on his bare torso, the defined chest and abs under the sun..., Though he was all mine, seeing him like this, out in the open, was a first., I felt a warmth rush to my face, my nose tingling as a drop of something warm trickled down..., Search the website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.