Page 36 of April’s Fool

“She went back to bed. We both drank too much last night.”

“Aw, that explains the zombie look you both had this morning.” I laugh and shake my head.

“Yeah, I should blame you for us getting shit-faced, but all we did was take a bottle of Tito’s back to the room we crashed in and drink ourselves stupid while watching reruns of Criminal Minds.”

I grin at her because that’s exactly what all of us would do. Just like with the Transformer movies, it didn’t matter whether they were the ones with Shia LaBeouf or the later ones with Mark Wahlburg. We’d watch them all while going through a bottle of Tito’s together.

“Can’t blame me. I had no part in it. I was busy doing other things.”

Kayla snorts at my response and shakes her head. “Good for you.” She grins at me, then looks to Fool. “Glad she has you. Don’t take for granted what she gives you.”

Fool doesn’t use words, but I can see he takes in what Kayla tells him, nodding curtly.

“Text me when you get to the apartment,” I tell her, stepping back.

“I will,” she agrees. “Get out of here and have some fun.”

I grin as she winks.

Fool guides me the rest of the way to the doors, and we step out into the bright sunlight together. I take a deep breath of the fresh pine in the air. I love being in this part of Virginia. As much as I love being back home, the scents aren’t the same. Sure, it’s a small town, woods everywhere, but they’ve been doing a lot of developing over the years, changing things up. Here, you have the view and the smell.

“You ready?” Fool asks as we make our way to his bike.

“Yeah.” I’m more than ready.

“Beckham.”

I twist at the sound of someone calling Fool by his real name and spot a beautiful blonde woman walking our way, eyes on my husband.

Fool tenses and curses under his breath.

“Beck?” I whisper, looking at him.

“Beckham,” the woman calls again as she gets closer.

“What do you want, Stacy?” he growls, glaring at her while keeping me tucked to his side.

“I texted you,” she murmurs.

“Yeah, I know, and then I blocked your ass,” Fool says harshly. “Got nothing to say to you.”

“But . . .”

“Get out of here, Stacy, and don’t come back. I want nothing to do with you, and I sure as fuck don’t want to see you.”

“We need to talk about things. I’ve got things to share with you, including why I sent that letter⁠—”

“Woman, just go,” Fool snaps.

From the exchange, even with little knowledge of it, I’m guessing this is his ex. Her being anywhere near him agitates him, and I don’t like it. So to ease him, I step in front of him, blocking her from coming any closer.

“My husband has asked you to leave. He wants nothing to do with you. I might not know the history between you, but I suggest you comply with his request.”

Stacy finally looks at me, and her face pales. “Husband?” she whispers, looking as if I’ve slapped her. Her eyes shift to Fool, and she says, “You said you’d never marry anyone but me.”

“I was fuckin’ eighteen when I said that to you,” he snarls, his hands coming to my waist, gripping tightly. “I said a lot of shit then. But things changed. You sent me a fuckin’ ‘Dear John’ letter, for fuck’s sake.”

“But I didn’t mean it. I wanted to talk to you so many times. I only just found out you were back.”