Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy

“Yeah, um, so …” Oh, for the love of God. “Well, word is Genevieve got arrested. For like cocaine or something.”

“What?” A cold tide rushes through my limbs. “When?”

“Last night. I mean, the rumor is she was caught moving a kilo of coke to an undercover agent on the boardwalk, but that’s just talk. The way I heard it from my cousin who was working barback last night, some cop came in and found drugs in her purse, only she was telling him it wasn’t her purse. Anyway, that girl Trina was looking for her a little while after that.”

Damn it.

“We weren’t sure you heard,” Alex continues. “So the guys—”

“Yeah, fine.” I wave him off. “Just get back to work. And tell them to put their damn phones away. Nobody’s getting overtime for screwing around.”

Trina.

Of course.

I should have seen this coming. I know as well as anyone the shit that girl gets up to. Anger burns my throat, most of it self-directed. What part of driving Gen toward her did I think would end any other way? Especially with Deputy Randall skulking around trying to pin something on Gen. If I’d given even a single thought to Genevieve’s best interest instead of my own, I would’ve seen this coming.

Fuck.

No wonder she ran away from me. This turn of events was so predictable, Gen tried everything short of beating me back with a baseball bat to keep me away from her. And as it turns out, with all my efforts to prove she was overreacting and that nothing bad would come of us being together, I proved her right the first chance I got. I was so wrapped up in pleading my case, changing her mind, that I didn’t give a single thought to the repercussions if it went badly.

What kind of asshole is so damn selfish?

This isn’t a minor consequence either. Gen was cuffed. Probably perp walked out of the bar in front of half the town and a hundred tourists. Paraded through the police station and degraded by the same jerks who’ve been telling her she was no good her whole life. She must have been tearing out of her skin.

And I put her there.

I spent all this time trying to convince her that I’d be good for her and make her life better. What a goddamn joke.

It’s hours before I can leave the jobsite to see Gen. Throughout the day I agonized over whether to call her, but eventually decided having this conversation over the phone was more insulting than waiting to do it in person. Or maybe I’m a coward who hoped the delay would help me figure out what to say to her.

As I’m pulling up to her house, I’m still at a loss.

Gen’s little brother Craig answers the door. With a knowing look that says good luck, he nods upstairs.

“She’s in her room.”

I knock a couple times, then let myself in when there’s no answer. Gen’s asleep on her bed in pajamas and a bathrobe, hair still wet. The largest part of me wants to leave. Let her sleep. The longer I can put this off, the more time I have to come up with something sufficient to say. But then she opens her eyes to find me standing in the doorway.

“Sorry,” she says drowsily, gathering herself to sit up against her headboard. “I didn’t get much sleep in the clink.”

“I can go. Come back later.”

“No. Stay.” She draws her knees up to make room for me. “I take it the whole town knows by now?”

She doesn’t look so bad, all things considered. A bit groggy and pale from exhaustion, but otherwise unscathed. It doesn’t help the lump of guilt stuck in my throat, though.

“You okay? He try anything with you?” Because throwing a Molotov cocktail through Randall’s bedroom window might go a long way to improving my mood.

She shakes her head. “It was fine. Not much worse than the DMV, honestly.”

“That’s what you’ve got? A night in the slammer and you’re doing ’90s sitcom humor?”

A weak smile curves her lips. It breaks my fucking heart. “I’m thinking about touring the prison circuit with some new material.”

“Have you heard from Trina?”

“Nope.” Gen shrugs. “I wish her well. If she’s smart, she’s well into Mexico by now.”

When I open my mouth to speak again, she cuts me off.

“Can we not talk about it? Later, fine. Right now, I don’t want to think about it anymore. It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah, of course.”

Taking my hand, she pulls me to sit beside her against the headboard. “Hey, I never said this, but the house looks great. You guys did a stellar job on the renovations. I’m almost sad it’s over.”

“I am gonna miss you wandering around the house in skimpy silk nighties, watching me work up a sweat.”

Gen snorts. “You have an active imagination.”

“Oh, were you not there for that? Must have been some other leggy brunette with nice tits.”

Her elbow jabs my ribs. “I meant now that it’s over, Dad’s going to put the house on the market. This won’t be my room for much longer. And the place is so nice now, it’s a shame to leave.”

“A lot of good memories in this room.” Climbing in her window after everyone’s gone to bed. Sneaking her out of it.

“Kellan and Shane tried smoking some old pot they found hidden under the floorboards in Shane’s closet.” This time when she laughs, it reaches her eyes. The sound is comforting and debilitating all at once. “They were throwing up for hours. Shane swore he was going blind.”