Love Me One More Time by Laura Burton

Chapter 12

Shortly after our declaration of love to each other, Carter and I were just about to take things further when we were rudely interrupted by my mom and Redford crashing in through the door. It took them thirty seconds to realize we were in the room. Thirty seconds was enough time for us to see them in throes of passion very similar to our own steamy session a few moments ago.

Seeing my mom like that with Carter’s uncle makes my stomach lurch.

“Sorry, I think I’ve had a little too much to drink,” my mom says, tucking her frizzy hair behind her ear.

“You only had a club soda,” Redford says. He sounds like he’s being helpful, but I sense he’s also trying to make sure I don’t think he’s trying to take advantage of my mom. She giggles.

“There’s a lot of sugar in a club soda, and I had six of them. At least.”

But then she narrows her eyes at me. “Is that a hickey?”

I reach up to the side of my neck she’s staring at and glance at Carter, who just grins proudly back at me. Not helpful.

“No?” I say in a lame voice.

The four of us stand in awkward silence for a few minutes. No one is sure where to look. Carter lifts my hand and kisses the back of it. “See you in the morning, ZoBo.”

“Right. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, we should all get some rest,” Redford suggests sensibly. He points at my mom’s foot. “And you should keep that elevated, to reduce the swelling.”

For some reason, my mom’s face breaks into a grin. The two of them share a knowing smile. Good grief.

“Okay! Good night, everyone,” I say, shuffling the skirt of my dress over my thighs. I steal one more look at Carter and find myself smiling again.

“Night,” he says.

He gives a soft wave and a nod to my mom on the way out. I watch him go with irrational disappointment.

It’s for the best. Kissing Carter like that was a cross on many of the lines I drew for myself this weekend. If we were left alone for much longer, there’s no telling what other lines we would have crossed.