Crave Me (The Good Ol' Boys #4)(19)
He did the same thing my uncle did. He opened his mouth a few times to say something, but nothing ever came out.
“So… are you…” He narrowed his eyes at me, confused. “I mean… does it… what… f*ck,” he stressed the last word and it was the first time I heard him cuss.
“I don’t know.”
He cocked his head to the side.
“I mean…” I shrugged. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Me and you both, kid.” He laughed nervously.
“Do you happen to have a wife or girlfriend, or someone I could maybe talk to?”
He shook his head no.
“No friend that’s a girl?” I added, stunned.
He shook his head no again.
The realization that Esteban and I might’ve had more in common than I thought was a bigger rude awakening than getting my period.
“Can you walk?” he asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.
“Yeah, I got my period, I’m not incapacitated.”
We both grinned.
“Come on, smart ass. I guess we could go to the pharmacy. We can’t be the only dummies that have ever walked in there with this problem.”
I went to the bathroom before we left to add more toilet paper to my panties. I felt like I was wearing a diaper the entire time, but to my surprise the pharmacist behind the counter was very understanding. She said her daughter was around my age and she went through the same thing with her a few days prior.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn’t ask me any questions as we walked down the feminine aisle. She just stopped every few steps to show me all the different kinds of tampons and pads I could use. Explaining which ones she thought would be best for me. She even went as far as pulling out a pamphlet that demonstrated how to insert it. She told me that I needed to start seeing a gynecologist because I was becoming a woman and the doctor could further explain what would start happening to my body.
“Everything okay?” Esteban asked as he saw us making our way back to the counter.
She put her arm around me in a comforting gesture. “Everything is perfectly fine. It’s nice of you to help your sister out, we don’t see that often, it’s usually the moms that deal with these kind of situations,” she said.
“He’s not my—”
“No problem,” he cut me off.
I didn’t give any thought on why he interrupted me. I’d had enough drama in the previous few hours. I took a long, hot shower when I got home, threw away my ruined underwear and used the dreaded tampon. Wanting to forget about the day from Hell.
Wishing my mom was there with me.
I gasped, placing my hand over my heart when I walked back into my bedroom. My uncle was sitting on the armchair in the corner of my room.
“Don’t you knock?”
“It’s my home,” he simply stated.
“Yeah, well it’s my bedroom,” I responded while holding onto my towel for dear life.
He was over to me in three strides, almost knocking me over.
“I’m going to overlook that you’re acting like a disrespectful puta because of the changes you’re going through.” He leaned in close to my face. “But if you speak to me like that again, I have no problem letting you meet the man behind the expensive suit.”
I jerked back, swallowing hard. Immediately understanding his subtle threat.
“Now,” he stepped back and I let out the breath I didn’t realize I held, “Esteban says everything was taken care of.”
I bit my tongue and just nodded.
“I’ve made an appointment with the female doctor for you.”
My eyebrows lowered. “How did you—”
“It’s next week. After you’re done with that bitch-causing thing.”
With that he turned and left.
I changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, getting ready to climb into bed when I saw a glass of water and two Ibuprofens sitting on my nightstand next to my book.
I chuckled, shaking my head in amazement.
Chapter 6
<>Austin<>
The boys, Alex, and I sat around the fire pit on the beach, bullshitting and shooting the breeze. It was the annual Fourth of July festival in Southport. The entire street closed down for the parade and firework display.
After the festivities there was always a party happening down at the beach. We were spending our last night together before the boys left for Ohio State in the morning, leaving Alex and I behind.
“I can’t believe you boys are leaving me,” Alex whispered in a sad voice.
She was sitting between Lucas and Aubrey, Dylan’s girlfriend. Normally Lucas would have pulled her to his side, comforting her and she would have leaned into his embrace. Appreciating his comfort and loving his warmth, except too much had happened between them now.
A lot changed in the last two years, including Alex having a new guy friend.
His name was Cole Hayes. He was from California, vacationing with his parents in Oak Island for the past two summers. Alex started working at her parents’ restaurant the summer before she entered high school, and as luck would have it, he happened to sit in Half-Pint’s section one afternoon, while we were surfing. He’d been a pain in the ass ever since.