Free Zero Visibility by Georgia Beers Page A
Authors: Georgia Beers
And nervous. A little nervous.
“Stop pushing me, Jeremy.” Vanessa’s daughter was learning to stand up to her big brother when he got all alpha male on her, not that it did any good. Jeremy still bumped Grace out of the way and went into The Sports Outfitter ahead of her, muttering an unflattering name at her under his breath.
“Hey.” Vanessa swatted the back of his head, not hard, just enough to get his attention. “Don’t talk to your sister like that or we will turn around and go home, and you can keep wearing sneakers that don’t fit. Understand?”
“Whatever.” He took a left in the store and headed towards the shoe section.
That was the most dialogue she had with him on an average day, and she sighed now in frustration. Jeremy was thirteen. He’d be fourteen in a couple months. He was already the epitome of a teenager: sullen, brooding, bored with everything except his iPhone (which she could kill Brian for getting him), and his video games. He did all right in school, thank god, but there were another four or five years of this to come. This was only the beginning. Vanessa didn’t know how she would survive.
The store was busy. That was good. More people meant less focus on her. Maybe they could get the kids sneakers and get out before—
“Cassie!” Gracie ran from Vanessa straight down an aisle, slickly dodging several customers in her path, and threw her little arms around Cassie’s hips.
Okay. Jumping in with both feet, I guess. Vanessa slowly followed the same path her daughter had taken.
“Hey there, Grace-face. Two times in one week I get to see you?” Cassie squatted down so she was eye level with Gracie, something Vanessa always found endearing. “What’s new?”
“Hopefully, some sneakers,” Grace said looking around. “Where’s Gordie?”
“He’s downstairs helping my mom.”
Gracie turned her big blue eyes in Vanessa’s direction. “Can I go down and see him, Mom? Can I? Please?”
Vanessa had a hard time denying her daughter anything (which was going to be a problem down the road, or so her sister kept telling her), especially when she remembered to say please. “You are not to bother Mrs. Parker.” As Gracie skittered away, Vanessa added, “I mean it!”
And then they were alone.
Not alone, obviously, as the store was full of people. But it felt like they were alone. Cassie’s big brown eyes caught hers, then darted away. “How are you?” she asked.
Vanessa cleared her throat. “I’m okay. I’m good. How about you? How are you?”
Cassie nodded, her voice low. “I’m good.”
“You look great.” It was true. Cassie rarely dressed up, but she didn’t have to. Her beauty was natural. Athletic. She wore olive green cargo pants and a black quarter-zip pullover. Black always made her look so attractively mysterious, made her dark eyes even darker.
“You, too.”
The awkwardness stretched.
“Good game the other night,” she said.
“It was.”
Vanessa looked around for something else to say. “Busy today. That’s good.” She swallowed hard, the same word flashing through her head over and over: Lame. Lame. Lame. Why did conversation have to suddenly be so hard? She and Cassie could talk about anything and everything. Had talked about anything and everything.
“Yeah. It’s busy season.”
Cassie looked down at her hands, then up at the store. Vanessa looked down at Cassie’s hands, and her gaze stayed there as memories flooded her brain, memories of those same hands holding her face, tangled in her hair, kneading her breasts, those fingers sliding through her wetness and right into her body, her muscles contracting, trying to hold them there forever…
When she looked up again, Cassie was watching her, the expression on her face a mix of anger, hurt, and longing. There were so many things Vanessa wanted to say at that moment. I’m sorry. Forgive me. I love you. And she wondered about Emerson Rosberg. Were they seeing each other now?
“Stop pushing me, Jeremy.” Vanessa’s daughter was learning to stand up to her big brother when he got all alpha male on her, not that it did any good. Jeremy still bumped Grace out of the way and went into The Sports Outfitter ahead of her, muttering an unflattering name at her under his breath.
“Hey.” Vanessa swatted the back of his head, not hard, just enough to get his attention. “Don’t talk to your sister like that or we will turn around and go home, and you can keep wearing sneakers that don’t fit. Understand?”
“Whatever.” He took a left in the store and headed towards the shoe section.
That was the most dialogue she had with him on an average day, and she sighed now in frustration. Jeremy was thirteen. He’d be fourteen in a couple months. He was already the epitome of a teenager: sullen, brooding, bored with everything except his iPhone (which she could kill Brian for getting him), and his video games. He did all right in school, thank god, but there were another four or five years of this to come. This was only the beginning. Vanessa didn’t know how she would survive.
The store was busy. That was good. More people meant less focus on her. Maybe they could get the kids sneakers and get out before—
“Cassie!” Gracie ran from Vanessa straight down an aisle, slickly dodging several customers in her path, and threw her little arms around Cassie’s hips.
Okay. Jumping in with both feet, I guess. Vanessa slowly followed the same path her daughter had taken.
“Hey there, Grace-face. Two times in one week I get to see you?” Cassie squatted down so she was eye level with Gracie, something Vanessa always found endearing. “What’s new?”
“Hopefully, some sneakers,” Grace said looking around. “Where’s Gordie?”
“He’s downstairs helping my mom.”
Gracie turned her big blue eyes in Vanessa’s direction. “Can I go down and see him, Mom? Can I? Please?”
Vanessa had a hard time denying her daughter anything (which was going to be a problem down the road, or so her sister kept telling her), especially when she remembered to say please. “You are not to bother Mrs. Parker.” As Gracie skittered away, Vanessa added, “I mean it!”
And then they were alone.
Not alone, obviously, as the store was full of people. But it felt like they were alone. Cassie’s big brown eyes caught hers, then darted away. “How are you?” she asked.
Vanessa cleared her throat. “I’m okay. I’m good. How about you? How are you?”
Cassie nodded, her voice low. “I’m good.”
“You look great.” It was true. Cassie rarely dressed up, but she didn’t have to. Her beauty was natural. Athletic. She wore olive green cargo pants and a black quarter-zip pullover. Black always made her look so attractively mysterious, made her dark eyes even darker.
“You, too.”
The awkwardness stretched.
“Good game the other night,” she said.
“It was.”
Vanessa looked around for something else to say. “Busy today. That’s good.” She swallowed hard, the same word flashing through her head over and over: Lame. Lame. Lame. Why did conversation have to suddenly be so hard? She and Cassie could talk about anything and everything. Had talked about anything and everything.
“Yeah. It’s busy season.”
Cassie looked down at her hands, then up at the store. Vanessa looked down at Cassie’s hands, and her gaze stayed there as memories flooded her brain, memories of those same hands holding her face, tangled in her hair, kneading her breasts, those fingers sliding through her wetness and right into her body, her muscles contracting, trying to hold them there forever…
When she looked up again, Cassie was watching her, the expression on her face a mix of anger, hurt, and longing. There were so many things Vanessa wanted to say at that moment. I’m sorry. Forgive me. I love you. And she wondered about Emerson Rosberg. Were they seeing each other now?