The STD Trace

8. The Winston Allure That Led to Girl Time

“So… Bruter? Is it okay if I call you Bruter?” Lucas smiled. Bruter nodded. “Cool, what do you do on your free time?”

“I’m a real serious technology nerd, so I have tons of motorbikes, motorcycles, robots, that kind of stuff. I even try to upgrade them from time to time for the fun of it.”

Lucas’ eyes went wide with interest and he stuffed his chicken in his mouth without even noticing. “How does it fit in where ever you live?”

“I live in this nice little condo, so it’s all in the garage. I live in Mansfield.” Bruter ate his mashed potatoes. I gaped. No! Lucas was turning to the dark side. Come back to the light! Come back to the light! My mother was smiling in relief and Winston was just eating in silence.

“You have like all this cool stuff to ride in the garage?”

“Yeah, I don’t usually tell people. Don’t want to get robbed.” He chuckled and Lucas joined in.

“What do you drive normally?”

“A Porsche.” He scratched his head, wary. What’s his deal?

“Which model?” Lucas narrowed his eyes.

Bruter sighed. “A Cayman.”

“Oh. My. Jesus. That’s over fifty thousand dollars!” Lucas gasped and even Winston joined in. What the fudgecakes was a Cayman? That’s a car? Wait, what?

“Yeah, it was awesome when I got it. I paid it off in cash.” Bruter gave a sheepish smile.

“And you say you are a math teacher?” Lucas shook his head in disbelief.

“Yes, but I do lots of things on the side and my father is a neurosurgeon and what not.” He shrugged.

“Can I like… can I sit in your car?” Lucas asked, his eyes bright with amazement.

Bruter chuckled. “You can even drive it.” He threw Lucas the keys. My mouth gaped further.

“No way! Come on, Winston, we are about to drive this bitch down the block!” Lucas stood up and ran for the front door with Winston. My mom chuckled, smiling lovingly at Bruter.

I walked slowly outside and then shook my head. The car was sleek and black, looking as if built for speed. Winston got in the passenger seat and Lucas revved up the engine. My God, they were such guys.

“Hannah, that dude is seriously awesome! Whoo hoo!” Lucas yelled out of the window before driving off. I hoped he crashed the car too.

I sighed, slowly returning back inside of the house. I’ve lost my only ally, I lost my only friend, and I lost my mother. How much more terrible could things become? I sunk down onto the bottom step of my stairs, looking down at my hands. I didn’t really have closure with my original family, so why would I want to start a new one so soon? That seriously made me want to go mad.

Bruter walked over, staring down at me. “Mind if I take a seat?” he whispered, smiling a little. I gave a nod, averting my eyes. “You know, Hannah, this is odd for me too.”

Pfft, whatever. He was a grown man who could have any woman that he wanted, especially what with how hot he was. I’m seriously considering slapping him in the face. I mean, I’m stuck with having to be in this situation against my will. There was no walking away for me. I would rather be finding my next STD victim than doing this right about now.

“Well, my mom is kind of hot or whatever.” I shrugged.

“I really love your mother, Hannah.” I turned around to face him, and his eyes were sincere, filled with longing and adoration, making me feel awkward and out of place. None of my mother’s “men” had ever admitted anything about love. I groaned internally.