Discipline (Scott & Mariana) Read Online Free PDF Page A

other day and decided to practice that instead. She put down her ring and middle finger, leaving her pinky and index finger up while extending her thumb. If Scott asked her what it meant, she would simply tell him.
    “Why are you telling me to hang loose?” Scott asked.
    “What?”
    “Your fingers,” He mimicked with his hand, “you’re telling me to hang loose.”
    Okay, this so didn’t go as planned. “Oh, I didn’t realize I was doing that,” Mariana sat up.
    “It must be a UCLA thing,” Scott snickered.
    Mariana glanced back at her boyfriend. “Very funny,” she got up and left the bedroom.
    Scott stretched his arms out and stared up at the ceiling. He wondered how long it would be before Mariana would actually say ‘ I love you,’ instead of doing it via sign language.
     
     
     

Six
    “So if I need to get that part fixed along with everything else, how much would that cost?” Mariana listened in on the phone. She jotted down the figure the mechanic gave her and just stared at it. Were cars supposed to cost that much to maintain? “Okay, thank you for the information. We’ll be in touch.”
    It was going to cost five hundred dollars to fix a part in her car’s engine. It wasn’t included in her warranty, which Mariana thought was both unfortunate and ridiculous. Still, the part was going to cost money she didn’t have. She’d have to save a chunk of money from her internship and cut back on her fast-food urges while still paying off her debt, and even then it was going to be a while before she was able to pay for the part.
    Mariana sighed. She was going have to take the bus to save money. She had honestly forgotten how long it had been since she’d taken the bus. She didn’t look down at people who took the bus; she just preferred to drive. Now she didn’t have a choice. She needed to save money to fix the car part. She had too much pride to ask Scott for help. He was still paying her to clean his home, and he had given her a paid internship. It was bad enough he had an eagle eye on her finances.
    Mariana swallowed hard and researched bus schedules. That piece of humble pie was tough to swallow. Her phone rang and she recognized Scott’s number. “Hello?”
    “Good morning, baby,” he purred over the phone, “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
    “No, not at all. I’ve been up for a while.” Mariana tried to read a bus map and got confused by the pretty colors.
    “What are your plans today?”
    “I have class in the afternoon, so I’ll be leaving here in a short while.”
    “A short while?” Scott glanced at his Cartier. “It’s only nine am .”
    “Yeah, I’m taking…the bus,” Mariana forced the words out. She still couldn’t believe it. “I’m having some car issues so I’m taking the bus.”
    “What car issues are they?”
    “I don’t want your help, Scott.” Mariana said.
    “I didn’t offer,” Scott countered, “I just want to know what car issues they were.”
    “Something wrong with the engine. It’s making the check light signal come on and the warranty doesn’t cover it. I have to pay for it out of pocket.”
    “How much is it?”
    “I don’t want your help,” Mariana repeated.
    “I didn’t offer,” Scott once again countered.
    “You wouldn’t have asked if you didn’t plan to help me, honey,” Mariana said, “I don’t need your help. I can figure this out on my own. I’ve been figuring out my finances long before I met you.”
    “With mixed results,” Scott replied.
    “You’re not funny,” Mariana retorted.
    “I wasn’t joking,” Scott replied.
    “I got this. Trust me, okay?” Mariana pleaded.
    “Fine,” Scott conceded. “What time do you get out of class tonight?”
    Mariana finally figured out the bus route and began jotting down bus numbers and times. “Around eight, so I’ll take the bus back home—”
    “Oh, hell, no,” Scott interrupted. “I’ll pick you up.”
    “I can handle my own, Scott,” Mariana