“I’m a man of my word.” I placed a chaste kiss on her lips before lifting her up and dropping her back down on the seat. I grabbed her helmet and placed it on her head, buckling it beneath her chin. Her dark eyes never left mine.
“I know you are.”
I climbed on in front of her, and my dick raged against my zipper just like it always did. I laughed. Chivalry had never been something I’d thought about. But when it came to this girl—I wanted to do everything right.
The next day at school Alec Taulson looked surprised to see me when I passed him in the hall. Walking hand in hand with my girl.
“Didn’t expect to see you here, Jett,” he said as he stood with Hayden and Karina. I noticed he and Ty weren’t hanging out much these days, and I wondered if his best friend had finally figured out what an asshole he was.
“Yeah. You took your shot, and you missed. That’s kind of your thing, right?” I smirked. He’d had a shit basketball season, and I normally wouldn’t stoop that low. But fuck, this kid made it difficult to be decent.
“I can’t even believe you’d do that,” Adelaide said, shaking her head.
“Well, remember, you don’t really know me anymore, right, Addy?”
She rolled her eyes. “It sure doesn’t seem like it.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve always known who Alec is,” Karina said.
He shrugged her off when she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Would have sucked for you to get busted and lose your scholarship. Hope you don’t do anything to fuck that up.”
I flipped him the bird. He wasn’t worth my time. Adelaide and I walked away. He was one person I couldn’t wait to put in my rearview.
“I can’t believe how low he’s stooping these days. I don’t know what happened to him,” she said. I glanced down, and I saw the pain on her face. Like it or not, she considered the kid to be family. They’d grown up together, and she tried to find the good in him. I couldn’t fault her, I loved that about her. She didn’t see the worst in people the way I tended to do. I admired it.
“I think people show you who they are, Ace. At some point you’ve got to believe them.”
She nodded. “I get that. But Alec isn’t all bad. He’s a good son and a good brother and he can be a good friend. He just seems to be teetering toward the bad lately.”
“I love that you see the good in people.” I pressed her up against the wall next to the library and kissed her. Hard. Because I fucking loved her.
When I pulled away, her cheeks were flush, and she was breathless. My dick strained. He was getting angrier with each passing day, though I took care of business in the shower this morning. I adjusted myself as conspicuously as I could, and she laughed.
“A little uncomfortable?” she teased. “Come on. Let’s get to class before we get carried away.”
“I’ve been carried away since the first time I tasted that sweet mouth of yours.”
She tugged at my hand to lead me down the hall. She left for her class and I met Shaw outside of creative writing. We walked into the classroom and dropped in our seats.
“Dude, have you thought about how you’re going to ask Addy to prom? Coco expects some fucking creativity. But I don’t have a clue on how to ask her.”
I’d been planning it for a while, but I wouldn’t tell him that.
“Yeah, I have an idea of what I’ll do. What does Coco like?”
“Coco likes me and her friends.” He looked up at the ceiling as if deep in thought. “She likes shopping and Starbucks and cupcakes and going to the lake.”
“Okay.” I laughed. “How can you tie it all in?”
“I don’t have a fucking clue. Maybe a scavenger hunt?”
“That’s an idea. You willing to put in all that work?” I raised a brow.
“Fuck yeah. I think she’ll string me up by my balls if I don’t make her senior prom ask a good one.”
“Spoken like a pussy-whipped motherfucker.”
“Takes one to know one.”
I shrugged and laughed. Because he was fucking right.
I told Adelaide I had some shit to do for Gram and I couldn’t hang out after school. I was going to ask her to prom tomorrow, and I needed to get everything together. I got home and placed the flowers in water and went into the room to check on my grandmother. She was sleeping. She was doing a lot of that lately. Ma was at The Rusty Pelican. I flipped on the TV.
There was a knock at the door and my jaw dropped when I saw Mayor Edington standing on the other side.
“Hey,” I said, unsure of what to say. “Uh, do you want to come in?”
“Sure. Thank you.”
He stepped inside and I offered him a bottle of water, and we both dropped to sit at the kitchen table. He didn’t look around my house like he was surprised at the size or appalled by anything about it.
“So, I was hoping we could chat. Ladybug came home today, so I figured you weren’t with her. Hard to find a time when I can catch you alone these days.” He leaned back in his seat and smiled to let me know he was just giving me shit.
I nodded. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Well, I’ve wanted to come by and tell you that what my wife said to you a while ago, is not how our family feels about you. Hell, I don’t even think Savannah feels that way. She’s just finding it difficult to see Adelaide make choices for herself. But she’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. Glad to hear you don’t all feel that way.”
“Listen, Jett. My wife isn’t a monster. She loves our girls. She gets a little lost sometimes, stuck in her ways. Caught up with her best friend in ways that bring out the worst in both of them. We’ve been talking about it a lot and I think she realizes that she’s actually pushing our girl away by behaving like this.”
“I don’t think she’s a monster. Hell, I get it. On paper, I probably don’t look like the best option for your daughter. But I can promise you this… I love her. And I’m determined to get a good education and make something of myself.” I hated the way my voice shook. I hated the way I felt like I had to prove myself to some of the people in this town.
“You’ve already made something of yourself, son. You don’t owe us an explanation about who you are. My daughter loves you and that’s enough for me. I don’t know if you know this, but I was raised by a single mother. My father left when I was young. I didn’t grow up with much, but there was always love. And I worked hard to make something of myself. So, I understand what you’re saying, but trust me when I tell you a lot of that comes from your own need to do so. Not others.” He paused to take a sip of water and took his time screwing the lid back on as he appeared to be deep in thought. “What I’ve learned is that none of that matters. What matters is the people in your life. Family. That’s what it comes down to. And from where I’m sitting, you have all of that. And I feel quite proud that my daughter is dating such a fine young man. Before you, Ladybug never talked about her own dreams. About this desire to be a journalist and attend a more challenging college. You’ve helped Adelaide figure out who she is, and what she wants. And I’m thankful for that.”