“You good?” Zane asked, and I nodded, forcing myself to take a deep breath. “Maybe we should—”
“No. I’m not leaving. Not yet.”
“And I get it, man. I do. But what’s the plan here? She lives with her old man now. She’s a minor. You know what happened last time you tried to go after her. If he finds…”
“Z.” Kye shook his head. “Ease up for a second, yeah? I’m sure Nix has a plan.”
But that was just it, I didn’t.
I lived my life from day to day, never letting myself think too far ahead. Hopes and dreams were a dangerous notion in my world, because the consequences of chasing them meant leaving Jessa behind. It meant leaving Zane and his grandma, and Kye and Chloe behind.
How could I do that?
How could I put myself first when Jessa’s life depended on me?
It wasn’t like Harleigh could come and stay with me. Not after the shit that had gone down with me and my old man. And Zane had a point. If she tried to run, Michael would come after her. Probably make good on his word and come after me. She was a minor, at least for another few weeks.
Even if she wanted to run, what did I have to offer her?
Nothing.
I had nothing.
My fist clenched against my thigh, tension mounting inside me. When I’d first found out Harleigh was back, I hadn’t let myself imagine a scenario where we found our way back together. So much time had passed. Too much shit had happened. But now she was here and I was here and all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and reassure her that nothing would hurt her again.
I couldn’t do it though.
I couldn’t make promises I had no way of keeping, not after everything.
I needed more time. Time to figure out a plan that gave us a way to be together. Because that’s the only thing that mattered. Us. Together. Her safe by my side.
But could I really do it? Could I bind her to my life again? Clip her wings and ask her to stay by my side, wherever that took us?
As if she heard my thoughts, Harleigh glanced over and gave me a small uncertain smile. Fuck, there had been a time I’d lived for those smiles. Always so shy and unsure of herself.
I smiled back, and Zane snorted. “It’s been what, an hour,” he said, “and you’re already making moon eyes at each other.”
“Fuck off,” I growled.
“Okay, food’s up.” Miller appeared, pizza boxes piled high in his arms.
“What do we make of him?” Zane asked under his breath, watching with cool assessment as Miller dropped them on the opposite end of the counter.
“He seems okay,” Kye said with a small shrug.
“You think we can trust him?”
My eyes snapped to Zane, understanding passing between us. He was wary about how quickly things were moving with me and Harleigh, and I didn’t blame him. He was first and foremost my best friend. But I also knew he’d welcome her back into the fold without question. Because she’d always been mine. And therefore, she’d always been his too.
“Harleigh trusts him, that’s good enough for me,” I said, pushing down all the reservations I had.
Zane snorted, seeing straight through me. “We’ll assume he’s friendly… for now.”
“You guys want pizza?” the guy in question called.
“Hell yes.” Kye bounced over to them, unaffected by Miller’s big, excessive house.
It wasn’t as big as Harleigh’s old man’s place, but it was still impressive to three kids who had been dragged up in The Row.
“Where did you say your parents are again?” I asked him, moving over to the pizza.
Harleigh joined me, wrapping her arm around my waist and laying her head on my arm.
“Hungry, B?” I asked her, aware of Miller watching us.
“No, but you should eat.”
“Oh yeah?” My brow lifted, innuendo dripping from my words.
Her cheeks flushed, eyes widening with surprise and something I wanted to believe was lust, too.
“Gross,” Chloe muttered, shouldering past us to get to the pizza. “Thanks for this,” she said to Nate.
“No problem. As for my parents, they’re out of town with my brother until tomorrow night.”
An idea started formulating in my head. “You cool with us hanging out here tonight?”
“Nix,” Harleigh said, tugging at my hoodie.
I dipped my head and brought my mouth to her ear. “It’s not like I can bring you back to The Row or you can bring me home to daddy dearest.” She went rigid at the mention of her father. “We can hang out here tonight, figure out a plan…”
I needed this. I needed tonight with her. One night before shit undoubtedly hit the fan.
She pulled back to look me in the eye, searching my face for what, I didn’t know. Her gaze flicked over to Nate, and I fucking hated that he was somehow involved in this. But I wasn’t letting my stubbornness prevent me from taking advantage of his hospitality.
“You guys in?” I asked everyone else.
“Sounds good to me,” Celeste said. “Mom and Dad are out of town for the night anyway.”
“What about Max?” Harleigh asked.
“Max will be off doing whatever Max does. It’s cool. I’ll tell him we’re stopping over at Miles’s house. Right, babe?” She glanced at Mulligan and he gave her a nervous smile.
“Sure.”
“Sounds good to me.” Miller shrugged. “It isn’t like I usually have anyone to hang out with when they’re away. It’s kinda neat to have company for once.” Miller grabbed another slice of pizza and headed for the couch.
“What the fuck?” Zane caught my eye, and I shrugged, glancing back at Miller.
He wasn’t looking at us though. He was staring off at nothing. But Chloe joined him, whispering something to him that made him smile.
“Oh fuck no,” Kye muttered.
“Good luck with that, bro.” I chuckled.
“Why do I feel like I’m missing something?” Harleigh pinched my side, and I dropped a kiss on her head.
“There’s a lot to fill you in on, B,” I said, one-handedly adding pizza slices onto a plate.
“Everything,” she breathed, gazing up at me. “I want to know everything.”
“Okay, I take it back,” Zane said. “This is pretty fucking epic.”
We’d moved things outside, to Miller’s patio. There was a decent sized pool, and a hot tub on the corner of the deck, surrounded by a gazebo strung with twinkle lights. Miller had turned it on earlier when the girls said they wanted to take a dip later.
Zane was sprawled out on a heated lounger, drinking Miller’s beer and eating his snacks. The fact he was high on Miller’s weed probably had something to do with his good mood.
Harleigh nuzzled my neck, wrapping herself tighter around my body. She’d barely left my side, some part of her always touching some part of me. Not that I was complaining.
“Please tell me you’re not planning on going in there with the girls,” I whispered, running my hand down her spine, loving how she shuddered beneath my touch.
“I don’t have a swimsuit.”
“Neither do they.” I flicked my head to where Celeste and Chloe were half-naked, sitting on the edge of the pool.