by L A Cotton
“Seriously, man?” Cam shook his head. “Do you have to do that?”
“What? Like you and Hailee aren’t—”
“Dude!” I levelled Jase with a hard look. “There’s a line. Don’t cross it.”
“Bunch of pussies.” He smirked, taking a long pull on his beer.
“Don’t even try to act like Fee hasn’t gotten you right where she wants you. You’re whipped, bro, admit it.”
His expression darkened but then melted away, morphing into a proud smile. “I can own that shit. I, Jason fucking Ford, am so fucking whipped by my girl and I love it.”
“Say it a little louder for the people in the back,” Grady yelled, and Jason flipped him off, earning him a round of snickers and cheers.
“When’s the wedding?” someone called, and the blood drained from his face.
“Oh, now he shuts up.” Cam snorted. “You should see your face.”
“Fuck off, Chase. We all know you’ll be the first one down the aisle with Hailee.”
He shrugged. “One day.”
“What about you, Ash, man; you think Mya’s wife material?”
My throat went dry, my fingers tightening around the bottleneck.
“Yo, Cap,” Grady shouted across the bar, saving me from Jason’s question. “You feel like getting your ass kicked at pool?”
“Like that’ll ever happen.” Jase stood up, arrogance pouring from him. “Rack ‘em up, Grady, and prepare to eat shit.” He sauntered off leaving me with Cameron.
Eyes narrowed right on me, he said, “I’m here.”
“I know.” I lifted my face to his.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
I nodded, feeling the teeth of the truth nipping at my heels.
Time was running out.
But I still wasn’t ready.
“Do you think this is a good idea?” Cam whispered as we trudged around the Giles’ back yard, wading through the bushes lining their house. “Couldn’t we just have knocked?”
“It’s been too long since we pranked Hailee,” Jase slurred. “She needs a little reminder who’s the better sibling.”
“Step-sibling,” I corrected.
“Step, smep. She needs bringing down a peg or two since she got with Chase.”
“I’m standing right here,” Cam protested.
“Yeah, yeah, man. You owe me too. My step-sister. Really, man, you had to go there?”
“How many drinks did you have tonight?” I asked him.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re drunk, and when Felicity sees what you’ve done to her mom’s plants, she’s going to have your balls.”
“Just because Hailee has your balls in her purse, doesn’t mean the rest of us let our women run the show.”
Cam dropped into one of the garden chairs. “I’m just going to sit here and watch you show your woman who’s boss.”
“I’m with him,” I slowly backed up, leaving Jase to try to scale the wall by himself.
“Bunch of pussies,” he murmured, trying to get a foothold in the wooden lattice. “We’ve got to take back our balls, I’m telling you. These girls think they can just swoop in and turn our lives upside down and have us running around after them, I’m a Raider for fuck’s sake. And Raiders never…” he trailed off when he noticed us glaring at him. “What?”
I nudged my head over his shoulder to where the girls were standing looking less than amused.
“Jason Gary Ford, what the hell do you think you’re doing in my mom’s hydrangeas?”
“Babe, I can explain…” Jase dragged a hand through his hair, inching closer to them. “We thought it would be funny.”
“He,” Cam coughed, “he thought it would be funny.”
“Traitorous motherfucker.”
“Please tell me you weren’t going to try to scale the wall?” Flick broke rank and stepped up to him, pressing her hands to his chest forcefully.
Jase shot her a lazy smile. “I wanted to see you.”
“You could have called or knocked. God, you stink. Just how much did you let him drink?” Her eyes went to me.
“Don’t look at me. I’m not his keeper.”
“Or me,” Cam added. “Blame Grady.”
“Grady? Grady who isn’t here right now trampling through my mom’s plants and trying to climb the lattice.”
“Don’t be pissed, babe.” Jason hooked his arm around Felicity’s waist, dragging her closer. “I missed you.” He buried his face into her neck and she shrieked.
“Get off me, you’re drunk.”
“Maybe you should just invite us in?” I suggested, “before he really makes a scene.”
Mya shook her head at me, the faintest of smiles tugging at her lips. Without a word, I rose from the chair and did my best to walk in a straight line to her. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she said, her smile growing. “Just how drunk are you?”
“Not as drunk as him.” I thumbed to where Jason was slowly breaking Flick’s resolve, the two of them kiss-fighting. “But a little more drunk than Cam.”
“Sounds about right,” Hailee said as she brushed past me to go get her guy.
“Miss me?”
“Miss you?” Mya chuckled, smoothing her hands over my shoulders. “It’s only been a few hours since I last saw you.”
“Admit it, you missed me.”
“Ash…” She lowered her eyes, touching her head to mine.
“It’s okay, Mya,” Jase called over. “We’re all slaves to love here.”
“Oh God, stop,” Flick smothered a laugh. “You’re here now. I guess you might as well come inside.”
“Shall we?” I said to Mya. She took one of my hands and turned to go back inside. But I paused, letting my eyes sweep down her body. “Nice pajamas.”
“Behave,” she scolded. “Or I’ll call you a cab.”
Jase snickered but my girl shot him a hard look. “You too, Ford. It might be your girlfriend’s house, but you interrupted girls night and I’m not afraid to send you packing.”
“Warning received, loud and clear.”
“You really showed her, Jase,” I teased.
“Fuck off,” he mouthed as we all headed inside. It was late and both me and Cam had tried to talk Jason out of coming here to sabotage the girls’ night. But I wasn’t about to let him go off alone. Besides, the chance to spend more time with Mya was just too good to refuse.
The girls ushered us into the living room, practically shoving us onto the couch. “Now,” Felicity started, “What to do with the three of you.”
“You can do whatever you’d like, babe,” Jason smirked, letting his hand run down to his crotch.
“Dude, we’re right here,” I reminded him.
“Maybe you should fuck off then.”
“What about a game of truth or dare?” Hailee suggested. “Jason goes first since he’s the mastermind behind all of this.”
“Truth or dare is for pussies,” he grunted, his hungry eyes fixed on Flick like a predator stalking its prey.
“We’ll make it worth your while.” Mya stepped between Hailee and Felicity, throwing her arm around their shoulders. I sat up a little straighter, frowning.
“Oh yeah, Hernandez,” Jason said. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”
“I dare you to kiss Asher—”
“What the fuck?” We both shrieked. “No way!”
“Kiss Asher,” my girl stood her ground, “and I’ll kiss Felicity.”
Holy shit.
My jaw almost hit the floor as Flick nodded. “Ooh, good one. What do you think?”
“Babe, I’m not some pre-pubescent guy who gets off watching two girls…” His words trailed off as Felicity dragged a finger down Mya’s neck, toying with the neckline of her pajama tank.
“You were saying?” She had Jase’s full attention now. He narrowed his eyes, nostrils flared.
“For real, you want to do this?” His hard gaze found me around Cameron. “You want to
see me kiss Asher?”
“Dude,” I interjected. “You’re not actually considering this?” Seeing Mya kiss Felicity would be as hot as fuck, but no way did I want to kiss my best friend—a guy—for it.
No way.
“I’m game, if you are.”
It felt like we were spectators to some private challenge between Jase and Felicity. Challenge glittered in their eyes, the air thick with tension.
“You’ll really make it worth our while?”
She nodded and I tried to catch Mya’s attention, but she was too busy watching Jason and Felicity.
“Fine. Ash, man, get over here.”
“I’m not kissing you, Jase. No fucking way.”
“Don’t be such a pussy. I’ve seen your dick more times than I can count. What’s a little kiss between friends?”
“You’ve lost your goddamn mind,” I ground out as Jason stood up, coming around the couch toward me. “Keep your drunk ass away from me.”
“You know he’ll win,” Cam said. “Might as well get it over with.”
“Thanks for the help, man. Big fucking thanks.” I jabbed a finger at Jase, warning him to stay back, but the huge drunken idiot launched on top of me, pinning me to the couch.
Laughter exploded all around us as I tried to wrestle him off, but the motherfucker was just too strong. He caged my body, using one of his hands to grip my face. “Just one little kiss, pucker up.”
“Jason, get the hell—” His mouth pressed down on mine, hard and wet and as weird. as. fuck. I went still, clamping my lips together to avoid an accidental slip of the tongue. Shoving with all my might, I slammed my body forward, sending Jase falling back onto his ass.
“Don’t ever do that again.” I smeared his kiss off my lips with the back of my hand. He clambered to his feet, a shit-eating smirk plastered over his face.
“Aww, don’t be so sensitive. You’ve got pretty nice lips… for a guy.”
Cam snorted beside me and I levelled him with a look that said, ‘you’re next’.
“That was… wow, I did not expect that to happen.” Flick looked a little flushed. Her eyes dancing with a mix of surprise and curiosity. “Okay, I guess it’s our turn. Mya…”
“Felicity.” She smirked at her friend, gently cupping her face. The two of them inched closer, and I found myself sitting straighter again. They were almost nose to nose, lips to lips, when they both turned their head at the last second and grinned. “Gotcha.”
“I can’t believe you actually thought we’d do it,” Felicity added around a smug grin.
“You tricked us?” Jase growled.
“And you fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Want your balls back now?”
“You’re in so much trouble, babe.” He advanced toward her, but she edged backward.
“It was a joke, Jase. Don’t be so—”
“You’d better run.”
“Oh shit.” Flick spun on her heel and took off out of the door, laughter drifting back to us as Jason took off after her.
“I guess we won’t see them again tonight,” Mya said, her eyes sliding to mine. “Am I in trouble too?”
Heat trickled down my spine. “Do you want to be in trouble?”
She came over and climbed on my lap, tucking her body tight to mine. “Would you be disappointed if I said I want to hang out with Cam and Hailee and just enjoy being a normal couple?”
“Actually,” I pecked the end of her nose. “That sounds pretty damn perfect to me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Mya
“Mya, I’m home,” my aunt’s voice rang out, startling me.
I let out a heavy sigh. This was one conversation I knew I couldn’t escape. What was it that Felicity had said ‘rip it off like a Band-Aid’? Only I was pretty sure this Band-Aid was going to leave a deeper cut.
I found Aunt Ciara in the kitchen, unpacking a small bag of groceries. “A little help.” Her eyes widened with meaning, and I chuckled, setting to work alongside her.
After a couple of silent minutes, she huffed out, “For the love of Jesus, Mya, spit it out.”
“How do you do that?” I asked.
“You think I don’t see the way you’re holding it all in?” Her brow rose.
“Felicity and Hailee invited me to New York with them for New Year’s.”
“New York, huh? Sounds fancy. Fancy and expensive. You know we don’t got spare money lying around for—”
“Actually, it’s all taken care of.”
She stopped what she was doing, fixing her suspicious gaze on me. “Let me guess, those Raider boys are picking up the tab.”
“Asher’s family has a penthouse we can stay in. It won’t cost a penny. I’ll just need some gas money and an outfit, but Felicity has already said I can borrow something.”
“Asher’s family,” she repeated, her tight expression telling me everything I needed to know.
“It’s not a big deal, Auntie,” I said, grabbing the last of the groceries and putting them away.
“The fact you’re saying it’s not a big deal, tells me it is a big deal. I thought you were going to be cautious where the Bennet boy was concerned?”
“Asher, his name is Asher, Aunt C. Besides, would it really hurt for you to be happy for me. I have friends, Auntie, good friends. And Asher is, well, he’s a good person.”
He was good and kind and he liked me.
He didn’t see Mya, the girl from the hood; he saw Mya, the girl who had left her home, her life, for something better.
“And what do his parents think about you heading off to New York with their son for New Year?”
“I... I don’t know.” The truth teetered on the tip on my tongue. “But Asher doesn’t care what they think. He’s serious about this thing between us. I am too.”
“Mya, Mya, Mya,” she made a drawn-out groaning sound, “I thought you were more sensible than this.”
“We care about each other,” I said, my voice cracked with frustration. “Isn’t that enough?”
“For now, maybe. But what about after graduation? What then? You’ll go off to different schools and he’ll what, wait for you?” she asked incredulously. “I’ve heard rumors about that family, about his father’s connections. You think he’s going to sit by and watch as his only son dates you?” Her tone was almost scathing, as if I was the villain here. Not Mr. Bennet and his bigoted ideals.
The need to defend Asher, to defend our fledgling relationship burned inside me. “Asher is—”
“Going to break your heart. I’m sorry, Mya, I know you don’t want to hear it but he’s going to go off to college; meet some rich, white girl his parents approve of; and leave you high and dry.”
“You’re wrong.” Anger slithered through me, making my body tremble and tears sting my eyes. “I know you only want to protect me, Auntie. But I know Asher and you’re wrong about him.”
Maybe this thing between us was doomed to fail. Maybe it was destined to be nothing more than a short whirlwind of stolen kisses and secret touches. But in my heart of hearts, I knew Asher would never purposefully hurt me. He didn’t have it in him.
“I love you,” I said quietly, my heart aching for the crack forming in our relationship. “But I’ve made my choice. I choose Asher.”
Aunt Ciara’s expression hardened, her lips thinning with disapproval. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t have to. I felt her disappointment. It permeated the air, making it dense and oppressive. But then my cell phone blared to life, drowning out our tension. I ignored it, trying to think of how to smooth over the crack forming between us.
“You should probably answer that.” She bit out when it blared again.
“Fine, I’ll be up in my room.” I marched out of the kitchen, desperate to hear Asher’s voice, only to be disappointed when I saw Shona’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hey, this unexpected.”
“A girl can’t call her girlfriend no more?”
“Shona, it isn’t eve
n like that.” Closing the door behind me, I dropped down on the edge of the bed. “How’s it going?”
“How do you think it’s going? Jermaine about damn near lost his shit when he found out you’d left… again.”
“I told him—”
“Don’t matter what you told him. He isn’t going to let this thing go.”
“He has to. I’m done. I’ve moved on. I…” Asher’s infectious smile flashed in my mind. “I’m seeing someone.”
“The white boy JT lookalike?”
“And he plays football,” I teased, trying to lighten the tense mood.
“Damn, girl, it’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.” Silence lingered over the line.
“He’s a good guy, Shona.”
“Whatever you say. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again,” she let out a heavy sigh. “Listen, I was calling to tell you Jermaine came around asking about you. I didn’t tell him nothing, but I don’t think he’s going to forget you anytime soon.”
“He has to,” I repeated unsure who I was trying to convince more.
Her.
Or myself.
“My life is here now, Shona. He doesn’t know I’m in Rixon. He can’t ever know.”
“Chill, girl. I ain’t going to say nothing. But I can’t guarantee Jesse won’t get involved if he keeps coming around here.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nah, you’re not. But I get it. You had to get out. Stay safe, girl.”
“You too,” I whispered. Shona hung up and I clutched the phone to my chest. Jermaine wasn’t going away. Even though I’d changed my number and told him we were done, he was still there. Haunting me like a ghost.
I didn’t expect Aunt Ciara and Shona to understand my relationship with Asher, but it sucked that I had to constantly defend it to the people closest to me. Aunt Ciara had her reasons, but Asher wasn’t her ex. He wasn’t going to make false promises only to break my heart and leave me bloody and bruised and alone. And Shona… well, she didn’t get it. Where we came from you didn’t date white boys.
Even though their disapproval didn’t surprise me, a small part of me had hoped they would see things from my perspective. That they would at least try to understand what it was like to be an eighteen-year-old falling headfirst for a guy who made her laugh and feel safe and cherished. A guy who wouldn’t bring pain and danger and heartache to my doorstep. But the louder their warnings got, the quieter my conviction became, the two halves of me at war.
