by L A Cotton
Asher wouldn’t hurt me. I didn’t doubt that.
But trying to live in Asher’s world with him, that might just destroy me.
“Not that one,” I said, cringing at the thought of myself in the floral print dress Felicity was holding up against her body.
“You’re right, it’s too… happy.”
“Happy? Are you saying I’m not happy?”
She glanced over at me, fighting a smirk, as I lounged on her bed, surrounded by clothes. “Do you think you’re happy?”
“I’m happy with Asher. He makes me happy.”
“You are so cute right now. He’d love it.”
“Don’t you dare tell him I was sitting here making googly eyes. I have a rep to protect. A thunderstorm rep, apparently.”
“I didn’t say you were thunder but you’re definitely not sunshine either.”
I poked my tongue out at her and picked the silky dress—the one I’d worn to the Bennets’ party—off the pile. “I could wear this again.”
“No, he’s already seen you in that. Besides, that was parental approved. This is New York. You need something… more.”
“More, right.” I rolled my eyes, letting the soft material flutter through my fingertips, remembering how Asher’s eyes had widened when he saw me in it. The way his breath had hitched. The hunger in his expression.
“Show me what you brought over again.” Flick beckoned at me.
Digging out the bag of worn jeans, denim skirts, shorts, and tank tops, I pulled a face. “This is definitely not going to cut it.”
“It’s okay, we still have time. I must have something in here.” She began sifting through her wardrobe again.
My eyes flicked to the dress Flick planned to wear. It was a deep shade of green, cut low in the front and even lower in the back. Her mom had bought it specially for her, wanting her daughter to look the part for our big trip to New York.
I couldn’t deny jealousy had simmered in my veins when she’d told me. I wasn’t jealous of her, or even the dress, but I couldn’t ever remember a time my mom had taken me shopping. And for as strong as I tried to be, I couldn’t pretend my friend’s sparkly new dress wasn’t a reminder of everything I’d lost.
Everything I never had.
“Okay, I think I’ve got it. Show me those jean shorts again. The dark wash ones.”
“These old things?” I’d breathed life into an old pair of jeans by cutting off the legs, but they hardly screamed New York club vibe.
“I think they might work with this.” She spun around, presenting me with a sequined black halter that was too short to be a dress but long enough my midriff wouldn’t be on display. “The back is cut low, so you won’t be able to wear a bra.” Flick flipped the hanger so I could get a look.
“Not a problem.” I climbed off the bed. “Can I try it on?”
“Uh, yes! I need to see it. Try it with the heeled boots.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind me borrowing all this stuff?”
She gave me a pointed look. “As if you even need to ask.”
“Thank you.” Snatching up the shorts and boots, I disappeared into her small bathroom and stripped out of my clothes and shimmied into the outfit. The girl staring back at me was taller, thanks to the killer heels, but she was also older somehow. Wiser.
Felicity was right. I didn’t look like a picture of happiness, my resting bitch face making my expression too serious. But I saw the subtle change in my eyes. The little sparkle. And I knew the root of it. The girl beyond the door, determined to make me look the part for our big night out. The boy I’d be walking hand in hand into the club with. Rixon was changing me and it wasn’t all bad. In fact, some of it was good.
Very good.
“The suspense is killing me,” Flick called through the door. “Are you done?”
Taking a deep breath, I toyed with the material in the front, so it hung just right. “Okay,” I stepped back into the bedroom. “What do you think?”
Her eyes went wide and she clapped, letting out a little shriek of approval. “Hell yes. Asher is going to die when he sees you.”
“Well hopefully he won’t die. I kind of like having him around.”
“This trip is going to be the best.” Felicity beamed. “Just promise me you’ll stick up for me if Vaughn makes a play for Jason.”
“I got your back.” I shot her a playful wink. “Is Asher close to his cousins?”
“Not really. I mean, they seemed friendly enough when we went before, but they don’t keep in regular contact or anything. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” The lie soured on my tongue. But I couldn’t tell her how the little voice in my head was whispering all kinds of things to me.
“They’ll love you, Mya,” she said trying to reassure me. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah.” I forced a smile, telling myself it didn’t matter what they thought.
Even if I knew, deep down, it did.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Asher
Our trip to New York was finally underway. The smaller Rixon grew in the distance, the more I could breathe. My arm tightened around Mya, and she gazed up at me.
“I can’t wait to see the skyline.” Her smile was easy, her words light, but I felt the lingering tension between us.
I’d been a dick the other day at lunch with my mom. But when she’d brought up college, I had immediately gone to a dark place. I knew Mya thought it had something to do with her applying to Cleveland, but she was so far off the mark. That was the only good thing to come out of that conversation. Cleveland wasn’t Pittsburgh but it was close e-fucking-nough. Two hours was nothing. We could have stopovers, spend the weekends together, see each other every other day if we wanted.
But that was the dream.
The reality was much different.
The reality was that my father wouldn’t want me going off to Pittsburgh still dating Mya. He’d want me single; available to date a long list of suitable girls.
Girls like Kellie Ginly.
Pittsburgh was a long way from Rixon though, long enough that we could keep it a secret from him, if it came down to it. Because I couldn’t lose her.
“Where’d you go?” Mya brushed her nose across my jaw, commanding my attention.
“Just thinking.”
She cupped my face, turning me into her. “No thinking. Not today.” Mya kept her voice low, her words only meant for me. “We’re going to go to New York, to celebrate the new year, and have an amazing time with our friends. The rest can wait, okay?”
Nodding, I pressed my head to Mya’s, letting my lips brush over hers. Her fingers tightened into my hoodie as she leaned closer, letting me deepen the kiss.
This.
This was what I needed.
Her kisses.
Her touch.
Just her.
Someone cleared their throat, Jason I think. But I didn’t care, and I didn’t stop. I kept kissing Mya, letting my tongue glide and tangle with hers. Igniting a firestorm inside me, flames searing me inside out.
I would gladly burn for this girl.
“I hope to fuck they aren’t going to do this for the whole ride.” There was no mistaking it was Jase this time. Mya chuckled against my mouth, the sound wrapping around my heart like a vise.
“We should stop,” she breathed.
“No,” I slid my hand into her hair, anchoring her face to mine, “we should keep going.”
“Ash…”
“Mya...” She didn’t resist when I captured her lips again, kissing her harder. Deeper. Kissing with her with everything I had.
“Babe, if they carry on,” Flick said, “we might have to stop.”
I finally broke the kiss, sliding my eyes up front to where Felicity sat beside Jason in the front of the minivan we’d hired. She leaned closer, whispering something to him. “Fuck,” he muttered, his eyes hard on the road.
“Everything okay up there?”
&n
bsp; His eyes met mine in the mirror, and he grumbled, “I don’t know whether to high five you or throw you out of the van.”
“Me? What the hell did I do?” I smothered a grin, settling back against the seat with Mya tucked into my side.
Rixon was miles behind us now. Exactly where I wanted to leave it. Because my girl was right; this was our weekend.
And not a single thing was going to ruin it.
“Holy crap,” Mya gasped as we stepped out of the elevator and into the foyer of the penthouse. It was all glass and chrome and high-end decor. Completely over the top, and probably unworthy of its thousand-dollar-a-night price tag, but Dad’s brother, Uncle Mich, was all too willing to accommodate me and my friends. They were constantly trying to one up each other. Let the kids borrow the penthouse. Let the kids vacation in the Hamptons. Riley and Vaughn worked it to their advantage more than me though. Probably because their father cared even less than mine.
Well, mine cared… just about the wrong things.
“It’s something else, right?” Flick breezed past us as if she owned the place, Jason trailing after her.
“I can’t... wow.” Mya’s eyes were big, awe glittering in her dark irises. “Your uncle owns this?”
“Yeah. My dad uses it for business sometimes.” I moved up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “It’s just an apartment.” My breath brushed the shell of her ear.
“It’s really not. It’s... too much. I knew you were rich, Asher, but this is... wow.”
I chuckled but it came out strained because I knew what she was thinking. “You belong here, with me,” I said.
I didn’t want her to doubt us. Not in Rixon, not here, not anywhere. But I tried to put myself in her shoes, to imagine what it must be like to be the girl plucked out of a bad neighborhood and thrust into my life.
Mya’s hand slid atop of my arms, hugging me back. “How many bedrooms are there?”
“Enough.” My voice was husky as I imagined her laid out before me in nothing but a smile and lust in her eyes. “But if we don’t hurry, Flick and Hailee will claim the best ones.”
She turned in my arms. “They can have them. I’ve got all I need right here.” Mya leaned up, running her tongue along the seam of my mouth. I opened willingly, desperate to taste her again. We’d practically made out the entire journey and it still wasn’t enough.
I still needed more.
“Well, fuck me, it’s true.” My cousin Riley’s voice was like a bucket of cold water. Letting out a heavy sigh, I pressed my head to Mya’s, giving myself a second.
“You must be Mya,” he said, coming closer.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Riley and this moody bitch is my sister, Vaughn.” He flicked his head to the sullen girl standing at his side.
“Hey,” she said coolly, giving Mya the once over before raising a brow at me. “Cousin.”
“Vaughn, it’s good to see you,” I said, letting her slide her slender arms around my shoulder in an awkward hug.
“We brought supplies, they’re in the car,” Riley said. “Where are the guys? Thought the three of you could come give me a hand and let the girls all catch up.”
Vaughn glanced at me again, before she settled her focus back on Mya. I moved closer to my girl, wrapping my arm tighter around her waist, not liking the way my cousin was looking at her.
“Actually,” I said, feeling all kinds of protective. “Why don’t you two get the supplies and I’ll send the guys down in a second?”
“Yeah, whatever.” Riley gave me an easy smile, but I saw the tightness around his eyes. “Come on, sister of mine.” He marched out of the penthouse, Vaughn following behind.
“So they’re your cousins,” Mya said, her eyes still trained on the door. “I can see the family resemblance between you and Riley, and Vaughn seems… nice.”
I bristled at the tightness in her voice. “Don’t worry about Vaughn.”
“Oh, I’m not worried,” Mya stood a little straighter, shooting me a bemused look. “She isn’t the first white girl who’s looked at me like I’m dirt on her shoe, and she won’t be the last.” She shucked out of my hold and took off deeper into the suite.
Cussing under my breath, I ran a hand down my face. This trip was supposed to be a chance to enjoy ourselves, to be a normal couple away from people’s judgment.
But it was already turning into a fucking disaster.
“You good?” Cam asked me as we leaned against the balcony, watching the girls dance on the floor below. The club Riley and Vaughn had brought us to was crammed, bodies packed in like sardines. But upstairs in the VIP section it was more laid back, which was why we were up here while the girls were down there.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Mya seems to be enjoying herself.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “It’s like when it’s just us, or we’re with you guys, things are great.”
“But?”
“But not everyone’s happy about us. You know what Rixon is like, what the kids at school are like. Hell, even some of the guys on the team give me shit about liking Mya.”
“They don’t mean anything by it.”
“Don’t they? You think I don’t see how people look at us?”
“They’re just curious, man. It’s nothing personal.”
“It feels fucking personal.” I scrubbed my jaw, glancing back at the girls. “You saw how surprised Riley and Vaughn were, and they live here.”
Wasn’t New York like the city of diversity or something?
“Did they say something to you?”
“Riley? Nah, he was just surprised. I know he doesn’t give a rat’s ass who I’m with. But Vaughn made it obvious she didn’t approve.” My jaw clenched. Vaughn had since apologized for her initial reaction to Mya, but the damage was already done, and the two of them had steered clear of one another during the pre-club drinks back at the penthouse.
“I just thought we could come here and leave all the bullshit back in Rixon. But it’s never going away is it? There will always be people who look at us together and disapprove.”
“Fuck them all. They don’t matter,” Cam said. “People will always cast judgment. But you’re better than that. Rise above it and just do you.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “I see the way you look at Mya, you’re in deep with her.”
“Gone,” I said quietly. “I’m totally gone for her.”
It was fucking terrifying how strongly I felt about her. How desperately I wanted to make this thing between us work.
Despite all the obstacles stacked against us.
“Then that’s all that matters. The rest is all white noise.”
But it wasn’t. It was incessant chatter, a constant hum in the background that, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t ignore.
“She told Hailee and Flick she’s applied to Cleveland,” Cam went on. “You know, it’s only a couple hours from Pittsburgh.”
“I know.” I curved my hands around the railing.
“So, how do you feel about that?”
“Relieved.” So fucking relieved. “But my old man isn’t going to be impressed.”
“What’s it got to do with your dad?”
“I...” The words were right there. Tell him. Just rip off the Band-Aid and tell him.
Before I could get them out, Cam’s expression darkened. His eyes narrowed past me. “Fuck,” he hissed.
“What is—” I turned just in time to see some douche put his hands on Mya.
I took off, shouldering past a few people, ignoring Cam’s yells as I hurried down the stairs and onto the dance floor. I’d lost Mya and the girls in the crowd, but I could just make out the tall fucker who had put his hands on my girl.
Anger swam in my veins as I pushed and jostled bodies out of the way, bursting through the crowd. “Touch my girl again and you’ll...” The words dried on my tongue as I took in the scene before me. Mya was all up in the guy’s face as he clutched his j
unk, eyes watering, face contorted in agony.
“You fucking bitch,” he seethed.
I wedged myself between them, murder in my expression. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“You’d better put a leash on your bitch or—”
Before I knew what was happening, Mya shot around me and drove her fist straight toward the guy’s face.
“Whoa there, Rocky.” Jase appeared out of nowhere and caught her around the waist hauling her backward before she could do any real damage.
“You’d better keep an eye on that one,” the guy mumbled, already backing up. “A girl like that will get you into all kinds of trouble.”
“Get the fuck out of here.” Jase clapped me on the back, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. I’m glad someone found the situation funny, because I sure as shit didn’t. But I breathed easier when I found Mya safely tucked between Flick and Hailee who, I noticed, each had a hand wrapped around her arm.
With the help of his friends, the guy limped away, taking his wounded pride with him.
“You okay?” Jase asked Mya and the girls as I stood there, trying to rein in the anger still vibrating through me. I wanted to go after the guy, I wanted to—
“He touched my ass.” Mya was in front of me now, her hand touching my arm. She gave me a weak smile. “I might have overreacted a little. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”
Shit. She thought I was embarrassed?
Closing the distance between us, I hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her against my chest. “Never apologize for defending yourself.”
“He was hardly attacking me, Asher,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“No, but he put his hands on you without your permission. If you hadn’t have kneed him in the balls, I would have.” I would have done a whole lot worse than that.
“You mean you burst through the crowd, ready to defend my honor?”