His response came faster than I liked.
Cade: Wow. Everything okay?
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing down the embarrassment that had crept up into my chest.
Me: Yep. No emergency. Just needed a break from the crowd.
There was a soft knock on the door before I was able to send the last message.
I took a deep breath and shoved every single one of Tiffanii’s words to a locked room in my mind. I couldn’t let her weasel her way into my thoughts. Her whole goal was to poison my relationship with Cade. If I allowed her to create a wedge between us, then she won. And there was no way that a Tiffanii—spelled with two i’s—was going to win in my life.
Just for good measure, I sent the text and stood, blotting underneath my eyes with my fingertips, in case it wasn’t Cade at the door. But I was pretty sure it was.
Forcing a smile, I turned the door handle and found Cade on the other side, holding his phone. He must have just received my text because his gaze was trained on the screen.
“A break from the crowd, huh?” he asked, glancing up at me and shooting me one of his stupidly handsome smiles.
In that moment, all my fears and doubts faded away. It was just me and him.
Instead of answering his question, I wrapped my arms around his neck and stepped closer to him. I loved how he responded by wrapping his arms around my waist and bringing me close. I reveled in the feeling that being next to him brought.
He just held me for a few minutes. I was grateful that he didn’t ask me any questions. At this moment, my life was too confusing. I just needed to feel as if someone in my circle was there for me. Patricia was nonexistent. My parents were—whatever they’d become. I was rapidly feeling like I was the only person in my life who was going to stick around.
That is until Cade slipped his way through the wall I’d built up around my heart. I wanted him in my life, and I was scared that he was going to leave. That he’d discover just how ordinary I was and wander off to greener pastures.
“You okay?” he finally asked.
Thankful for the break from my thoughts, I pulled back and nodded. “Yeah. I am.” I smiled up at him.
His gaze was worried. I tried to force a smile, but that just made him study me harder.
“You lying to me, Chocolate Milk?”
I rolled my eyes as I tried to back away. “No.”
But his grip tightened as he stooped down to meet my gaze. “You sure? Did Tiffanii say something to you?”
I bit my lip and shook my head. As much as I tried to fight it, Tiffanii’s words entered into my mind.
Has he told you what he got busted for?
Why hadn’t he told me what he’d done? Was he embarrassed? Didn’t he think I could handle it?
“She told you something, didn’t she.” He cursed under his breath. “What did she tell you?”
Now I needed to know, if it was bad enough for him to get angry over. Before I could stop myself, I pulled back. “She asked me if I knew what you were doing when you got busted. I didn’t say anything. But she could tell that you hadn’t told me.”
He’d loosened his grip, so I took that as my moment to push away and cross my arms. Cade quirked an eyebrow but didn’t move to pull me back.
“I guess that I thought it wasn’t important, so…” He shoved his hands into his front pockets and shrugged.
My stomach clenched. Did he not think that I could handle something like that? “And you think I’m too goodie-two-shoes to handle whatever law you decided to break? I’m not some fragile person you have to protect from the truth.”
I swallowed. Those words probably weren’t meant only for Cade. My parents also needed to realize that keeping things from me hurt almost as much as just saying the words out loud.
Cade raised his hands. Apparently, my slowly rising tone was tipping him off that I really wasn’t okay.
“Do you want to know?” he asked.
I sighed, hoping to release some of the tension that had built up inside of me, and nodded. “Well, if we are going to do whatever this is.” I waved my hand between the two of us. “We should know everything.”
He quirked an eyebrow, and an incredulous expression passed over his face. I shot him a pointed look.
“Okay, well maybe not everything, but the important things.”
He smiled and nodded. “I can handle that.” He reached out his hand and let it hang in the air.
That wasn’t an answer to my question. Trying to hold my hand wasn’t telling me the truth. I brought my gaze up to meet his.
He sighed. “I’m going to tell you. Just not here. Let’s ditch this party and go somewhere quiet.” He leaned closer to me. “I’d rather spend time with you then around these people anyway.” He tipped his face slightly so he could meet my gaze.
My insides melted, just a tiny bit. I sighed and nodded. I liked that idea a lot. So I slipped my hand into his and let him lead me out across the lawn. When we got to his car, he opened my door and waited until I slipped onto the seat.
Once I was situated, he shut the door and jogged around to the driver’s side.
Ten minutes later, he was parked outside the water tower. I didn’t wait for him—I opened the door and climbed out. This place was beginning to feel like our place. Even though I was pretty sure we were trespassing, I wanted to climb that water tower and stare out over the town while my leg brushed against Cade’s.
When we were up there, it was just the two of us. Nothing else mattered. Not my family. Not school. Nothing.
And right now, I needed all of those things to fade away.
When we were up on the platform with our legs dangling over the edge, Cade rested his hands on his thighs as he glanced out at the expanse of the town and darkened sky.
I waited for him to start. It felt wrong to be the first to break the silence between us.
“Last year, my dad was arrested.” He peeked over at me as if he were worried how I would react.
“Arrested?”
He nodded. “Apparently, he’d been scamming a lot of people at his work. It was bad. He was sentenced to five years in prison.”
I cringed. That had to hurt. I couldn’t believe that his dad had gone to prison. “I’m sorry,” I said.
Cade shrugged. “It wasn’t your fault. He was stupid.” He sighed as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “A few months ago, we also found out that he has a second family.”
My stomach dropped. “Cora?”
Cade nodded. “Cora.” He swallowed and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
I studied the pained expression that passed over his face. My heart squeezed. I felt bad for him. That had to be hard to wrap your head around.
“I’m sorry,” I said, reaching out and wrapping my fingers around his hand.
Cade nodded. “Life was pretty rough, and the last thing I wanted was to be at home.” He scoffed. “I’d always thought we had a happy life. I mean, we’re not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we were together. And that was all that mattered.” His voice drifted off as he began to trace circles around the top of my hand.
My stomach tightened. All the feelings about my family and my parents bubbled to the surface. It seemed as if Cade and I weren’t as different as I’d always thought. Sure, I came from the rich side of town, and he lived in the poor side. In the end, we were all just families trying to make things work. We were both affected by heartbreak in the same way.
Wow. I’d been so dumb. How could I have hated Cade for so long? Man was I naive.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Cade shrugged. “I fell in with the Buddha and Tiffanii crowd. I wanted so badly to distract myself—to not feel anything. My mom was a wreck. I didn’t want to be home, where I was reminded of how we used to be.” He scrubbed his face. “Buddha took me in. Made me feel welcome.” His shoulders slumped. “It got to the point where I would do anything, just to please them.”
A tingle starte
d at my spine and raced across my body. This was the moment. He was going to tell me what he’d done to get in trouble.
“They came to me with a plan. An initiation so to speak. They asked me if I was family.” He closed his eyes as if that word felt strange. “I told them I was. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for my family.”
My heart was torn. On the one hand, it was admirable that he felt that kind of loyalty. On the other, he’d broken the law. I think I would struggle with that if someone asked me to jeopardize my future.
He sighed. “Buddha has gotten in trouble before. Apparently, there was this judge that he really hated, Judge Jones.” He looked over at me. I recognized the name, but didn’t know him personally. Cade continued, “He wanted to get back at him. The judge has a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. It’s his pride and joy. We were going to steal it. Joy ride around town in it and bring it back—or at least, that was what Buddha said he wanted to do.”
Cade leaned back on his arm and glanced over at me. I kept quiet, waiting.
“My job was to break in and get the car out of the judge’s garage.” He scrubbed his face. “I know some about cars because I’ve helped my dad restore a few. I wanted to prove myself to Buddha, so I agreed. I broke into the garage and was halfway through hot-wiring it when the judge found me.”
I hadn’t noticed that my heart had picked up speed. When he finished his last sentence, my stomach squeezed. “Wow,” was all I could say.
“Yeah. He was pissed.” Cade straightened and rested his arms on the railing in front of him, moving his gaze to study the scenery around us.
I couldn’t help but watch him. I felt so bad that he had to go through that. “So what happened?”
“Judge Jones took pity on me. Realized who my mom was. Apparently he and my grandma had a thing a long time ago. He decided not to press charges, but he did give me some stipulations: Bring up my grades. Fall in with the right crowd. Do what I’m supposed to.” He glanced over at me. There was a hint of worry behind his gaze. “So, what do you think about me now? Still want to be with me?”
I hesitated as I met his gaze. It was the strangest feeling. Even though he’d told me that he’d broken the law, I didn’t care. This was Cade we were talking about. The guy that I’d hated so much for so long just to realize that, perhaps, he was the perfect guy for me. He could tell me that he was an alien from another planet, and I would still like him.
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. After a few seconds, he chuckled and pulled back.
“That’s a yes?”
I nodded and Cade leaned forward again. This time, he didn’t hold back. His lips moved against mine as he pulled me close. In that moment, no one mattered. Just me and Cade.
As his fingers moved to the back of my neck to cradle my head, I was pretty sure I was never going to be the same. Cade Kelley had changed me. Nothing else mattered but being with him. I’d face my mess of a life tomorrow.
Tonight, I was here.
Chapter Fourteen
The early morning light shone through my eyelids, and I bolted up. I glanced around and groaned.
I was still up on the water tower. And I was still with Cade.
After our intense emotional talk last night, we lay down next to each other to count the stars and just talk. He told me about his siblings and his new half-sister. I kept information about my family light. I didn’t want to overshadow what he’d told me. Plus, I wasn’t even sure how I felt about it all, and I was pretty sure he’d press me for information. Was it wrong that I just wanted him to think that I had everything figured out?
As I grew tired, he suggested a Netflix movie on his phone and I agreed. My house was the last place I wanted to be. I snuggled into him, and we must have fallen asleep.
“Hey,” I said, shaking his shoulder.
Cade’s eyes opened and when his gaze landed on me, he smiled. My stomach instantly turned to Jell-O. Yeah, I’d made the right choice with Cade.
“Morning,” he said, sitting up. He ran his hand through his hair and glanced around.
When he peered back at me, I found myself nodding. This was the first time I’d ever slept next to a boy. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I really wasn’t sure how my parents would feel about it.
“What’s wrong, Chocolate Milk?” he asked in his flirty and teasing tone.
I swallowed as I mustered a glare. “I just—have never slept with a boy before.” Heat raced to my cheeks as the words tumbled from my lips.
Okay, so that wasn’t the best choice of words.
He quirked an eyebrow. Of course.
“Wow, Penny. What do you think is going on around here?” He wiggled his eyebrows and gave me an incredulous look.
I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, I didn’t expect to fall asleep next to you.” I stretched and pain radiated down my back. I guess sleeping on a grate would do that a person.
He wiggled his eyebrows, and he reached into his pocket to pull out a pack of gum. He offered me some and I took it.
“Well, I enjoyed it,” he said, wrapping an arm around his knee and studying me.
How was he always so relaxed?
I let out my breath slowly. I liked that we could be so honest and open with each other. My features must have softened because his grin grew wider.
“You enjoyed it too,” he said.
I dropped my jaw. “I did not.”
He reached up and grabbed my hand. In one swift movement, he pulled me down onto him. I giggled as his arms wrapped around me and brought me close. “Yes, you did,” he said, burying his face in my neck and kissing me.
Shivers erupted across my skin. I reveled in the feeling of being next to him. I relaxed and wrapped my arms around him. He held me for a few more minutes before he moved back; I stifled a groan.
I wanted to stay here forever. Being with him brought me more happiness than anything else in my life.
“I should get some food in you and then bring you home. If we are going to make a go of this”—he motioned between the two of us—“then I want your parents to like me. Bringing you home in the wee hours of the morning probably isn’t the best way to gain their trust.”
At the mention of my parents, my stomach soured. I forced a relaxed look as I shrugged. “Eh, they probably haven’t even noticed that I’m gone.”
When his brow furrowed, I realized that probably hadn’t been the right thing to say. I laughed it off, but he didn’t look like he bought it.
“Penny, wha—”
“Breakfast?” I said, interrupting him.
He closed his lips and studied me. I gave him a look that said, please don’t ask me. That must have come across because he just nodded and helped me up. Once he was standing, he made his way down the ladder of the water tower, and I followed after him.
When my feet landed on the ground, he took my hand and we walked over to his car. He opened my door and I climbed in. Once he was inside, he started the car and took off down the road.
Ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of McDonald’s. It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast, but I was starving.
“Ready for some food?” he asked.
I nodded as I pulled on my door handle and got out. Once we were inside, I excused myself and headed to the bathroom. I washed my hands as I studied my reflection. Man, I looked terrible.
My makeup was smudged, and my hair was crazy. I took a moment to clean up and run my fingers through my hair. After I looked somewhat presentable, I grabbed my phone from my purse. I had ten texts. Five were from Crista asking me how the night went. Two were from my mom and three from my dad.
My parent’s texts went from freaked out to calm. Mom said she talked to Crista and was happy one of us was responsible. Apparently, Crista had covered for me and told her that I slept at her house.
It felt weird to get separate texts from my parents. It was like a visual manifestation of their separation. Why wouldn’t they
just ask each other about me?
Emotions rose up in my throat. Because they weren’t together anymore. I doubted Dad had even been at the house last night.
Not wanting to face that right now, I threw my phone back into my purse and pulled open the bathroom door. I fought back the tears that brimmed on my lids. I couldn’t think about that right now. My parents weren’t going to ruin what I had with Cade.
If I allowed myself to dwell on what was happening to my family, Cade would find out. And I was so close to breaking that I couldn’t speak the words out loud. Maybe it was because I wasn’t ready to face it.
Cade was standing in line when I joined him. We ordered, got our number, and stood off to the side while we waited. Cade wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. I rested my head on his chest. Right here, everything was perfect.
Movement by the door drew my attention. Dad was holding the door for someone. A woman with dark hair and caramel-colored skin.
I blinked. What?
No. That couldn’t be Dad. And that most definitely was not Mom.
I straightened, pulling away from Cade.
He protested, but I didn’t hear him. My ears were ringing as my vision went hazy. I massaged my temples, hoping to alleviate the headache that was pounding against my skull.
There was no way I was seeing this.
Dad leaned down and kissed the woman on her lips, and I wanted to scream. But my throat was so constricted, no sound could come out.
There they stood. In the doorway of McDonald’s. Kissing.
Vomit rose up in my throat. I turned and headed for the side door. I needed some fresh air. I didn’t want to throw up on the floor. Dad would most certainly see me, and I’d have to confront him. And that was the last thing I wanted to do.
Cade must have been following me because, as soon as I got outside, I felt his hand around my arm. I fought him, pulling away so I could put some distance between me, Dad, and Dad’s—whatever she was. Bleh. Even thinking that sentence made my skin crawl.
Rule #2: You Can't Crush on Your Sworn Enemy (The Rules of Love) Page 9