Sweet Rome (Sweet Home)

by Tillie Cole

  Shit.

  Harshly pulling out of Shelly’s clutch, I got to my feet, barking at Ally, “Is she upset?”

  “What the hell do you think? Her whole damn day has just been ruined by you, you stupid idiot!”

  “Fuck! What’s she saying? Is she done with me?”

  She didn’t answer right away, so I asked again, “Al! Is she done with me? What’s she saying?”

  “I think so. I don’t know? She wants to leave; she’s in shock. I’ve tried to tell her that nothing is happening here, but, well…” She pointed to Shelly. “It kind of looks bad from where she’s standing.”

  A searing pain shot into my chest and, groaning in fury, I threw my head into my hands.

  “Rome, I thought you said she was nothing to you?” Shelly asked from beside me as Ally shot daggers from her eyes.

  “Shut the fuck up, Shel!” I snarled, causing Mrs. Blair to gasp and my momma to jump to her feet in outrage.

  Casting a glance back at Molly, I saw the crushing grief on her face, and I lost it the moment I saw her run. She took off down the street, hailing for a cab.

  Pushing Shelly out of the way, I screamed, “Molly!” as loud as I could. She stopped and stood still on the spot, and I felt myself breathe again. Her shoulders sagged, and she slowly turned around. Our eyes met, and I tried to show her how sorry I was in my gaze, but when I smelled my mother’s strong perfume right beside me and heard her mocking laugh in my ear, I froze.

  “I’ll ruin her, Romeo. This is the moment you decide if you want to destroy someone’s life. Believe it, boy. You choose her, I’ll ruin you both.”

  Indecision plagued me. My momma always meant what she said. She never stopped until she got what she wanted. I’d seen her in action. When she wanted to be head of some damn committee, she tarnished the reputation of others in the running until she won. When she wanted my grades to be higher than they were in middle school, she blackmailed the teacher until my GPA miraculously increased. If she wanted Molly out of the picture now, all my instincts were telling me she would work out a way to get it done. I couldn’t put Molly through it. Christ, she’d been through enough—her daddy, her grandma, to name just a couple—but I couldn’t lose my girl.

  “Rome! Don’t listen to her. She can’t control you anymore!”

  I stared at my cousin but couldn’t speak, causing her to groan in exasperation and throw her hands up in the air.

  I could practically feel my mother’s sense of victory, the fucking smug smile plastered on her botoxed face, but when Molly’s golden eyes fell to the floor and she caught the attention of a slowing cab, my flight-or-fight instinct kicked in.

  Turning to my momma, I said, “It’s over. You won’t come near me or Mol again. If you do, you’ll regret it; that’s a promise I’ll make sure I keep.” It was the first time in my whole life I’d stood up to her and the first time I’d ever seen her taken aback, completely speechless.

  Jumping over the small white fence, I took off running across the road, dodging oncoming cars, ignoring my momma’s frantic, “Rome, don’t you dare!” from behind me.

  Molly jumped into the cab. I raced toward it, unable to bear the thought of her slipping away from me. The cab began to move. Pumping my legs as hard as I could, I ran beside it, pulling at the door handle, frantically begging her to stop, to listen. She looked so fucking broken sitting so small in the back seat. It made my heart ache when she turned her face from me and the cab screeched away, leaving me standing, alone in the middle of the street.

  Backing onto the sidewalk, I sprinted for my truck, ignoring the shoppers gawking at me. Ally, Cass, and Lexi were still standing on the sidewalk in front of me. When Cass saw me approach, she stood straight in my path, blocking my route.

  “Move, Cass,” I warned, but she ignored me, and, damn, that crazy woman swung her fist straight into my fucking stomach.

  “You stupid shithead! How dare you treat Molly like this?”

  Winded and bending over slightly, I argued, “It wasn’t what it looked like. I was fuckin’ protecting her. I would never cheat on Mol. For Christ’s sake! She’s all I want!”

  “Well, it sure looked like something was going on, and with that skinny bitch, too!” Cass was breathing heavily, and I could see the fury in her red face as she stared me down.

  “Cass, honey, leave him be.” Lexi pulled on Cass’s arm, calming her down, before looking at me, shyly. “Molly won’t take this well, Rome. She doesn’t trust people easily and I think you just about broke her heart today when she saw you with Shelly.”

  “I know that, Lexi, but hear this: she’s mine and I’ll do anything to protect her. You have my word.”

  Even to me, my voice sounded strangled. But Lexi must have heard my sincerity because she smiled and squeezed my arm in support.

  Ally pulled me in for a quick hug, whispering, “Go get her.”

  That was exactly what I intended to do.

  I pulled the truck into park and ran to the backyard of the sorority house, climbing up to Molly’s balcony, only to be met by closed doors.

  Shit! She never locked her balcony doors; it was obvious what she was trying to say.

  Panicking, I rattled the handle repeatedly and yelled, “Mol! Open the fuck up. I know you’re in there!” I pounded on the doors, almost ripping them off their hinges, but they wouldn’t budge.

  I could see a shadowed outline of Mol curled up on her bed, and I needed her to hear me out, but it was clear she wasn’t about to open the doors and let me in.

  Climbing back down the balcony, I ran around the house and burst through the front doors. Some jock-looking chick ran into the hallway and began trying to push me back out of the door as I began to climb the stairs.

  “What the hell? You can’t just come in here… wait!” she shouted, jumping right into my path.

  “MOVE!” I yelled. She didn’t, so, picking her up by the waist, I moved her to the side, setting off running once more, the muscled brunette immediately following behind.

  Catching sight of Molly’s door, I quickened my pace, the chick behind me screaming, “Molly! Molly! Watch out—”

  Shouldering through the door, I found Molly sitting up on her bed, eyes red and gaping at me in shock.

  “I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t leave. Do you want me to call security?”

  I could see Molly was considering it. But no fucker was making me go anywhere. She was going to hear me out whether she liked it or not.

  “Don’t. Even. Think it,” I said in a stern voice, watching Mol sigh in defeat and then shake her head at her friend.

  “You sure?” the chick asked again. Man, I was about to shove the damn girl out the door myself.

  “Yes. Thanks, Cait,” Mol answered with a small, appreciative smile.

  Almost snarling at me in disgust, Cait insisted, “Holler if you need me.” She left, and the silence that filled the room was excruciating.

  “Just leave, Romeo. I have nothing to say to you,” Molly said coldly, looking so damn small in the center of her bed.

  She’d given up on me; that much was obvious. My desperate fury took hold, and my hands were literally shaking with fear. I marched over to the bed and shouted, “Well, I have something to say to you!”

  Her brown eyebrows drew in and she lashed out, “What? That you’ve been lying and cheating all this time, and that when you say you’re training in the gym, what you really mean is that you’re meeting up with Mommy Dearest and that tart?”

  “That’s not what fuckin’ happened at all!” I tried to explain, but she put her hand up and hissed, “Whatever. I don’t care. Leave.”

  I couldn’t let her do this, couldn’t let her push me away without hearing me out, so I reached out, holding her in my arms, forcing her to listen. “My momma asked me to meet her today. Some kids charity she’s on asked for a signed Tide jersey for an auction. I went to drop it off and when I got there, Shelly and Mrs. Blair were waiting with her at the restaurant.
”

  Her lips pursed, like they did when she was studying, and I knew I had her attention. Placing her back on the bed, I explained, “They fucking bombarded me. Shelly’d told them about you and they started going off about how irresponsible I was and all that shit. My momma laid into me and told me if I didn’t break it off, she’d make damn sure she did. I can’t let that happen to you.”

  How could she understand the real meaning of what I was saying? I’d never told her about how bad my parents were. She’d seen my daddy hit me, and now my momma manipulate me, but that was just a taster of how they could be. How could I possibly tell her the extent of their cruelty?

  Seeing nothing but understanding in my girl’s eyes, I confessed, “My folks… they… Look, baby. They treat me real bad. Not going into it, but they do, and I’m their fuckin’ son! I couldn’t let her upset you in the same way, so I made up some bullshit about you being just a fling, a friend. Shelly’s too stupid to even realize I was lying. I stayed for the lunch to appease my momma. No way will anything happen to you. They’d have to get through me first.”

  Titling her head, she asked, “Why did you lie and say you were going to the gym? Why not just be honest with me?”

  “I was honest, I swear. She called when I was finishing up. The plan was to just drop off the jersey and leave.”

  “But Shelly was touching you. She kissed you and you let her! How could you do that?”

  God, how could I make her understand? “Because I don’t want my parents to come after you! I had to play along… to protect you. You don’t understand what they’re like! Powerhouses, Mol. Around here they’re fuckin’ powerhouses.”

  Leaning down, I captured Molly’s flushed face in my hands. “God, baby. I would never do anything to lose you. Believe me when I say that I sat there and endured their scheming hell to protect you. Fuck Shelly, I can’t stand the bitch!” It was true. Any shred of respect I had for that girl had been completely eradicated over the last few days.

  Running a hand down my face, I said, “Don’t matter now of course.”

  “Why’s that?”

  I hadn’t even had time to think over what I’d done today and couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh as I did. “Because I told Momma to shove her Blair/Prince marriage merger bullshit when I came gunning after you.”

  “You did?” she said, hopeful, and I knew I’d gotten through to her, my rigid body relaxing for the first time since she’d bolted into the cab.

  Molly watched me as I approached the bed, climbing up, forcing her onto her back with the weight of my body. “Mm-hmm. Told her I ain’t ever marrying Shelly because I’m with you. That I’m done with their shit because I’m with you. Plus, I ran down the street after your cab, screaming and banging on the paintwork. I’m sure that hammered home my point.”

  Her pupils dilated, and she clawed at my hair, bringing me to her lips, only to say, “You need to tell me if you’re going through stuff with your parents. Tell me so I can’t doubt you. It’s hard for me to trust, but I’m learning to trust you. Please… confide in me.”

  I wanted to, but I wasn’t ready yet. I’d never told a damn soul the truth about my parents, about the years of abuse I’d suffered… Never truly acknowledged it until Molly came into my life, showing me things could be different, that I could choose a different path. “Baby… you’re safe with me, and I would’ve told you everything that happened when I got home. I didn’t expect to see you. God, it almost destroyed me when I saw your reaction from across the road… and then you ran, after you promised you’d never run from me.”

  She shuffled beneath me, and, at the movement, my cock hardened and I pushed against her crotch.

  Sucking in a sharp breath, she murmured, “I do trust you. I-it just looked bad. She kissed you. I… I didn’t like it. I needed to get away.”

  Grinding harder, I said, “I’ll never cheat on you, Shakespeare. You’re too damn important to me for that. I told you I’d never fuck around on you, and I don’t like to be doubted.”

  “Okay,” she blurted, her breath now ragged and uneven.

  I wasn’t going to dry-fuck her like some damn horny teen. If she wanted me to give her what she needed, I was going to do it right.

  Pushing her thighs apart and securing them in position with my hands, I leaned in and swiped my tongue from her pussy to the tip of her clit. Her hips almost lifted off the mattress as she cried out, testing the roots of my hair as her clenched fists wrapped around the long strands.

  She tried to move her legs, but I held her tight as I worked her with my tongue, plundering in and out and sucking on her clit. Her moans were building and she was growing hotter—I knew she was close. My cock throbbed and I knew needed her too come before I came like a damn teenager in my boxers.

  With a breathy moan, Mol fell apart, thighs tightening, her fingers pulling on my hair.

  She was beautiful.

  Moving back to the pillow beside her, I held her tightly in my arms, gripping onto her as if she might change her mind, as if she were going wise up and kick me the hell out of her life at any second. Today had been too close of a call.

  After lying still for several minutes, Molly lifted her head, a conflicted smirk on her lips. “God, Rome. You’ve got me so confused. I never know whether I’m coming or going with you.”

  I couldn’t help but make the obvious joke. “Always coming I hope.”

  Giggling, she jabbed me in the ribs, but the weight of today began to play on my mind, her now-worried expression pressing me to confess, “I’m not sure if you get the significance of what I did today in coming after you, in leaving my momma like that.”

  I was never going to tell Molly this, but I was scared shitless, petrified at what she may try to do. As I stared into Molly’s golden eyes, I knew I wouldn’t survive it if I lost her.

  “Don’t ever leave me,” I whispered, the truthful words almost involuntarily spilling from my mouth in a moment of weakness.

  “Hey, what’s all this?” she asked soothingly as she pressed loving kisses to the top of my head.

  “I just can’t believe I’ve got you in my life. You make everything better and I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I won’t leave you.”

  “You almost did today. You told me to leave you.” It came out sounding accusatory, but that shit hurt; it hurt to know I didn’t yet have her full trust.

  “It was a misunderstanding,” she said firmly, but I heard her heartbeat increase slightly as I laid my head on her chest, causing me to look up at her in concern.

  Swallowing, she asked, “Truthfully, Rome, how much trouble are your parents going to cause us?”

  I didn’t know that answer. I wish I did. There was a chance they would let everything go and cut all ties with me once and for all, but knowing my folks, I was preparing for the exact opposite. They could really try and hurt us. And I would protect my girl if it was the last thing I did.

  18

  “Tide star QB’s lucky kiss with girlfriend to save the season!”

  I smirked at Reece as he read tonight’s headline from the game report, thinking back in amusement to Molly cringing in the stands as the crowd chanted for her to come to the field and kiss me, wearing the Tide jersey I’d left on her pillow for her this morning—my number on the back, of course, with another sappy note attached.

  My jersey for MY girl to wear at the game.

  Sit with Ally and I’ll come to collect my good luck sweet kiss.

  Your Romeo X

  Yeah, yeah, I was whipped, and I honestly couldn’t give two shits about it. In fact, I fucking loved it.

  Her legs had shook the entire way to the field, but pride burst in my chest as I showed the hundred thousand fans in the stadium and millions around the world that Molly Shakespeare belonged to me.

  As she approached my place at the sideline, I could see her eyes focused on the floor, her lips moving as she muttered words of reassurance to herself. I bet she never though
t in a million years that my begging her to come to my game, in the library all those weeks ago, would result in her being put in the spotlight to kiss her quarterback boyfriend due to superstition.

  As she stood before me, I inched forward, gripping the nape of her neck, making her focus only on me and, pressing my forehead to hers, I whispered, “Hey, Mol.” With that she relaxed, a tiny smile on those pink lips.

  “Hey, you.”

  “You going to give up that lucky sweet kiss?”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  She had no idea how much.

  “It most definitely is.” With that I leaned in and kissed her, my tongue searching for hers—duelling, lapping, owning—and then I broke away before I got too hard in my tight football trousers—family game and all.

  The Tide won.

  Molly was praised for the power of her lucky kiss, and then my bastard cousin chased me from my girl and ordered me to come back tonight at nine; she’d planned something for Mol. But only Christ knew what she was up to.

  It hit eight forty-five and I couldn’t wait any longer, so me and the guys headed out to Mol’s sorority house. It was like withdrawal whenever we were apart, and I knew it probably wasn’t healthy, but quite frankly, I didn’t give a shit about that either.

  Knocking on the sorority house door, Reece, Austin, Jimmy-Don, and I were greeted by the jock from the other night—Cait, was it? Perfect, we’d hit it off the first time so well.

  After rolling her eyes and groaning in disappointment right in my face, Cait left the door open and made her way up the stairs, looking back only to snap, “Stay there. Don’t come upstairs! I’ll tell the girls y’all are here.”