by Elle Thorpe
“You’re a good-looking boy, Rafe. You’ve never had a shortage of cheerleaders throwing themselves at you. Make a little effort, and I’m sure you could have Lacey Knight eating out of your hand. Couldn’t you?”
It wasn’t really a question, more like a command. I didn’t say anything.
I should have just agreed. My silence only pissed him off further. “For fuck’s sake,” he muttered. “Do I have to spell everything out for you like you’re a goddamn fucking toddler? When you get to school today, find her and ask her to be your date tonight.”
I snapped my head in his direction. “What? Dad, no. We’re already doing the speech together.”
“So this is the perfect opportunity. You’ll have her alone, away from all the other boys at school.”
I just turned away, staring out the window, wishing we were already at school.
“You’ll do this, Rafe. I’m not asking. I’m telling.”
There was nothing new there. That was how he’d run my entire life. And he never failed to remind me.
He was the boss.
He was the one in charge.
I was just his minion.
17
Lacey
Rafe caught up to me in the hallway before lunch. I jumped in surprise when he put his hand on my arm and tugged me into the nearest empty classroom.
I raised one eyebrow. “Uh, hi?”
“Hey, sorry. I just…” He glanced through the glass panel of the door and then pulled me away from it.
I folded my arms across my chest. “Did you seriously just drag me in here, only because you’re embarrassed to be seen with me out there? What do you want?”
“The dinner thing tonight…did you, uh, practice your speech?”
“Of course. I’d never do something like that unprepared. Question is, did you? And will you even be sober for it. Judging by the smell of your clothes, I’m going to go with, probably not.”
“I practiced. And I’ll be fine by then.”
I doubted it. Rafe wasn’t fine at all. His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes disheveled. I softened a little. “Are you okay? You seem…stressed.” Which was weird for a guy who’d probably been smoking pot that morning. Wasn’t pot supposed to chill you out?
Rafe sat on the edge of a desk and pointed to the spot next to him. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Mean what?”
“When you asked if I was okay. You act like you actually care about the answer.”
“Of course I do.”
He just stared at me. “You don’t even realize that’s weird, do you?”
“It’s not weird. Lots of people care how you are, Rafe.”
“Name one.”
“Me. Jagger.” Me again, I added silently. Because I really did. There was an odd sadness behind his eyes, and I had a suspicion his drug use was more of a coping mechanism than a pure desire to get high. Nobody got high before class on a regular basis, just for fun. He intrigued me. This smart boy, who seemed hell-bent on smoking his future away.
He didn’t say anything. Just shifted an inch closer until our arms touched. I liked the warmth of him.
“Will you be my date for tonight?” he asked.
I blinked. “Date?”
He grinned. “Yeah, you know. I’ll pick you up. We can go together. Maybe I’ll bring you a flower.”
“I don’t really like flowers.” My cheeks went hot. I don’t know why I said that. It wasn’t even true. But he’d caught me off guard.
He waited a moment, then he pushed to his feet. “Shit, it’s okay. You don’t have to say yes. I just thought—”
I grabbed his hand. We both glanced down at our joined fingers in surprise. “I didn’t say no. I’m just wondering what Colt will think of this. Were you planning on telling him that you’re defying his ‘run me out of school’ orders?”
Rafe sighed. “Colt isn’t my biggest problem right now.”
There it was again. That sadness behind his icy-blue eyes. It drew me in. “What is?”
“Go out with me tonight, and maybe I’ll tell you. Come on. These dinners are completely dull. If we’re being forced to go, shouldn’t we get to have a little fun?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what fun was to Rafe. But if we both had to spend our Friday night in a roomful of overly entitled snobs in suits, then I guessed we may as well do it together. “Pick me up at six, then?”
He grinned. “It’s a date.”
I stared at the hideous green-and-gold uniform in the mirror, twisting left and right, but there wasn’t an angle that magically made it any better. I traipsed out into the living room.
Selina’s eyes widened. “Oh my.”
“I know,” I grumped. “It’s hideous.”
“There’s a reason none of the kids at your school wear the uniform. And that right there is it.”
We both dissolved into laughter.
“It’s good to see you smiling,” I said. “And at least you look fantastic.”
Selina did a little spin, showing off the magenta dress that clung to her body like a second skin. She’d paired it with tall black heels and a cute, lightweight jacket. Her shiny black clutch was gripped between her fingers, her nails perfectly matching the color of her dress.
“Thank you. It’s nice to smile. And to wear something other than sweatpants.”
I hadn’t actually seen Selina in sweatpants once over the last few weeks. I doubted she even owned any. But I understood her point. She hadn’t worn anything quite as bright and cheerful as she was tonight, either.
“You went all out for this dinner, huh? It’s probably going to be boring.”
Selina pulled me up from the couch. “Getting to see you speak is never boring, sweetheart. And I needed this. I needed a reason to get back out there. Now, what time is this boy picking you up? I don’t know how I feel about this.”
“You know, most parents would be pleased when their kid says she’s going on a date with the principal’s son.”
“And if you were talking about the principal of Edgely Academy, I’d be over the moon. But we’re talking about Saint View…this boy does have all his teeth, right?”
I snorted on a laugh, and Selina threw me a wink.
“Be nice, okay? Try not to be a total snob.”
“I’m not a snob!”
I raised one eyebrow.
“Okay, fine, I am. But only when it comes to you. I just want you to have the very best. And that includes a boyfriend who isn’t going to end up in prison before he’s twenty-one.”
I groaned. This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to introduce her to Banjo. She said these things in jest, but I was ninety-nine percent certain that deep down, she meant them. She hadn’t looked impressed when I’d told her she’d have to drive to the dinner alone tonight, because I had a date. Her frown hadn’t lessened any when I’d talked Rafe up, telling her how he was top of the junior year. She hadn’t gone all-out and put a blanket ban on me dating anyone from Saint View, but if she knew Banjo’s brother was a drug dealer, or that Rafe got high before class, she would have a restraining order out before I could blink.
A knock at the door had her raising an eyebrow. “He knocks. I have to admit, I’m surprised.”
“Did you expect him just to honk from the gates?”
“I expected him to holler your name like a caveman, actually.”
I didn’t think she was joking. Shooting her a warning look, I smoothed the ugly uniform, then opened the door, Selina close behind me.
“Hi—” I faltered, surprise catching me off guard when Rafe wasn’t alone on the doorstep. “Um, Principal Simmons. Hi.”
I shot a ‘what the fuck’ look at Rafe, who stood behind his father. His face was like a storm cloud, and I was pretty sure I could hear his teeth grinding from across the doormat.
“Good evening, Miss Knight. I hope you don’t mind, but I tagged along with my son. I couldn’t just sit in the car while he came to collect you. That wo
uld have been awfully rude.”
He peered past me to Selina. “You must be Lacey’s aunt? We spoke on the phone at the beginning of the school year. I’m Todd Simmons. Principal of Saint View High.” He gave Selina a charming smile and then added, as if it were an afterthought, “And Rafe’s father.”
Simmons offered a hand to my aunt and I slipped past them. Rafe and I watched, dumfounded, as my aunt took his hand and beamed at him.
“Todd. Have we met before? You seem familiar.”
I doubted my aunt had ever been in the same room as Todd Simmons. It’s not like their social circles overlapped. But she had a good poker face. Surely she was as confused as I was about what was going on here.
“We should go,” Rafe said without introducing himself or greeting my aunt. “We’re going to be late.”
Selina frowned at his rudeness, and his father shot him a glare. But Rafe was having none of it. He was on a noticeably short fuse that was about to fizzle out. He threw his hands up and stalked to the car.
I chased after him. “Rafe! Wait!”
I caught up with him as he slid into the driver’s seat. I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to sit, but Principal Simmons and my aunt were both still chatting in the doorway, so I picked the passenger seat. From there, I could see Rafe’s face. He stared straight ahead at his father, his expression ready to turn the man to ash.
“I can’t believe him.” He swore low under his breath. “He’s a fucking toad.” Then he swiveled toward me. Pain burned behind his eyes. Suddenly, he slammed his hand down on the door lock, which set off a whirring noise, all the other doors locking in unison. “Put your seat belt on.”
He didn’t give me time to protest. He turned the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. Then we were shooting backward out of the driveway at a speed that churned my stomach.
“Rafe!” I yelped, grabbing for my seat belt.
“Yeah?”
Principal Simmons was running down the driveway after us. His face was red, and he pumped his arms, chasing us down. There was something inherently cartoonish about him. I couldn’t help but laugh. The entire situation was ridiculous.
“Drive!”
The corner of Rafe’s mouth lifted in a grin. “I knew I liked you for a reason, princess.” He threw the car into drive and put his foot down on the accelerator.
I twisted, looking over my shoulder at Principal Simmons and my aunt standing in the middle of the road, mouths hanging open.
My aunt would kill me later, and this likely spelled doom for any sort of friendship Rafe and I could have had. My aunt would never allow it after he fishtailed a car out of our street. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if she were calling the cops right now to report my kidnapping.
Despite all that, Rafe’s casual comment was what I concentrated on. “You like me, huh?”
Rafe grinned. “Maybe.”
I maybe liked him, too.
I liked Banjo as well. But I was here, in a car with Rafe, not at all kidnapped, despite what my aunt probably thought. And Banjo and I were just fooling around. We’d both said as much. We weren’t a couple, so if I was maybe a little intrigued by Rafe, too, no big deal.
Rafe drove us out of Providence and to the outskirts of Saint View. He slowed as we approached the venue where the dinner was being held. But instead of parking, he gave the building a middle finger salute, put his foot down on the accelerator, and took the winding ocean-front road to the cliffs that overlooked the beach.
I didn’t comment. I might have spent time preparing for the speech we were supposed to give, but the allure of Rafe with his guard down was a thousand times more interesting than some stuffy dinner.
At the lookout that sat atop the cliffs, he pulled the car to a stop and got out, slamming the door behind him. I did the same, meeting him at the front of the car. He sucked in deep breaths, hands held to the back of his head, while he stared out over the ocean. The sun was getting low, and a wind whipped around us, chilling me through my flimsy blouse.
“Shit, sorry. I didn’t even let you grab your jacket. Here. Take mine.” Rafe shrugged out of his school blazer and put it over my shoulders.
“Thanks.” I leaned on the hood of the car, the metal beneath my ass still warm from our drive.
It didn’t take Rafe long to start talking.
“I can’t stand him. How sad is that? I despise the man who helped bring me into this world. If I could push him off this motherfucking cliff, I would.” He picked up a stone and hurled it over the edge. It disappeared without a sound. Then he turned to me, gaze full of regret. “Shit, Lacey. That back there was really embarrassing. If you want me to take you home, I will.”
“Want to explain instead? Because I’m confused. I thought we were going together. As a date?”
“Yeah, me, too. Then my dad tells me at the last minute that he was coming with me. I didn’t know he was going to ambush you and your aunt like that. He’s unbelievable.”
“Why would he bother? Neither of us are all that interesting.”
Rafe sighed. “He’s a user. He’s been desperate to meet up with your aunt from the minute you started school at Saint View. He probably had some grand notion of all of us arriving together, with your aunt on his arm or something. I don’t know. He was insistent I bring you tonight. I’m pretty sure he had this whole thing planned out. Meanwhile, my mother is at home, alone and upset, because he didn’t even invite her. He pulls this shit all the time. Treats her like she’s his pet or something. He’s completely isolated her. She used to have friends once, but not anymore. He’d sulk for days if she tried to see any of them, and eventually it became easier for her to just not see them at all.”
I gaped at him. “That’s abuse! Now I feel bad for leaving my aunt there with him.”
Rafe shook his head. “He’s probably charming the pants off her. But he’s a snake. Warn her. He’s not the man he makes out to be.”
I nodded. I felt awful for his poor mother. The thought of the woman being told to stay home so her husband could flirt with someone else…with someone who’d just lost her husband, no less… Bile rose in my throat.
“Sorry your dad is an asshat.”
Rafe snorted on a laugh and came to sit on the hood beside me. “Yeah, me, too.”
“But you’re kind of an asshat, too, you know.”
Rafe sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you out, just to keep my father happy. Dick move. My bad.”
I folded my arms over my chest, heat creeping up the back of my neck. This was embarrassing. I’d let myself get excited over Rafe asking me out, thinking he was sincere. I hated that I was now disappointed.
Rafe nudged me with his elbow. “You angry?”
I twisted to look at him. The storm in his expression had died down. “Yeah, I’m angry.” But my words had little power behind them. Because there was something about Rafe that just made it impossible to be upset with him. Especially after he’d confided in me about his mother. He reminded me of a kicked puppy I just wanted to take care of. If a puppy could be six foot, gorgeous, with muscles for days thanks to football practice.
“I don’t want you to be. Thing is, I wanted to ask you out. Not the way I did. But for real. A proper date. Not to this stupid school thing.”
“Don’t make up bullshit just to dig yourself out of a hole.” I dropped my gaze to my hands. I didn’t need his backtracking. He’d been forced into asking me out. That was that. He didn’t need to try to make me feel better about it now. I was a big girl. I could take it.
He reached out and took my chin in his hand, tilting my face so I had to face him. “Hey. I’m not lying. That very first day of school? I laid claim on you.”
“Excuse me, what? You laid claim on me? What the hell does that mean?” If he was trying to get out of a hole, this wasn’t the way to do it.
But he was insistent and wouldn’t let me pull away. “It means I was so damn attracted to you, that when Banjo said
he had dibs because he’d met you first, I broke our code and said he could go fuck himself.”
I rolled my eyes. “How incredibly caveman of you both. Did you ever think to ask what I wanted?”
He inched closer. “Honestly? No. But I’m asking now. What do you want, Lacey?”
My mouth dried.
Rafe chuckled, and the sound rolled over me like hot molasses. Sweet, thick, and delicious.
“Come on, princess. Cat got your tongue? Tell me what you want? Who you want?”
My brain scrambled. “I don’t know,” I whispered. My heartrate kicked up a notch. He was so close, and he smelled so good. Something inside me yearned to lean in and beg him to kiss me.
His thumb grazed over my lip. “What if I help you make up your mind?”
His mouth was less than an inch from mine, and I could barely breathe with the anticipation.
“Close your eyes, Lacey. Let me help you decide.”
As if my brain had completely packed up and left town, my eyes fluttered closed of their own accord. His lips brushed the corner of my mouth, and I gasped at the contact. How such a tiny touch could have such an impact on me, I didn’t know. But all of Rafe’s touches seemed to affect me like that. The second pass of his lips made mine tingle, and when his mouth finally pressed to mine, I was ready and waiting, dying inside from the anticipation of what his kiss would be like.
His tongue swept across the seam of my lips, urging mine open. His hand held my head in place, not that he needed to. I wasn’t going anywhere. I leaned into the kiss, tasting him, exploring him. My hands fell onto his chest, then I gripped his shirt and dragged him closer. My head swam, not quite sure how we’d gotten here, but wanting it more than I wanted air.
We molded together, kissing in the fading light. It felt good. Easy. Natural. Like we’d kissed a hundred times before.
When we pulled apart, we were both panting for breath. But I couldn’t turn away. I’d felt that kiss right through my entire body. If he’d looked down, he would have seen my toes curling. If he’d pushed me back on the hood of the car right then and there, I would have gone willingly.