She gave me a short nod. “It is when it’s for the right reason,” she whispered.
Were Deke and I the right reason?
Chapter 25
Deke~
I was officially a pussy.
I knew Roselyn was talking with Delaney about our past relationship, and my entire body was tense with anxiousness. There was a real possibility that Delaney wouldn’t be able to handle our friendship, and I wasn’t ready to act on that yet.
Everyone knew where Linnie was and the silence was…morbid. It was like we were all waiting for the knock on the door from a military chaplain to deliver the news. While none of us had known Delaney well, her reputation for being a quiet, sweet wallflower was a huge indicator that she might have issues with what went down between Liam, Linnie, and me. And, sure, she let me do crazy things to her body this weekend, suggesting she was open-minded, but a threesome might be too much for her. Or, at least, a threesome where everyone was still friends afterwards.
Ramsey, Liam, Emerson, and I were seated at our regular lunch table when Ava storming towards us, and there was only one person at this table that she could possibly be pissed at.
Me.
She stopped at the head of the bench, planted her hands flat on the surface, and ignoring everyone else around us, leaned in until her blue eyes were shooting fire directly into mine. “Do you have a minute?” she hissed.
I stood up, waving everyone else to remain seated. They all knew Delaney had spent the weekend with me, but I didn’t need our business shouted throughout the entire school eatery. “Lead the way,” I said sardonically. I followed Ava through the eatery and out back towards the Ag-Science building. No one ever studied Ag-Science, so it was as quiet as you could get back here.
The second she determined we were clear…
She. Went. Off.
Hands planted on her hips she looked up at me and spewed at me violently. “Look, Deke, I’ve never had a problem with you before,” she started, “but I just spent fourth period with Delaney crying in the fucking school restroom, you sorry sonofabitch! She’s crying because you spent all weekend screwing her-which, she’s way too fucking good for you to begin with-and this morning you’re ignoring her like the hundreds you threw on the nightstand should be good enough!”
I had my hand around her neck and her body slammed up against the wall before she knew what hit her. “Don’t you ever fucking talk about Delaney like that again,” I hissed in her face.
But Ava didn’t back down. Ava was fucking crazy, and I knew it. “Don’t ever fucking treat Delaney like that again,” she hissed back. “I trusted you! I fucking trusted you to take care of her, that’s why I called you Friday night. And what do you do? You sleep with her and you don’t even bother with protection! What the fuck is that? Why…why would you do that to her?! Delaney’s not some trailer park trash you can fuck with! She’s important!”
The only reason I wasn’t snapping her fucking neck was because she loved Delaney. She loved Delaney, and she was only doing what I hoped she’d do where Delaney was concerned; protect her. “I’m going to say this, and I’m only going to say it once, Ava,” I growled. “This weekend with Delaney is our private business-”
“Oh, please,” she spewed. “Like your little brood of psychopathic bandits don’t already know how you took Delaney’s virgi-”
I tightened my hold around Ava’s neck, cutting off her next words. “Keep my friends out of this, Ava,” I warned. “Don’t think that just because I’m in love with Delaney I won’t destroy you if you cause problems for any of us.”
Her eyes almost popped out of her head, and it wasn’t because I was depriving her of oxygen. I had accidentally let my feelings for Delaney slip. “Y…” I removed my hand from around her neck, so she could speak. “You’re in love with Delaney?”
I stood to my full height and looked down at the girl I was going to have to learn to get along with for Delaney’s sake. It’s not that I really had anything against Ava, it’s just I knew she’d always be wary of me and she wasn’t necessarily Team Deke.
“This weekend…taking her virginity and possibly getting her pregnant doesn’t matter,” I answered. “Delaney’s mine, and she’ll never want for anything for the rest of her life, Ava. She’s mine to love, protect, provide for, and cherish. I’m in love with Delaney, and she doesn’t have a choice about where we go from here. She’s mine.”
Ava’s face went from furious to…resigned. “Deke, you don’t understand,” she started to say, “Delaney’s special. She’s-”
“I know she’s special, Ava,” I snapped, cutting her off. I knew she didn’t think I deserved Delaney, and she was right. But I didn’t like hearing it. “She will want for nothing, Ava. Nothing.”
She regarded me for a full painful minute before saying, “I don’t care about you, Deke. I don’t care about you, Ramsey, Emerson, Liam, or Roselyn. I don’t care about your…power or your status. If you hurt Delaney…if you betray or hurt her, I will come after you, Deke Marlow. I will come after you and I don’t care who you have in your corner or who I have to go through to get to you.”
I stared down at this girl and I knew she meant every word she just said. She’d go down in burning flames to defend Delaney and it made me wonder just what their relationship was made of. They didn’t match, but anyone paying attention could tell they were the real deal.
I took a deep breath and gave Ava a tight nod. “Noted,” I grumbled. “But, Ava, I’m not going to hurt her. Ever.” Ava gave me a short nod, and I didn’t say anything more as she walked away from me.
Returning to the eatery, I spotted Linnie and Delaney sitting at our table. That was good, right? If they were sitting together, then that must mean Delaney was okay with our friendship.
At least, I hoped.
I approached the table and when I got there, instead of sitting where I was when Ava came roaring through, I sat next to Delaney. And I knew it was going to be okay when she quietly dropped her head on my right shoulder in surrender.
I glanced over at Roselyn and she gave me a small smile, but I could see it all in her eyes. Delaney was okay with that part of my life. Now, she might not be okay with everything else going on around us, mainly her parents and Reynolds, but she was okay with what mattered most to me, and that was everyone sitting at this table.
I wasn’t worried about Reynolds, because I’d kick his ass every week if I had to in order to get my point across. It was Delaney’s parents that I knew would be a problem when I finally faced them. And I would be facing them because there was no way I was going to let Delaney confront them alone. Claiming her meant protecting her, and that meant against anyone, including her parents.
“You okay,” I whispered down to her.
I felt her nod against my shoulder. “Yeah, just…”
I brought my face down closer to hers. “Just, what?”
Everyone around us were having their own side conversations, but you could tell there was still some tension at the table. This wasn’t like when Ramsey got together with Emerson, or Liam finally claimed Roselyn. We were already connected in some way, shape, or form; Emerson friends with Roselyn, Roselyn involved with me and Liam…
Delaney was new.
She was new to our group, making her an outsider until she committed to me completely. While I was completely committed to her, it was her committing to me that we were all waiting on.
“Just…just don’t ignore me again like this morning,” she muttered. “That wasn’t cool considering…”
I hitched my shoulder, forcing her to lift her head. I reached over, grabbed her, and straddled her across my lap. She gasped but didn’t fight me. And since it was just us-the people I trusted-I didn’t care if they overheard or not. “I thought you needed some space after this weekend,” I told her before admitting, “I needed some space, too.”
Her big chocolate eyes looked so serious. “Space from me?”
I shook my head. “No. Space
from knowing I was going to have to tell you about Roselyn, sooner or later.” She nodded in understanding. “Are you okay with…that?”
“Do I have a choice,” she asked, instead of answering.
I shook my head. “No,” I told her honestly. “You don’t. You don’t have a choice in any of this, Delaney, and I’m not going to lie to you and let you believe you do.”
She was quiet for a few seconds before asking, “Why?”
I knew what she was really asking, she just didn’t want to voice the words for fear of rejection, and I didn’t blame her. She’s spent her entire life being invisible to everyone who she was supposed to matter to. Ava was her only rock; a girl whose reputation was as horrible as her temper had been her only champion.
“Because I love you,” I answered, my voice strong and sure.
“You better,” she replied, and I laughed.
I laughed because that’s what you do when you’re happy.
Chapter 26
Delaney~
The rest of the afternoon had been…weird, but I supposed I should get used to it. Deke and I were officially dating and that meant facing the repercussions of that decision, and that included being friends with his friends, and even though they’ve all been nice so far, they were still intimidating as hell.
After convincing Deke that I’d head straight for his place after I took care of some stuff after school, he finally let me tend to life, and part of that was standing in front of Winston’s house, ringing the bell to his front door.
I waited a few minutes assuming he was here since his car was in the driveway. The front door finally swung open and Winston stood in the doorframe, his face looking better, but still bruised. I wondered, briefly, if he was going to need plastic surgery for his cheekbone.
His eyes widened the second he registered it was me. “Delaney?” His head jerked up and his eyes darted around the yard, presumably looking for Deke. When his eyes met mine again, he asked, “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
The sincerity in his voice reminded me of the young boy who used to be my friend. It reminded me of the guy I liked enough to have spent the rest of my life with at one point. “Can we talk?”
His eyes blinking, he shook off his surprise and said, “Yeah, sure. Of course.” He stepped back so I could enter his house.
Once I was inside, he shut the door behind him, and the moment wasn’t lost on me. I’ve been in this house a million times growing up. I knew where every room was and how it was decorated. I’ve sat in the Reynolds’ kitchen a gazillion times for luncheons and stuff, but now? I felt so unwelcomed, I wasn’t sure which way to step.
“Are your parent home?” I asked, knowing they probably weren’t. None of our parents were ever home. This town was so littered with unsupervised children, it was unreal.
He was already shaking his head. “No,” he answered. “Last I heard, they were in Japan researching some latest drug and how it affects the pharmaceutical world.” He let out a sad laugh. “Well, my dad is. Mom’s probably shopping.” He jerked his head towards the kitchen. “Want something to drink?”
I nodded my head just for something to do. I felt uncomfortable and…uneasy. Winston’s already seen the writing on the wall, but right now I wasn’t drunk and emotional. Finally having this conversation sober and alert was going to change his life, too.
I sat down at the kitchen island, placing my purse on the counter as I have many times before, and waited while he grabbed a water from the fridge. He placed it down in front of me, then stepped back until his ass hit the counter. He folded his arms over his chest and said, “Okay, Delaney. Let’s get this over with.”
Immediately, I felt…guilty. Guilty and sad. It felt as if I was letting everyone down, and I was powerless to stop it, even though that wasn’t true. All I had to do was walk away from Deke Marlow and life would go on as per usual for Winston, my parents, and the Reynolds.
But I couldn’t.
I knew I couldn’t long ago, but I definitely knew I couldn’t after Deke told me he loved me.
“I’m not drunk now,” I said, stating the obvious.
“No. You’re not,” Winston whispered in agreement.
“I’m sorry, Winston,” I said dismally. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”
His arms dropped, and I saw his hands grip the counter lip behind him. “We’re not supposed to be married for another four years, Delaney,” he reminded me. “Why…why do this? Do you seriously see yourself with Deke Marlow for the next fifty years?”
No, I didn’t.
Teenage love is just that; teenage love. People in love always think it’s going to be forever. I mean, people don’t fall in love thinking it’s going to end someday. But I wasn’t one of those people. Deke said he loved me, but there’s carefree teenage love and then there’s adult going-through-hard-times love. I believed that Deke loved me right now, but a year from now? When all the novelty wears off?
I shook my head. “No, Winston,” I answered. “I don’t see myself with Deke in fifty years, but that doesn’t change how I feel.” I let out a deep breath. “We’re friends. We’ve known each other most our lives. And…and that was enough for me to stick to the agreement. I wasn’t look for…”
“Passion?” he supplied.
I gave him a tight nod. “Yeah. Passion.” God, this sucked. “And now that I know what that feels like…well, I’m not willing to settle anymore.”
“We can try t-”
I threw my hand up to stop him. “We did that once already, Winston. We both were left wanting,” I reminded him.
Winston stared at me for several painfully uncomfortable seconds before asking, “And what about our parents? What am I supposed to tell them?”
“I’ll handle my parents,” I said. “You…tell them the truth. I fell in love with someone and-”
“What?!” he snapped. “What the fuck do you mean you fell in love with someone? You’ve known Deke Marlow a fucking week, Delaney. A week and you’re talking love? Are you insane?”
I could barely get the words out of my mouth. “So what, if it’s only been a week?” I said through clenched teeth. “You don’t know how I feel.”
Winston let out a dark laugh. “Fuck, you girls,” he swore. “You chicks always think it’s love when you get dick for the first time.” There was no way he could know that I slept with Deke, but his next words stopped my thoughts. “And don’t sit there and try to tell me you haven’t fucked him already, Delaney. Deke Marlow isn’t the type of guy who goes around holding hands on chaperoned dates. And there’s no way you’d be throwing away our future if you hadn’t ridden his dick already.”
“Quit being an asshole,” I clipped out.
His brows rose. “Ah, but I see you’re not denying it,” he accused.
I stood up. “How can you be…angry?” I almost said jealous, but that didn’t sound right. “You’ve slept with dozens of girls, Winston. Why are you so bothered by who I’m sleeping with?”
“Because you’re throwing away our future!” he roared, finally losing grip on his composure. “I may have fucked my fair share of females, Delaney, but I never jeopardized our futures!”
“You can find someone else to further your parents’ agenda, Winston,” I pointed out. “It doesn’t have to be me!”
And the truth came out like a right hook to my ribs. “But you’re the only one who would have stayed in the background and taken it!” he yelled.
My lungs lost their ability to breathe. Even though I knew what my future with Winston would have entailed, hearing him admit it was like a slap in the face. It showed me we weren’t even friends at this point. Friends didn’t humiliate each other. He would have cheated, but more importantly, he wouldn’t have tried to hide it. My dignity wasn’t worth the effort.
He must have realized what he just admitted because his head dropped, and I could see him taking a deep breath to steady himself. “You’re a bastard,” I hissed. “Yo
u’re a selfish bastard just like our fathers.”
Winston’s head shot up and he speared me with a look so hateful, I was thankful to be on the other side of the island. “I am nothing like those two assholes,” he seethed.
I stared at the boy who was once my friend, and I knew that, even if I wanted to forgive his careless words, my life was moving in a different direction, with or without Deke Marlow. I was no longer the same Delaney Martin I was two weeks ago.
“I’m going to call my parents tonight and let them know there will no longer be a marriage after college,” I informed him.
Winston lifted a brow. “Deke Marlow’s going to break your heart, Delaney,” he said coldly. “He’s going to ruin your ability to love along with the secured future you had with me.”
He still didn’t understand. This wasn’t about Deke. This was about me. I was different, no matter the outcome with Deke. “Be that as it may, Winston, it doesn’t change anything.”
The corner of his lips lifted, and it wasn’t in a smile. It was a sneer. “When he’s done with you? When he finally gets bored and moves on to someone…more his class? I’ll be here waiting for you.”
It was the final slap in the face. He was implying that he’s more than willing to wait because he knows it’s going to happen. “Winston it’s over no matter how things play out between me and Deke,” I repeated. “It’s over.”
He cocked his head as he said, “You know your way out, Delaney.” It was cold and…mean.
I grabbed my purse, hooked it over my shoulder and said, “Goodbye, Winston,” as I turned my back on him and walked out the Reynolds’ home.
It wasn’t until I was sitting in my car that I felt I could finally breathe. Now, I had to call my parents and tell them, and they were going to be harder to deal with than Winston. Never having gone up against my parents before, I wasn’t too proud to admit that I needed Deke with me to do this. I needed a physical, visual reminder of why I was doing this.
The Enemy Series Page 51