Bully King - J.A. Huss Page 0,82
never been just any other girl.
“Why what?”
“Why do people want to be king? I don’t understand. Why do they want to control everyone? Why can’t they just be happy controlling themselves?”
“Ha,” I huff. “I think you just answered your own question. They don’t know how to control themselves, Cadee. We both know that.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to stop?”
“No.” She smiles. “No. Not at all. Sorry to break the mood. I just have always wondered that. Because you’re right. Just being responsible for me is hard enough. There’s no room left over to even think about being anyone’s king.”
I place my hands on her cheeks and stare into her eyes, letting her know I see her. “That’s because you’re good, Cades. And most of the people around you aren’t.”
“You’re good.”
“Right.”
“And Ax is good.”
“I think everyone would disagree with that.”
“And Lars too.”
“Hmm. Now that one, I do agree with. You and Lars are a lot alike. Always patient. Never letting the anger and resentment steal too much of your souls.”
She leans up and kisses me again. Only this time I don’t hurry it up or try to turn it into something else. I just accept what she gives me.
“It’s a nice balance, isn’t it?”
She’s still kissing me, so I whisper, “What’s that?” past her lips.
“You and Ax. Me and Lars. Us.”
I stop kissing her, suddenly confused. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Why do you keep asking me that?”
“Because… Ax and Lars.”
She shrugs. “I guess if they wanted in on this, they’d be here. Wouldn’t they?”
I laugh. I can’t help it. “You did not just say that.”
“Oh, I did.” She winks at me. Then she takes my hand and starts leading me across the room. She stops in the middle, looking around. I didn’t turn any lights on when we came in, but the moon is bright outside and I have a huge window that looks out across the lake, so we can see well enough.
“Where’s the bed?”
I chuckle. “This is the living room, Cadee.”
“You have a living room in your bedroom? Jesus. Maybe there’s something to that King thing after all?”
Then I remember the real reason I was bringing her up here. Not that I wasn’t bringing her up to mess around with her, because I was. I lead her over to one of the other rooms and flick the light on.
“Oh, so this is your bedroom. Hmm. It’s nice. Kinda sparse.”
It is kinda sparse. It’s not a place for girls. Just a queen-size bed, and a couple of nightstands. Ax and Isabella are really the only people who ever use this room.
“It’s not my bedroom, Cades. It’s yours.”
“What?” She turns to look at me and I swear to God, I barely recognize the girl before me. She is golden from all the sun these past two weeks. Her eyes are bright with possibilities instead of dull with defeat. And her surprise is innocent and real.
This change in her causes a litany of questions to run through my mind. Because her mother died—died—a month ago. And aside from that one bout of sniffling in the boat after her second day at the Glass House, as far as I know, she still hasn’t cried.
Not tonight, Cooper. There’s time for that later. “It’s my guest suite. I’m putting you up in here. I don’t like that your bedroom has a door that leads outside.”
She tsks her tongue playfully. “Worried I might get away?”
That’s not what I’m worried about. At all. But I agree anyway. Because all of tomorrow’s problems can wait. “Yeah. I am.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that.” Then she sucks in a deep breath. “I’ve missed you, Cooper. And not just these two weeks, either. I don’t even think I knew I missed you until you knocked me over that day on the steps. But ever since then…” She shakes her head. “You’re it, Coop. You’re my it.”
I want to do things to this girl. So many things. And I want to do all those things right now. I reach for the light to flick it off, but she grabs my arm and says, “No. Leave it on.”
Then she reaches for the hem of her t-shirt and pulls it over her head. Just stands there in her pretty yellow bra and looks at me. Not at my body, like most girls when we get to this part of a night. But me. My eyes. She pops the clasp between her breasts and then her bra falls open, baring her