Clarity - Nicole Dykes Page 0,47
it than I thought. “No. Not that. We should have locked the door before we . . .” She looks horrified, and I finally shut the fuck up. “Sorry.” I shake it off. “No. I need to talk to you about private school.”
Her gaze darkens as it meets mine in the rearview, and we creep ahead in the school’s drop-off line. “What about private school?”
Just say it, Rhys. “I think we might need to enroll you in one.”
“What?” She’s panicked. “No. I don’t want to go to private school. I like my school.”
I nod toward the front entrance. “They have metal detectors at the door.”
“They’re keeping us safe.” She folds her small arms over her chest and glares. “I don’t want to go to a private school. My friends are here.”
“I know.”
“They were going to make me go to a fancy private school, Rhys. You aren’t them.”
I cringe, thinking about any sort of comparison between me and that motherfucker, Mr. Herrington. “I’m not, but that’s the point. He can tell the judge that he can give you everything I can’t.”
I hate that I can see tears glistening in her eyes from here. I’m a total asshole for doing this to her before school, and I contemplate getting out of line and taking her for ice cream or some shit.
“I don’t care about that kind of stuff.”
“I know you don’t, Bree.” I grip the steering wheel, feeling nothing but tension. “I don’t either, but the judge will. We have to do whatever we can so Blair and I look like the better parents.”
She shakes her head, anger and sadness mixing as she looks at me when I park the car as the next one to drop off a student. “Don’t do this to me.”
Fuck, my heart actually hurts. “I’m sorry.”
She shoves the door open and climbs out, slamming the door, not saying another word to me. And, of fucking course, both of the little punks she hangs out with are instantly on it, already knowing she’s pissed about something as she approaches them.
I don’t want to leave her, but I follow the line out and go to work.
I’m doing fucking great at this parenting thing already.
I tug open the glass door of Rhys’s shop and see him sitting behind the front desk, his feet propped up. “So, this is what you do all day?”
He drops his feet to the floor. “Mostly.”
I don’t believe him, but I do like giving him a hard time. I didn’t want him to leave this morning and feel slightly pathetic, knowing the reason I'm here can wait until tonight, but I wanted to see him.
“Shouldn’t you be at work?”
I shrug my shoulders and walk behind the desk. “I’m tired of work. I thought we could play.” I give him the naughtiest of smiles and wag my eyebrows, being over-the-top ridiculous, but I see the fear in his eyes.
“Blair . . .”
I knock off the shit and shake my head. “I’m kidding.”
He doesn’t look like he believes me. “I know that last night we—”
“Had sex. Hot sex.” I finish for him. “And it wasn’t the first time.”
I watch him swallow hard as his eyes land on mine, looking so fucking tortured and tired. “I know, but . . . the kiss and everything.”
“I know, Rhys.” I don’t want him to be hurting because I forced him to talk. “I was just fucking around.”
“I know, but also you aren’t, right? And you deserve a normal guy who can fuck you whenever you want it and can kiss you goodbye.”
I can’t stand him thinking I deserve anything other than him. “Rhys . . .” I move to only a couple of inches away from him. “You aren’t getting rid of me, so there will be no goodbyes and,” the intensity in his gaze nearly sets me on fire, but I keep pushing, “we will kiss again.”
I want to touch him, stroke his cheek, but I don’t. He’s feeling vulnerable today. “And if I can’t?”
“You can. You will. When you want to, you have my permission to kiss the fuck out of me.”
That pulls his lips into a smirk that melts my heart. I thought was made of ice. “I will.”
It’s firm, and I like it. “I’m not actually here to fuck you.”
“No?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I called Bree’s twat caseworker today to talk about the private school thing.”
“And?”
“And we can send her to a private school as long as we pay for it.” I leave out the part