Rule Breakers (Off Limits #2) - Nicky James Page 0,40

me.”

“Pretty sure I have to like girls to sleep with them and get them pregnant.”

“Smartass.”

My comment earned me a flash of a smile. It vanished just as quickly.

“I just don’t like it when you try to force me to do something I’m not interested in. I don’t want to join the military. I don’t want to do policing or anything like that. I hate school because it’s all stuff I’m not interested in. And you never once asked me what I wanted to do.”

That wasn’t true. During the two years he’d sat in limbo after high school, I’d asked him repeatedly about his prospects for the future, but I didn’t want to start an argument.

“What do you want to do, Edison?”

His shoulders fell, and his forehead creased. “I don’t know.” The three words were nothing more than a whisper. “But it isn’t because I’m being difficult or lazy. I just honestly don’t know yet.”

For the first time, he lifted his chin and our eyes locked. “I’m not a child, Dad. I just don’t see the point of spending years getting a degree in something that doesn’t interest me.”

The integrity of his statement gave me pause. It was the most forthcoming he’d been. I was used to him yelling and arguing about his right to choose his career, bucking me for the sake of bucking me. For the first time, he was discussing it like the adult I’d wanted him to be.

“I don’t think racking up massive student loan debt is a good idea unless I’m positive it’s for something I want,” he added.

“All right. That’s a good answer. I can respect that. So you don’t like the police foundation program. If you leave school right now, then what? You’re twenty years old, Eddy, not sixteen. You can’t mooch off your parents for the rest of your life. I had a baby when I was younger than you. No one helped me out.”

“I know. I get it. If I drop out of college, I should find a job, get my own place, and pay my own way. Maybe, later, when I decide what it is I want to do, then I can try school again. You don’t want me to end up like you. I get it.”

“Or like your mother. You’re better than both of us. You’re smart when you want to be.”

He shrugged but refused to be swayed. “Would getting a job make me more of an adult in your eyes? Would you stop seeing me as a child?”

I stilled, understanding wrapping all around me. My comment from the other night was at play here. I’d told him I didn’t fuck little kids. “What are you getting at, Edison?”

His inhale puffed his chest, and the long exhale that followed seemed to eliminate his rigid edge. But he didn’t speak. His gaze was stuck somewhere in middle space, and it shifted to and from objects I couldn’t perceive.

“I liked it,” he whispered.

Three words. They held power and meaning, and I didn’t have to ask what it was he’d liked. I knew.

I guzzled my beer, praying for some fortitude. Bottle drained, I sat forward on my chair and was about to speak when Edison cut me off, his tone wavering.

“Am I a sicko? Do you think it’s wrong? It’s wrong, isn’t it? You think I’m insane.”

I shoved away from the table and approached him. Without putting a hand on him—because it felt odd at the moment—I braced myself on either side of the counter where he sat.

“Look at me, Edison. You aren’t a sicko. You hear me?”

Shadowed gray eyes sought mine, seeking comfort or affirmation.

“I didn’t hate it either.” Those words were easier than saying I liked it. In essence, they were the same thing. “I’ve spent all week rolling it around in my head, okay? You aren’t alone.”

“Uncle Denver won’t talk about it. I keep thinking I was the only one who was enjoying it all, and then I feel like some deranged sicko because I’m talking about my dad and uncle.”

I chuckled. “Trust me, your uncle is one hundred percent on board, and he enjoyed the fuck out of every second. I’d bet the house on it. I know him. If he hasn’t said anything, it’s because I told him the ball was in your court.”

Edison’s brows knit, and his chin dropped. “Because you think I’m some kid who doesn’t know what he wants.”

“No.” I lifted his chin with a single finger. “Because this could have a lot of repercussions