AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shake my head.
“Then, stay.” She reaches out to me, and my heart leaps inside my chest.
I nod and take her hand, entwining our fingers as I sink back down onto the bed and slide underneath the covers.
“You really don’t think you’ll get sick?” she asks, staring over at me, a crease of worry between her brow.
I reach out and smooth it with a finger. “No. Haven’t had strep since I was really young.” Then I shift her onto my chest. Her head sits perfectly in the nook between my face and collarbone, and I inhale, breathing in her coconut scent while I run my fingers through her hair and over her scalp.
A small moan rumbles in her chest, letting me know she approves. The sound hits me like a punch to the gut, and I force myself to breathe.
“Tell me about getting your tonsils out. Why’d they have to remove them? Did it hurt?” she asks.
“I was about eight and got sick, some sort of virus, but my tonsils became infected, and when the tonsillitis didn’t respond to treatment, they decided it was best to remove them.” I continue to play with her hair, thinking about it. “It hurt prettybad but wasn’t anything unbearable. I got to eat a lot of ice cream, which was basically every eight-year-old’s dream.”
“I remember the time Teagan broke his arm. I was so jealous of all the attention he got.”
I hum a noncommittal response. My parents are not the Nichols.
“What?” She shifts onto my shoulder, craning her neck to look at me.
“Nothing. It’s just . . . my parents weren’t even there.”
She frowns. “What do you mean they weren’t there?”
I shrug, indicating it’s no big deal. Like their absence in my life didn’t leave scars, but something tells me she can see right through it. “The week before, they had left for a business trip. I was sick, but the tonsillitis had really only just become an issue. I had medication already. I’m sure in their mind, they thought it was okay to leave. Harriet stayed with me while they were gone, like she did when I was young. A week later, when it became really bad and we found out I needed surgery, we called them, but they asked if it was an emergency. My father had yet to close his business deal, and my mother didn’t want to fly home alone.”
“That’s terrible.” Brynn says quietly. “They should’ve been with you.”
I swallow, and my heart clenches at the memory. “I think Harriet wanted to demand they come back, but I begged her not to. I knew what my mother would be like if she left before she was ready, and I rather have no one at all than have to deal with her sulking.”
“So, you had the surgery without them?”
I nod. “Harriet was there, and she was enough. She took care of me until I healed up.”
Brynn’s quiet for a minute, and I wonder if she pities me.
“Has it always been like that with your parents?” she asks. “Them not being there?”
I think about lying. Sugarcoating the truth is easier, but something stops the generic response from slipping past my lips. I don’t want to lie with Brynn, no matter how pathetic the truth makes me feel. “Yeah,” I murmur. “I think most of my childhood consisted of them gone. Harriet was supposed to be a chef and housekeeper, but she was a nanny 75 percent of the time until I turned thirteen, and my parents deemed me old enough to stay on my own.”
I don’t know why my parents never stuck around. Sometimes I just think they’re selfish. Other times, I wonder if they even know how to love.
“That’s why you spent so much time at our house,” she murmurs.
I say nothing, letting my silence speak for me as I play with the long strands of her hair.
Brynn shifts, her thigh brushing mine, sending a bolt of desire through my core. Her hot breath fans over my chest, her breasts pressing into my side, and I imagine kissing her plump lips.
The girl feels like she got hit by a freight train, and you’re fantasizing about her lips. Asshole.
A low sound vibrates in her chest before she barks out a laugh, and I smile. “Something funny, Cupcake?”
“I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“This is the hardest you’ve ever had to work for sex.” She splutters again, laughing even harder. “It’s certainly the longest.” Her hand rises to her throat. “Oh, my gosh, laughing hurts!” She groans.
