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My thighs clench around his hips. My body shudders, his name spilling from my lips in pleasure as I dive over the edge of ecstasy. His grunts of pleasure resonate through me and I wrap my arms around him.
This is all I’ve ever wanted.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Grayson — 18 years old (a month later)
Half of Riley’s body is lying on top of mine, like a blanket of warmth. She cuddles closer, making a sleepy sound in the back of her throat, before burying her face in my chest.
Skin to skin.
Her hair tickles my bare chest, with the messy strands spread over my pillow. With my arm around her hips, I keep her anchored to me.
It’s morning already, yet I can’t bring myself to get up and leave her alone in bed. I want to savor this moment, every moment we have together.
Riley celebrated her nineteenth birthday yesterday.
I wonder…if I will get to spend another birthday with her.
How much more time do I have left with Riley…?
The hardest goodbyes are always the ones when there’s no choice. First Naomi, now Riley. I should have never trusted fate when it gave me Riley. But for the first time in my life, I had taken the plunge. I discarded all the red flags, all the possible warnings about our heartbreak and chose my love for Riley.
I chose us.
For however long I have with her.
I know it hurt Riley when I told her I’m going to Harvard, even though she tried to hide her disappointment with her well-practiced smile. She didn’t want me to feel guilty for staying. But I know my girl. Riley thought we would be attending the same university, that we’d be moving out together and sharing an apartment. I’m sure she dreamed of how our mundane life would have been together; I did too. And it was a pretty dream.
But things have changed.
I can’t go…because I have unfinished business here.
My phone vibrates on the nightstand with an incoming call, and I reach for it. An unknown caller ID flashes on my screen, but I already know who it is. He rarely ever calls, and when he does, it’s always to ask for something— spewing all kinds of excuses.
I gently untangle myself from Riley, dragging the covers up to her shoulders. A sleepy protest spills from her lips, before she blindly reaches for my pillow, curling around it.
I pick my discarded boxers off the floor and put them on, before making my way to the balcony. I slide the glass door closed behind me. The night is still and eerily quiet, without any sound from the nyctophile animals or the wind rustling through the trees.
“What is it?” I ask when I finally answer the call.
“Grayson,” he says through the phone, his voice sounding disturbed. “I need your help.”
Of course, as expected…
That’s the only reason my father calls.
Frowning, I lean against the metal railing. “What happened this time?”
I can hear him swallow, nervously. A little distressed maybe. “I owe someone. Please, just let me explain before you cut off the call. I really need your he—”
“Money?” I interrupt his rambling.
After a long few seconds of silence, he lets out a sigh. “Yes.”
“I told you I’m not going to help you anymore after last time,” I mutter, annoyed with his constant negligence. He always brings his troubles to me and expects me to drop everything to help him. When I don’t, he starts with the gaslighting and emotional blackmail.
