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Once inside, Abel locked the door and said, “Babe, I never did those things. The flocking or spray painting your name and phone number on the building. I was an asshole. I’ll admit it. I still am, but I didn’t do those things to you.”
“What?” I hadn’t expected him to tell me that. “If you didn’t, then who did?”
Abel shrugged and came closer. “It wasn’t me, and you know I’d tell you the truth. I worked hard to make you leave and your life hell, but there was always this need to protect you. I never wanted you to hurt or have men around you.”
“That’s confusing.”
Abel sighed and leaned his forehead against mine. “You have no fucking idea. I wanted to scream at you and kiss you simultaneously. Staying away from you was impossible. Still is.” Abel gave me a sweet, loving kiss, and I fell into his arms, wanting more.
“Babe, with you in the society, you need to start controlling moves. Blake will make things difficult for you, and the society doesn’t accept weak members, so stay on top of everything. From now on, don’t be alone with Blake.”
“Trust me, it’s not a hardship,” I muttered, and Abel gave me a beautiful smile. He was pleased I wanted to drop Blake from my life. If he only knew the whole story.
The urge to confess it all now ate away at me, but the courage to continue failed me.
“We need to discuss what you’ll do from now on. For your future.”
Tipping my head at Abel, I watched him closely. “If they’re my moves, why are we discussing them? Shouldn’t I be making them?”
Abel leaned back with his arms still around my waist and gazed at me. “With what money? Do you know how to build a business? How to obtain one? Or file taxes, have you done that before?”
“Yes, I’ve filed taxes. Yearly. I had to work to eat, asshole. Do you know how to file taxes or start a business?” The warm, soft moment vanished as business Abel got in the way. We wouldn’t talk about what he might or might not have overheard. It doesn’t matter that I’d spilled more about my feelings for the guy than I ever intended, but it was out there now, and no way to take it back. I didn’t want to take it back.
Abel nodded. “Babe, I’m not trying to be a dick here, but filing taxes as an underage worker with no dependents is about ten levels below business taxes, even for a small business. I’ve been taking business courses since high school and have started my non-profit, which is different from business but much more involved. So yes, I do know.”
Why did we have to talk about this now? I glared at him, annoyed. My emotions were all over the place.
“I thought you had schooling and dorms paid for. Why were you working?”
This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have. I pulled myself out of his arms, removed my shoes, and got more comfortable without saying a word. As I got situated, Abel followed me around the suite like a lost puppy. He wouldn’t let up until I answered him.
“How do you think I spent my summers when the school shut down for the summer?” I stood at the island and took the bobby pins from my hair.
“What, Mommy wouldn’t take you in? Was the trailer park too full?”
It hurt that he’d still say something so callous. I grew angry and wanted to lay into him, and I swiveled around, only to find Abel leaning against the island with his feet crossed, his hands in his pockets, and a giant grin on his face.
Was he teasing?
Abel’s eyes lit up, and he licked his lips while waiting for my reaction.
Oh my God. He was teasing. He wanted me to fight with him and get riled up.
Instead, I rolled my eyes and said, “I’m surprised you know what taxes are. Don’t rich people always evade them?”
Abel didn’t laugh, but his body language remained carefree, and his eyes sparked with humor. He blew me a kiss, and I moved over and shoved his shoulder, and he did laugh then. Before I slipped away, he lowered his head and kissed me hard. Slowly, his hands worked at the back of my dress, and the zipper started easing down, making cool air hit my back. Abel snuck his hand against my skin without lifting his lips from mine.
Abruptly, he stopped and lifted his head. “Do you smell that?”
“Smell what?”
Abel’s eyes widened. “Fuck.” I turned around, and smoke came out of my room. Abel barged in, and I followed as a small fire from a pile of my dirty clothes in the corner of the room torched my carpeted floor and started to lick up the wall. He grabbed my throw blanket from the end of my bed and threw it over the flames to smother them.
The smoke suffocated the air, and I ran to the window, opening it to get it to clear out. Abel and I coughed a few times. “Did you leave a candle burning?”
Shaking my head, I said, “No. I don’t have any candles. The scents always give me a headache.”
“Do you keep matches around?” Abel asked.
