“I guess,” I say, shrugging.
“What is it this time? Did you stub your toe on your way in?” Scarlet jokes.
It’s good-natured; Scarlet isn’t a horrible person. Sheisa bit jealous that it was I who inherited our family’s gift, but she never wishes bad things for me.
“Very funny,” I answer blandly, poking away at my carrots as she laughs, sitting poised and perfect at the table.
She looksjustlike Mom. In fact, wealllook incredibly similar to one another. That’s family, I guess.
Only, as Dad speaks, I have to drop my gaze. I hate seeing myself within him—who I might be someday. Not because I find him repulsive, but because I can’t live up to who I’m meant to be. Not like this.
“You’d feel better if you finally made something of yourself,” he tells me. “When do you intend to come and work with us?”
Scarlet already works at Ocean View Entertainment, the company my family owns. Mom still works part-time, but she mostly stays at home these days.
“Soon, maybe,” I answer noncommittally.
It’s not that I don’t want to work with my family. It’s more that I want to experience life on my own first. If I rush right into being the CEO’s son, I doubt I’ll have the time to just beLandon.
I’m not ready to lose this freedom yet. I’m a snobby, ungrateful kid, I know.
“I still don’t understand why you chose to work at that Burger King with your friend rather than here, with us,” Dad complains, his thick brows pinched as he takes another bite of his steak.
In his tailored suit and with his perfectly groomed mustache, he looks the part of a wealthy, secure man.
I willneverhave a mustache.
“I wanted to experience it,” I tell him, and I can hear how defensive I sound.
I wish we would stop talking about this; it makes me think of Julian. Of picking him up for our shifts, laughing as we take drive-thru orders, and of going back to his place afterward to slip into his bed andtouch.
That settles it. I’m going to the club soon, and I’m getting laid. No more of this; it’s dragging out that murky darkness from within me.
The conversation drifts to less devastating things, such as Scarlet’s new car and Dad’s big win at the office. Apparently, he’s invested in a movie meant to bring in over 10 million next year.
As everyone is saying goodbye, with me heading to my condo with Susie, I head out to where my car is parked in the large driveway.
Scarlet still lives at home, so she retires to her own room as my parents settle in the living room.
I couldn’t stay here, not with Dad breathing down my neck about joining Ocean View Entertainment.Plus, again, I want toexperiencethe world. And the first step? Living with one of my best friends in a run-down condo far from the wealthy neighborhood I grew up in.
As I approach the driver’s side of my car, I spot a motorcycle parked across the street outside of our gated property. And leaning against it is a man, tall and domineering. The longer I stare, the more I recognize him.
I believe I might have stepped right into a different dimension, because what thefuckis Nathaniel Barfred doing here? Atmyparents’ house?
I sneer, sliding behind the wheel.
I don’t know what his deal is, but I’m about to find out. Maybe I'll call the police on him or throw a punch.
With no hesitation, I pull out of the gates and park in front of his bike, jumping out of my car with an anger that is not new to me, but new to being aimed at another person.
“Are you stalking me?” I demand, standing a few feet from where he’s leaning against his bike.
And more irritating than his being here is his appearance. His muscles bulge beneath the black shirt he’s wearing, his thighs on beautiful display in his jeans. He’s wearing some unfamiliar brand of black combat boots, his helmet resting on the seat of his bike as he runs a hand through his black hair.
Nathaniel has very interesting eyes, which is enough in itself to piss me off. They’re tilted up at the ends just slightly, his lashes thick and his pupils larger than any man’s that I’ve everseen. The color is concentrated around them, giving them a cat-like appearance.
Deadly, vicious, untrusting. That is what I read from Nathaniel.
