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“If that was my baby girl bein’ treated like that, I’d go into that school and teach those motherfuckin’ bullies a lesson. I’d drag those little bastards out by their hair, tie them to the back of my sled and drag them down the fuckin’ road.”
“And you would’ve ended up in jail. Or worse.”
“Woulda been worth it.”
She sighed. Violence wasn’t a solution. It usually only made things worse. “So anyway… That little girl, the one who hid back then,” she pressed a hand to her chest, “still hides deep inside.”
“You don’t let her out.”
She pursed her lips and stared out into the dark. “She’s always trying to step forward.”
“Tell her to get fuckin’ lost.”
“It’s not that easy.” She turned to stare at him. “You’re not shy at all, are you?”
He grinned and his fingers paused on her bare skin. “That even a question?”
“No, it was more of a rhetorical question since it’s obvious you’re not and you’re not afraid to say what you’re thinking. Anyway, I was hoping tonight I’d be able to let that little girl go and, like you said, tell her to get fucking lost.”
“Did she?”
“Honestly, I’d be happy if she just came to visit less.”
His fingers began to knead her calf muscles again.
“You know what’s funny?”
He grunted.
“I eavesdropped a lot on the gossip tonight and you know what I found?”
“Tell me,” he murmured, his voice low and smooth.
When he said it like that, she was tempted to spill every secret she ever had.
“The saying is true… All that glitters isn’t gold. The golden life I figured everyone lived seemed tarnished in some way or another. For example, the classmate voted most likely to succeed wasn’t there tonight. Do you know why?”
He grunted out a, “Why?”
“Because he’s doing time in prison for embezzlement.”
His head dropped back and he barked out a loud laugh.
“And you were right. A lot of them are now prisoners of their own circumstances. The popular crowd is no longer popular. Some of the jocks who were considered ‘royalty’ in high school are now overweight and never became a sport star like they arrogantly thought they would. Most ended up being car salesmen or insurance agents. Not that there’s anything wrong with those career paths, but they ended up just like the rest of us ‘common folk.’ I guess their crowns slipped a little.”
“Or their crowns got knocked the fuck off completely.” His fingers trailed along her shin. “Would you do it again?”
She pursed her lips and, after a few seconds, shook her head. “No. Tonight I realized something. I wasted too much energy on people who don’t matter.”
“Yeah, sweetheart, you did. Those assholes don’t deserve a second of your attention since they never gave you a second of theirs. You picked up their fallen crown, dusted it off and placed it on your own fuckin’ head, like the slayer you are.”
She usually hated it when men she didn’t know called her “pet” names like honey and sweetheart. But for some reason, the way he said it seemed natural. Like no deep meaning existed behind it and felt more like a compliment than an endearment.
He wasn’t being a smartass by calling her that, either. Sometimes those types of names could be used as a compliment or an insult.
“But you did what you came to do. Even if it wasn’t to show them, you showed yourself you could rise above those motherfuckers.” He gently moved her feet out of his lap, stood and bowed his head to her. “All hail the fuckin’ queen.”
He held out his hand and she stared at it for a second. When she placed her much smaller one in his, he helped her from the chair. “Gonna go celebrate. Know a place where those motherfuckers probably won’t be.”
“Where?”
“Know a little joint where a band’s playin’ tonight. Might be able to catch their last set.”
She chewed on her bottom lip and took a quick glance at the closed door to her room. Behind it was a comfortable bed and the comfy, worn T-shirt she slept in. “It’s late.”
“Sweetheart, night’s just beginnin’. This time you’ll be in much better company.”
In front of her was a man who was much more suave than he looked. Though, he didn’t look bad, either. He actually looked really freaking good.
He might curse liberally and smoke pot but he seemed to be kind, too. Hopefully, that wasn’t all an act.
Holy smokes, was she actually considering it? “Where are we going?”
“Surprise.”
“Somewhere you can bury my body?” she teased.
He cocked one eyebrow. “You afraid of that?”
“I don’t know. Should I be?”
“If I was gonna kill you, woulda done it this mornin’ for gettin’ me outta bed so early.”
She laughed. “Fair enough.”
He tucked his thumb under her chin and lifted her face. “Don’t hide it from me.”
She hadn’t realized she had. “I… didn’t all night. But old habits are hard to break.”
