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“Shh, shh, shh,” Damian soothed. “Just lay back and relax. Trust us.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Trust you? Ha! I’m starting to second guess my decision to leave the safety of school, alone, without telling a soul—even my two best friends—where I was going with two men who hate me and bully me.”
“Don’t forget the part about getting drunk, alone, and then half naked with those two men in a strange house you don’t know the address or location of,” Damian said with amusement. “Seriously, just relax. If we wanted to hurt you, we’ve had plenty of opportunities.”
I laughed. “I know. Oddly enough, I think I trust you both. At least, inthiscapacity. I’m just fucking with you—kind of.”
Taking a risk, I closed my eyes again and allowed them to do what they wanted. Each of them reached one arm under my legs and the other under my shoulders, lifting me so I floated in the water. I took a deep breath and sighed, a smile creeping across my lips again.
The water swished around my ears, moving my hair all around. I lifted my arms and placed a hand on each of their backs, quickly realizing how much of a mistake that was. Their skin was like fire against my cold hands, and I wanted to pull away as it sent a jolt of desire rocketing through me, but I didn’t.
Instead, I allowed my thumbs and fingers to knead into their flesh as I relaxed further into their arms. I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be happy, but in that moment, I was.
“What made you invite us along?” Damian asked.
I looked up to find genuine curiosity in his expression. I shrugged. “This was the first time I’ve been confronted with an event surrounding the necessity of family or parents. Dad’s birthday is in May, and Mom’s is in October, so I haven’t had to experience that yet. Father’s Day, but I was in the hospital on a ton of painkillers. Today was the first day I’ve had to face being without them in that capacity. I couldn’t imagine standing around and watching everyone there with their parents.
“Then I figured if you were out there withme, your dad probably wasn’t there. I assumed he’d be hanging around Rick if he was, and I didn’t see him. I kinda figured that wasn’t the first time he’d ditched you, and whether it’s the first or the fiftieth, it fucking sucks when a parent ditches you. I understand that more than most because of my mom. I figured you needed to get away, too. Then Asher showed up, and I followed the same logic. I didn’t want you guys to suffer any more than I was.”
“We’ve treated you like dogshit,” Asher said.
“Yeah. Why the hell would you bother yourself with worrying about us?” Damian asked.
I shrugged again, daring to run my fingers through Damian’s thick, black hair. “Some things go above friendship or enemies. Family is everything, and it brings on such a specific kind of pain that it kind of goes above and beyond anything else. That shit is truly traumatizing and can change a person.” He leaned into my hand, and I massaged his scalp with my fingers. “If I saw you in danger or if you were starving, I’d help you then, too. The shit you do is mean and petty, but I’m the kind of person who just can’t stand letting people suffer through certain things. Today was one of them. I’m perfectly capable of calling a ceasefire for something important.”
“A ceasefire, huh?” Damian asked, and I nodded.
“Yep. Ceasefire. Our truce for the day. That’s what this is, and it’s pretty nice. I know things will go back to normal. I’m not an idiot. But right now, things are perfect, and I’m going to enjoy it.”
Asher lifted his right hand out from under my legs and touched my face, turning me to face him. He leaned down and kissed me softly. My breath hitched as I kissed him back. It was brief and gentle, but it was enough to light me on fire while knowing Damian watched the whole thing.
“Out of curiosity,” I said as Asher pulled away. I turned to Damian while trying to shake the arousal threatening to make me do some naughty things. I remembered back to that moment with Justin, when I stopped myself from doing more than teasing him in my bedroom.I’m in control.“Whydoyou torture me so badly? It isjustHarper? Is it something else? I know we got off to a rough start, but I feel like it’s nothing we can’t move past. It’s not like we don’t get along. We do. Hell, Ireallylike who you are right now, and I know you’re not faking. I can always tell. We can obviously even have fun together. So, what is it that makes you hate me so much?”
He sighed while looking up at the bright, starlit sky. “Full honesty? Even if it risks the ceasefire?”
I nodded. “Yep. Because I fully accept whatever is about to come out of your mouth will be shitty. You speaking a truth that hurts is different than you saying something rude or purposefully traumatizing—you know—being a dick to be a dick. You being honest won’t risk the ceasefire. Only you deliberately trying to hurt me or my feelings would. I’m trying to understand. I’ll care about it later when I have to return to the normal world. I’mverygood at compartmentalizing. We can thank Mom for that, too.”
He nodded and turned his emerald eyes back on mine. “Very well then. I think you’re out of your league. I think you don’t belong here. You want to belong, and you want people to like you, and it’s part of what makes you so damned annoying because you never stop trying. You never stop beinggoodand taking the high road on shit, even when the low road would win you battles. Maybe even the war. Don’t get me wrong. You’re spicy, and I actually enjoy that. Ilikethat you fight back, but it’s pointless. In the end, you’ll get swallowed at Crestview. It’ll destroy you because youhavea heart and no other motherfucker there does—including us. We aren’t nice guys. We willneverbe friends. You and I are not the same, and we will never have anything in common.”
I snorted and laid back, a smile on my face. He seemed shocked I wasn’t offended. As I’d said, it wasn’t easy to hear, but it helped me understand him more. Plus, he hadn’t said it to be a fuckhead. It was the truth as he saw it, and I was glad for his honesty for once.
“Shows what you know. We have lots in common.”
“Yeah? Like what?” he asked, amusement in his voice.
“I know the struggles surrounding being poor, and you know the struggles of being rich. You talk about other rich people like they’re insufferable. You clearly hate what money does to people. Being poor, I’ve been around assholes who will steal something right out from under you. People who are always trying to use you to get up in the world. It may be opposite ends of the spectrum, but a struggle is a struggle.
“Not to mention we both have at least one abusive parent who has a habit of abandoning us when it suits them. You may live in a mansion, and I may live in a house that can fit inside your living room, but we’re not that different, Damian. Don’t fool yourself. You find me annoying?That’sa reason. You hate the sound of my voice?That’sa reason. But don’t kid yourself into believing it’s because we have nothing in common. Oh, and as for the ‘not nice’ thing? You’ve been very nice to me tonight. You’re nice to Esther. Clearly, the Big Bad Wolfe isn’t as bad as everyone thinks. That shit’s a defense mechanism, whether or not you want to admit it.”
He swallowed hard before shaking his head. “Thinking that way will end up hurting you a lot worse than it will if you hate me. What I’m about to say isn’t a threat, it’s the truth. Please understand that because I’m not trying to hurt you but inform you. Trust me. I get what I want. As far as Harper is concerned, the deal is still on—even though you know about it. When I make a deal, I keep it. When I make a bet, Iwin. I won’t stop until I destroy you and drive you out of Crestview for good. Don’t look for something redeemable in me that isn’t there. You won’t like how that ends.”
“Hmm… Okay then,” I said before pushing away from both of them and ducking below the surface. I dove, touched the sand, and came back up as I swam around aimlessly. It felt so good I did it a couple more times. It amused me, and the water was gentle enough to do it, so I continued to amuse myself. When I came up the final time, they were both staring at me with obvious confusion. “What?”
“You don’t seem pissed,” Asher said. “What he said was basically awful, and you don’t at all seem pissed.”
I laughed, my right brow lifting as I looked at him incredulously. “I told you. Ceasefire. The only reason I’d be pissed is if he told me something Ididn’tsee coming, and the sole purpose of it was to crush me. I fully expected him to say something exactly like that. I can’t be mad about what I already know. Does it annoy me? Yes. But it’s not my problem right now. Plus, everything he just said points to ahimproblem and not ameproblem. Why should I be pissed that someone else doesn’t like me? It’s not my business. It’s also not my place or my job to police how others feel about me. Iwill,however, police how they treat me. And when he starts treating me like shit again, I’ll start reacting accordingly. Until then, ceasefire!”
I splashed them both before heading toward shore. I squeezed my hair out and walked toward the fire. Sitting on a bench, I used my dirty pants to knock the wet sand off my feet and ankles.
