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She pops a chip in her mouth, chewing as she thinks. I never realized someone could look so cute eating.
“Hmm. I’d have to go withHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
“You would.”
“All right, smartass.” She crumples the top of the bag as she folds it over. She places it on the end table, then she straightens her back and crosses her legs. Seconds later, her hand is back in the cheese curls bag. “Which movie would you pick?”
Giving her a side-eye, I click my tongue on the roof of my mouth. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
Her eyebrows scrunch together in amusement. “Shut up.” She laughs. “You like that movie, too?”
“No,” I tell her honestly. “I like you, and if that movie makes you smile, then I wanna watch you smile.”
Her crumb-covered fingers pinch my cheeks, and she plants a kiss on my lips. “You’re too sweet for your own good, Maddox Crane.”
An hour later, our stomachs are full of junk, and we’re lying on the bed bloated as hell. Riley’s leg is flung across both of mine as her head rests on my chest. One arm locked around her, I graze the skin of her upper thigh with my other hand. “Tell me a secret,” she says, drawing lines on my stomach.
“A secret, huh?” I think hard on this one. There’s so much I wish I could tell her, and someday I will, but right now, I opt for something less privileged. “Freshman year of high school, it was our first dance. Ridge was living with me at the time, and he was always a bit of a troublemaker.”
“Nooo,” she teases. “Not Ridge.”
“Hard to believe, right? Anyways, my mom and dad had to work, so we walked to the dance with Lev. As we passed by the liquor store, Ridge had the grand idea of stealing a bottle of booze. We were only fourteen, and booze was booze as far as we were concerned. I distracted the cashier while Lev and Ridge stole the bottle. We all took a sip of it on the way and the shit was nasty as fuck. I literally curled over, certain I was gonna throw up. Well, twenty minutes into the dance, we decided to ditch the shit, and what better way than to share it with everyone else. So Ridge dumped the whole bottle into the punch bowl.”
“No, you didn’t! Did anyone notice? I mean, if it was that nasty, they’d have to, right?”
“Oh, they noticed, but no one told any of the chaperones. Everyone was gathered around the punch bowl at that point. Next thing we know, the freshman class is getting tipsy, and the preacher's daughter is throwing up on the principal’s shoes. Cops were called and she and a few other students were given tickets for minors in possession.”
“Maddox.” Riley slaps my arm playfully. “That’s so bad. Did you guys ever get caught?”
“Nope. No one ever knew it was us. Needless to say, Shelly Macomb’s father did a lot of praying for his daughter.”
“Well, your secret is safe with me.”
“It was a night I’ll never forget.” I don’t divulge any more information because what happened next isn’t my story to tell. “All right,” I roll onto my side, studying her eyes, “your turn. Tell me a secret.” I tuck her hair behind her ears and sweep my fingers across her warm cheek.
“Hmm.” She taps her chin, smiling coyly. “When I was thirteen years old, I was at a friend’s slumber party playing truth or dare, and I got dared to streak and run down the street.” Her cheeks tinge pink from embarrassment and it’s cute as hell. “So I stood outside in the dark, took all my clothes off, and ran. The next thing I know, I’m bumping into our gym teacher who was out walking his dog.”
“No way? What’d you do?”
“What any sane thirteen-year-old would do.” She laughs. “I turned around and ran, then skipped gym class for two weeks straight.”
“Damn. That’s funny as hell.” I drag my fingers down her smooth leg. “Now a serious one?”
“All right. Well, you already know my big secret…but there’s more to it.”
“If you don’t wanna…”
“No. It’s okay. I trust you, Maddox. And it might do me some good to finally get this out.” She swallows hard, giving herself a moment, while I massage her shoulder, letting her know I’m here for her. “I’ve never told anyone this, well, not in depth anyways. But, I don’t feel bad for what I did.” She clears her throat. “Killing the governor, I mean.”
I nod in response, giving her every opportunity to express how she feels. I can tell by the look on her face she needs to do this.
“I know it was wrong, but I also think it was good. I’m haunted by that day, but I lack the remorse someone should have in my position. And what I really feel bad about is not feeling bad. Does that make sense?”
“Well,” I begin, “your feelings are valid, no matter what they are. Don’t ever feel like a monster for not having regret. You acted selflessly, and you saved a lot of people from an even worse fate. If anything, I think you should look at yourself as a hero.”
I strain to keep the words fresh in my mind as I ignore my own lack of guilt for the terrible things I’ve done.
“A hero?” Riley chuckles. “I highly doubt that.”
