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Maybe the next time there was a misunderstanding, we shouldn’t avoid each other for days afterward, but I knew that was easier said than done. Avoidance was most often the easier path.
Taylor went on, “I was nervous you were going to change your mind and kick me out.”
“Never.”
Still, she didn’t look or sound too convinced. “I mean, I’d get it, if you did. Who wants their little sister hanging around all the time? I’m sure there are things you want to go out and do, people you want to see, like that girl. Hailee.” The way she spoke her name, with such distaste, it was clear she wasn’t a fan of the woman.
“She should never have come here,” I told her. “I didn’t want her here. When she spoke to me last, I told her our arrangement was over.”
Taylor frowned, puckering her lips at me. A pouting gesture if I ever saw one. “Well, I don’t think she wanted to end thebusinessarrangement. I don’t think she likes taking no for an answer.”
Holding in a sigh, I knew she wasn’t wrong.
Honestly, Hailee had been perfect for what I’d needed her for in the past. I didn’t date, but I was a man. I needed a certain kind of release every now and then, and Hailee had provided an outlet for me. But now… finding my release between the legs of that woman was the last thing I wanted to do.
“It’s probably for the best.” That pout finally left her lips. “I don’t think she liked me very much. She was kind of a bitch.” Her eyes widened at that, and she looked at me, questioning. “Am I allowed to say that?”
“You’re allowed to say whatever’s on your mind,” I told her, though the part about Hailee being a bitch to Taylor planted itself in the back of my mind. She better not try to worm her way into my life again; I wouldn’t be so nice next time, especially now that I’d heard she was mean to Taylor.
She gave me a smile, but it wasn’t a real one, not genuine. It was tight, like she was forcing it. I’d bet anything the whole Hailee thing was still bothering her, but she was conditioned by her useless dad to try to let things go.
“Are we good?” I asked, wishing I could lean over to her and pull her in for a hug, wanting to feel her body cradle against mine. But I held back, just barely. I couldn’t go holding her all the time.
Taylor nodded once. “We’re good.”
I got off the bed, knowing I should leave her to her schoolwork. I started toward the door, my feet seemingly dragging along the floor in an attempt to linger near her, but she stopped me a few seconds later by saying something else.
“I’ll be home late tomorrow. Don’t wait up for me.”
It wasn’t the first time she’d said that. Turning back to her, I asked, “Where are you going?” We locked eyes across the room, and I wrestled with my urge to tell her she wasn’t going anywhere, that I wanted her here with me. But I wouldn’t control her; I wouldn’t.
“I don’t know yet,” she said, shrugging.
“Text me where you’re going tomorrow, at least, so I know you’re not dead.”
That finally got a real smile from her, along with a chuckle of a laugh. “Really? Come on, Creed.”
“I mean it. I need to know where to start looking for you if you don’t come home.”
Still grinning, Taylor asked, “Should I start calling you Daddy now?”
Not a doubt in my mind that she’d meant it in good fun, but the way that question fell upon my ears… let’s just say I didn’t take it as innocently as I should have. “Maybe,” I told her, and almost instantly, her cheeks grew red.
She started to fumble with a response, but I didn’t let her say anything else. I walked out of her room, battling the smirk that was trying to fight its way to the surface.
Things were the opposite of uncomplicated between us, and with how we were going, they would continue to stay that way. But, you know what? I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was making sure she was safe and where I could keep an eye on her.
Chapter Nine – Taylor
Beth was ecstatic we were going to a party tonight. One of the college’s frats had taken over a building of condos just off campus, which was where I think we were going. Her other friends we’d meet there.
Was I nervous? Kind of. It was my first-ever college party. Parties just weren’t my thing. I didn’t know what I’d be walking into. Would it be like the movies and TV shows, where everyone was half-drunk and making out with strangers, or would it be different? I really didn’t know what to expect.
Beth and her friends didn’t strike me as the type of people who frequented parties either, but I guess every now and then, they felt the need to push their boundaries. Which was fine—it was forcing me to push some of mine, too.
Although, Beth didn’t ask what made me have a change of heart. She didn’t ask me if something had happened; she didn’t know I was living with my stepbrother, and she definitely didn’t know that I was still kind of pissed off at the whole Hailee thing.
Like, yeah, yeah, we’d talked through it yesterday, but I couldn’t wipe the smug look Hailee had given me when I’d first approached her in the hall out of my mind. How she’d instantly viewed me as no competition… not that I was in a competition when it came to Creed, but you know. It didn’t sit right with me. It was something Creed wouldn’t understand.
