“Yeah. I felt pretty shitty an hour ago,” Reed reveals.
“I’m really sorry.” I pinch my eyes shut for a breath. “I just . . . I liked him so much and I was scared you would hate him just because he was with me. And I didn’t want to lose you, Reed. I was just trying to give it time. I think I was hoping you would suggest we got together or something and I could be like, ‘We are! How awesome is that?’” My shoulders slouch. “I was stupid,” I whisper.
“Knowing what I know now, I probably would've suggested it.”
I blink. “Huh?”
“Is he there yet?” Reed asks, instead of elaborating. “I gave that asshole plenty of time. Of course, he was injured. That probably slowed him down a little.” Reed chuckles quietly to himself.
I’m frowning at the window. He was injured? Who was . . .
A light tapping sound behind me precedes my mother’s gentle, “Hey, sweetheart.”
I turn my head. She’s smiling in the doorway. Beaming, actually.
“I’m running out to the store to get some stuff for dinner. I’ll give you two some time.”
You two—me and Reed? Privacy, maybe. But time? We’re talking on the phone.
“Okay, Mom,” I tell her.
“Tell Mom her favorite child says hi.”
I ignore Reed and wave instead, watching my mother carry that beaming smile down the hallway.
“You are not her favorite. I am,” I argue. “Dad’s favorite, may . . .” the word dies on my tongue. CJ fills the doorway and leans his shoulder against the frame. I stare, mouth agape at his face.
His handsome, slightly mangled face.
“Oh, my God, you hit him?” I snap into the phone. I push to my feet and quickly round the bed.
“Ah, he’s there. Good.” Reed’s smile touches his voice. “And he said I could do it. Relax. But even if he didn’t, I was in my right. You both lied to me.”
I stop in front of CJ and touch his cheek, running my fingers below the swelling around his eye. “Are you okay?” I whisper.
CJ’s split lip twitches.
“My hand is a little sore . . .”
“Not you, you idiot,” I hiss into the line, gripping the phone harder. “God, I cannot believe you hit him, Reed. I’m hanging up now.”
“Hey, wait a second.”
I drop my hand from CJ’s face and glare at the carpet. “What?” I snap.
“He knows—if he hurts you, I’m coming after him,” Reed warns.
My lungs fill with air. I blink. Is this Reed’s approval?
“You . . . it’s okay that we’re, or that we were . . . um, I just, I need to know,” my lip quivers. “Can I love him? Is that okay?” I whisper.
I feel CJ’s hand push my hood down. He lifts my chin and holds my cheek as we look at each other.
“You fucking better love him,” Reed says, laughing a little. “The man got his ass kicked for you.”
My lips press together. “Am I not seeing a few bruises? It looks like you hit him, but I don’t know about getting his ass kicked . . .”
CJ’s mouth hardens. “Tell that motherfucker—”
I quickly disconnect the call before this escalates and Reed changes his mind. “Oops,” I say, showing CJ my screen. “Sorry. I accidentally hung up.”
He cocks his head, fighting a smile. His eyes slowly wander my face in that adoring way he does when we first wake up in the morning, as if it’s been days, or weeks, since he last saw me. Not hours.
“Does it hurt?” I ask, looking at the puffy skin over his cheekbone.
“Yeah.” He grabs my hand and forces it flat against his chest. “Right here. It’s fucking killing me.”
My lips part with a breath. “You told Reed.”
“Yeah, I did. I should’ve gone to him a long time ago. That’s on me, darlin’.”
“No.” I shake my head, stepping closer. “I should’ve told him. I shouldn’t have asked you to lie, CJ. That was wrong of me.”
CJ releases my hand and grabs my face. “I’m your man, Riley,” he says. “You were worried and I should’ve taken care of it. I didn’t. That won’t happen again. The same goes for me keeping stuff from you. It doesn’t matter what reason I had, that was fucked up. I should’ve told you about my leg.”
“It’s okay.”
“It isn’t.” His thumb moves over my cheek as he stares deep into my eyes. “I love you. Do you know that?”
My breaths come quicker. I hold onto his waist while I nod, needing the support. I swear, I feel like my legs are going to give out.
“God, I had no fucking idea it could feel this good,” he murmurs, smiling. His chest moves with a laugh. “Reed, you motherfucker. Keeping my entire fucking world from me.”
I giggle and roll up onto my toes, kissing him and then jerking back almost immediately. “Oh, sorry. Your lip . . .”
His hand snakes around my waist and yanks me against him. “My lip is fine. Kiss me.”
I go back to kissing him, smiling so big through it, I'm not even sure he's getting any lips. “I’m right here,” I say. “You know? You have me. Nobody is keeping me from you.”
“Yeah,” he breathes. He slides his mouth over mine. “Do you feel how good we got it?”
“I feel it.”
“It’ll never be less than this, darlin’. Never.” CJ leans back to look into my eyes. His are brighter now. A soft smile tugs at his mouth. “I’m gonna make you so fucking happy,” he says. He promises, holding so much meaning in his voice it sinks into my heart. His words never leaving. Never having to.
I’m his world. This beautiful, sweet man. I’m his.
And now we don’t have to hide. Now I can tell everyone, strangers on the street and people who matter.
I cannot wait.
I wet my lips, my breaths leaving me in a rush. I’ve never been this excited. This happy. I want CJ to know how he makes me feel. “My mom left,” I tell him instead, sliding my fingers underneath his shirt and touching his warm skin. “There’s nobody here. It’s just us.”
I can tell him later . . .
His eyebrow lifts. “Mm.” He bends to take my mouth, backing me into the room. The door slams behind him with the force of his foot. “Right here? Now?”
“Yes. Here. Now.” I’m nodding frantically. I feel desperate. “Please, CJ.”
“Call me Cannon,” he rasps, pushing me back onto the bed and crawling over me. “I fucking love when you call me that.”
I bite my lip as he sits back on his heels and drags my shorts and panties off. I moan when he palms my breast over my clothes. My back arches off the bed.
“Always wearing this,” he murmurs appreciatively, talking about the hoodie of his I stole. “Always walking around wearing my name. Do you have any idea how good you look being mine? How good you’ve always looked?”
I whimper and reach for his shorts. God, he’s killing me. Why isn’t he naked yet? “Cannon,” I beg. My legs shift around him. I’m squirming. I’ve never felt a need like this before.
Love—I’ve never felt it like this.
CJ’s eyes grow hungry. Darker. He shoves his shorts down to his thighs and frees his cock, leaning over me.
He’s still fully clothed and I’m still partially clothed and it’s perfect.
I moan when he pushes inside me.