Caden nodded his head. “She can go whenever she wants.” His voice sounded raw.
Colton jerked his head up abruptly, giving a shaky smile. He tapped his brother’s arm. “We should go. I’m kinda keen on hearing you grovel.”
Marcus groaned, clapping him on the shoulder. “You’re going to put me through the wringer, aren’t you?”
“Shovel and rake. Get ready to dig deep.”
Marcus nodded to us. “We’ll see you guys later.”
“Don’t say anything to Mom, not without me there.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
With that, Colton and Marcus headed over to Marcus’ truck. They were gone not long after that, and I let out a soft sigh, my heart breaking. I didn’t understand Colton’s injury, but I understood pain, and he had more than anyone should carry. I knew that much.
Caden cursed under his breath, then folded me into his side.
I broke for someone who couldn’t break.
I was sprawled over Caden’s chest two weeks later, replete after a climax that I’d felt all the way through my tippy toes. I never would’ve considered myself a nympho, but the last couple weeks I’d entered the realm of that possibility. Okay, maybe not. Nymphomaniacs were doing it a few times a day. I wasn’t that bad—or Caden and I weren’t that bad—but who cares. Logistics. I felt I’d entered a new chapter in my life, one where sex was an active component.
A stupid smile stretched over my face.
I was completely naked. Normally I’d be self-conscious. Not anymore. I’d begun to adopt Caden’s whole I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude, and it was amazing. I’d had my first incident a few days ago when Maggie cornered me in the mail room on campus.
She was all, “You want Kevin for yourself.”
And I was like, “Fuck no. I have someone else.”
But I didn’t elaborate, because there’d been no actual conversation that made Caden and me official. I’d brought it up once, but the conversation never happened again. I was scared to hear what Caden would say, so mum had been the word since then.
Maggie had spouted out a bunch of other accusations, but I’d tuned her out, not sure where this was coming from.
Kevin and I still hung out, but it wasn’t as much. Okay, it was hardly anything. I’d seen him twice, but he hadn’t asked for more lessons, and I was preoccupied. The brother/sister bonding could happen some other day. He was usually with some other guys, and he seemed happy. Maybe not having Maggie in his life was part of that.
“Your breakup to Kevin had nothing to do with me,” I’d told her. “Yell at him.”
She’d huffed, sucking in a breath, but before she could blast me again, I held my hand out. “I don’t give a fuck. Get away before you piss me off.”
She smirked. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll tell Claudia you vowed to sleep with all her future boyfriends.”
That worked. She fell silent, and I’d slipped away. Exit to the right.
I hadn’t seen her since, but I kept a watchful eye out every time I went to my dorm and while I was on campus. She was a slippery bastard. She could attack at any moment, like a hyena with rabies.
I asked Avery about their friendship, but she said they were done. She and Claudia were still on the fritz as well. I was happy about the first one. Avery deserved better, and that helped lower the chances of Maggie lingering for a dorm-floor ambush, but I wasn’t sure about the latter.
Claudia shouldn’t have been so pissed. Based on the Girl Code Rules of Etiquette, she messed up. But Claudia was also scary. Still. It would be better if she were on our side and not against us. If Maggie kept pushing me, though; I might have to follow through on my threat, but only with Avery’s permission. No one was a better weapon than Claudia.
“Hey.” Caden smoothed a hand up my back, returning me to the present. “What are you thinking about? You just tensed up.”
I groaned, kissing his chest softly, before I rolled over to lay by his side. “Stupid girl stuff.”
“The Maggie thing?” he asked as I gathered the sheet to cover me, tucking it under my arms,
I nodded. “Guys are easy. You either punch each other, threaten each other, or just stop hanging out. That’s it. Girl warfare is way harder to tackle.”
He grinned as he traced my arm and hooked a finger over the sheet, right where it covered my girls. “That’s not true all the time. Guys can be catty too.”
“Really?”
He nodded, his eyes darkening. He rolled to his side and moved to kiss under my ear. “Oh yeah. Especially the House. There’s a whole bunch of gossip. Cliques, exiling—all that sort of stuff.”