Make Me (Sterling Shore Series #10)(53)

"Ah, come on," Kode groans, glaring across the yard to where Tria is out of earshot and laughing at something Brin and Rye have done. Does Brin have green hands?



       
         
       
        

Shaking my head, I focus on Kode again. "Even Ian is married?" Kode groans.

"You have to actually ask her to marry you to get married," I remind him.

He cuts his eyes toward me. Yes, I find it hilarious that the arrogant, bossy prick that is Kode Sterling is struggling to find the courage to propose to Tria Noles-the girl he once tormented and wielded so much power over.

"I got her to the cabin, finally, and she said, 'This is why marriages never work. You stop doing things like this.' She even pointed out that Rain and Dane haven't gotten away alone in a while."

"Because they have Carrie and Carrie has school," I point out.

"Tell that to Tria. Not me," Kode grumbles, shooting a glare at his obsession once more.

"Can we get back to the fact my fucking father is married," Maverick snaps. "Kode's problem is an old problem. My problem is brand new!"

We all give him an obliging nod, trying not to laugh as he drops his head to the crook of his elbow.

"Married," he says again.

"It'd be like watching your favorite gamer suddenly stop playing games," Dale tells me when I continue to stare at Maverick like he's an idiot.

But that explanation has my heart skipping a beat.

"What?" I ask, frowning.

He nods. "Or it'd be like Harley Quinn suddenly enjoying a nice, normal boring mentality and losing all her crazy."

I clutch my aching heart as true horror washes over me.

"Blasphemy," I hiss.

Dale smirks and nods.

Poor Maverick. I had no idea he was hurting that badly.

I came to Sterling Shore with purpose. I've stayed in Sterling Shore with a new purpose.

My family became my enemies, though I guess they always were. And my enemies became my family.

In just a few months, my life has completely changed.

I came for reasons tied to hate. I've stayed for love.

See? Everything is backwards.

And I love it.

Even Maverick has grown on me. Kode too. Dane and Corbin are even my friends.

Bella drops down in the seat beside me, smiling wickedly at Maverick.

"Oh, I do love seeing this," Bella gloats.

He flips her off without even raising his head.

Ethan comes over, lifts Bella up, and drops into the seat before pulling her into his lap. She just grins against his lips when he kisses her.

That happens a lot.

Ethan seems to just decide he feels like making out whenever he wants to make out. And Bella just goes along with it until they start making noises and everyone demands they go get a room.

I wonder if it's the pregnancy hormones or just them. 

Then again … it's not like Dale didn't tie me up and fuck me over his desk before we came here.

Twice.

So I guess I have no room to judge.

"I need a drink," Maverick grumbles, and I smile as Britt suddenly appears, handing him a beer as she does something on her phone.

"You still working on your sketches?" I ask her, and she smiles at me.

"I've created all the avatars."

One day, Britt will be a full-time employee. Possibly head of the creative department, now that I've fired Frank and can't seem to find someone suitable to replace him with.

With Britt's ability, I don't even need her to finish college, though I know she wants to. Eighteen, and she has bosses like me salivating for a chance to make her their own.

Not that I tell her that. It's best if she keeps feeling like she has work to do.

Dale's lips on my neck have me smiling, and I turn to face him, letting him brush those perfect lips against mine.

"Let's get out of here," he says to me.

We tell the others bye, and we leave in Dale's car. He does all the driving, because I still hate it. Fortunately, he loves it.

Last night, I finally met his parents. They were as polite and completely normal as two people can be. And they doted on their son, while lovingly asking me a thousand questions about my life.

I inwardly wondered what it would have been like to grow up with two loving parents.

Then, when we were leaving, I heard something clamber to the ground and a moan. Yes. That's right. A freaking moan.

Dale shook his head, but he was smiling with his eyes even as his mouth bore a grimace.

Just shy of three months, Dale has made me feel more than anyone else ever has. He's given me a family, friends, love, affection, and most importantly, I no longer give a damn about those who don't give a damn about me.

Vivica carried on with our original plan against the five who broke me as a sad teen. But I stopped caring, and she was left to handle it on her own. Vivica, unlike me, still doesn't believe in just moving on.

Me? I've learned forgiveness works, as long as the person in need of forgiveness really does love you.

I've also learned that love is so much more freeing than hate. I don't even care about Jessie. I don't even care about my father.

I don't care about my mother, who is now living in a weird little cult. Don't worry, they're not violent and have no plans to kill off their congregation. I did care enough to find out that much.

They just like to have a lot of orgies and live in the woods, making nature their habitat.

I hope she finds real love.

But as for worrying about if she'll ever love me, that's no longer a concern.

All that is because of Dale.

He has the power to break me, but he also has the power to make me whole.

"I love you," I tell him as we park near the pier.

He just grins as my brow furrows, taking in the fact he's getting out.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

The pier is like a ghost town today, which is really unusual.

I get out, taking in the eerie silence surrounding us. Dale just grins as he takes my hand, lacing our fingers together.

"Why is it so empty out here?" I ask as my feet hit the familiar boards of the pier. I still come here all the time.

It's my favorite place to sketch.

Dale continues to hold his silence as we walk all the way to the end and lean up against the railing there, staring out at the open sea.

"You're being too quiet," I say, narrowing my eyes.

His grin only grows.

"I remember the first time Kode went crazy over Tria like he never had for Rain. I saw the difference-passion versus want. I remember envying that with every fiber in my body, even though I didn't want to admit it."



       
         
       
        

My lips purse.

"So many times, I looked through the glass at others, realizing what they were too blind to see. So many times I thought of how simple life was, and how complicated they made it."

I'm not sure what we're talking about, so I just stare at him, confused.

"Then, you walked back into my life, turned it upside down, and for the first time, I was submerged inside the box instead of viewing it from the outside. Thinking was hard to do, let alone thinking clearly. It took me stepping back to finally see what I normally would."

I turn my body toward him, confused.

"I've always been confident on the surface, but wary just beneath. I always played my part perfectly, being the most dependable, predictable guy to provide stability to an otherwise unstable group. It was my role. Until you. It's like you make everything better."

I try to speak, but emotion gets wadded up in my throat, making it impossible.

He reaches forward, touching my cheek, and I lean into his palm as he continues to stare at me with an odd mix of emotions and awe in his eyes. It's a look that does even more to me than his scorching, I-need-you-now gazes.

I'd shed my insecurities before Dale, but until Dale, I never felt like the sexiest girl in the world.

"You're everything," he goes on. "And I can say with absolute certainty that there's no one out there more perfect for me. I'd be an idiot to even question it."

A grin spreads across my lips.

"Same for me. You're it," I tell him, moving closer until he's cupping my face with both hands and tilting my head back.

"I'm glad you say that," he murmurs, brushing his lips against mine.

My eyes close, but his touch disappears almost too quickly, and my eyes pop open to see vacant air above me and in front of me.

My eyes dart down, and my heart flips over in my chest in a flurry of motion when I see Dale staring up at me from one knee. He's wearing shorts today-the first time I've ever seen him in shorts outside of his home.

Until me, he'd said he never felt comfortable enough with himself to wear them in public.

I have zero idea why my mind is going there when Dale is currently on one knee. In front of me. And holding out a box as he takes my very shaky hand.

He uses his thumb to flip open the box, and a breath painfully lodges in my throat when I take in the ring.

A metal lip is shaped like a diamond, and four stones are set inside to mimic the diamond pattern. Two are red, touching corners to each other. One is black and touching the corner of an actual diamond. The sides have little Harley Quinn hats.

No they're not really called hats, but my mind is not working properly right now. 

Dale Sterling is holding out a ring fit for Harley Quinn, and he's grinning up at me.

I take the ring, releasing his hand in the process, and I look at the engraving inside. Like me, it's a mesh of different nerd-isms, because the inscription says, my precious …