Chapter Thirty – Kyle

Roxy’s bedroom door opens and she walks in slowly. Her eyes are ringed in red and there’s tear stains on her cheeks. She gives me a small, sad smile that damn near breaks my heart, and I hold my arms out to her. She runs across the room and falls onto my lap, burying her face in my neck. I squeeze her as tight as I can without hurting her and kiss her neck. Her body shudders as she lets out a long breath.

“Okay?” I ask softly.

She nods. “As okay as I can be, I guess. We talked, got everything out, and there was a lot of apologizing and crying. They’ve gone to open the café now. I think we all need a bit of space.”

“Good. Do you feel better?”

She nods again but doesn’t say anything. I sigh and rest my cheek on top of her head, squeezing her a little, holding her a lot. For a long time.

“Thank you,” she whispers after a while, looking up at me.

My lips curve on one side. “For what?”

“For being here. You were kinda late – okay, six months late – but I seem to remember you never come on time.”

“I’m always on time,” I mutter. “It’s not my fault if you’re always early.”

“Kyle!” she squeals, her lips parting.

“What?” I grin. “You left that wide open for my interpretation.”

“It’s not the only thing I’ve left open for that.”

My jaw drops. “Roxy!”

Her eyes twinkle, and she mock pouts. “What?”

“It’s a damn good job you’re stuck with me, you know that? I’m certain no one else can handle you.”

“It’s not my fault if I’m a handful.”

I creep my hand between us and cup her breast. “And a very nice handful you are too.”

She laughs, the sadness in her eyes now replaced with a sassy spark. “I’m not the only handful here, Daniels.” Her hand goes down and her fingers curl over my dick. It twitches at her touch and gets hard the second I see her lidded eyes staring down at me.

“Handful?” I push her round until she’s lying on her back on her bed. “I think you mean handfuls, Roxanne.”

“One and a half if you’re lucky,” she murmurs.

“Forgotten already, have you?” I run my nose along her jaw and my breath covers her neck.

She shivers. “Forgotten what?”

“That’s my ego you’re bruising.” I touch my lips to her collarbone.

“You have plenty spare.” She slides her hands beneath my shirt and runs them across my back, her fingers dipping just beneath my jeans and circling to the front.

My jaw twitches when they reach the button. “My ego isn’t my fault. There’s this girl I know. She’s amazing, sweet, and she’s damn beautiful. And she’s just about the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, and she wants me. Can you blame me for having a big ego when I get to be the envy of almost every guy who has ever laid eyes on her?”

My lips hover over hers, and I feel her smile although we’re not touching.

“You’re in the wrong place then. There’s no sweet girl here.”

I laugh. “You’re sweet and spicy, Roxy. Just how I like it.”

“Yeah? I left the sweet in the hall. Just the spicy here.” She unclasps the button deftly and hooks her fingers inside the waistband of my boxers to make her point.

“Good job you did.”

I finally touch my lips to hers. She sighs against my mouth and wriggles beneath me. She tugs me down and snatches her hand from my pants just before my hips hit hers. Her legs go round my waist, holding me to her, and the action presses me against her.

My dick hardens even more when she pushes her hips up. I run my hand down her thigh, and it’s so fucking hard not to rip her clothes off right now. Every movement she’s making beneath me is precise and perfectly executed. She knows exactly what she’s doing – there’s no way she can’t feel the way my cock is pressing into her through both of our jeans. Every arch, every shift, every wriggle, it’s all deliberate.

She pulls her lips away and kisses along my jaw to my ear. “Looks like I’m open for your interpretation again.”

I smile and dip my hand in the back of her jeans, cupping her ass.

Interpret I fucking shall.

~

“I can’t even take the blame for that one.” I shake my head. “That was all Cam’s idea.”

“C’mon!” Roxy says in disbelief. “You expect me to believe it was all Cam’s idea to steal everyone’s dressing gown cords and tie them to the top of the bunk beds so you two could bungee jump from them?”

Ah, that was fun.

“Yep.”

“I don’t believe it. You had some say in it.”

“He came up with it, and my say was it’d be fun.” I grin at her and squeeze her hand. “Cling filming your door? That was all me, baby.”

“Of course it was. Every stupid fucking prank you two ever played on me was your idea!”

No arguing with the truth. “I told you before. I wanted you to like me.” I wink.

“I actually think I hated you until I was fourteen.”

“Then what? You woke up one day and decided I wasn’t an asshole?”

Her lips curl. “Who said I’ve decided that?”

“Don’t make me whip out the jackass, Hughes.”

“I happen to like your jackass, Daniels.” She swings our hands between us. “No, I just decided I kinda… liked… you.”

I don’t miss the inflection on the word “liked”. Oh, hello… Maybe I should have stolen her diary like Cam tried to get me to several times.

“Liked, huh?” I spin in front of her and stop. “How much did you like me?”

She purses her lips.

“Roxy…” I smirk and look down at her, glad her black eye has finally faded. “Did you have a crush on me when you were fourteen?”

Her tongue snakes out and across her bottom lip, and the slight flush of her cheeks answers my question.

“No,” she blatantly lies. “You were my brother’s asshole best friend.”

“You’re a terrible liar.” I start walking again and pull her with me.

“I’m so not lying!”

“You so are.”

She mutters something under her breath. “Fine. I had a crush on you when I was fourteen.”

“And fifteen, and sixteen, and seventeen, and eighteen…” I tease her.

“God, I know. What was I thinking?”

“You were thinking very smartly.”

“Does that make me a genius now?”

I smile and stop, not caring we’re in the middle of a street in Portland. I pull her into me and push some hair from her face.

“Why would you be a genius?”

“You’re just trying to make me say it again, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“You’re such a girl.”

“Watch it.” I start walking again. “You wouldn’t want anyone here to see how much of a girl I’m not.”

“Promises, promises.” She sighs. “Hey, Kyle?”

“Yes, Roxy?”

She tugs on my hand and stands on her tiptoes so her lips are by my ear. “I love you.”

My lips twitch the way they do whenever she says it. “Smart girl.”

Roxy slaps my chest. “Ass.”

I drop her hand, wrap my arm around her shoulders, and pull her into me. “I love you too.”

I’ll never get tired of hearing it or saying it. So what if falling in love with her wasn’t my plan? Somehow we got here and I wouldn’t change this for the world.

Maybe she has a point with the “girl” stuff.

“Smart guy.” She curls into me.

“Debatable.”

“It’s amazing how much jackass you put into one word.”

I grin. “Just trying to get in your pants again, babe.”

She laughs. “I’m not wearing pants.”

“In your pants, up your dress, either one works for me.” I shrug. “Admittedly the dress would be easier.”

Roxy runs her fingers through her hair and looks up at me. Her lips are curved on one side, her eyes wide and shining in amusement.

“You just want me for my sex.”

“And your hands. And your mouth. Oh, and your boobs. Definitely for your boobs.”

She laughs again, louder, and pokes me in the stomach. “You’re crazy.”

“I could go for a really cheesy response to that, but I think I’ll settle for a, “You’re just realizing this?””

“Mild or mature?”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “You what?”

“For your cheesy response. Mild or mature?”

“Now who’s the crazy one?” I tap her nose. “For the record, it would have been extra mature.”

A giggle leaves her and I can’t help but laugh with her. Since she spoke to her parents a few days ago it’s like a huge weight has lifted off her shoulders. You can see it in everything she does; she’s more playful, more teasing. Even when she’s at work she’s happier.

Walking away from her was the best thing I could have done. It killed us both but now she’s like the girl I remember her being. Sure she’s older, more mature, and a hell of a lot fucking sexier, but the way she laughs and jokes is the Roxy I grew up with.

She’s not perfect. She’s stubborn as shit and challenges me at every turn, but I kinda like it.

I just hope she won’t challenge me now.

“Let’s get food.”

“From where?”

“Wherever you want, Rox.”

“McDonalds.”

I stop. “Are you fucking serious?”

She looks up at me. “What?”

“I just told you we can get dinner wherever you want, and you pick McDonalds?”

“What’s wrong with Maccy’s?” she demands.

“Nothing. I just…” I shake my head. “Never mind.”

“I don’t do fancy restaurants. I’d rather have a burger and fries.”

“Okay, strange girl. If you want fast food, Maccy’s it is.”

We turn off the street and walk in the direction of McDonalds. I can’t believe she picked fast food. It’s not exactly the place I imagined when I pictured myself asking her to come to Berkeley with me.

I pictured actual waiters, not Ronald fucking McDonald.

We order our food and Roxy finds a table while I wait for it. I didn’t know girls ordered large meals until now, and I say as much when I sit down.

“Psh.” She scoffs. “I’m not a stick. If I want to eat crap food, I will. I’m hardly going to get fat from one large burger and fries, am I?”

If I wasn’t already in love with her, I definitely am now.

“I’ll just have to do a little more exercise.” She shrugs, pauses, then points a fry in my direction. “And before you say anything, mister, that exercise has been considered and accepted.”

Yep. I love this girl.

“And here I was with a book full of ideas to convince you.” I sigh.

“There might be a part of me that still needs convincing.”

“Right here?”

She throws a fry at me. “You’re insatiable, Daniels.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” I smirk. “I don’t think I will ever get enough of you. That’s all.”

“Too much of me isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

“Depends who you ask. And what you’re doing too much of...”

“I think I can guess where this is going.”

I grin. I could sit here forever and banter with her, back and forth constantly. I’ll never get tired of her smart-ass remarks, her sarcasm, or her teasing comments. And I’ll never get tired of being able to follow through with that banter afterward.

“I need to ask you something,” I say slowly.

“Uh-oh.” Roxy puts her milkshake down. “What did I do this time?”

I laugh. “Nothing. I just need to ask something.”

“Well stop babbling and ask me.”

I kick her under the table, and she does it back. “Have you thought about what’ll happen when I go back to California in a few weeks?”

The small smile lingering on her lips fades, and she drops her eyes. “No.”

“I have.”

She nods quietly. I take a deep breath, staring at her. Here goes nothing.

“I want you to come with me.”

Her eyes snap up. They’re wide in shock, and her lips are parted. “What?”

“Come with me. To California.”

“You live in a frat house, Kyle.”

I shake my head. “Mom and Dad saved up money for our college funds. We had the choice of it paying our tuition or renting an apartment for a year when we hit sophomore year. We both picked an apartment. And we have our trust funds from our grandparents – not much there, but enough to get started with somewhere to live.”

“And you’ve not touched a dollar of it?”

“Nope. We were told when we were eighteen about the funds, and Iz and I both decided the same thing. It makes sense – we have a place to live and when we finish college we can stay, but if we go, we already have the money invested the apartment to find another.”

She looks down again and dips a fry repeated in ketchup. “I guess. So you’re moving into an apartment when you go back?”

“Yep.”

“And you really want me to come with you?”

“You were going to go to UCLA anyway, right? Live with me in Berkeley, then move there next year. There are loads of places in California offering the courses you need.”

Including Berkeley. But I’m not going to tell her I know that… Or that I searched Berkeley specifically.

“I know.” She looks up again, her eyes meeting mine. “Berkeley does too.”

My lips twitch.

“I just looked for… I don’t know. Weighing up my options, you know?”

I nod and let my lips lift up at the corners. I’m not sure who she’s trying to fool.

“It’s a good school,” I comment, wanting to see how far she’ll take this.

“Right. And I mean, I wanna go to a good school.”

“Yep.”

“And the weather would be a nice change to Oregon.”

“Definitely.”

“But it’s a lot to think about.”

I grab her hand across the table and hold in my amusement. “Moving with me would be totally beneficial. You’d get to see the college and the area and decide if it’s where you want to go.”

“I suppose. But don’t you have a rabid fan base down there would who chew me up and spit me out?”

The thought makes me laugh loudly. “I can think of about four girls who have an attitude to rival yours, and none of them are in my supposed fan base, so I think you’re safe on that side.”

We get up and throw our wrappers in the trash before leaving.

“Good to know.” She muses.

“Roxy.”

“What?”

“Stop being a dick and answer the question.”

“I’m sorry. What was the question again?”

Pain in my ass. I stop and pull her to me. “Come to Berkeley with me.”

“That’s an order, not a question.”

“You’re making this hard for me deliberately, aren’t you?”

Her eyes twinkle with amusement, her lips turned up at the corners. “Maybe,” she says quietly.

“Do you want an epic declaration of love? McDonalds roof looks easy to climb on.” I make to move, and she shrieks and grabs my shirt.

“No! No, no epic declarations needed today, thank you.” She laughs. “Ask me again.”

“Fine.” I tuck her hair behind her ear. “Roxy, will you come to Berkeley with me?”

She wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes. “Only if you promise to give me an epic declaration of love when we get there.”

I smile into her hair. “I think I can do that.”

“Then yes. I’ll come with you. To check out the area,” she adds in a teasing lilt.

“But of course.” I kiss her softly.

Just like walking away, the question was worth the risk.