CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Blaze
The over-the-top opulence in this house is enough to make me want to puke. It’s exactly why I ran as quickly as I could as soon as I turned eighteen. I’m sipping on a glass of champagne as I hear my dad talking to Trevor about how he supports our armed forces. It would be childish of me to say my dad supports them by writing a check and wearing a flag lapel pin on Veteran’s Day. I’m sure that counts in the “better than nothing” category.
Trevor’s holding his own, though – I have to give it to him. The look my dad gave him when they were introduced wasn’t pleasant. If Trevor had been a bug and dad had been the shoe, he would have crushed him. But Trevor gave him the firmest handshake I think ol’ pops has ever gotten in his life. That alone puts him on a level of respect for Damon Coleman.
“I’ve been trying to talk Daphne into giving up that little job she has,” he flashes a smile over my way, winking at Trevor.
If only they’d known each other a year ago, daddy would have had a firm ally in his mission to make me quit being an EMT. “I’m not gonna quit, no matter how many times you ask me to.”
Trevor takes a drink of his beer. “She’s right. I asked her to quit, have asked her to quit a couple dozen times, and she always turns me down.”
“Perhaps you should put a ring on her finger. Ya know? Keep her barefoot and pregnant,” he laughs obnoxiously. “That’s the way to teach these women a lesson who want their own life.”
I’m shocked actually, if anything could ever shock me about my family, it’s that he’s said this to Trevor. “Is that what you thought about mama?” I quip as I take a long drink of my champagne.
He turns on me, his eyes flashing. “Tried to, but the bitch took birth control without me knowing. The number one reason you’re an only child.”
“My rebellious nature was too much for her?” I snark back, pissed because I’ve never been an only child and they know it.
He sighs. “Daphne, you were given every opportunity to succeed in this life, yet you work a servant’s job, baby. Your mom and I, we just don’t understand it.”
That’s fucking it. I drain my glass, grab Trevor’s hand, and go off in search of a quiet room. I need to get the fuck outta here, and fast.
Trevor
If this is how rich people act, I’m counting my damn blessings we were middle class. Holy shit, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a father completely disrespect his daughter the way Blaze’s father has – and in front of company at that. It took everything I had not to tell the guy where he could shove his attitude. After witnessing this bullshit, I’m sorry I ever asked Blaze to give up her job.
“Was I as much of an asshole as him when I asked you to give up the EMT gig?” I question as she leads us through a maze of hallways.
“No,” she shakes her head.
We’re stopped by various people here and there – they want to talk to her, to see how she’s been doing. The answers she gives are clipped and totally rude compared to the woman I know her to be. I nod my head and smile when appropriate, saying the only word required of me – Trevor – when asked. I’m as anxious to get wherever it is she wants to go as she is.
“I don’t want to hurt you so if we need to slow down, please let me know,” she says over her shoulder, maneuvering us through another group of people.
“I’m good, babe, I promise. You aren’t hurting me at all.”
With those words, she picks up the pace. If I even wanted to get myself out of this place, there’s no way in hell I’d be able to. This is possibly the biggest house I’ve seen in my life. We come to a door, which she opens, glances around to make sure no one is looking, and then pulls me through it. She engages the lock before walking to the other side, leaning against the wall. The breath she lets out is one of relief.
“Where are we?” I slowly make my way to her, hoping not to spook her. She’s had a rough night, I can see it in the way she’s trying hard to be brave. Obviously her family brings out all the insecurities I never thought my strong girl even had.
Giving me a small grin, she bites her lip. “My childhood bedroom.”
“Oh really?” I quirk a brow as I continue walking toward her. “Ever had a guy in here before?”
She shakes her head. “No, the Daphne of my teenage years is way different than the Blaze I am now. For a time, I could have been Whitney’s twin, believe it or not.”
I’m chuckling in my throat. There’s no way this woman could have been like my sister. I don’t believe it for a second. “No fuckin’ way.”
“Yeah,” she winks. “For a while I wanted my parents to be proud of me, and I wanted them brag to everyone about me, but I wasn’t happy. Daphne has never been me. I’m not happy being the girl who smiles to keep up appearances. I don’t like to sweep things under the carpet or tiptoe around uncomfortable topics.”
When I reach her, I put one hand over her head, bracing it against the wall. With my other, I curl it around her hip, palming her waist. “What kind of a woman are you?”
Her green eyes burn bright in the muted light of the room. Someone has left on a bedside lamp, but it’s not enough light to actively see. Instead it casts an almost romantic glow over the room. I wonder if the comforter covering the bed was the one she slept under? The feminine color doesn’t match the Blaze I know today, but I’m beginning to get the idea that it would have matched Daphne well. My eyes follow her tongue as it swipes against her bottom lip.
“The kind of woman who desperately wants to know what it’s like to get fucked by her boyfriend in her childhood bedroom.”
I’m speechless – something that never happens. The words hit me deep in the gut, and the breath I inhale is sharp. “That a fact?”
“The truest statement I’ve spoken in my life,” she puts her arms around my waist, leaning against the wall for support. “Consider it a dare if you have to.”
“I don’t need a dare, all I need is to know for sure this is what you want to do,” I grip her hip hard, almost like my hand there can stop the explosion that’s about to happen between us.
It’s been building – this moment – since she came back into my life on the side of the road. I obviously didn’t know it then, because I was unconscious, but she’s been my savoir – the eye of the hurricane surrounding me, the anchor to my ship that’s been restlessly floating on the sea. There’s a part of me that wants this moment to be perfect, romantic as fuck, candles, champagne, the whole nine yards. There’s another part of me that argues this right here is the perfect moment. Anytime I can give Blaze what she wants is perfect. It might not be what I envision in my head, but I realize with startling clarity if I hadn’t made it out of the wreck, we wouldn’t be here right now. I’d be six feet in the ground, and God knows where she’d be. I hope she’d be finding her happiness, but it kills me to think about it being with another man.
That thought at the forefront of my mind, I lean in and press my lips to hers. She wants to know what it’s like to fuck her boyfriend in her childhood bedroom? I’ll give her the best time of her life. I have something to prove tonight, not to her, but to myself. It’s time to realize once and for all I’m alive. I didn’t die in that wreck, and I need to embrace this second chance I’ve been given. So many people don’t get one, and I’ve been blessed. I need to show this woman what she means to me, and I need to do it starting right this minute.
“Hang on, baby,” I whisper against her lips. “I’m about to give you the ride of your life. Nod your head if you understand.”
Her breath comes in gusts against my lips. She likes it when I take control. Her head nods, and I smile against her mouth. “Good girl,” I pull our lips apart, before I turn her around so she faces the wall. “You ready?”
“Yes,” her voice is breathless. “Take me, Trevor,” the words muffled by the wall, she’s buried her forehead in, but I hear what she’s saying loud and clear. Every fucking part of me hears it loud and clear.