He coaxes a smile out of me when he kisses my forehead.
“Call me later.” I stand on my toes and meet his lips for another kiss. “Okay?”
“As soon as I deal with my asshole brother, I’m all yours.” His hands find my hips, drawing me to his obvious erection. “I really don’t want to go. I’d rather study naked with you.”
I laugh against his lips. “You’re crazy.”
He opens his mouth, no doubt ready for a smartass retort, when the front door flings open. We jerk apart as though we’ve been burned. I turn to see who interrupted our kiss.
Lovely.
“Hey, Roan,” I squeak out, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
Roan’s amber eyes that match mine exactly narrow as he regards Kayden. “What’s going on here?”
I glower at my brother, crossing my arms over my chest. “We’re studying.”
Since when does Roan have a problem with Kayden coming over? He’s one of my best friends. It’s always been that way.
“Studying?” Roan cracks his neck and then glares at Kayden. “Probably time to go, kid.”
Kayden, who once used to be intimidated as hell by my brother, lets out a derisive snort. “I’m not a kid.”
Oh, great.
“Ignore him,” I tell Kayden, clutching his arm through his hoodie. “He’s just grumpy because his honeymoon’s over. I’ll talk to you later.”
I can tell Kayden really wants to kiss me by the way his eyes dart to my lips, but I give him a warning glare. Now is not the time to admit to Roan I’m seeing Kayden romantically. And certainly not by kissing in front of him. I need to ease into telling my brother because I know he’ll be overprotective about it. If Kayden kisses me, Roan will lose his shit and probably tackle him.
Ugh.
I wish Hollis were here.
He diffuses every situation that involves my brother.
“Later,” Kayden grunts out as he walks away and slams the door.
I flinch. “Hey. I thought you had work.”
Roan studies me for a long couple of beats. “I told you I had something to take care of. I don’t go back to work yet.”
“Oh,” I utter. “That’s right. So what’s up?”
He walks into the kitchen of our garage apartment and rummages around in the fridge. I follow him, leaning against the counter. Once he finds a container of leftover meatloaf Kelsey sent over with Charlotte yesterday, he pulls it out to nuke it.
“You and Kayden looked awfully cozy,” he says, his back to me. “What’s up with that?”
I let out a heavy sigh and decide to come out with it. “We’re seeing each other now.”
Roan whirls around, his eyes flaring with fury. “What?”
“He’s my boyfriend,” I state, lifting my chin. “You know I’ve always liked him.”
“Liked,” he growls. “It was a crush. I didn’t think you’d actually go out with him.”
I cross my arms over my chest and shrug. “It’s not a big deal.”
The microwave beeps, indicating it’s done cooking, but Roan makes no move to pull it out. His eyes flare with an unfamiliar anger. Truth is, we don’t argue or fight. This feels foreign and I don’t exactly love the feeling.
“You’re seventeen.” His voice is low and furious.
“So?” I bite out, throwing my arms in the air. “You were fucking Sidney and half of the other girls in this town long before that.”
“It’s different,” he snaps. “I don’t want you seeing him.”
“Well, you don’t get a choice!” I shriek. “I like him and he’s my boyfriend.”
“No.”
“You can’t no me on this, Roan!”
“I will because I’m responsible for you. He’s bad news.”
It all clicks into place.
“This is because of Jordy, isn’t it?” I demand, seething with anger. “He sent you a stupid letter too? Come on, Roan, you know Kayden. He’s been a permanent fixture around here for years. Where the fuck was Jordy? Oh, that’s right, he bailed on us.” Hot tears blur my vision, but I’m not done blowing up. “He left us and refused to see us. Screw him and his letters.”
Roan’s features soften. He hates when I cry. “I went to see him.”
“What?”
“That’s where I went today.”
I gape at him. “You went and saw Jordy and didn’t take me with you?”
“It’s complicated.”
“It is not complicated,” I cry out. “I should have gone with you!”
Guilt shines in my brother’s eyes. He stalks over to me and pulls me to him for a hug. I clutch his hoodie, inhaling his familiar scent. Roan has been my rock—my stand-in parent—for as long as I can remember.
“Kayden’s brother is Renaldo. He’s a shithead who’s into a lot of illegal stuff. Jordy is worried. I’m worried. It’s for the best.”
Anger bursts up inside of me again. I push away from his hug, shaking my head.
“Kayden is different and you know it. He’s a good friend, and so far, a great boyfriend,” I state with a huff. “He doesn’t even pressure me to have sex.” White lie.
The look of horror on Roan’s face is priceless.
“You better not be fucking him. Or anyone, Roux. You’re too young.”
“I can fuck whoever I want,” I volley back. “You’re not my dad.”
He flinches at my words. Okay, so that was a low blow. Ugh.
“You’re right,” he growls. “But I’m your big brother and if I feel like someone could potentially hurt you, I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening. Don’t make me turn into an asshole over this. I will. For you, I will. Even if that pisses you right the fuck off.”
All guilt I felt dissipates.
“Maybe I should move into Mike’s,” I hiss. “He’s my legal guardian. At least he won’t bully me away from dating someone I like.”
Roan sneers at me. “Your threats won’t work with me. We both know Mike will be stricter on you than I could ever be. Accept that you and Kayden are over. If you want to date someone else, then you can let me meet them. Kayden is a hard no.”
“I hate you,” I whisper, storming out of the kitchen before I do something stupid like punch him.
He calls after me, but I ignore him. I grab a hoodie and throw it on before shoving my feet into some shoes.
“Where are you going?”
“To Char’s,” I grind out. “Unless I’m restricted from seeing my other best friend too?” I glower at him. “What do you say, Dad? Am I allowed?”
“You’re being unfair,” he mutters.
“That makes two of us.”
I push out the front door and stomp down the steps, furious at my brother. I’m so focused on how much he pisses me off, I nearly tackle Hollis in the process. He grabs my shoulders, steadying me.
“Hey, squirt. What’s wrong?”
I angrily yank off my glasses and swipe at my tears. “Roan is in a mood. Can you run me to Charlotte’s?”