“Fuck around on you?” I gasped. “We’re not together, Ramsey.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he replied as he started up the car and pulled out of the clearing.
What. In. The. Hell?
Chapter 9
Ramsey~
Lake was silent the entire drive back to her house, but I didn’t press her. It didn’t matter what she wanted. I wanted her and that was the end of it. And she could protest all she wanted, but I felt and saw the shivers that ran down her body when I’d say or do something. The girl was attracted to me, even if she didn’t want to be. And I wasn’t above using that to my advantage.
After dropping her off and walking her to her door, I’d gotten back in my car and had headed home. I wasn’t sure where Mad was, but the house was silent when I walked in. But the second I entered my bedroom, my phone chimed with an incoming text.
Dash: Family bbq Sat at r house
Our families tried to do this once a month, but sometimes life got in the way. It’s been two months since our last get-together, and I was looking forward to it.
Me: I’ll b there
Just then, another text came in, but this was from Maddox.
Mad: Party n town Friday @ Keri McDonald’s. SC kids
I smirked. My brother knew me well. Having read everything he’d gathered on Lake, he knew I’d want to know this.
Me: Wanna go 2 a party Friday night?
Mad: Thought u’d never ask
I quickly shot a text off to Dash.
Me: Feel like coming 2 a party Friday?
Dash: Sure
Me: N town with SC High
Dash: Even better
After all that shit had gone down on Sunday night, I had talked to Chance and Maddox and had told them all about my encounter with Lake. The only thing I had left out was how I had blackmailed her for those photos. I had told them about confronting her and checking her phone and camera and how she had claimed not to have seen anything.
I had also told them that she got my dick hard, and I was staking my claim.
Once I had explained everything to them, I had called Dash and had given him a rundown of what had happened and where my mind was. And all three of them has supported me, no questions asked.
After Dash’s confirmation, I shot a text off to Chance.
Me: Party Friday night n town. SC High
Chance: Get ur dick under control
I laughed at that. Chance had room to talk. Now, while he didn’t stick his cock in everything that moved, but the guy was allergic to monogamy. While I didn’t keep tabs on where everyone stuck their dicks, and I prayed D.J. was still a virgin, Chance was the least discrete out of us older kids, though responsible as hell about it. We all were. Condoms were a must.
However, the guy wasn’t wrong. Lake was the only reason I’d consider going to a town party. It wasn’t that I really thought we were better than them, because I didn’t. Mom hadn’t come from money. Mom had been raised in a trailer park with a loving but weak mother, and an abusive father. And for all that my father was, he’d been born into a life a privilege, Mom hadn’t been. So, in my eyes, I found Mom to be a lot stronger than Dad. Dad was power, whereas, Mom was strength.
And with that, she had raised me and Maddox not to look down on people with less. Aunt Roselyn was the same way. Her mother had married into a wealthy family, bringing Aunt Roselyn to Sands Cove and Windsor Academy. And between Uncle Ace and Aunt Ava, Uncle Ace had been the one raised in normal, so their kids had a good balance, too. We all did. We might be rich pricks, but we weren’t cruel to the less fortunate for the sake of being cruel. Mom would fucking kill us all.
I sent Chance a text back.
Me: U got room 2 talk
Chance: My dick isn’t emotional
Me: (middle finger emoji)
Throwing my phone on the bed, I pulled up my laptop up, and started with my homework. While I was smart with numbers, I still needed to work on everything else. Like Maddox had said, better a smart rich fuck than a dumb one. Besides, my parents didn’t fuck around. It didn’t matter that we all had jobs lined up at RMM if we weren’t inclined to go out on our own. We were expected to take our education seriously and graduate when the time came. And, yeah, I realized how ridiculous that was when they weren’t overly concerned about our possible criminal activities.
An hour later, I’d made some pretty good progress, but my mind was too busy on a certain brunette who hated me.
Me: I meant what I said
Lake: Who’s this?
Me: Who do u think?
Lake: Does privacy mean nothing 2 u?
Me: Not urs
I could lie and ease her into it, but why bother? She might as well get the full dose of what she was dealing with.
Lake: Why r u texting me?
Me: Do u got Eden under control?
That wasn’t why I was texting, but I knew better than to put shit in writing that might come back to haunt me later. And telling her I was obsessed with her, and that there was no fucking way I was ever letting her get away, wasn’t something that needed to be in writing.
Lake: Everything is fine
Me: Keep it that way
Lake: Screw you
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.
Chapter 10
Lake~
I tossed my phone on my bed, fell back, closed my eyes, and let out a deep breath.
What the fuck was going on?
A part of me wanted to laugh because, of course, Ramsey had my phone number, but another part of me wanted to just crawl into a hole and never come out.
When Ramsey had dropped me off, and walked me to my freakin’ door, Mom had been in the kitchen getting ready to prepare dinner. I had walked over to let her know I was home, and after the smiles and ‘how was your day’, she’d asked who had dropped me off. With all the shit going on in my head, I had forgotten there was a clear view to the street from one of our kitchen windows.
I had lied.
I had told her a new kid at school had been kind enough to give me and Eden a ride home because he was part of the drama club and liked Eden. She believed me and thank God. There was no way I could tell her the truth. If I told my parents Ramsey Reed Jr. had given me a ride home, they’d sell the house and move us to Istanbul.
And I wouldn’t blame them.
The Reed Family was like fire. They were beautiful, intriguing, and fascinating to look at. But anyone with any kind of common sense knew that you stayed away from fire. You admired it from afar. You didn’t go near it. You stayed away from it because, while it was entrancing, it was also unpredictable. And that beauty could turn into an unimaginable force of destruction in a blink of an eye.
That was the Reed Family. And Ramsey Reed Jr. was every bit the destructive fire that could and would burn you to ashes if you crossed him.
No fucking thanks.
Only, how did I get rid of him?
I could admit I wasn’t sure how much longer l could fight the good fight. I was stupid beyond stupid to be attracted to him, but I hadn’t been too worried about it when I thought this had all been an intimidation tactic regarding Sunday night. But now that he’s made his intentions clear, I honestly wasn’t sure I was strong enough to keep saying no to him. If ever there was a guy to lose your virginity to, Ramsey Reed would probably turn reality into a steamy romance novel. Ramsey was the type of guy who made you believe those sex scenes in movies like 365 Days and Fifty Shades of Grey were real. But at the cost of my soul? Hell to the no.