Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I watch as Kieran’s eyes well up with tears, almost instantly.
“Knew you were going to get it,” I tell him.
“This is… actually life-changing,” he says. “And this is the first time I’ve felt hope in so fucking long, Sev.”
Kieran has no clue that Wes, Roman, and Noah actually may have helped to secure this deal. I have no idea if the Callahan firm was one of the companies that they were in contact with, but it doesn’t matter.
And maybe as the rest of the week goes on and more Daggers guys get their acceptances, they won’t try to fuck with Onyx House, and the brewing war won’t erupt.
And Wes and I won’t have to be afraid.
Of being together.
Of maybe being something more.
23
Weston
When Sev sits right next to me at the big booth in Colossus Dining Hall, I know it’s going to be bad.
I have my phone open on the table in front of me and before I can lock it, Sev glances at the screen, and he sees everything.
Cal Thorne: Waiting for the next deposit. We said it would be weekly.
You’ll have it by tonight.
What if I want it sooner?
The transfers take as long as they take, Thorne.
Maybe next time I come get it from you in person, then. A little trip to the bank.
My stomach feels sick every time he messages me.
It’s been a week since the alumni dinner, and almost everything else feels like it should be perfect. The Daggers and Luros members are very happy with the amount of internship and job offers they received. It feels like things are slowly starting to heal, and even Kieran is seeking help from a counselor and finally quitting his pills for good.
And Sev has been an angel. A dark, chaotic angel, to be sure, but he’s been making an effort to see me every day, and isn’t pressuring me at all to tell the other guys that we’re hooking up.
Cal Thorne is a problem, though.
A problem I don’t know how to fix.
“You let him text you like that?” Sev says quietly.
The other guys are still in the main area of the dining hall, gathering food on their trays. Sev and I are parked at the table, holding it down so that no one else takes it.
For now, we’re alone.
“What choice do I have?”
Sev clenches his jaw. “I wish I could fucking kill this guy. Wes, you have no idea how badly I wish that.”
I pull in a slow breath. “I don’t want another moment of more violence in my life, Sevan. I hate him, too, but I couldn’t live with myself if we hurt him. He does have the power to destroy us.”
Sev looks like he’s ready to smash my phone to bits just from looking over the texts again.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I have to do something. You don’t deserve this, baby.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. I reach under the table and grab his thigh.
I love when he calls me that, now.
I might be delusional, but every moment with Sev feels better than the last. I trust him. I can’t help but trust him.
I lean over and press my lips to his in a kiss, and he relaxes finally, melting under my touch. He kisses me back slowly, and when he pulls away he looks at me, raising his eyebrows a little.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he says, his voice a little sultry. “Just surprised you’re willing to kiss me like that when all of your boys are over there grabbing food. They could look over and see.”
I shrug one shoulder. “Maybe I’m ready for them to see.”
He hums as he reaches for my thigh now, giving it a hard squeeze. “Wes, you don’t have to do that. I can keep things on the down-low for as long as you need. I’m used to being casual, trust me.”
Suddenly I’ve forgotten about anything else going on in my life other than him.
Butterflies start to riot in my chest, and I watch Sev’s gray eyes.
“You want to stay casual?”
“No. I sure as fuck don’t want it,” he says. “You can’t tell me anything between us feels casual to you. But I can do it, easily, for as long as you need.”
I swallow hard.
I feel like I’m on a tightrope, walking between two different versions of my life.
The safe version, where I just try to follow the rules and do everything right. The version I’ve been living forever, slightly scared, and always rigid.
But on the other side of that tightrope, there’s something that I think might be incredible.
I think I’m sick of putting up walls.
Walk forward.
Cross the tightrope.
Take the fucking adventure.
“Are you talking about a relationship, Sev?” I ask him. “You’ve never wanted one before.”
He squeezes my leg again.
“Fuck it. Maybe the only reason I haven’t wanted a relationship before is because no one else has been you.”