Chapter 182

Jerome and I come back a few hours later after an afternoon

of light chat. We kept it easy, neither of us wanting to address

the elephant between us. Instead, we talk mostly about horses.

When we enter the house we’re too busy laughing, the dregs of

our milkshakes still in our hands, to notice Kent standing in the

hallway staring at us.

Jerome notices first, stopping in his tracks and clearing his throat,

the smile dropping from his face. Kent says nothing, just slowly puts his hands in his pockets and shifts his weight to his back foot, giving us both a long stare.

Something about it – I don’t know what, maybe the arrogance in his stance, or the way that he stopped us both in our tracks just by standing there – makes me roll my eyes. Despite everything – all of the trauma of the afternoon, and the crazy intimidation I felt on the third floor last night – Kent’s macho bullshit still makes me want to

push back.

“My dad wasn’t in the mood to feed me,” I report calmly, “so Jerome took me to get cheeseburgers and milkshakes. You want some?” Innocently, I hold my milkshake out to him, straw first.

Kent’s eyes flick to the milkshake and then back up to my face. “No, Fay,” he responds, his voice low. Then he nods to Jerome, dismissing him. Jerome is gone before I can even see him move,

Chapter 182

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Kent says, prowling close

Slowly, he raises a hand to my face, his thumb brushing over the red mark that

  1. flinch. Kent drops

the PG version of what he

you’d like it very much if I told you that he called

can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips

I am surprised to see Kent give

at the sight of this,

that I

I want to please

suddenly, I am

night of how frightened I was

my body, touching places no one has touched before. And I flinch away, knowing –

it. Not now.

says, his voice oddly choked as I take a step

Chapter 182

to the side and work to move past him. “I’m just going to go

placing a hand on my

at him. “Please,” he says, his eyes uncharacteristically wide. “Let me make it up to you…”

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