Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
I ’ve been pumped all week for this trip. I almost couldn’t believe Aurora actually agreed to come with me. Although I wasn’t expecting her to bring a friend. Or in this case, her cousin, who might just be as insane as she is.
“So, Mabilia, how are you liking New York Prep?” I ask, looking up into the rearview mirror.
Mabilia glares back at me and says something in Russian. I have no idea what, but I’m figuring I probably don’t want to know. Aurora’s sitting next to me. She turns and speaks to her cousin in Italian. Again, no fucking idea what they’re saying.
“Fine. But just so you know… my new favorite meal is Irish stew.” Mabilia huffs before replying to me in a sugary-sweet voice that doesn’t match her expression. “School is great, Connor. How do you like it?”
I smile at Aurora. “It has its perks.”
“Yeah, like the library? I hear it’s epic. People scream about how good it is.” Mabilia snorts, trying to cover a laugh.
“Mabilia.” Aurora glares at her cousin over a shoulder.
“The library is second to none,” I chime in.
“So, Boston… You got any crazy ex-girlfriends? Or crazy current girlfriends there?” Mabilia’s eyes connect with mine in the mirror.
“I don’t date crazy chicks, and I don’t have any ex-girlfriends,” I tell her.
“Aren’t you dating Aurora? Or is that not what this whole thing is?” Mabilia asks.
“We’re dating,” I say at the same time Aurora says that we’re not. “We are dating,” I repeat, my words more for my girlfriend than for her cousin.
“But you just said you don’t date crazy chicks?” Mabilia appears genuinely confused as she gestures to the passenger seat.
“Aurora isn’t crazy,” I say, my voice firm and probably louder than it should be.
“She’s perfect the way she is.” I pick up her hand, bring it to my mouth, and kiss her knuckles.
It’s a little strange showing her affection in front of someone.
We’ve been sneaking around for months now, if you count the time she was in Italy, which I do.
But we’ve never been seen so much as talking to each other. I don’t hate it, though.
“Who is going to be at this party?” Aurora asks, changing the subject.
“Old friends,” I tell her.
“Old friends, as in the family kind of friends or the school kind of friends?”
“A bit of both, but the family kind are loyal to me. You don’t have anything to worry about,” I explain.
“Of course she doesn’t. That’s why I’m here. To slaughter anyone who even thinks about looking at her the wrong way,” Mabilia says from the back seat.
I look over at Aurora with a raised brow. “It’s a party. Try not to slaughter anyone.”
“Fuck,” Mabilia curses while staring at her phone.
“What?”
“My dad invited Tommy for dinner.” She sighs.
“Who’s Tommy?” I ask.
“Her boyfriend, who really is lucky to even still be alive. I didn’t think he’d last this long,” Aurora tells me.
“Tommy, you cannot go to dinner.” Mabilia has the phone to her ear. “I’m going to Boston. Girls’ trip.” I can’t hear the other side of the conversation. “Fine. I’ll text you, but you cannot tell my dad where I am. He thinks I’m at Aurora’s.”
“Wait… You each told your parents you were spending the night at the other’s house?” I ask.
“It’s not like I could tell my father I was going to a party in Boston with the heir to the O’Malley family, is it?” Aurora replies.
“No, but aren’t your parents’ cousins? They’re going to talk to each other and figure it out.” I laugh.
“They will, but by then, it’ll be too late and we’ll be on our way home.” She smiles.
“Right.” There’s a rest area coming up. “I’m stopping for gas. You need anything?”
“Chocolate,” Aurora says. “I’ll go inside and get snacks.” She leans over and kisses me before jumping out of the car.
As I’m filling up, Mabilia climbs out of the back and runs into the gas station. “What the fuck?” I call after her.
Then I see it and I’m running too. Some fucker is attempting to hold up the shop.
He’s waving a gun around hysterically, and as I push through the door, I hear him yelling at the guy behind the counter, ordering him to get the money.
Mabilia and Aurora are both standing by the register.
Neither looks too worried, but that’s because they’re both fucking insane.
“I have a problem with what you’re doing here,” I say, walking up to the gunman, who turns his aim on me.
“Yeah, what you going to do about it, tough guy? Fuck off,” he grunts.
“You see, I would… but that’s my girlfriend you pointed at.” I continue walking.
“Stop! I will shoot you!” he says, his hand a little shakier now.
“You should know who I am before you do that,” I tell him.
“Why the fuck do I care who you are? Stop.” The guy takes a step backwards.
“I’m Connor O’Malley.” I smile when his skin visibly pales. That was the reaction I was waiting for. “Which means we have two options here.”
“I didn’t know she was yours.” He shakes his head back and forth.
“Actually, I’m my own person. I don’t belong to anyone,” Aurora adds.
“Babe, not the time,” I tell her before holding up a finger towards the guy.
“Option one, you hand over that gun to me. I turn the barrel towards you and pull the trigger.” I pause to look him over.
“I’ll start on your knees and slowly work my way up your body.
You won’t die straight away, but you will bleed out eventually.
” Then I hold up a second finger. “Option two, you put that barrel to your own head and pull the trigger. Save yourself the agony. So, what’s it going to be? ”
The whole gas station is silent, but the guy makes the smart choice when he lifts the gun to his head and shoots.
“Coward,” I grumble as I turn to the attendant and pull out a wad of hundred-dollar bills. “Here, call the cops and tell them he walked in and killed himself. You got CCTV?”
He nods.
“I’m gonna need it wiped. We weren’t here. And if I hear otherwise, I’ll be back,” I tell him and wait for him to nod again. I then look to Aurora. “You get everything you need, babe?”
Both girls are staring at me with strange expressions on their faces. “Yep.” Aurora scoops up an armful of snacks. “Let’s go.”
When we’re back in the car, Aurora pivots in her seat to face me.
“Just so you know, I didn’t need you to come in and save me,” she says.
“I know,” I tell her.
“But also, is there going to be a bedroom at this party because I’m suddenly really turned on?” she whispers.
“I can hear you,” Mabilia groans.
“Don’t eavesdrop then,” Aurora replies.
“Let’s raise the stakes.” Patty, one of my oldest friends, calls out to the two jocks on the opposite side of the table. We’re currently playing a round of beer pong and we’ve let ?em think they’re going to win by purposefully missing.
Aurora is standing to my left. We stopped to check into a hotel first. I can’t exactly take her to my family home.
Not without my father finding out anyway, and that’s a fight I don’t want to be having yet.
She changed into a tight little black leather skirt and a white V-neck shirt that’s fucking see-through and showing a black lace bra underneath.
She’s also wearing a pair of Doc Martens.
I’ve spent the night with my hands all over her, partly because I fucking love touching her, and partly because I wanted to know where all her little weapons of destruction are hiding.
She never goes anywhere without carrying something.
The fact that I know she can and will take care of herself when needed is a turn-on, and honestly, it gives me a peace of mind.
Because the world we live in is fucking cruel.
Especially to beautiful girls like Aurora.
“What you thinking?” I ask the two jocks.
“We win, you hand over your girl to us. We’ll take real good care of her. You win, you keep her.” One of ?em eyes Aurora up and down. My vision goes red. My composure though? Calm as fuck.
Before I can put them in their place, Aurora is sauntering towards them with a smile. “It’s cute that you two little boys think you could handle even one second with me.”
“Fucking hell.” I shake my head when I see her hand reach up the side of her leg, just under her skirt. “You really shouldn’t have said that,” I tell the guys.
“What’s going on? You really gonna let ?em talk about your girl like she’s a piece of meat?” Patty asks.
“Watch.” I have no intention of letting them off the hook. I’m just going to wait until Aurora’s had her fun first.
“Oh, baby, I’d show you the night of your life,” one of the jocks tells her. My fist clenches at my side. I count to ten in my head to stop myself from ending the little fucker before Aurora has time to put on her show.
I see the glint of light reflecting off the blade in her hand. When she rounds the table, the fucker screams and bends at the waist. “Yeah? A night I won’t forget, huh? That would be incredibly difficult without a dick,” Aurora tells him.
“You fucking bitch! You stabbed me in the balls!” The guy hisses as he falls to the floor.
“I thought you wanted me to touch your balls.” Aurora steps over top of him, before looking to the second guy. “You still want a night with me?”
He shakes his head and then he’s turning around and running out the door.
“Didn’t think so,” she calls after him as she makes her way over to me. “What about you?”
“Fucking always,” I tell her.
“What the fuck?” Patty slaps the back of my shoulder. “She’s a keeper. I don’t care what her last name is.”
“I know.” I smirk. My arm snakes around Aurora’s waist, and I pull her up against me.
“Someone get this piece of shit out of here!” Patty yells, kicking at the jock still screaming on the ground.
“You ready to find that room?” I ask Aurora.
“I was ready four hours ago,” she replies.
“Where’s your cousin?” I look around. I could have sworn Mabilia was here a few minutes ago.
“She left with Tommy.”
“Good. Let’s head back to the hotel. I’m going to make you scream my name tonight and I don’t want these horny fuckers to hear you. They’d be jerking off to the memory of your moans for the rest of their lives.”
“Is that what you do when I’m not around?” Aurora lifts a brow at me.
“Yup. You’re in the shower with me every morning.” I laugh.
Aurora looks back over a shoulder as we exit the house. “I like your friends,” she says. “You must miss being here.”
“I miss it less when I’m with you,” I admit. “I hated moving to New York, but then I met you, and suddenly I didn’t hate it as much anymore.”