Chapter 1 #2
He answered the joke with another unblinking stare.
I returned the carton to the fridge. He picked up the glass and took a slow sip as I settled into the tall chair beside him.
There were white scars on his knuckles and across his hands, and even though I’d seen them numerous times before, I still stared.
How did he get them? I’d never had the courage to ask him.
Leaning my elbow on the island and resting my face on my palm, I studied his strong cheekbones and the hard lines of his handsome face.
He cleared his throat. “How’s college?”
I perked up. “I have a test today. I’m scared I’ll mess up.”
He grunted, his mouth twisting in disbelief. “You ace your grades. You’ll be fine.”
“That’s what Dad said.” I shook my head. Dad’s reassurances were part of the fatherly script. But hearing the same thing from War, a man incapable of speaking anything but the truth, settled the anxiety twisting in my gut.
“He’s right. That man usually is.” A deep respect laced his tone, and I couldn’t quite understand why. Dad was a good guy, smart as hell, but I didn’t know what a businessman could’ve done to earn the kind of respect War showed him. Then again, I never asked about his work.
I knew better.
Any questions about his business were met with a vague answer designed to bore me into submission.
The only interesting part of Dad’s work was the man sitting next to me.
He intrigued me. His silence was more than an act.
The stoicism was a deeply embedded trait connected to his past, and I wanted to know why it had lingered into his civilian life.
My best friend, Leland, told me my curiosity about War would lead me down a dangerous path. “You never know what you’ll get with a man who’s survived combat. That guy looks like he’s seen some shit.”
I agreed. War had obviously been through hell, and I wanted to share his pain and understand him better. He’d been around since I’d graduated high school at eighteen, and I still knew so little.
“So, it’s Friday. What are your plans for this weekend?
” I leaned a little closer, tempting fate.
I’d never had a boyfriend. No guy had ever approached me for a date, which felt statistically impossible.
I didn’t hide that I was gay and I wasn’t ugly.
Yet guys who seemed interested would back off fast, like I had a forcefield I couldn’t see.
Maybe it had something to do with my personality.
It was disappointing, to say the least. I was a pitiful virgin. How fucking embarrassing.
War studied the glass in his hand, but I wasn’t sure what he was looking at.
There was nothing interesting about it. Quite the opposite.
It was rather plain. The silence stretched until it made me uncomfortable.
After a long moment—too fucking long—he finally looked up and stared into my soul. I shivered.
“Nothing. I’m not young anymore. I prefer to stay home,” he said.
I brightened. “Me too. I like watching movies and reading.” Ugh.
I couldn’t be more awkward if I tried. Cringing at my words, I sighed.
“So, you were in the military, right?” I reached out and laid a hand on his arm, attempting to flirt with my limited arsenal.
My stomach fluttered at having his strong arm beneath my palm, my heart flipping in a way that it always did when he was around.
War’s attention fixed on my hand. Instead of swatting it away, as I’d half expected, his gaze met mine.
The intensity in his brown irises ignited a storm of reactions within me.
Butterflies—or perhaps fumbling baby giraffes—tumbled in my stomach, and molten heat coursed through my veins, flushing my skin.
A knowing smirk played on War’s lips, and I desperately wanted to unravel its meaning.
Could he sense my desire for him to take me to my room and ravish me?
He leaned forward teasingly, and I mirrored his movement.
My heart hammered, and my stomach tightened at the thought of losing my virginity.
This could happen. Right now. The idea sent a wave of both panic and exhilaration through me.
Was I ready? Did I have condoms? Lube? I’d used so much lube jerking off this past week, I wasn’t sure I had enough.
“I have my documents.” Dad’s gruff voice sliced through the tension.
War recoiled and stood abruptly.
The sudden shift punched the air out of me. I gasped as the adrenaline that had flooded my body dissipated like a popped balloon.
Dad walked through the short hallway into the kitchen, a grin on his face, oblivious to the charged interaction. Even I was unsure what had almost happened. Was War going to kiss me? My head spun.
Dad snapped his fingers, and I blinked, giving him the attention he clearly sought. “Come say goodbye.” He tilted his head, and together, he and War exited the kitchen.
I rose, my knees wobbly, and followed them to the front door.
Dad turned to me as War opened the door. “Will you be okay getting to school?”
I shrugged. “Sure. Can I borrow the Bentley?”
He winced and sighed, then grabbed the keys from a bowl on the credenza and tossed them to me. “You know the rules.”
I caught the fob and jingled the keys in his direction. “Yeah, yeah. Park in the far corner, away from all the idiot drivers, so no one smashes up your precious Bentley. I get it, Dad.”
He rarely drove the Bentley, and certainly never to work. Why even own the car?
“And if you need me—”
“I’ll call you. I’m not nine anymore.” I rolled my eyes, but he tilted his chin, giving me a pointed look.
Grinning, I rushed to him and wrapped him in a hug.
He was still my dad, the only one who’d been there for me my entire life, far more than Mom, who’d left when I was seven.
“I’m fine. It’s just school, not a war zone or something. ”
Dad winced in my embrace, so I pulled back with a frown. He gave me that charming smile of his, tousled my hair, and laughed when I swatted at him. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me a moment longer than usual, but then he snapped out of his thoughts and gestured to War.
“Come on, let’s go.”
War gave me a long look before stepping out of Dad’s way.
I smiled at War again, my sweetest one. I enjoyed playing with fire, and Dad’s bodyguard was a wildfire threatening to burn me alive—a risk I was willing to take to keep him around a little longer.
After what had happened in the kitchen, I’d try anything to get a reaction out of him. “Bye, War. I had a good time.”
He froze for what seemed like an eternity before giving me a curt nod and following Dad.
They headed toward a shiny white BMW belonging to Dad’s company.
I still wasn't sure what he did exactly—something in acquisitions and takeovers. “Acquisitions” and “hostile takeovers” sure paid well. After slogging through a few business classes, I was glad he hadn’t droned on about it. It sounded boring as fuck.
I waved at him, and when he was gone, I shut the door.
With breakfast not an option, I got ready for school and grabbed the books I needed for my classes.
I left through the back door to retrieve Dad’s Bentley, which he kept safe in a garage.
I reversed the car, hitting the remote on the way out to close the garage.
Grinning, I couldn’t contain my excitement. It had been a long time since Dad had let me drive the Bentley. He was protective of the car, treating it like a third son, and I couldn’t blame him. Not only was the vehicle expensive, but the engine purred and the handling was effortless.
Around the corner from the house, I pulled over, picked up my phone, and texted Leland, my best friend.
Kit
Guess who has the Bentley?
It took him a few moments to respond.
Leland
Fuck yeah. Come pick me up, asshole.
I chewed on my bottom lip. Dad hated anyone else in the car with me, but I couldn’t say no to my best friend. Screw it. Dad would never know.
I tossed my phone into the center console and drove toward Leland’s house.