Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
BAILEY
“Hey, man, did you get the group text?” Lucas asks as I’m leaving my room, bag over my shoulder.
“Which one?” I’d noticed a lot of activity blowing up the Rho Kappa Tau chat, and I’d mostly ignored it, which wasn’t hard when my family chat has been blowing up just as much.
Safe to say the morning you’re leaving to drive home with your boyfriend is not the time to tell them you’re bringing said boyfriend with you. My sister has sent through so many “chad” GIFs I can’t keep up.
“Your prank,” Lucas says. “This weekend.”
I tune back into the conversation. “Which prank?”
“With the air freshener cans and the glitter. Most of the jocks will be away, and Saturday night there’s a massive sorority party that the ones still here will be going to. We’re going to sneak in and set everything up, then when they’re back Sunday night, it’s go time.”
“First, that wasn’t my prank. You guys came up with it. I only suggested combining them.” I’m well aware I’m already running late in picking Chad up, so I pat Lucas on the shoulder as I pass him. “Second, I’m heading home, so you’re on your own. Good luck with it all.”
“Wait, you won’t be here?”
“Nope. I’m going to see my parents.”
“But it’s your prank.”
“It really, really wasn’t. I’m sure you guys will execute it perfectly.”
Lucas swings his arms, looking uncertain. “Yeah, of course. Hey, maybe I could come with you one weekend? Just as friends, obviously, but a weekend away could be fun. They live in the city, right? We could visit and then go out one night …”
A weekend away? Or a weekend with the chance to meet my dad? I give him a tight smile. “They don’t like strangers around. Have a fun weekend.”
He gives me a half-hearted wave as I leave. I hate that I feel bad for constantly telling him no, because he is a good guy, but good guy or not, constantly trying isn’t the way to get my attention. Especially not when Chad has already stolen it.
I pull up in the parking lot of Deja Brew fifteen minutes late, and Chad jumps in the car, holding two coffees.
“Hey.” I exchange a soft kiss for my drink.
“You taste like toothpaste,” he says.
“Well, I’m about to taste like caffeine, so it’s lucky you got your kiss in first.” I cringe. “Shit, I need to get Mom something.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every weekend I grab her something little. I’ve already forgotten once, I don’t want to do that again.”
Chad goes quiet, then stuffs his coffee in a cup holder. “I’ll be right back.”
I watch him jump out and disappear back into Deja Brew. He’s gone a few minutes before he returns, carrying a bag of Deja Brew coffee beans. “Will this do?”
“Those are perfect.” I stare at the bag for a second before I grab the front of his T-shirt and haul him into a longer, deeper kiss. “Thank you.”
Chad’s smiling like a fool when he pulls back. “Maybe it’ll help cover for how damn nervous I am.”
“You’re nervous?”
“Basically pissing myself.” He leans forward to turn up the air. “I barely slept last night and spent way too long trying to figure out what to wear today.”
My gaze sweeps over him, and while he’s not wearing anything too different than usual, I can tell he’s made an effort. Instead of his usual hoodie and skintight jeans combo, he’s wearing a denim jacket over a Henley, and his chinos are dark blue.
“You look edible.” I reach over to squeeze his thigh.
He snorts. “I hope your parents don’t think that.”
“Hey …” I wait until he looks over at me. “I know they’re going to love you, but even if they don’t, it’s not like that will change my mind.”
“It definitely will. You guys are close, and that’s awesome. So don’t worry, I’m going to be the most brownnosing boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
I throw the car into reverse, marveling at what a sweetheart he is. “Trust me, don’t do that. They already think you’re awesome.”
He nods like he’s trying to convince himself, and it might not be nice, but I like that he’s nervous. This clearly means enough to him to feel that way.
“I was thinking while we’re in Greenwich, we could take the train into the city and hit up a gay bar one night?”
“Fuck. Yes,” is his immediate reply. “I’ve never been to a gay club, but I can’t think of a better way to spend the night. Other than being naked, of course, but once we’re done getting hot and sweaty on the dance floor, we can do that too. This is gonna be awesome.”
I laugh at how excitable he is. “There’s one condition though.”
“Which is?”
“When all those queer guys start hitting on you, just remember who you’re there with.”
“Right back at you,” Chad says. “Only checking though, you do understand you’re the hotter one in this relationship, right?”
“Maybe if the guys are after twinks, but even then I’m too tall to be desirable.”
He makes a disbelieving sound in the back of his throat. “I wish I could take out my eyeballs and let you see yourself the way I do.”
Goddamn, he’s sweet. “Now there’s a romantic thought.”
“I am known for being a lover, not a fighter.”
“No, you’re known for being trouble.” I send a grin his way to find him grinning right back. “Try to rein in your need to cause shit this weekend, and everything will be fine.”
“You mean I can’t TP your dad’s car?”
“Only if you’re not planning on making a good impression. The Bentley is his baby.”
“A Bentley?” Chad whistles low. “Triple-ply is it, then.”
“What have I gotten myself into?”
Chad blows me a kiss as he slides on his sunglasses and turns my radio up.
It’s only an hour’s drive to my parents’ weekend place in Greenwich, and as I pull up to the guard at the main gate of the community our house is in, Chad leans forward and turns the radio off.
I give my name, and we’re let through, but without the constant background music, the car is … silent.
I glance over at Chad, whose mouth is hanging open.
“So …” he starts.
“So?”
“You’re, umm, rich.” His voice goes up at the end, making it sound more like a question than a statement.
He’s being weird. “The Bentley didn’t give it away?”
“No … I knew you had money, just … not like this.”
“My parents have money.”
“Right, that makes sense.”
“But this life is going to be basically handed to me.”
“Oh.” He falls quiet, and I’m not sure what to say.
I’ve always been uncomfortably aware of people using me for my money, but I’ve never actually experienced being judged for it.
And right now, that’s how I’m interpreting Chad’s silence.
He has this sweet line across his forehead as he inspects the large estates we drive by.
I gnaw on my bottom lip, wanting to say something. To maybe brush off what he’s seeing and reassure him that it doesn’t mean anything. I have to remind myself that money only means nothing to the people who have it, and I’ve seen how hard Chad works.
Finally, he gives this hollow laugh. “I think I’m having one of those stupid moments again.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re with the Kappas, so I knew you came from money. Like, enough that your parents were probably paying for college and your dues, but … this …” He shakes his head, still looking bewildered. “This doesn’t feel like regular rich to me.”
I shift in my seat, weighing my words. “Well … no. This is …” I swallow.
Awkward. That’s what this is, and it occurs to me I’ve never had to explain all this to someone before.
They hear my last name, and from the circles we’re in, they basically calculate my net worth from that.
“What you’re looking at is the top one percent.
My dad is in banking, but where most work in banks …
he owns it. Well, majority shares of it. ”
“Right.”
“Is this weird?”
His voice is slightly off when he replies. “No. Wait, yes. This is very weird. I didn’t realize my boyfriend was basically a gazillionaire.”
Billionaire, but I don’t point that out. “I don’t think that’s an actual number,” I tease.
He waves a hand toward the closest house we can see. “Whatever that thing is worth isn’t a number. Hell, whatever is probably in your bank account isn’t a number to me. Anything over a few thousand and it’s all white noise.”
“I get that.”
“Why aren’t you in the Ivy League?”
I cringe. “I’m not going to lie, I had a place there if I wanted it. But I needed to get away from where people automatically knew who I was, which is how I ended up at UVM. And now WHU is as far as I wanted to go from the city. Are you okay?”
“Sorry.” He wipes his hands on his thighs. “I think I’m freaking out a bit.”
“Can I ask why?”
“I … I don’t know. I mean, you could have warned me. No wonder your parents didn’t give a shit about the hotel room.”
“That, and they didn’t know.” It was my money, and I can do whatever the hell I want with it.
He drags a hand through his hair. “They … they’re so normal.” He picks up the bag of coffee beans. “I feel like a real idiot for these.”
“Don’t. She’s going to love them. Really.
And my family, they are normal. We have money, but Dad’s careful not to let that go to our heads.
And when we almost lost Mom … it definitely threw into perspective how pointless all that money is without the people you care about.
” I slow and pull into our driveway, following it all the way down our property to the main house.
The driveway loops around a large hedge sculpture, then leads to a five-car garage.
I can feel Chad staring again.
The house is large and white with navy roof tiles, and from the back, we have an unobstructed view of the water. I like the New York apartment, but I love it here.
We spent a lot of time here during Mom’s treatments and her recovery.
I switch off the car and turn to where Chad still looks shell-shocked. “In case it wasn’t clear before,” I say, trying not to squirm, because emotions don’t come easily to me, “you’re someone I care about. I don’t bring just anyone home to my family.”
He grabs my hand and presses a kiss to my knuckles. “Okay. Yep. I’ll try to be cool.”
“Since when do you need to try?”
We both climb out and grab our bags, and I can tell Chad still doesn’t feel any more relaxed than he did before we talked. His broad back is bunched up tight, and his knuckles have turned white around the bag he’s carrying.
“Want to dump our things first or go find where the others are pretending like they don’t know we’ve arrived?” If I know my parents and Rachel, they’re all dying to come out and pounce on us.
He hesitates. “No point putting off the inevitable.”
“That’s the Chad I know.”
His smile comes easier this time as we follow the voices into the main part of the house.
Mom, Dad, Rachel, and her best friend, Sierra, are all sitting in the living room. The large doors along the back wall are closed against the cool breeze blowing in off the water, but the view is breathtaking, even for my thousandth time seeing it.
“Hello, family,” I call and watch them make a show of acting like they’ve only just noticed us. No one’s winning any Oscars here.
“Bailey, Chad, how was the drive?” Mom asks.
I tell her, “Fine,” as Dad jumps up, way overeager, to shake Chad’s hand.
My family? Play it cool? We don’t know the meaning.
All eyes are on him, which I can tell is making him uncomfortable. Then Rachel props her chin on her palm and bats her eyelashes. “Hey, Chaaad.”
Her voice is over-the-top flirty, and I can tell he doesn’t know how to take her. I don’t have that problem, though, and waste no time flipping her off.
“Mom, Chad brought something for you.” I nudge him and nod at the bag of beans he’s holding on to for dear life.
“Oh, yeah. These are for you, Mrs. Prince.”
She eyes him. “Are we really that scary?”
Chad clearly doesn’t know how to answer when his gaze cuts to me. I step closer and wrap my arm around him, propping my chin on his shoulder. “He’s a bit nervous.”
“Why?” Dad asks. “You planning on running out with the good china?”
“Umm …”
“He’s messing with you.” I press a kiss to the pulse point in his neck in an attempt to get him to calm the hell down. “My family need to work on their sense of humor.”
Dad starts to laugh. “Sorry, poor joke. Bailey, why don’t you show Chad where you guys will be sleeping and take him for a tour. We’ll work on our manners while you’re gone.”
Chad shakes his head, like he’s coming out of a daze. He hurriedly steps forward out of my arms and gives Mom her gift. “For you. Sorry, I’m being weird. Bailey didn’t tell me about …” As though he can’t work out the words, he gestures around him. I find it way cuter than I probably should.
“That we’re stinking rich?” Rachel supplies.
I glare at her to shut it, but Chad points in her direction.
“Yup, that. I’m still adjusting.”
“Fair.” She shrugs. “We’ll only judge you for it a little.”
It’s like I can see Chad thawing before my eyes. “I’d probably judge me a bit more than that, but give me an hour and I’ll be good.”
Mom gives him a soft smile. “We want you to feel comfortable here.”
“I can guarantee that will never be the case.”
“Naw.” I grab his hand and tug him close again. “You don’t feel comfortable with me?”
He snorts. “Why do I feel like any answer I give is a trap?”
“Because you have good instincts.” I kiss his cheek, not caring that I’m being all PDA in front of my family.
Sure, I’ve never brought someone home, so they’ve never seen this side of me, but I don’t care.
Chad is my someone. He makes me happy, and I like kissing him, so why would I keep that from myself?
When I pull back, my big, bashful idiot is red behind his tan.
He clears his throat. “Maybe I need that tour now.”
I’ve barely got him out of the room before he drops his bag, backs me up against the wall, and kisses me stupid.
Yep. It definitely feels like he’s more comfortable here already.