CJ
The moment Grant turned Lolly’s hot pink Escalade into the driveway of the trailer park, Cat ran in front of the SUV and Grant slammed on the brakes.
Ryan peeped around the back seat to look out of the windshield. “That’s a dog.”
“That’s a boy, bro,” Ryan said as they drove by. “His cock is almost touching the fucking ground.”
They all laughed.
“Where to, CJ?” Grant asked, glancing in all directions at sights now familiar to CJ.
Broken down vehicles, rows of laundry fluttering in the wind, cats, dogs, and chickens roaming amid overgrown patches of grass. Abandoned piles of trash where children were playing.
“Follow the curve of the driveway,” CJ said, taking it all in again.
“Goddamn, this is so bad,” Ryan mumbled.
What could CJ say? It was bad, and drove home how lucky they were.
A couple of minutes later, Grant halted in front of Skye’s door. Different day, different batch of laundry hanging on the lines.
CJ: Can you come outside a minute?
Because it was a Sunday, CJ suspected her brother and sister were home. Again, he didn’t want to involve himself in her life as deeply as he had Molly and Jaleena’s, whose little sisters he’d gotten to know very well. He’d enjoyed their video game matches.
Skye opened the door and stepped outside, her long legs and tiny waist revealed in jeans shorts and a low-cut shirt tied right under her round tits. He tried not to stare or admire her golden skin and honey-colored hair. She was just so fucking hot.
“Goddamn,” Ryan repeated for a completely different reason. “Every time I see her, I almost drool.”
“How old is she?” Grant asked, studying her as she walked toward them, her hips swinging and her tits bouncing.
“Seventeen,” CJ answered. “Or about to be seventeen. I don’t fucking remember.”
She wasn’t on his radar. Not really, anyway.
“Fuck, too young for me,” Grant grunted.
Once CJ stepped out of the Escalade, he slammed the door shut, yanked his cigarette from behind his ear and lit it.
“What’s up?” she asked, more subdued than expected, given their loss and the importance of the prize money. She glanced over her shoulder. “I can’t be long. We’re having stew for dinner and I’m doing the prep work. The meat takes forever to cook.”
“Yeah, Mom says the same thing.” The breeze fluttered her hair and a sweet scent infiltrated his nose. He took a few drags of his cigarette to calm himself, praying his cock behaved. Of all the fucking days for it to notice Skye. “I can’t stay long.”
“What are you up to?” she asked, forever wanting to know his business, a supreme turnoff to him.
He smoked again and shrugged. “Things.”
Pursing her lips, she glanced at him through the sweep of her lashes. “I was so disappointed that we didn’t win.”
“I thought we would. I liked our Ferris wheel.”
“If we would’ve started sooner, we would’ve had a better chance,” she pointed out with a little sniff.
“Possibly,” he said. “Who knows, Skye? It’s over. I can’t change what I didn’t do.”
Her chin wobbled. “That still doesn’t help me.” She pulled her phone from her back pocket, then handed it to him and showed him an e-bill, a disconnect notice for the electricity.
CJ verified the date and the last name, assuming Star Ratcliffe was her mother.
“We have one for the water bill, too. It will be disconnected tomorrow. I can show you—”
“No.” Jamming the cigarette in the corner of his mouth, CJ dug his wallet out of his back pocket and paid the fucking electricity bill, then handed her the phone.
He took his cigarette between his fingers, ignoring her wide, teary shock that quickly morphed into gratitude.
“Pull up whatever bill you’re behind on. ”
He didn’t question why they had cable if they couldn’t afford fucking basic utilities, but he paid it, the cell phone bill, their utilities, and caught up on their rent.
He double-checked to make sure he hadn’t accidentally saved his debit card information so they wouldn’t use it for future transactions.
Afterwards, he took out the ten one hundred dollar bills he’d intended to give her, which wouldn’t have been enough anyway.
Fuck, the prize money wouldn’t have covered everything either.
He closed her hand around the money. “Buy food,” he told her.
She hugged him. “Thank you, CJ. Thank you so much. One day, I swear I’ll repay you.”
CJ kissed her cheek. “If you do, I’ll thank you. If you don’t, just consider it a hand up when you needed it most.”
Disentangling from him, she stuffed the money into her pocket, once again drawing his attention to her body. “Do you want to go steady?”
“No, bae,” CJ said with a laugh. “I don’t…my interests are elsewhere, so I won’t lead you on.”
“With Harley Banks?”
“Since we were small kids,” he told her, flicking his cigarette away.
“Jaleena said—”
“I wish you’d stop listening to her,” CJ said, sighing. “I liked Jaleena and I wanted a chance with her. Harley and I were going in different directions. Jaleena fucked up and now Harley and I are friends again. I don’t know where it’ll lead, Skye, but I don’t want to string you along.”
“But the way you were looking at me…”
“I’m sorry,” he told her sincerely. “I have little sisters. I should’ve pretended you aren’t a gorgeous girl with a hot body.”
She beamed at him. “You think I’m hot?”
“I do. Very,” he added.
“Then—”
“Then listen to what I told you and leave it at that.”
“I’m so tired of Jaleena bragging about how much you liked her and how none of us will ever get a chance with you.”
Maybe Skye’s pushiness came from her quest to best Jaleena. “I’m not a fucking commodity—”
“You’re better than that. You’re CJ Caldwell. Do you know how many girls are in love with you?”
“I’ve heard,” he said dryly. Jaleena had given him a rundown. “But they don’t fucking know me to be in love.”
Most of the girls saw him as a prize to be won.
The realization made him crave Harley’s familiarity.
Though not all of their history was good, she understood him like no one else.
Yeah, he was still a little wary. He remembered the dark days of their busted friendship and his vow he’d never trust her or want her again.
But Harley had always been everything to him. He’d buried his feelings out of self-preservation. Now, he was cautiously optimistic that, perhaps, they could reconnect.
“I suppose I can’t tell Jaleena you gave money to me?”
“I would prefer you didn’t, since I doubt you want her to know the truth about why I gave you the money.”
“That isn’t her business.”
“Then neither is my money and what I do with it,” he retorted.
“I would challenge you, but you…you saved us. Gave us room to breathe, so I can’t repay you by opening my mouth with lies,” she said softly.
Grant blew the horn.
CJ turned and held up his finger. “I have to get going, bae.”
“Who’s with you?”
“My cousins, Grant and Ryan.”
“I don’t know Grant but tell Ryan ‘hi’ for me.”
CJ kissed her cheek again. “Get inside, Skye. I’ll see you at school.”
“Can I text you later? I get lonesome sometimes. I only have cheer. Now that the rent is paid, I might not have to drop out, but I’ll see. Jaleena and the other girls do a lot of expensive stuff and—”
“Text me later. I’ll hit you back when I have a moment.”
She smiled at him, turned and hurried inside, closing the door behind her.
“Took long enough, cuck,” Ryan said when CJ got back in the car.
CJ didn’t respond.
“You planning on fucking her?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“Stop kissing her fucking cheek, beta,” Ryan advised. “You’re giving the girl the wrong fucking idea.”
“Ryan’s right, CJ,” Grant told him. “Every time you kissed her cheek, I’m surprised she didn’t swoon at your feet. Once was bad enough, but twice?”
Maybe they were right. CJ was so used to looking after Mom, Reb, Harley, and, most recently, Mattie, he just used his go-to methods with Skye.
“You want Harley back?” Ryan asked as Grant turned into the Ratcliffe driveway, then reversed out, pointing the SUV in the direction they’d come. “Right, cuck?”
“I want us to rekindle our friendship.”
“That means you don’t care if I take Skye out, right?”
“I don’t,” CJ confirmed. “But I want you to know, I just gave her money because we didn’t place first.”
“You’re telling me this why?”
“Before you believe whatever story she tells you for whatever reason, ask for my side.”
“I don’t want to date her, CJ. I just want to fuck her. As long as you’re cool with that, you could give her the Caldwell fortune and I wouldn’t care.”
“Fuck, Ryan, you’re forever an asshole,” Grant growled.
CJ couldn’t have agreed more, but since Grant said it so eloquently, he remained silent the rest of the ride to the hospital.