Chapter 8 #2
“Yeah, he lost his load so hard it forced my dick out of her ass.” I glare at him, but I’m not really upset.
Bren huffs. “Don’t let him fool you. He yanked the bottle out of the other girl and without changing his condom, he rammed into her cunt. She probably ended up with some nasty infection.”
Hawke rolls to his side, laughing. “Fucking crazy.”
Cooper considers something for a second. “Chicks can be so dumb. Do they really think you’re going to take them home to your mom after acting that way?”
“They must.” Bren shakes his head. “They all do shit like that. It happens all the time. John’s supposed to be watching out for us, but he’s usually doing the same thing in another room.”
I smirk. “Yeah, but we still get more, and I guarantee it’s way wilder than what he’s doing.”
Something from the stairs catches the corner of my eye. I turn to see what it is.
Livianna’s sitting on the stairs with her arms over her chest, glaring at me. My smile fades as I glance down and my stomach bottoms out.
Fuck me. I bite down on my lip.
How long has she been listening? By the hate fire she’s throwing my way, I can only assume she’s heard more than I can get myself out of. She stands and stomps up the stairs as the guys still talk about screwing other girls.
“Hey, I’ll be back in a second.” I push off the beanbag.
Bren looks over his shoulder and toward Livianna. “Oh, shit, Cash. Did she hear that?”
“Yeah. I’ve gotta go do damage control.” The muscles in my neck tighten, but I suck in a breath and get ready to get an earful from the tiniest, yet most intimidating girl I’ve ever met.
Hawke says to my back as I trek away, “Good luck, dude.”
“He’s gonna need it,” Bren adds.
“Fuck off. This is your fault, Guns.”
They all laugh as I climb the steps.
Fucking pricks.
I reach the main level and find her in the designer gourmet kitchen, crying in her ma’s arms. Great, even worse.
I slide my hands into my jeans pockets as I enter the room. “Mrs. Hemings, would it be okay if I spoke with Livianna?”
She peeks down at Livianna. They share some kind of mother-daughter telepathic message because she nods and releases her.
Mrs. Hemings gives me a pointed stare. “Be gentle, Cash. She doesn’t live in the same world you do.”
I swallow. “I know.”
“Okay then. I’ll leave you two alone, but I’m only going into the living room.” She peers over at Livianna. “If you need me, just call for me.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Mrs. Hemings nods once and leaves. Livianna glares at me. Her face is red and splotchy.
My heart shrinks. “About what you heard.”
She races around the huge granite island and gets right in front of me. I’ve grown taller and tower over her, but she still comes at me like she’s a giant.
She brings her burning, hurt-filled gaze to mine. “You promised me you would wait for me every day until you got permission to date me. I knew you were a liar.”
Fire ignites in my stomach. “Do not call me that.”
“Why not? It’s true.”
“No, it’s not.” My blood races and my defenses go up.
I wanna grab and shake her so she’ll understand I want her and only her. The other girls are just something to play with to kill the time and reward myself after a grueling day on tour with a band I hate.
I spin away. This isn’t gonna come across the right way.
“Why can’t you face me, Callum? Are you not man enough to admit it, or are you still just a little boy?”
My chest rises and falls rapidly. I’m about to lose my shit.
She keeps provoking me. “I guess you don’t need to be a man to fuck, so it doesn’t matter if you’re still a boy. You did what you promised me you wouldn’t.”
I’m so close to turning around and fighting back, but I remember what her pops told me. If I wanna date her, I have to prove to them I’m gonna treat her well.
I take a deep breath and face her. “Lily, I’m sorry, but I didn’t lie to you.”
“How can you say that?”
I motion to two stools. “Can we sit and I’ll explain.”
I always knew she’d find out about what happened while we were out on tour. I was just hoping I could beat the tabloid stories and tell her myself. And I definitely didn’t think Bren would be the one to sell me out.
She studies me for a second. “Fine, but if you lie to me, you can forget about ever taking me out. I’ll tell my mom and dad not to consider it anymore.”
“Sound.” I show her to a stool and pull it out.
Her face bunches together. “Sound?”
“It means fair in Europe.” I wave it off. “I was saying I understand you and your terms are fair.”
Her shoulders come down a notch. Good. She’s not so pissed now. Maybe she’ll listen to me before she kicks me to the curb.
She sits and gets situated, hiding her eyes from me. “Are you going to tell me you don’t want to be involved with me anymore?”
I turn the stool, straddle it, and rest my arms on the top of the back. I need some kind of barrier between her and me. She’s a little spitfire and I wouldn’t put it past her to haul off and hit me, even if I deserve it.
I wait for her to give me her attention. Once she does, I stare into her eyes, trying to show her my sincerity.
“Lily, I wanna date you. That hasn’t changed. I’m still waiting for you.”
Her eyes gloss over. “You say that, but I heard what you guys were talking about downstairs.”
“I’m sorry you learned about it that way. It wasn’t how I planned on telling you, but I was gonna. I swear on my pops’ grave I was.”
“Callum, I don’t understand.”
“Lily, I’m seventeen. Guys my age want sex.”
“You’re sixteen.”
I wanna roll my eyes but don’t. “In a month, I’ll be seventeen. Anyway, when I promised to wait for you, that meant I wouldn’t date anyone else, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t gonna have sex.”
She straightens her back and her expression hardens.
Shit.
I probably just lost my only chance with her by being honest. I can’t lie to her, though. That’s one thing I promised my pops I’d never do and I plan on keeping my word.
“Livianna, it was a loophole. A bad one and I’m owning that.” My insides wrench. “Do you think you’ll be able to understand?”
She blinks a few times. “Are you sorry?”
“For hurting you, yes.” I hold my breath and pray she doesn’t ask if I regret it.
I don’t. It was a blast, and I never promised her it wouldn’t happen. I knew it would.
She glances down and takes a moment of silence.
After a few moments pass, she peeks up at me. “Do you like doing things like that?”
And with that question, I know I’m in for hell.