Page 42 of Make Believe

I rearrange us so I’m sitting with my back against the pillows and headboard. Then I pull Kadence so he’s snuggled against me, drape the covers over my legs and his body, and rest his head on my chest.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while, pretty doll.”

He fiddles with the material of my Henley. “You’re not mad about last night?” he asks. In that moment, he sounds so young and vulnerable.

Lifting his hand, I kiss the backs of his fingers. “I’m extremely glad you were honest with me,” I tell him. “I listened to what you had to say, I promise. And if you don’t want to leave, then I would very much like you to stay for as long as possible.”

He exhales, his cheeks puffing out. “Okay, Daddy,” he says eventually, his words soft and fragile.

“Good boy,” I say, satisfied that the matter is closed.

When people get up in each other’s business this much and this fast, there’s bound to be friction. In fact, it would be incongruous if we didn’t butt heads or have opinions about things.

It just goes to show that what we have isreal. And that’s what I wanted all along.

There might be a countdown looming over our heads, but for the time we do have together, I’m glad that it’s genuine. I’m showing Kadence Hughes parts of myself I’ve never shown anyone before. We’re sharing something deep and raw.

Whether he’s Kadence or Kiki, I wouldn’t want to be spending my time this summer with anyone else. I’ll treasure every moment we can steal together.

As he drifts off in my arms, I refuse to think about how it’s going to feel when he’s gone.

CHAPTER 17

Kadence

Things calmdown again over the next few days. After my outburst, Rafferty is clearly seeing me and our relationship in a new light. I’m not sure exactly what that is, but it feels less…fraught. I don’t know how else to explain it.

I think knowing that he wants to keep me around longer has taken the pressure off. Especially after he came into my room the other morning and clarified that he actually doesn’t want a perfect illusion twenty-four seven.

He wants me.

And I’m deceiving him.

In other ways, there’s a different kind of pressure, and it’s getting worse because it’s all on me. Rafferty has no idea that I’ve been manipulating him from the start. That my intention all along was to humiliate him and his good-for-nothing son.

But he’s nothing like Logan. And this stopped being a game quite some time ago.

I try my best not to think about it. Nothing irreversible has happened yet, after all. I haven’t even taken any photos or videos. Yes, I know the truth, and when I remember what’s really going on, it’s getting to the point where it just sickens me.

So I do my best not to dwell on it. I read, I walk, I take naps, and I post on socials. If I didn’t have this sword of Damocles hanging over my head, it would be the most epic vacation I’ve ever had in my life.

When I get really down, I remind myself that Rafferty needneverknow if I don’t tell him. I’m aware that getting revenge on Logan was important to me, but when the time comes, I can just decide to do nothing. This can simply be our little secret. It was only ever meant to be a fling, and if that’s going to be for a few weeks or the whole summer instead of a weekend, then that makes me lucky. Perhaps this doesn’t have to be revenge. It can just be something for me.

It’s not as if I’ve had a lot of luxuries in my life that didn’t come from my rotten parents. Maybe I’m owed a little bit of good fortune and happiness.

It seems unlikely, but I can pretend for a while.

That’s another thorny, complicated thought I keep having. What we’re sharing isimportantto Rafferty. It’s not like he’s rushing out to buy a bisexual flag for the next Pride parade, but he’s certainly had a pretty massive revelation about himself.

Thanks to me.

My intentions might have been nefarious, but his attraction has been real. I know sexuality evolves. However, I think this revelation has been quite out of the blue to him. If I hadn’t had this vendetta and pursued him without pause, he might never have realized he could be this strongly attracted to a man.

I can’t help but be a little proud of that, even if the circumstances are less than ideal.

“We’re going out tonight.”

I look up from the chaise lounge that I’ve come to think of as mine. Rafferty’s leaning against the doorframe of the study with a smirk on his face.

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