Page 9 of Steadfast

“He said I owe him twenty bucks,” he said with a quiet laugh. “He doesn’t give a shit. He just wishes that Hank would’ve done the same for him when he was still living at home.”

“Hank’s too much of a rule follower,” I mused as he pulled off his T-shirt.

“Hank’s got a stick up his ass, poor guy,” Richie grumbled, shoving his jeans down his legs. “I see Mandy’s finally decided to make an appearance.”

“Oh yeah,” I murmured as he climbed in beside me. It was a tight fit in my twin bed, but we made it work. After some trial and error, we’d realized that spooning was the safest way to sleep if neither of us wanted to wake up halfway through the night as we fell off the side.

“Scootch,” he ordered, laying down on his back.

“How was work?” I asked, draping myself over him and propping my chin on my arms.

“Don’t change the subject.”

“What do you want me to say? She came home half drunk.”

“Of course she did,” he replied in disgust, smoothing my hair away from my face.

“She did agree to hang around and talk to the social worker, though.”

“You think she’ll follow through?”

“I might kill her if she doesn’t,” I replied darkly. “Make sure your parents adopt my siblings, okay? I know they’re getting old, but remind them that more kids means more money for their future nursing home.”

“Morbid.” He laughed.

“Saoirse told me to hide Mom’s keys.” I sighed. “I hate that they have to deal with this shit.”

“Not a bad idea, but she’d probably just walk or have someone pick her ass up.”

“I don’t want to think about it anymore,” I said with a groan, dropping my forehead to his chest. “I’ve been going over it in my head all day.”

“It’ll work out, baby,” he whispered. “Come up here and kiss me.”

“Why don’t you come down—” My words cut off with a breathless grunt as he put his hands under my pits and jerked me up his body.

“Kiss me,” he ordered again.

“Fine,” I grumbled jokingly, dropping my head to kiss him.

Just like every other time our lips met, I suddenly felt like I could breathe again. Richie had shown up a year after we lost my dad, just when I’d gotten used to feeling like everything in my life was out of control and would stay that way. Suddenly, I’d found my anchor—the single port in my shitstorm of a life. The first time he’d kissed me, my mind had gone completely blank. It was a welcome reprieve.

Richie’s hands smoothed down my back and into the waistband of my shorts, gripping my ass.

“Her room’s right below mine,” I reminded him, arching my back and pressing my ass into his hands.

“Fuckin’ Mandy,” he growled.

“You’d like her even less if she came banging on my door because she heard us,” I mused, leaning up to look at him.

“Doubt I could like her less.”

I smiled and kissed his chin. “How was work?”

He shot me a look, telling me he knew exactly what I was doing. “It was fine. Made pizzas, saw that girl you like from school who always wears those platform boots.”

“That really narrows it down,” I joked.

“You know, the one with the pierced lip.”

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