Page 168 of Restless
“White criminals. One is bad enough. Both are impossible.”
“You were my date to the dance,” he reminded her. “Weren’t your parents in the stand? Didn’t they see me?”
She stared at the floor. “I told them I was doing you a favor because you couldn’t get a date.”
CJ lifted a brow at the blatant lie.
“I don’t even want to get into our differing tax brackets,” she said in a small voice. “I grew up in this house. It has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms.”
She’d been in Lumbly’s classroom the day his parents revealed they’d bought Ridge Moore. However, his cousins and brothers had been hard at work distracting the other students while Mom and Dad talked to that fuckhead, so Jaleena had missed the announcement. Despite Mom and Dad’s ownership, there’d been no disruptions to curriculum, staff, or schedules, and his parents preferred keeping their new roles under wraps.
“You disappoint me, J.,” CJ admitted quietly. “Until today, I didn’t think all that stuff mattered to you. It hasn’t seemed that important until today.”
“Maybe, it’s because you’ve hurt my feelings,” she said softly. “I’ve thrown myself at you two or three times and you spurn me. I’m gorgeous. I’m wealthy. I have a very sizeable trust fund. And I’m willing to overlook a lot, including my parents’ anger, to be with you.”
“I’m overwhelmed by the favor,” he said with sarcasm. “Are you sure you’re not afraid your parents won’t disown you if you fraternized with garbage like me?”
Sitting straighter, she winced. “My parents adore us. Their anger blows over and we inevitably get what we want. Although introducing Mattie would be a different story. They are Christians and believe only a man and woman should be together.”
“What paragons.”
She stiffened. “They’re my parents and I love them. They allowed me to get on birth control to protect myself against pregnancy, even though they don’t believe in premarital sex.”
CJ started to rise, but Jaleena grabbed his wrist, so he stayed seated. “Don’t leave. Please. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You meant something,” he said flatly. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have opened your fucking mouth.”
“Last week, I mentioned to my parents that I was picking up work for you. The entire school knows who you are. One, you’re the quarterback. Two, you were on Lumbly’s bad side, and he resigned over it.”
Yeah, from life. Or, maybe, his father separated him from life?
“And, yet, you did me a fucking favor by going to the dance with me? Your parents aren’t that fucking gullible.”
She scowled, but didn’t comment, instead continuing her previous conversation. “Three, you, your sister and brothers, and your cousins are notorious because of your fathers. More than that, Dad knows how you defended me against Willard. He’s very appreciative of that, but he did lecture me about the perils of dating you if that was my ultimate goal.”
“If my family’s so pathetic, how can my parents afford to send six of their children to Ridge Moore?”
“It’s the same thing I asked my dad. He thinks your parents either have a sponsor, get financial aid, or use criminally earned money.” She looked at him with expectation, awaiting a confirmation or denial. “Which is it?” she asked at his silence.
“Does it matter? You’ve already reached your own conclusions.”
“I haven’t. Not really. I just want you to like me the way I like you. Harley is a snob and undercover mean girl and Molly is an idiot.”
“You don’t know either Molly or Harley well enough to label them. It just makesyouseem like a mean girl. Also, let me point out that insulting me and my family by calling us poor criminals isn’t a way to make me want to date you.”
“Can we just forget I ever said that? I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
“I don’t.” He got to his feet, not allowing her grabbing his wrist again to stop him this time. “I have to get home,” he said, at loose ends. He’d thought Jaleena his friend. Discovering how lowly she saw him was a rude awakening. Whether she spoke out of frustration was beside the point. “Can you get my homework?”
Misery dragged down her features. “Don’t be angry, CJ. I truly didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just repeating what my father said to me.”
“What that motherfuck…” He gnashed his teeth together. Though Mr. Davis was a dickhead, he was still her father. “What he said is bullshit. You don’t know if I live in a trailer or a mansion in the middle of a forest that’s four times the size of this fucking house.”
“Not many people I know grew up in a seven-thousand square foot house.”
“Then you know the wrong motherfuckers.”
“My parents have worked hard to provide this life for my sisters and me. I have a one-million-dollar trust fund.”
