Page 177 of Make Me Trust Again
I don’t give a rat’s ass what she thinks of me. I won’t say shit as long as she’s nice to Rose and Kyle. I know Rose had disagreements with her mom when it came to her divorce, but I feel like she genuinely cares about her.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
Raising my hand, I slide a lock of hair behind her ear. “Doyouwant me to go with you?”
Her teeth graze over her lower lip, but she finally gives me a small nod.
“Okay then.”
She blinks, as if she’s surprised by my quick agreement. As if anything else is an option. “That’s it?”
I shrug. “As long as you want me there, I’ll come.”
“Even if my mother is being pushy and rude?”
I slide my hand to the back of her neck, rubbing at the tense muscles. My thumb slides over her pulse point, feeling the way her heart speeds up at my touch, so I continue caressing it in small circles, feeling the softness of her skin under my touch. “I can deal with your mother, sweetheart.”
Her tongue slides out, running over her lower lip. My gaze follows the movement, but before I can lean down and kiss her, Kyle tugs at our arms.
“Chase, we didn’t show Mom what we won for her!”
Rose and I exchange a long look, a silent promise of all the things I’ll do to her once we’re alone, before she shifts her gaze to Kyle, giving him her full attention as he shows her the stuffed dog and tells her about the game as if she wasn’t there watching us. Shortly after, we’re joined by the rest of our group.
Becky’s blonde friend and her husband came at some point, so Kyle switches his attention to their son, the two of them discussing something animatedly in sign language before he turns to me.
“Can we go to the bumper cars now?”Kyle pleads.“Levi and his dad are going, too. It can be us against them. Please?”
“You know it.”Leaning down, I press my mouth against Rose’s neck, feeling her shudder at the touch.
“You want me to go with him?” she asks softly, but I just shake my head.
“Nah, I’ve got him.” Shadow starts to get up. “Stay. Watch over our girl until we get back.”
A stroller comes into view, and when I look up, I find my sister watching me with a knowing smile. “Come, Rose, let’s go grab drinks, and we’ll meet them there. Gotta keep an eye on them, so they don’t cause too much ruckus.”
“Dammit, I’m too old for that shit,” Blake Walker mutters as we get out of the bumper cars. Not that I can blame him. My limbs are protesting after being crumpled into the small space. Every time the cars bumped into each other, my whole body jostled, making those tingles from earlier turn into full-on jabs of pain now, but Kyle’s been loving it. A wide grin spread over his face, his laughter ringing in my ears as we drove into the others. And seeing that reaction? It was infectious. I’d take any pain if it meant I get to see him so happy, so carefree.
“Just admit it.” Miguel smirks at his friend. “You’re simply too old. Period.”
“Fuck you, Fernandez.” His friend shoves him away, but there is amusement dancing in his eyes.
“That was so fun! Can we do it again?”Kyle beams at me, the excitement shining in his eyes.“Please, please, please?”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”Kyle fist pumps in excitement.
There is a sound behind me, almost like somebody’s choking. I turn around to glare at Miguel and Blake, who are following after me, smirking knowingly, but before I can say anything, Kyle’s arms wrap around me in a quick hug.“Thank you, Chase.”
Just as quickly as he hugs me, he pulls back and waves at Levi, the two of them running in front of us so that they can get back in the line for the ride again.
I watch after him, my hand rubbing at the middle of my chest where that pressure is growing by the second. No matter how many times he’s done it in the past, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. The way this boy puts his trust in me so easily. So fully.
Not that I deserve it.
The knot forms in my throat, making it hard to breathe.
Kyle lifts his hand and waves at Rose, who’s standing by the fence with her friends and little ones. “We’re going one more time!”
