Page 53 of The Lost Kings
I sighed, relaxing into the seat. “Well for starters, you know how we feel about you leading a family. We think it’s bullshit and you should settle down on a farm instead. However, for the sake of your feelings, you’re not leading until you’re old enough, and when you do lead, you won’t be dealing with teenagers befriending you.”
She let out a small bubble of laughter that hit me like a brick to the chest. It was that tinkling sound she’d always made, the one I could hear from several rooms over. The one that made me think of warm dirt and a gentle hand against my face. Dark hair, freckled nose, blue eyes and…home.
“I wanted to have my first kiss, my first boyfriend because I thought maybe it would help desensitize me to things once I am leading. What if I meet some evil mafia boss, but because I’ve never been kissed, I fall for him?”
Gio grunted, which I was grateful for because I inhaled a sharp breath.
We’d just recently joked about her first kiss as if it were nothing. We offered to take it as if she was offering a stick of gum when, in reality, it was nothing short of monumental.
Her head lifted and her mascara had begun to run the smallest bit, smudging just under her eyes. “You guys make it look so easy.”
“What?” I asked, trying to clarify if she meant kissing or breathing…my mind was all over the place. My heart felt like it was trying to pound out of my chest; my skin felt too hot. What if she asked us to do it…to take her first kiss?
By all rights we had no other choice, but which one of us would do it?
She glanced over at me. “Being popular and making friends.”
Oh, right. I cleared my throat, tugging at my jeans. “We’re literally only there because of you, Pres.”
“Well, then how come you’re not helping me become cool? You don’t talk to me or even act like you know me—” Her voice trailed off as her face scrunched up. If I had to guess, she was sorting out how impossible that would be for us.
“We’re playing a game there, Pres. We can’t draw attention to you in any way and we really can’t be seen with you. You know this.”
She nodded. “I know…I just hate this.”
Gio ran his hand down the length of her braid then tucked a few stray pieces of hair behind her ear. “I think you need to go get a fix.”
She perked up, swiping at her face. “I haven’t been in a really long time.”
“Then, let’s go.” I patted her knee, but she grabbed my hand and held on to it while doing the same with Gio’s.
“Thank you.” She pressed her lips to our knuckles, and it made my breath hitch. By the expression on my brother’s face, it had the same effect on him. Her lips were touching my skin, her warm breath…fuck, how could something so innocent feel so insanely hot? I had to squeeze my eyes shut and remember that my best friend was only sixteen. I wasn’t eighteen yet, but it didn’t matter. She was Presley. If we did take her first kiss, there couldn’t be any emotion behind it.
Once she released us, I jolted out of the back and took my position in the front seat.
I had to stop this, all of it. Right the fuck now.
Chapter 22
Presley
PRESENT
Ispent the day swimming and sunbathing with Adrian and ignoring my phone.
Not blocking the twins was the worst decision ever, further confirming my coward status. They’d added me back to the group chat three separate times until I finally just turned my phone off. I didn’t need to read what they had to say. They weren’t just angry over me ghosting them all this time; they were hurt and vengeful.
It was more than that though…something was brewing under their comments. It connected to Scotty and his training methods, to me and this role I was cast into. It was convoluted, and I feared that their time away from the family only worsened their disposition instead of helping it.
“You’re gone again.” Adrian’s smooth voice cut into my thoughts as he swam up next to my floating lounger. I was relaxed, not really paying attention, but I must have missed something he said.
“I’m right here.”
He drew closer, until his head rested next to my thigh. “I need you closer.”
Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I stared down at his darkhead of hair, my mind playing a cruel game of memory and how many times I had looked down at two other heads like this. An entire childhood spent being in love with two people I was never allowed to have, much less allowed to love.
Yet I fell face-first into the disaster that awaited me.
