Chapter 4
Sneaking Around Isn’t Always Fun
Shoving a note into my hand, Leilani rushed off to class with Julie. “Have a good day, Mav.”
I hid the paper in my pocket as Dane raised an eyebrow at me. “What gives? You two are usually at each other’s throats.”
“She’s just being nice because I didn’t let that jerk tarnish her reputation.”
Dane closed his locker door. “You really are such a chivalrous ass, Mr. Steele.”
“You know how much I care about all of our sisters. I would have done the exact same thing for Julie or Sheila.”
“I know, man, and that is part of your twisted-as-fuck charm.”
I waited until I was alone in my chemistry class, tucked away in the back corner to read Leilani’s note.
There is only so much I can hide from Dane. He’s going to catch on sooner than later if we are not careful. Try to act more normal. Don’t worry, I know it is only to protect him for now. You’re a dick and I am sassy. Don’t forget why we actually like each other in the first place. I’ll leave my window unlocked tonight. Try to sneak away.
Yours, Leilani
I hated lying to Dane.It felt so scummy, but Leilani was right and I knew myself—if I let my history dictate my future, Leilani would just be a notch on my bedpost, and I knew most people wouldn’t understand that I was going to do my best to prove she was not like the rest of my conquests. It was so cliché, but true. Part of it was that I needed to convince myself I wasn’t going to break her heart, and I needed to be sure before I broke Dane’s too.
Turning into a sap was not the plan, but before I knew it, I was a lovesick puppy ready to do anything for everyone I loved. Dane was family, and Leilani was everything to me. Their lives were shit, and I knew I had to take all of this more seriously than the normal high school relationship. If I was going to be with Leilani, I had to really be with her, completely and without reservations. It was more than a sixteen-year-old boy usually took on, but I wasn’t typical, and neither was the situation. I was falling—probably already had before I even realized it.
* * *
Sneakinginto my new girlfriend’s room should have been thrilling, but it was making me feel like crap, because Dane was right next door.
Lying in Leilani’s bed, holding her in my arms, my fingers rolling through her thick hair…and all I could think about was Dane. What if he came in? What would he say? What would I say?
“Are we doing the right thing?” I asked as I breathed in the sweet smell of Leilani’s passion fruit conditioner.
“What do you mean?”
“This whole sneaking around thing. It just feels like we’re setting ourselves up for failure.” I hated admitting my concerns. I was supposed to be a dickhead who didn’t care either way, but that wasn’t the case and I knew better.
“What are we supposed to do? Say, ‘Hey, Dane, Mav and I are in a relationship.’ That would go oversowell. Like, I am sure he’d just fall off his unicorn with glee.” She rolled her eyes as she shifted in my arms. “Look, we’ll tell him…eventually. I just don’t want this to be ruined by stupid high school drama and friends fighting. Julie would fucking flip her shit, too, and what about your parents?”
“Fine. You’re right.”
“Now, kiss me, Maverick Steele, before I start worrying you’re having second thoughts about us.”
I did as she asked—a lot. I mean, a lot, a lot. Her lips were water and I was dying from thirst in a desert—that level of a lot.
When I finally came up for much needed air, I rolled my calloused fingers over her Cupid’s bow. “Why me? You’re perfect. I, on the other hand, have a reputation that should scare the ever-loving shit out of you.”
Cupping my peach fuzz-covered cheek, she gave me that sweet smile, the one only Leilani Pearson could muster. “When I was five, my mom was in one of her terribly mean moods. You found me on the front porch, crying my eyes out after yet another guy left the house as my mom nodded off on the couch from the shit he had just pumped into her veins as payment. Do you remember that?”
I nodded. “Vaguely.”
“Well, you put your arm around me and told me to keep my chin up, said it wasn’t just me and Dane anymore, you’d share your family with me, and everything was going to be fine. Ever since that day, I knew I was going to marry you someday.”
“What?” I couldn’t hold in the laughter that escaped as I looked down at her serious expression.
She nodded. “I knew from that very moment, as long as we had you and your family, everything would be all right, and that is the moment I fell in love with you. At five, I didn’t know what love really was, but now I know what that little girl was actually seeing.”
“And what is that?”