Page 136 of Dare To Live

“Nothing I didn’t expect.” I tell him about the conversation we had.

“Do you think he’s serious?” he says when I’m done.

“I have no reason to believe otherwise. My little Hellcat here wanted to fight him.”

“Fight him?”

“I don’t trust him,” Arabella lifts her head to say, yawning around the words.

I chuckle. “Sleepy?”

“Little bit.”

I press a kiss into her hair. “I think we’re going to skip the afternoon tours. I’m going to take Ari back to the dorms for a nap. We’ll come to your room around seven, okay? We’ll order dinner when we get there.”

Lifting Arabella off my lap, I stand and take her hand. She leans into my side, her arm sliding around my waist. “Come on, Kitten.”

Our path is blocked by Lacy as we move toward the door. Her hard eyes flick to Arabella and then move to me.

“Why are you wasting your time with her?”

I arch an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize I had to explain myself to you.”

“You know she’s not in our league, Eli. You need someone with blood like yours, who was raised with money. She’s a cheap imitation.”

“You understand we’re not actually back in high school, right? Grow up, Lacy. You’re married with kids. You’re not an eighteen-year-old girl anymore. Just because we’re standing in the halls of the school we attended doesn’t mean you need to revert to behaving like the bitch you were back then.”

Her face turns red, and her lips thin. “What does she have that I don’t? I don’t get it. She never fit in, yet you always came when she called.”

“I think we both have very different memories of that time, but I can answer your question. What does she have that you don’t? The answer to that is simple. Everything. Back then, she was everything I didn’t know I wanted, and now she’s everything I need.” I guide Arabella past her, then stop and turn. “If you want some advice. Stop living in the past. You’re not a cheerleader any longer. You’re a mother and have responsibilities. Stop chasing what you can’t have and work on what you do have. Maybe then, one day, you’ll be happy.”

I leave her, mouth gaping, and walk out with Arabella beside me.

“Did you mean that?” Her voice is soft. “About me.”

“I meant it. I meant all of it.”

I hold the door open to the dorm building and let her go in front of me. She’s silent on the walk up to my floor. I don’t even think about taking her up to her room, guiding her out and down the hallway to my room. When we go inside, I wave at the bed.

“Go and lie down. You look ready to collapse where you stand.”

The fact she doesn’t argue tells me I’m not wrong.

“Afternoon orgasms wear you out, I should make a note of that somewhere.”

She throws me a glare but curls up on the center of my bed. “What are you going to do?”

“Worried I’m going to force myself onto you?”

“No.”

“Worried I won’t?” I hike an eyebrow and she laughs.

“Come and lay down with me.” She pats the mattress beside her. “Set an alarm so we don’t oversleep.” A yawn breaks up the words.

I set an alarm for six, then stretch out beside her. She scoots closer so she can rest her head against my chest. I stroke a hand over her spine.

“I can hear your heart.” Her voice is already drowsy.

---