Page 80 of Breakaway

“Not my mom.”

“So why did you keep it? I thought you hate disappointing your mom,” I tease him, and he bursts out laughing.

“I don’t know. I don’t really have a logical explanation.” We look at each other, and I smile. “It’s probably my rebellious side taking over my responsible one. What Mom doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

“A bad boy at his finest.”

Roman smirks at me, wraps his arm around my shoulder, and draws me closer. “Girls love bad boys, don’t they?”

“They do,” I say, meeting his gaze. “I do.”

Roman bends down and presses his lips to mine. The kiss is slow and gentle at first, but the longer it lasts, the more I want. I sink my teeth into his bottom lip, and he groans. My eyes fly open, and I move away slightly, breaking our kiss. I totally forgot about his busted lip.

“I’m so sorry, Roman. I got carried away.”

“It’s okay,” he says, pulling me tighter against his side. “Tell me about Kyle, Malyshka.”

“Kyle Edwards was a linebacker on our high school football team. A popular kid with rich parents and good looks. We started dating when I was sixteen. Not because I was in love with him—not at all—but because I was flattered that a guy like him wanted to be with me. Status meant everything to me in those days,” I mutter under my breath. “I’m not that person anymore, and I’m proud of myself for changing my life so much, but back in high school, I was stuck-up and self-centered. I was desperate for my parents’ attention, and since they didn’t give me any…I looked for it from other people. It didn’t even matter what kind of attention it was, positive or negative, I didn’t care. The more I got, the more I wanted…You wouldn’t have liked me if you’d met me back then.”

“Even though you’re my type?” Roman asks, and some of the tension loosens its grip on my body.

I give him a small smile. “My personality would’ve been a huge turnoff.”

“Then I’m glad I met this new version of you, because you’re incredible.” He kisses my temple. “What did Kyle do? I mean, I skimmed the article, but I didn’t want to make any assumptions. I wanted to hear it from you.”

“Kyle was constantly groping and harassing girls at school, but one day he took it too far. He raped a girl at one of the parties at his parents’ house. I was there too, and Kyle and I were still together at time.” I fall quiet, struggling to find the words to explain what happened. Roman turns to look at me and gently tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, his long fingers brushing my skin softly. I lean into his touch, closing my eyes for a brief moment, just to collect myself before I finally tell him the whole story. “This girl…Lyn…she ended up committing suicide,” I whisper hoarsely. “If you read the article, you know my mom tried to make it sound like I had something to do with it. Because everyone at school thought that too, at first.”

“Why?”

“Lyn and I were both cheerleaders. We had sort of a rivalry, but she was so much better than me—more talented, more gracious. Some people thought I asked Kyle to do it because I was afraid I’d lose my spot on the team.” I hide my face in Roman’s chest. “Anyone who knew Kyle well enough would’ve never thought that. He was selfish and arrogant. He couldn’t care less about anyone except himself. We didn’t love each other and…”

“And what?”

“And he was never gentle with me,” I say quietly. “After the pictures of my bruises were displayed during trial, no one thought I had anything to do with his crimes. You don’t do that to the girl you love.”

“I want to kill him.” Roman is seething, rage dripping from his words, his posture tense.

“He’s dead. Killed himself after serving two years of a ten-year jail sentence.”

“Serves him right.Takiye urody ne zasluzhivayut zhit’?1,” he growls. “Your mom is fucking disgusting. Blaming you for his crimes? This is beyond me.”

“She just wanted to hurt me.”

“I think she would’ve been a great match for my father. They would suit each other well,” Roman remarks, and I snort. “The last thing he told me was, ‘Your brother is rotting in his grave while you live his life. The NHL would’ve never even looked your way if Maksim was alive.’”

“I’m glad he’s not in your life anymore. Even if that’s a terrible thing to say.”

“It’s fine.” Roman falls quiet, and we just sit, enjoying the view of San Jose under the cover of darkness. When he shifts, I turn my head to look at him, my eyes meeting his. “What about your father?”

“I stopped talking to him when I went to college. If you think he ever tried to reach out to me, you’re wrong. He was happy I took his side after we found out about my mom’s affair with his best friend, but I stayed with him when she left, and he didn’t really appreciate that. I was a burden to him, and he was happy to be rid of me when I moved out. He even bought me an apartment in my hometown to keep me from coming home. A generous gift from a loving father…”

“More like an attempt to buy his way out of being your dad.”

“Exactly,” I confirm, cuddling closer. “When I went to college, I wanted to do things differently, and Angie’s friendship helped me. She brought happiness, love, and hope into my life, and I’ll be forever grateful to her. She’s my light.”

Roman presses his lips to the top of my head, and I think I hear him say, “And you’re mine.” But it’s barely a whisper, soI push it away, because it’s probably my mind playing tricks on me.

“Want to stay a little longer?” he asks.

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