Page 42 of Hate the Game
I put my food down and scooted closer to him. “What a fucking asshole.”
“Yeah, he was. A fucking asshole that I look a lot like, apparently. When I filled out my college applications and checked that I was Latino I had a few counselors call me and I could tell they were fishing to see if it was true.”
I reached up and touched one of his curls. “I guess even an asshole can create a pretty kid, huh?”
The smile he flashed me was devastating. Then it dimmed and he looked away. “What about you?”
I snorted. “I’m also proof an asshole can create a cute kid.”
He looked surprised. “Really?”
“Yeah. My mom ditched us when we were little. Turned out she appreciated the idea of kids but the reality wasn’t nearly as cute. And then there’s my dad…” I ran my hands down my thighs and stared up at the mural. “He’s an asshole. One of those dads who wanted a house full of boys. He got three and shot for one more andboom. Here comes me with a vagina. So not only was I a chubby kid who grew into a full-figured woman, nothing at all like the women he was comfortable with, I couldn’t impress him with sports like my brothers could.”
“I’ve been wondering this whole time about the vagina. Good to know.”
I laughed and leaned into Cole. “Were you close with your mom?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t always easy, though.” He leaned back against the truck bed and opened his arms for me to lean against his chest. Once I settled against him he wrapped his arms around me and rested them on my stomach. “She was an addict.”
I sat up and twisted to face him. “This is all off the record, Cole. Just to be clear. I would never-”
He pulled me back where I was. “Good to know.”
“Can you tell me about her?” I covered his hands with mine. “Is she around now?”
“Yeah. She’s never too far off. She’s sober now, has been for a few years. Even when she was sick when I was younger, though, I still felt like I could feel her everywhere I was. She’s an artist.”
I looked at the painting of the little boy closer and twisted around to face him again. “This? She did this?!”
He nodded and tugged me back again. “I’ll show you a few more if you want. She’s talented.”
I rested my head on his shoulder and shivered when he turned his face and kissed the side of my head. “I’d love to see them. She’s good, Cole. Better than good. Good enough to distract me from my tacos.”
“Was your dad ever mean?” He felt me stiffen and cleared his throat. “Forget I asked.”
I turned sideways in his lap and looped my arms around his neck. “Honestly… He was mean to my brothers. He was demanding and it never seemed to end. He just…didn’t even see me. Unless I caused trouble. Then he’d come raging in, acting like I was suddenly a part of his family. Not my brothers, though. They made up for both of my parents. They’re the best. They raised me pretty much. Taught me everything I needed to know, helped with school, and even fought boys away. They can drive me crazy but I’d do anything for them. Anything.”
***Cole***
Icouldn’t shake the feeling of dread as I drove Savannah to my favorite overlook. I kept hearing her words about her brothers and her loyalty to them was so clear that I no longer wondered why she was at USC, trying to take us down. She seemed so real when we were alone… It was hard to remember that everything was a game. Especially when she spoke so openly about her dad. It made me fucking furious and she just said everything like it was nothing at all. Like it was the most normal thing in the world for her father to treat her horribly because she was a girl.
My hands shook from the need to hold her. I wasn’t sure if she was so good that she was sucking me in or if she was just so fucking sweet that I couldn’t help being sucked in. Either way, I was on a collision course with pain if I didn’t get my shit together.
Instead of driving back to campus like I should’ve, though, I was driving to a lonely spot in the middle of nowhere to park and be alone with her. The sun was already setting and the temperatures in the hills would start dropping soon. I couldn’t make myself care, though.
Savannah unbuckled her seatbelt as soon as I parked and leaned over into the backseat to look for the blanket I mentioned might be back there somewhere. Her dress climbed up the back of her thighs as she did and I had to sit on my hands to keep from gripping them. I was too on edge to even begin pretending like I was being smart. I already had multiple texts on my phone from Jax and Ryder, asking me where the hell I was and then blowing up when I told them where I was.
“Got it!” Savannah fell back into her seat with the blanket clutched in her hands. Her face quickly shifted to horror and she shoved it away from her. “Oh, god! Is this your sex blanket? Are there…fluids on there? Cole!”
I glared at her. “It’s not my fucking sex blanket, Sav. It’s from last year when there was a meteor shower we had to watch for class. Pervert.”
She took it back but she still looked hesitant. “I’m not a pervert. I know you get around and I didn’t want to sit my bare ass down on it and chance getting knocked up.”
I choked, face going bright red as I tried to breathe without feeling like I was drowning. “What?!”
She giggled. “Kidding. I know that’s not how that works.”
I gasped for air and swept my hand through my curls. “And? Are you bare?”
