Page 3 of His Temptation
Ryan smiled, the bitterness for his dad nowhere to be found right then. “Sort of a miracle I even graduated, huh? If it wasn’t for Cas, I would’ve totally failed Biology. And math. And basically every other subject.”
Emery’s blue eyes moved to me. “Congratulations to you too, Cason. I appreciate all you’ve done for Ryan.”
When I’d first become friends with Ryan, he’d barely been scraping by in his classes. But he’d done all the hard work. I had only helped push him in the right direction.
“Thanks,” I said, my cheeks heating even further. “And uh, you’re welcome.”
Emery stared at me a moment longer before holding out an envelope to his son. “Here.”
“What’s this?” Ryan asked as he grabbed it. Without waiting for a response, he opened the flap and peeked inside. “Holy shit, Dad.”
He pulled out several hundreds and gaped at them. Hell, I gaped too.
“Graduation is a big deal, and I’m proud of you,” Emery said, flashing a brief smile.
My gaze was locked on Emery’s mouth. His lips. Lips that looked soft and—what the fuck?I shook my head and forced myself to look away.
“Cool. Can we go now?” Ryan asked, grabbing a light jacket from the chair in the corner of his room that held a mountain of—maybe clean—clothes. “Trev is having a party.”
Emery’s eyes narrowed. “At his house?”
We nodded.
“Be home by midnight.”
“Midnight?” Ryan checked his phone. “But it’s already after nine. What about one?”
“What about eleven?” Emery countered.
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling.
“Fine,” Ryan said. “Midnight it is.”
“I’m not stupid. I know there’ll be alcohol there,” Emery said, eyeing us both. “Just don’t drink and drive. If you need someone to pick you up, call me.”
“I’m not drinking, Mr. Cross,” I responded. “I’ll make sure he gets home safe.”
“Kiss-ass,” Ryan coughed.
“Midnight,” Emery repeated, his expression stern.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ryan said, ushering me out of the bedroom and to the front door. Then he called out. “Thanks for the cash, Dad! It’s going to booze and girls.”
“It better not be,” Emery grumbled.
“We’ll take my car,” Ryan said once we were outside.
For his sixteenth birthday, Emery had bought Ryan a brand-new Mustang. It was one of the only things in Ryan’s life he kept clean. The inside smelled nice and didn’t have trash littered everywhere like in his room. It proved he had the ability not to be a slob but lacked the motivation. Or maybe he just reallydidlike getting under his dad’s skin.
“Can I ask you something?”
“What’s up?” Ryan backed out of the driveway, one arm on my seat as he looked behind him.
“What’s the issue with your dad? Don’t get pissed or anything, but you kinda treat him like shit sometimes.”
“You’ve met him,” Ryan answered, the steering wheel sliding through his hand as he turned onto the main road. “You tell me.”
“He seems kinda cool to me.” I peered out the window.
