Page 11 of Dirty Love

Dad’s still not home from work by the time we leave for school, which is why we’ve left the truck running on the street for a few minutes, letting it warm up a bit before we head outside to get in. I climb up to the passenger seat and take my spot in the middle next to Kade, not even bothering to worry about what the neighbors will say if they see us like this. I’m sure they talk about us—Officer Rivers’ weird sons who spend almost every minute of every day together—but I don’t give a shit. I’m not about to distance myself from my older brother to make them happy.

“Can we still get a coffee on the way?” I ask, stealing his phone from his pocket to plug it into the stereo.

Glancing at the clock on the dash, he nods and drives towards the gas station about a mile away from school. I wait in the truck while he heads to the vending machine inside, shaking my head at him when he comes back with two to-go cups and a chocolate chip muffin.

“I’m not hungry,” I tell him, already knowing it’s for me without having to ask.

“You didn’t eat your breakfast.”

“I ate half of it,” I argue, taking the coffees to hold them while he drives. “Did you already put the sugars in?”

He nods and tips his chin at the brown paper bag on my lap. “Eat.”

“No.”

“Nicky.”

“Make me,” I challenge, knowing he’ll do it, hoping he’ll do it the same way he did last night.

He looks at me and raises a brow—his usual response when I’m acting like a brat on purpose—then he snatches the muffin and holds it up to my mouth. Despite the fact I wasn’t lying before about not being hungry, I take a small bite and chew it slowly, smirking to myself when I catch the look in his eyes.

I can eat just fine by myself, but I know he likes feeding me just as much as I like being fed by him.

I take another bite and lick both corners of my lips, enjoying the way his eyes drop to follow the movement. I’m just about to fuck with him some more, but then I sigh, disappointed when I realize we’re at school already. A shout rings out from somewhere and I look out through the windshield, spotting Mark and a few of the other boys messing around in the parking lot. Kade parks the truck next to his friends and I pass him his coffee, rewrapping the rest of the muffin to shove it into the shelf on the dash. He jumps out and I follow behind him, awkwardly pulling my hood over my head to avoid the stares on me.

We’re no better than anyone else here, but they still fear us because Kade’s a scary motherfucker with a mean glare and an attitude that screams stay the fuck away from me. In their eyes, he’s the big man and I’m just his loyal shadow. Nicky Rivers—Kade Rivers’ loser baby brother.

I don’t mind, though.

I like it here.

I’m safe here and I always will be.

“Sup, boys?” Mark tips his chin, bumping Kade’s fist before doing the same to mine. “Wanna hit?”

I shrug and move to take the joint from his fingers, stopping when Kade subtly shakes his head no.

No drugs unless they come from me.

I roll my eyes and light another cigarette, leaning back behind the truck to ensure the teachers don’t catch us smoking. Kade and I sip our coffees and pass the cigarette back and forth between us, listening quietly while the boys chat shit about the fights this weekend.

“You know who you’re fighting yet?” Mark asks Kade, dipping his head to blow his smoke out towards his feet.

“I heard Austin say he’s down,” Parker jokes, snorting when Austin’s eyes widen in horror.

“Man, fuck you, I fought him last weekend,” he complains, pointing a finger at the nasty black eye on his face. “See this shit? I’m done for the year. It’s somebody else’s turn to get their ass beat.”

I laugh to myself and flick my roach into the bushes behind us, doing a double take when I spot the hot guy walking through the parking lot towards the main entrance. He’s tall and lean and even paler than I am, dressed in all black from his shoulders to his feet, his icy blond hair covering his eyes and forehead. As if sensing he’s being watched, he looks up and gives me a slow once over—a really slow one—then he winks at me and carries on walking.

What the fuck?

“Who is that?” Austin asks, quickly stealing the joint from Mark's mouth while he’s distracted.

“Not sure,” Parker answers, standing up on his tiptoes to look at him over the truck, chuckling to himself while he taps Kade’s arm with his elbow. “I bet he’ll fight you.”

Everyone laughs at that, but Kade doesn’t look amused. He’s looking at me, his perfectly defined jaw locked with a glare that makes me wince.

Shit.

---