Just Let Me Love You (Judge Me Not #3)(9)

And then there is no more talk; there’s only the sound of our love, a love I can only hope will prove to be enough.





Chase



Will eyes us suspiciously when Kay and I finally make it downstairs for our Mac-n-Cheese dinner.

“Well, that took forever,” he snaps.

I am not amused by his belligerent attitude and tell him to zip it as Kay and I sit down at the dining room table.

“Whatever, dude,” he replies. “Like I don’t know what you were doing. I swear, you two are like rabbits.”

I shoot him a displeased look, but he hurries back in the direction of the kitchen. By the time he emerges, three steaming-hot plates of macaroni and cheese balanced precariously in his hands, my irritation dissipates. I just thank Will for the grub when he hands me my dish.

And then, as my brother places Kay’s plate of cheesy macaroni in front of her, he announces, “By the way, guys, Cassie is coming over tonight to watch a movie.”

Will takes a seat across from me and Kay, smiling smugly.

I shoot him a withering look. “Do you really think that’s a good idea, Will? I wanted to talk to you about a few things.” I take a bite of macaroni, and after I swallow and take a sip of water, I add, “Why don’t you call Cassie and tell her you’ll see her tomorrow.”

Will snorts. “Yeah, right, dude. You and I can talk tomorrow. We’re at Mom’s house now, not yours. You’re not in charge, and, around here, the rules are different.”

“No shit,” I murmur.

I’ve only been here a couple of hours and already Will is pushing my buttons. He knows damn well what I want to talk to him about. I want that f*cking gun, and I want to know why he bought it from my former drug dealer in the first place. More importantly, I need to know exactly what he has planned.

But Will is a master of avoidance, much like Mom. He not only resembles our mother, with his dark-blond hair and vivid green eyes, but he thinks like her, as well. Too bad for him I’m a step ahead of that shit.

“Fine,” I say between bites. “Kay and I will watch the movie with you guys.”

Kay, who’s been quiet up to this point, says, “Yeah, a movie sounds good.” She directs her attention to Will. “What movie were you planning on watching?”

I chuckle. My girl is always backing me up. I know she is as sleepy as me, which is very sleepy, but she’ll do this for me. And she’ll do this for Will.

Dear bro, however, doesn’t see it quite that way.

“Whatever,” he grumbles. “I guess we’ll pick something out after Cass gets here.”

Cassie arrives a short while later. She and Kay, who hit it off beautifully in Ohio, hug and squeal like they haven’t seen each other in years. Will and I, in a rare moment of perfect understanding, look at each other and roll our eyes.

“Girls,” Will murmurs so only I can hear. “Talk about f*cking emotional.”

“That’s for sure,” I concur.

After Kay and Cassie are done gushing about how great it is that Kay is in Las Vegas, we retire to the family room. When my eyes fall on all the state-of-the-art electronics, the plush leather furnishings, and the full bar taking up one entire wall, I mumble to myself, “This f*cking house is killing me. Unbelievable.”

Yeah, I’m still coming to grips with the numerous displays of wealth. I mean, I’m happy and all that the money helps Will to live a more comfortable life. God knows this is way better than the lives we were leading before I left Vegas. Still, I think all this easily available money has spoiled my brother to some extent.

Kay leans in to me and asks for what feels like the hundredth time today, “Are you okay?”

“Just great,” I reply. When our eyes meet, however, I know she sees my resentment. I don’t want to feel this way, but I can’t help it. After our father died, what remained of our family was thrown into abject poverty. We even lived in a f*cking minivan for a time.

When we finally made it to an apartment—a hovel, really—Mom was always leaving Will with me. Gambling and men were her top priorities by then. As a result, we never really got back on our feet.

But, now, Mom lives like a queen. And, yeah, it bothers me.

Kay caresses my arm. She tries to soothe me as we settle in next to Cassie and my brother on the mile-long sofa.

Will picks up the remote and scans through the movie options. “Suggestions, anyone?” he queries.

I don’t give a f*ck what we watch, I think. But I don’t say a word; I’m only here to keep an eye on Will and his girlfriend. And, of course, I’m also waiting for an opportunity to talk to the little shit before this day is over.

Cassie, seated between Kay and Will, leans toward Kay and asks, “Have you ever seen ‘Bridesmaids’?”

Before Kay can respond, Will chimes in with, “Aw, come on, Cass. Don’t start with that chick flick shit. If we’re going to watch something like that, let’s go with the latest ‘Hangover’ movie.”

“I say we vote on it,” Cassie suggests.

Will grumbles an unhappy “okay.”

When I abstain from casting an opinion or a vote, “Bridesmaids” win.

Will is clearly not happy with me. From the far end of the sofa, he grumps, “Dude, I thought you had my back.”