Hanging On (Jessica Brodie Diaries #2)(109)

“Aren’t you the girl that always loved danger?”

“Yes, when I was 19 and stupid. You gotta grow out of that, Lump. You have to find a guy that treats you right. There is nothing better. We deserve no less, you know?”

She sighed. “I don’t know what I am doing. I always pick ass**les. Real ass**les, that want to hurt me. Tonight I wanted to push the envelope with David to see if he was one of those guys. When I started dating him I knew, just knew, he wasn’t. But he would have hit me sure enough.”

“He would’ve if you gave him a chance, yeah. Stop picking those guys. There are nice guys out there that treat a woman right but aren’t whimps. I found one. They exist.”

“I don’t know how to stop picking those guys,” she said with tears in her eyes.

It was like a cover was taken off, allowing Lump’s tears to rise to the surface at a moment’s notice. She needed a trip to Dr. George! I must remember to mention it to Gladis.

With all the things I constantly had to remember, I seriously needed to think about getting a notepad!

“Then stop picking guys for a while,” I said, getting my line of thought back on track. “Let one pick you and prove himself. Maybe that will change things.”

She nodded, resigned. I’d take it.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. When we made it to William he looked at me jovially. When I didn’t return the feeling he looked at Lump and saw that there was a problem. His face immediately went blank as he adopted a patient pose, waiting for us to do as we would.

“Do you want to come with us?” I asked Lump. “William has an extra room, or five. You wouldn’t have to be alone.”

She shook her head. “I think I’ll go hang out with Gladis. She’ll be up for another hour. She always knows the right things to say somehow.”

“They call that wise. I don’t think we’ll ever learn our lesson enough to get there when we are old...”

Lump laughed flippantly. “See you. Bye Willie. I’ll be here next time for another ride.”

“We’ve created a monster,” he said with a smile as a good-bye.

I climbed into his truck, waited for him to climb in and get settled, then laid my head in his lap.

“She’s lost,” I said. “The one guy that seems to understand her doesn’t want to be near her. And she doesn’t trust him. Well, and he has a cute, rich girlfriend. What a mess.”

“I doubt the girlfriend is in the way. She is anything but Adam’s type. He is probably just lonely and she is good for sex.”

“William!”

“It’s true.”

“Yeah, like that fake blond with big boobs that one time?”

“You always bring that up.”

“I wonder why...”

He rubbed my head then my back. “I love you, you know.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t get the memo.”

“And now I know what type of ring you like. You will never be safe!”

“Don’t even think about it! I’m too young. And I am still not convinced you aren’t going to leave me.”

“You’re rarely stubborn, but when you are it is about the silliest things.” He sighed. “I promise, I won’t ever leave you. Not even if I die. I’ll just keep on, haunting constantly, rattling chains and opening curtains. Especially if you are with another guy!”

“William? What is it about me that draws you? That you can’t find in a girl with your same situation?” I still hadn’t been to figure out what Gladis had said—to guard what he wanted.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Yes. That’s why I am asking,” I said sarcastically.

“Girls in my situation have had everything handed to them. They are deeply imbedded in an endless supply of money. And yes, I could, too, if I wanted. My brother thinks that way. But I am ambitious. I want to make my own empire, or vastly improve the families’. I want to make a difference by what I do, not just have money. It all sounds so noble, but it’s not. It’s just...money is great, and certainly helps, but...it’s not all there is.”

“I would take a life with a bunch of money if it was offered.”

“Sure, not many wouldn’t. But you have already learned the lessons of not having it. What you said to Dez that day was exactly why you are the only one for me. Why you make sense to me. You could have gone a different way in life, and even if you made it, you realized it would have changed you. So you chose a different path. A path people would probably say you are crazy to take because you had an opportunity to be a star and matter.

“Those people don’t realize that those things don’t actually matter. Hooking up with something you believe in, does. And thank you for the great things you said about my family’s company, by the way. I think my father likes you more, if that were possible.”

“Hmm.” I was glowing.

The truck stopped and I looked up to see we were still outside of town, off the road in a pull out area. There were no cars in either direction.

“Are you going to kill me now?”

He cupped his hand beneath my chin and lifted my head so he could kiss it. He kissed me tenderly but deeply, exploring my mouth with his tongue. He backed me away and looked at me. His eyes were luminescent from the trucks console lights. He looked intensely into the depths of me, pulling me to him with his charisma.