Sweet Rome (Sweet Home, #1.5)(15)

But she surprised me again, rolling those golden browns and joking, “If I don’t stop drinking soon, I’ll be the one tottering around the lawn. You want me shouting for you, too?” She’d scatter if she knew just how much. Her letting me take control of her tight body, coming at my every move.

She watched my tongue lap around my lip and I watched hers in return. And there it was, that chemistry I’d felt earlier, the pull, the draw. “It’s sounding more tempting by the second,” I said quietly, my hard cock becoming painful in my jeans.

Her eyes darted back toward the backyard. I’d gone too far, needed to change the direction of the conversation. “So you’ve joined a sorority?”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, and Ally wants me to move into the main house, with Lexi and Cass, of course. It’s not exactly my thing, but I’m trying my best to embrace college life.”

Ally? What the hell was she up to?

“You and Ally been speaking?”

“Yeah. After you left… the room… earlier… after the… erm…”

“Kiss.” It was all I could think about, taking that mouth again, tasting her again… tasting her all over.

“Err, yeah. Well, Shelly screamed at me to leave and Ally fought in my corner and basically told Shelly to bugger off.”

Okay. Now I was thankful my cousin stepped in. I could imagine Ally verbally knocking Shelly down. “She’s not exactly Shel’s biggest fan. Al’s cool. She’ll be a good friend for you to have around here. She’s my cousin and best friend. Hence, I got the spare key for this room when it gets too crazy out there.”

“She seems nice.”

“She’s the best.” Molly smiled and nodded.

“So, Shakespeare, where you from in England? Don’t you dare say Stratford-upon-Avon or I’m checking myself into an insane asylum.”

“Nope, nowhere near. I’m from Durham.”

I wasn’t exactly great with Geography and had no idea about Durham, England. “Nope, never heard of it.”

She paused and thought real hard, her face suddenly lighting up. “Have you seen Billy Elliot?”

Ashamedly, yeah. One of Ally’s cheer-up sessions after my daddy had ripped me a new one over football. She was trying to show me that even though you’re background’s shit, you can still achieve your dreams… Subtle.

“The film about the dancing kid?”

“Yep. Well, I’m from the exact estate that he’s from in the movie.”

“Really?” I racked my brain, trying to remember something about the setting. The kid in it was poor, real poor. That meant… Shit. Here I was moping, but one thing I never worried about was money. I had that in abundance. My grandparents leaving me most of their fortune pretty much set me up for life, despite my parents’ objections.

Her hand landed on mine and I jumped, startled. “It’s okay. I know I’m poor. You don’t need to feel bad for thinking it.”

“I wasn’t—” I was. There was no judgement there, though, and the strength behind her eyes floored me. She went to move back her hand, but I gripped it, turning to connect them palm to palm.

“Yes, you were thinking that. It’s okay. I know where I’m from isn’t exactly glamorous, but I’m proud anyway. It’s where I grew up and I love it regardless of its reputation, although I haven’t been back there in years.”

“Is your family still there?” I asked curiously.

Molly instantly changed. She began to visibly shake and rubbed at her chest. Her eyes were huge and her breathing choppy. “You okay? You’ve gone all white,” I asked, panicked, rubbing at her back to calm her down.

“Yeah, thanks,” she whispered, seeming a little better.

I never removed my hand from her back. I liked touching her, in any way.

“No, I don’t have any family,” she announced, her voice barely audible.

I jerked back, grimacing at my stupidity, and asked, “Shit, you’re an orphan?”

“No, but I have no family left. I’m not sure an adult can still be classed as an orphan.”

“Your momma?”

“Died giving birth to me.”

Christ. “Daddy?”

“Died when I was six.”

Jesus. “No grandparents, aunts, or uncles?”

“One, a grandma.”

Thank f*ck. At least she had one person. “And?”

“Died when I was fourteen.”

Shit. “But then, where…?”

“Foster care.”

“And that’s it? You’ve been on your own for… You’re twenty, right?”

“Yes.”

“On your own for six years?” My chest actually ached. She’d lost everyone. Everyone.

“Well, I went to university so I had some friends there, and Professor Ross took me on as a research assistant in my first year and watched out for me when she realized I had no other family. But yeah, I’ve been on my own for a long time. It’s been… difficult.”

I leaned in, trying to give comfort, but f*ck if I knew what the hell to say. What was there to say? She was completely on her own.

Her fingers skirted up my arm and she said, “Not to be rude, but this conversation is kind of bringing me down, Rome. Death and Budweiser should never go together.”