Sweet Rome (Sweet Home, #1.5)(16)
She was trying to joke, but I had no humor for the shit hand she’d been dealt. I’d sensed that pain within her in class, but f*ck, not the level she was at.
“So you and Shelly?” She interrupted my thoughts with the worst topic possible.
“Good subject change,” I answered dryly.
“Well, there had to be a reason she was so pissed at our kiss. Even if it was just for the initiation.”
“We’re… complicated.” I never talked about this, not even with Ally. But she’d shared who she was and for the first time ever, I wanted to do the same.
“That sounds like a copout if ever I’ve heard one.”
“Nah, not a copout. She’s been hounding me since sixth grade. Our families are pushing for an engagement. You know, to protect their investments, keep the company’s money in the family. Our fathers are business partners. I don’t even f*cking like her. She’s a big old thorn in my side.” That was putting it mildly.
“But… are you going to go through with it? The engagement, I mean. I’m surprised you’d settle down with someone you don’t want. Or even settle down at all, if the rumors are to be believed.”
And there it was. The shit that came with being me had already reached her ears, in a matter of hours. The gossip mill doing its job to f*cking perfection. Time to set her straight, share a few home truths.
“Fuckin’ rumors. Look, girls just throw themselves at me. When it’s offered, I take it. Why the hell not? I don’t have a girlfriend, never have. Sex helps me calm down from being so riled up all the time and shows folks that I’m definitely not with Shelly. I won’t apologize for it. I just like to f*ck a lot and never the same girl twice.” I saw her jaw drop, but she’d asked. It was the truth. “My parents have a set plan. I’m expected to graduate, marry Shelly, take over the family business, and live the American f*ckin’ dream.”
“So you don’t want to play football professionally? I thought I heard that you were destined for big things?”
That completely changed my mood. “Yeah, I do want to play. I love it. It’s as natural to me as breathing—the rush, the camaraderie, the roar of the crowd on game day, popping the perfect shot for a touchdown. My parents don’t support it. They just… Hell, it don’t matter. I just f*cking hate my life being dictated by my folks, that’s all.” Saying something, telling someone about them, was helping, ridding me of my anger.
“Then do what you want. Screw everyone else,” she said, as simple as that.
“Easier said than done.”
Her soft hand squeezed mine. “You can’t live your life for other people, Rome. You have to do things that you want, achieve your dreams, in any way you want to do it. If you’re happy, then your parents surely will be too, and if not, they’ll get over it in time. Don’t be with someone you dislike like Shelly. Be with a girl you can’t resist, who you truly want above anyone else. Someone you connect with.”
What was she trying to say? “Like you, Mol…? A girl like you?”
“You don’t even know me.” She was pushing me away, so I said the first thing that came to mind, running my finger down her cheek, loving the effect it had on her breathing. “It only took Romeo one look at Juliet and his fate was sealed. Maybe I’m just like my namesake, and maybe you’re just like yours.”
Smooth, Rome, real smooth. Oh, and I was sure that comment was an instant deduction of a thousand man-points, but it had the desired effect. She wanted me, and shit, at that moment, I wanted her too.
Placing my hand on her bare knee, I continued running it up her thigh, the heat of her skin increasing the closer I got to between her legs. My cock was as hard as granite as I watched those plump lips part, and I moved in, about to take her, when the f*cking door handle began to shake. “Rome? Rome? Open up! I know you’re in there!”
Molly sucked in a breath and, knocking my hand from her thigh, straightened her toga.
Ruined.
“Fuck!” I screamed, turning and launching my beer into the trash, hearing the glass shatter.
“That girl!” Molly hissed and stared at me, looked me dead in the eye, waiting for me to say something. As I stared at her hopeful face, reality came crashing down. What the hell was I doing? Molly was damaged, too damaged to be just a f*ck. From everything she’d told me, meaningless sex would just be cruel, and shit, I couldn’t give her anything more. I needed to get the hell out of Bama—had to—and being with a girl that wasn’t Shelly was just going cause a shit storm of problems with my folks.
Nothing was worth that.
“I’m going to go, Rome,” she finally said with a disappointed sigh. “I’ll leave you with her. It’s probably for the best.”
“Mol—” I started, but she was probably right. It was for the best.
But when she walked past, something in me clicked, and I grabbed her hand, smashing her into my chest. Her golden eyes were huge as she stared up at me, waiting… just f*cking waiting for something. “I liked talking to you, Shakespeare. It was different…” I eventually confided with a strained voice.
Gripping her toga, I pulled her closer to me, holding the back of her neck in my hand, but her expectant gaze told me she needed more.
Her face dropped as I stalled, and she said disappointedly, “You too, Romeo. But our little conversation seems to have come to an end. I imagine it’s probably for the best anyhow.”