Chapter Twenty-Five

Leah

Three weeks later…

It’s the last day of school before Christmas break. I’m so ready to get the hell out of here and spend the next two weeks at the cabin with my boyfriend –I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that word. Corv and the others are coming too, even Nathan and my girls. I managed to convince Val and Dawson to come along as well. We met up the day I started back to school and stopped doing online classes. She is fucking awesome and so is her son. Dawson is the sweetest little boy you will ever meet. When I went over to their apartment that’s off campus, my heart broke. It’s a tiny one-bedroom apartment, not in the best area but she wasn’t granted a twin suite in the dorm and couldn’t afford to pay to live on campus whilst being a mom and student. I girl tutors and cleans just to make enough money to cover their living expenses. When I found out they would be alone for Christmas, I practically forced her to come with us. Her and Dawson are riding up with me, Cody and Katie.

“Ready, bitches?” Cody shouts as I finish packing the last of my stuff. I zip up my duffle and shoot her a toothy grin as I nod.

“Let’s go!” I squeal as I make my way out of mine and Darius’s room. Yeah, so, he got his way and I moved in here with him. The girls moved back into our old dorm room. Corvin had paid for my dorm for the year, so Katie jumped at the chance to share with Cody instead of going back to her old room. Honestly, I’m happy for them because I love coming home every day and getting to cuddle up with my boyfriend . Fuck, it’s only been like six hours and I miss him already.

“Come on, bitches,” Katie shouts the moment we come out the front door. I lock it before running over to Cody’s car. I dump my bag in the trunk before calling shotgun and slipping in next to Cody, forcing Katie to sit in the back. I rattle off the directions to Val’s place and Cody plugs it into her GPS. Fifteen minutes later we pull up out the front of Val’s place. She’s standing on the sidewalk with Dawson beside her. Cody parks and I jump out to help load her bags as she straps Dawson’s car seat into the car. She makes it look easy as hell putting that thing in. She buckles Dawson into his seat, then she rounds the car and hops in the middle seat.

“Let’s roll!” I shout excitedly, it’s an eight hour drive to the cabin so we won’t get there until late tonight but none of us care, we all just want to get the hell out of here. My phone rings, the girls groan knowing who it is since he decided to change his ringtone to our song. I pull it out of my pocket and hit answer.

“Hey, you.” I ignore Cody fake gagging beside me.

“Hey, baby, have you left yet?” God just the sound of his voice has me practically panting.

“Yeah, we’re just hitting the interstate now.” The guys left last night to get everything set up and to do the food shopping for us. The girls and I couldn’t leave until today because the three of us and even Val had papers due and we couldn’t miss it.

“Thank fuck, we are never fighting again.” I frown.

“Uh, we’re not fighting,” I tell him.

“Well if we do fight, we are never sleeping apart again. I fucking hated rolling over and not having you next to me.” My heart fucking bursts inside my chest.

“Agreed. I hated not waking up next to you,” I whine like a petulant toddler.

“I make ew better, Lee,” Dawson calls out from the back. I peer around my seat and shoot the little guy a wink.

“Shit, I forgot about the kid. No screaming for you then,” Darius quips. I laugh, unable to keep it in.

“There will be none of that!” I hear Corvin shouting in the background.

“I better go before he starts getting big mad,” I tease.

“Okay, baby, drive safe and I’ll see you tonight, beautiful.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too, Goldie.” I’ll never tire of hearing him say those words to me. I end the call smiling, while excitement thrums through me. I never thought Darius and I would ever find our way back to each other. We have gone through some tough shit but I believe it has made us stronger. He continues to tell me daily how much he loves me and promises to never hurt me again. I believe him and tell him that, except each night he says he has to show my body he means it. If this is what I get for the rest of my life, I won’t be mad about it. I’ll drop to my knees and thank G.O.D himself.

“You two are so cute it makes me sick,” Cody mocks.

“And seeing you and my brother together doesn’t make me ill?” I jibe, causing her to shake her head and shrug.

“We’re just… hanging out.” The longing in her voice has me feeling sorry for her. Corvin won’t commit to her and I have no idea why. Cody is amazing and I can tell she really does care about my brother, but she is constantly getting hurt by him. She won’t tell me what he does to make her cry, but the girl also can’t seem to stay away from him.

“Are you sure everyone doesn’t mind spending the holidays with a random girl and her kid?” Val asks shyly.

“Of course not,” Katie reprimands.

“They’ll love it. Nathan is excited to finally get to meet you and Dawson,” I say. “Plus, it will finally stop Darius from thinking I made you up.”

“Why would he think you made me up?” Val asks, confused.

“Darius is jealous of the toilet paper for touching her hoo-ha,” Cody mocks, earning an eye roll from me.

“What’s hoo-ha, Mommy?” Dawson asks. I cringe and shoot Val and apologetic look that she just waves off.

“Nothing, sweetie,” she says as she places a kiss to his head. We spend the next few hours listening to music and singing along until Dawson falls asleep. Not wanting to wake the wee man, we cut the music and fill the car with conversation. Val asks about me and Darius. I tell her our story which has her swooning and claiming that we have an epic love story. Katie and Cody fill her in on their friendly relationships with Crue, Saint and Corvin.

“What about you?” I ask Val. She sighs and looks over at her son with a sad smile on her face.

“There isn’t much to tell. I was sixteen and thought I was in love. He left, I found out eight weeks later I was pregnant. I tried to find him, even went to his house only to find it vacant. He disappeared from my life and broke my heart.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say quietly, feeling sorry for her. Darius ghosting me hurt but I can’t imagine how hard that would have been if I was pregnant like Val.

“It’s okay. I mean, he may have vanished but he left me behind the best gift I could have ever asked for. Dawson makes all the heartache worth it. I wouldn’t change a thing.” How she can be so upbeat and positive given her circumstances is admirable. I don’t think I would be as strong as her if our roles were reversed. Being a single parent must be so tough, that thought has me thinking about Jenny Lockhart. Darius refuses to seek her out. He says he isn’t ready and I respect that. I just hope one day he changes his mind and actually speaks to her so he can get the closure he needs from her.

He’s had so much on his plate lately. He’s busting his ass to train for football, studying, and learning the role of CFO of Saint Hart Holdings. He has now refused to go to Chicago, saying that he wants to go with Beck to Alaska. He’s done that for me. He knows that I loved it there and said he would run shit from there and he and Beck would both learn the ropes of the resort and the daily running of the company. He and Beck both have been up late most nights working, their dedication awe inspiring. Darius leaves with Beck after the New Year—he’s been asking me every day to go with him. I haven’t decided what I want to do yet. After spending one night without him, I know there is no way I can go six months without seeing him every day. I grab my phone from the cup holder and text him.

You win! Book me on that flight, baby, I’m coming with you Xx

I cringe when I think of having to switch back to online classes, again. I think if the guys weren’t on the board I would have been kicked out already for fucking the administration around so much. My phone pings with his reply almost immediately.

Big D

Don’t play with me, Goldie.

I’m not. Last night made me realize I can’t be without you. I know you have to do this for your business.

Big D

Our business, baby. Are you sure?

I’ve never been surer in my life.

Big D

I fucking love you. I’ll show you just how much this means to me when you get here.

I clench my thighs together to try to dull the ache that is beginning to form. I’m so far gone where he is concerned.

I expect you to show me all night long 3

We finally pull into the drive of the cabin just before eleven. We’re all tired and sore from sitting in the car for so long. We only stopped once to use the restrooms and get food, refusing to stop again, too eager to get here. I spot Beck, Saint and Corv’s cars parked in front of the garage and smile when I see Darius’s bike there as well. Why they all didn’t just come in two cars I have no idea. Nathan came with Saint. I love that he has slotted into our crazy family, he hangs with the guys just as much as us now.

“Oh my God,” Val breathes from the backseat.

“Right? It’s so beautiful here. Just wait till the morning when you get to see the view, it is gorgeous,” Katie says. Cody parks the car and the four of us all jump out to stretch. God my ass is numb. I hear the front door open and squeal as I take off. I race down the pathway, smiling at the sight of my man running at me. I launch myself at him, clinging to him like a monkey and kiss the shit out of him. He grips my ass to keep me from slipping.

“Fuck, stop that!” I pull away and look over his shoulder to see my brother standing there with a sour look on his face. Darius places a quick kiss to the side of my neck before putting me back on my feet.

“Come on, let’s grab your things.” He grabs my hand and walks me back to the car. I introduce him and Corvin to Val. He seems at ease seeing for himself that she is actually a girl. He and Corvin carry Val’s belongings while we grab the rest so she only has to worry about carrying a sleeping Dawson inside.

“Where’s the guys?’ Cody asks as we follow the guys inside.

“They tried to wait up but they crashed. Katie your boys said to tell you to lock the basement door after yourself.” Katie rolls her lips over her teeth and nods. I freaking love how shy she gets, like the girl can take two dicks but as soon as you mention it out loud, she blushes. “Nathan took the fold out bed in the theater room, so, Val, you and your boy can have the spare room next to Darius’s.” I dart in front of the guys and open the door for them, the only light that is on is in the entryway. Truthfully, I’m beat and I think the others are as well, so Val will just have to wait till morning to get a tour of the cabin. Corvin pauses in the entryway and hands Katie her things. She’s blushing so hard as she shoots us a quick wave and scurries off toward the basement. I attempt to move around Corvin and head upstairs, but he blocks my path. I look up at him and frown.

“What’s up?” I ask. He smiles proudly and it throws me for a loop.

“I know shit has been hard for you but I just wanted to say I am so fucking proud of you for finishing you English paper and not quitting.” I melt. “Also, Darius told me about Alaska.” My shoulders tense thinking he’s about to fight me on my decision. “I spoke with Mom and Dad and told them about it. They agree with me that this would be good for you.”

“W-what?” I mumble, stunned as hell that he is being so… good about this.

He smiles down at me. “I may not enjoy the sight of you and dickhead together.” Darius snorts beside me but Corv carries on. “But I also know he is a lot of the reason why you are doing so well. I expect your ass on a plane back to CHU to visit me every two months.” I squeal and jump at him. He drops the bags to catch me. I hold him tight and love that my big brother is happy for me.

“I love you, Corv,” I whisper, feeling him soften against me.

“I love you to, Lee.”