Chapter 16

sixteen

. . .

Demi

Romeo founda blow dryer for me beneath his vanity, and I dried my hair quickly, still coming down from the sexiest shower time I’d ever experienced. He was sitting on the counter in the bathroom, watching me dry my hair.

He was all long legs and big muscles and sexy smirks.

I turned it off and used his brush to make myself presentable before I hurried back to work.

“Is it obvious?” I asked, looking in the mirror.

“Is what obvious?”

“I feel like I’m having my sexual awakening at twenty-two years old.”

He chuckled, and it was this sexy, gruff sound that had butterflies swirling in my belly.

“We haven’t even had sex yet.”

“Oh, I know. But that was my first shower experience, and my first—” My teeth sank into my bottom lip, and I felt my cheeks heat.

“Your first what?” He tugged me over to him, and I settled between his legs.

“My first orgasm with a man.”

This sexy grin spread across his face. “Yeah? And that was just my fingers. Wait till you see what I can do with my mouth and my dick.”

Oh. My. God.

I squeezed my thighs together and covered my face with my hands.

“You don’t need to be shy with me. You’ve obviously had shitty partners.” His fingers circled my wrist, and he pulled my hands away so he could look at me.

“I’ve only been with one guy. My college boyfriend. He was two years older than me. He’s actually a really good guy,” I said.

Romeo growled, which made me laugh. “Fuck him. I hate him already.”

“Stop. We’re still friends.”

“Why’d you break up, then? Because he sucked in the sack?” He tugged me closer and buried his face in my neck. His scruff grazed my skin, and I groaned.

“No,” I said over my laughter. “Maybe I suck in the sack.”

“Trust me. You don’t. How long were you with him?”

“Three years. We lasted a year after he graduated, and it just wasn’t the same after he started working full time. He wanted marriage and kids and all of that, and I was twenty years old at the time. I just didn’t see a future with him that way.”

He nodded. “And not one orgasm in three years? How is that possible?”

“He was the quarterback for our college football team. He worked out hard, and he’d be pretty worn out most of the time. So, it was usually pretty quick but always sweet.”

“I just ran seven miles with a forty-pound backpack on my shoulders, and I made you come with just my fingers. Trust me. Working out has nothing to do with it.”

“Apparently not. So, what’s your longest relationship?”

“A year. But I’ve always had volatile partners, if I’m being honest. Lots of drama and breakups and fighting. This feels different.” His hands were on each side of my face, his eyes staring at my mouth like he couldn’t wait to kiss me again.

“It does feel different.” I sighed. “Well, you’re clearly more experienced than me. I’m curious—what’s your favorite sexual position?”

He smiled, and my stomach did these little flips. “This really is your sexual awakening, isn’t it?”

“Are you avoiding the question?”

“No. You can ask me anything. Sex is my favorite topic. Before now, my favorite position was doggy style. But I don’t see myself doing that with you. Not unless we’re standing in front of a mirror and I’m behind you.”

My mouth fell open. “Why not?”

“Because I love your face. I loved watching you come apart for me. You’re so fucking pretty. I want to be looking at you all the time. At those soulful eyes of yours. Those plump lips and your cute-ass nose with that perfect little sprinkle of freckles.”

“That was a really good answer.” I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re definitely going to get lucky soon, Golden Boy. But I need to go deal with the lunch rush and then get this conversation with my parents over with.”

“All right. I’m going to eat some breakfast and get to the gym. Call me if you need me, okay?”

“Yep. I’ll see you later?”

I started to walk away, and he caught my hand and turned me back toward him. His mouth was on mine, his tongue slipping inside.

When he pulled back, I was breathless. He jumped down off the counter and led me to the door. I expected him to say goodbye, but instead, he linked hands with mine and walked me across the alley.

It had finally stopped raining, and I chuckled. “It’s a twenty-foot walk at most across the alley. You didn’t need to escort me.”

“What can I say? I can’t get enough of you, Beans.” He smacked my ass and jogged back to his house.

And I stood there gaping at him before heading back to work. The next few hours went by quickly, and Peyton agreed to stay while I went over to my parents’ house. I’d called my grandfather and asked him to meet me there, as well. I needed to know who was involved in all of this.

My stomach twisted as I made my way to the home I’d grown up in. The rain had started falling again, and I watched the road through my windshield wipers as they moved back and forth. I pulled up the long driveway and saw Gramps’s car parked there.

I stepped inside, and Mariana was the first to greet me. “Hey there, sweetness. I just brought some tea into the living room. I figured you’d want something warm with all this rain today.”

“Thank you,” I said. The nerves were there now because I knew this was going to be a very heavy conversation. I wanted there to be an explanation that would make everything okay, but I couldn’t think of one that would even be a possibility. How could what they did ever be explained?

“You all right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Is Peyton covering Magnolia Beans for you?” She walked beside me as I made my way to the living room.

“She is. She’s got it down. And I’ll get back there in time to close up for the day.”

“Sounds good.” She squeezed my hand as she continued on to the kitchen, and I turned into the living room area where we liked to hang out and chat or play board games.

“Hey,” my mom said, with a big smile on her face. “I’m so happy you were able to sneak away from work. But we were surprised you wanted Gramps here, too, so we’re hoping everything’s okay.”

“I told you that our girl is a brilliant businesswoman. She’s always thinking of new ideas.” Gramps sipped his tea.

My father looked up at me with all the pride in the world. Not a clue about the bomb I was about to drop. I poured myself a cup of tea and sat in the chair across from them, as they were all three sitting on the couch.

“It’s not about work, actually. It’s about something that is pretty upsetting, and I’m hoping we can make sense of it and figure out how to move forward.”

My mother’s eyes widened. “Are you sick?”

“No. I’m not sick, Mom. But what I’ve learned has made me feel pretty horrible, if I’m being honest.” My gaze locked with my father’s, and I saw something there. Fear, maybe?

“What is it?” Gramps asked.

“Do you remember years ago, before Slade’s boating accident, there was a situation at The Daily Market? Two teenagers apparently stole something and then shoved Walt down, and they were sent to a juvenile detention center for the crime.”

“Yes. That young man who owns the gym, the boxer, he was involved. And his father had just gone to jail, as well. It’s all everyone was talking about back then. And his friend was there, as well. He was a few years older. The whole thing was very sad.” My mom set her teacup down on the table.

“I remember this,” Gramps said, as he ran a hand over his jaw. “They could have killed Walt. He hit his head and was hospitalized for some time.”

I turned my attention back to my father. “Do you remember this, Dad? I believe you went to see Walt in the hospital.”

“Why are you dredging this up? This has nothing to do with you,” he said, pushing to his feet and walking to the window to look out at the gray skies as the rain continued to fall.

“I’m bringing it up because I just learned about it. That boxer, the one you are so quick to label as trouble or a bad kid—he had nothing to do with what happened. The irony of this whole situation is unbelievable. And I just want to know who was involved in this. I know that you were,” I said, waiting for my father to turn around and look at me.

He finally did, and he glanced over at my mother before his gaze moved back to mine. “I did what needed to be done. For this family.” He wasn’t even going to try and deny it. I should be glad that this lie was finally going to be out in the open, but knowing Dad had done what he’d done made me look at him differently.

“I don’t know what we’re talking about,” my mother said. I didn’t miss the slightest tremble in her voice.

Gramps looked between me and my father, as if he were trying to figure out what was going on.

“Romeo and River were not the people who stole anything that day, nor were they the ones who pushed Walt over. They were just two teenagers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And you let them take the blame for something that Slade did.” The tears were falling now, because even saying the words aloud made me sick to my stomach.

“What? Is this true, Jack?” Gramps asked, and his hands were fisted at his sides.

I knew in this moment that my father was the only one involved in this whole mess. And as devastated as I was that he’d done this, I was relieved that my entire family hadn’t taken part.

“It’s not as devious as you’re making it out to be.” Dad shoved his hands into his pockets. “I found out that Slade and Ronny were there. Ronny had been in town with his father, and apparently, he’d convinced Slade to skip school that day. They’d stolen a bottle of whiskey. He’d told me that they ran out and that the other two boys had been there, as well. I thought they were all in on it. I just did my part to keep Slade and Ronny out of it.”

My heart raced at learning that Ronny had been the other person there that day.

“How, exactly, did you keep him out of it, if they’d been at that store?” Gramps’s voice was ice cold now.

“I just said that Slade and Ronny had been with me fishing. There weren’t witnesses at the store, aside from the other two teenage boys, who, by the way, had been ditching school, as well.”

“Ditching school is different than robbing a store and violently attacking the man who worked there!” I shouted, because his casual demeanor was pissing me off. “They’d cut school because Romeo’s father had just been sent to prison. He was devastated and a little lost. They were there buying candy, Dad. They got out of there when your drunk son and his disgusting friend started vandalizing the place. And they left. But they turned around and saw Slade push Walt into the liquor counter and run out the door, laughing. They went back inside to help him.” My hand was on my chest as tears ran down my face, and I tried to speak through my hysteria.

“I didn’t know that at the time.”

“You didn’t ask. And you went to the hospital and got Walt to say what you wanted him to say, didn’t you? It seems awfully convenient that the surveillance cameras weren’t working that day.” I made no effort to hide my disgust.

“I can’t believe this,” my mother whispered, and I looked up to see tears running down her face, as well.

“This is appalling, Jack. Even for you.” Gramps was on his feet now, and the vein on the side of his neck bulged. There’d never been a whole lot of love between him and my father, but they’d tolerated one another.

“You had just been reelected governor. Are you telling me you would have been okay with having your grandson’s name splattered all over the news? Please. I did what I had to do. I didn’t know the other boys weren’t involved. I just asked Walt to leave Slade and Ronny’s name out of it. Hell, Ronny didn’t live here, so that was easy enough. And Slade wasn’t himself that day. It was a mistake, and I did what I needed to do to make it disappear.”

“You sent two innocent kids away, Dad. They spent months in that hellhole. You put them and their families through hell!” I shouted.

“They would have been there twice as long if I hadn’t gotten involved. So be careful who you’re accusing of being the bad guy. Slade derailed after everything happened. Maybe it was the guilt—hell, I don’t know. But he came to me and told me the other two boys hadn’t been with him and Ronny, and the guilt was eating him alive. I hired someone to get their time shortened. Did he mention that? That he stayed for three months instead of six? And the other kid got his time shortened from a year down to eight months.”

“Oh my God. Do you hear yourself? You didn’t do them any favors. You put them in there. They didn’t commit the crime. You used your money and power to put two innocent people away for something they didn’t do. And you want fucking credit for getting them out early?”

“Don’t you use that language in this house.” My father stormed toward me, face bright red.

Zero guilt in his eyes.

“Her language is the least of my concerns right now,” my mother said, as she moved to stand beside me. “I am disgusted that you would do this, Jack. And you need to apologize to them at the very least and spend the rest of your days trying to make it up to them.”

Dad looked completely stunned by what she’d said. “I got them out early. Everyone has moved on. I protected our son. Are you telling me you wouldn’t have wanted me to protect Slade? Come on, Rose. You were not handling the things that were going on. He was partying and out of control, and you were a mess. I carried this secret with me so that you wouldn’t have to.”

“Don’t you dare try to act like you did this for me. Yes, I would always want you to protect our children, but not at the expense of innocent kids. We could have hired the best attorney—that’s how you protect your child. You don’t lie and cheat to keep him out of trouble. What sort of example does that set for anyone?”

“So, you would have been fine with him being sent to that hellhole for a year? Because that’s what would have happened, Rose. He had drugs in his system. He would have gotten his ass served to him for what he did.”

“And maybe he wouldn’t have been drunk and high on that boat when he nearly killed his friends and himself in that accident. Maybe if he’d been held accountable, none of that would have happened,” Gramps said, his voice remaining completely calm because he never lost his temper.

Romeo was right. Slade had been using drugs much earlier than I’d realized. It had nothing to do with the accident and him getting hooked on opioids.

“You two didn’t mind covering up that particular incident, did you?” my father hissed.

“There was no cover-up, Jack.” Gramps went on, “Everyone knew he was drunk and high on that boat. We hired an attorney, and he found a loophole that allowed Slade to go to rehab instead of prison. We acknowledged that he had a problem, and we sure as shit didn’t frame innocent children for what Slade had done. There’s a big difference, and if you don’t see that, then you’re dumber than I thought you were.”

“Yet you still support him, don’t you?” My father glared at my grandfather.

“And I will continue to provide help to my grandson. I have the resources to get him the best help, and I will do it until the day I die. But I will not lie for him or let him off the hook for his actions. What you did is very different. Shame on you.” Gramps pointed his finger in my father’s face.

“I tried to make things right by getting them out early. I thought they were involved,” Dad repeated, like that made things all better.

“You need to apologize to them, Dad. They were terrified and young and stuck in an awful place because of what you did.”

“Because of what Slade did. I didn’t rob that store. I didn’t push Walt into a goddamn display shelf and nearly kill the man!” he yelled, as he paced around the room in little circles. “And I carried it all on my shoulders to keep you from being heartbroken,” he said, turning to face my mother. “You would have been a mess if he’d been sent away.”

“I’m sure Romeo’s and River’s mothers were a mess,” my mom whispered. “I never asked you to lie to me, Jack. What else have you kept from me?”

The devastation on my mother’s face nearly brought me to my knees. I hated that I’d come over here and turned their world upside down. But it needed to happen.

“I think it’s time we stop with the secrets. I need to ask you something else, Dad.”

“You don’t think you’ve done enough for today, Demi?” He glared at me, and for the first time in my life, I did not see love in my father’s eyes when he looked at me. I saw pure disdain.

My chest squeezed. Even with all I’d just found out about him, I still loved him. He was my dad. He’d always been someone that I’d looked up to.

Gramps quickly came to my defense. “Don’t you put this on her. She did the right thing by telling us. It’s what you should have done years ago when it happened. I’m just grateful your moral compass didn’t rub off on my granddaughter. She’s always been wiser than you, though, hasn’t she?”

“You’re loving this, aren’t you? You’ve just been waiting for me to mess up all these years.” My dad and my grandfather were standing close now, and I wondered if this was going to turn physical.

My mother moved between them, and her gaze locked with mine. “What else did you need to ask your father, Demi?”

“Did you file that restraining order against Ronny Waterstone? Or did you lie about that, too?”

He let his eyes fall closed, and he didn’t respond.

That told me all I needed to know.

I filled my mom and Gramps in on what had happened, and my mother cried harder as Gramps wrapped his arms around me and apologized over and over to me.

My father admitted that he’d handled it by directly speaking to Ronny. He’d called him and told him to stay away from me and threatened to go to his father and tell him what happened if he came near me.

There was no restraining order filed.

Business had taken priority over my safety.

All of it hurt, but I was glad there were no more secrets.

When I left the house, my father was upstairs, packing his bags. He’d be staying at our condo in the city while my mother worked through all of this.

I felt a weird mix of guilt and relief.

Logically, I knew this wasn’t my fault.

But it didn’t stop the heaviness settling in my chest.

The feeling that life as I knew it was never going to be the same.