Page 61 of Secret Obsession
“Take mine. The keys are downstairs. I’ve got to get to practice anyway.” And take my brother with me.
Her gaze lingers on me until I’m out of sight, jogging downstairs. Knox waits by the door, his hockey bag slung over his shoulder. Mine is already in my car, which I can retrieve easily enough.
“You good?” he asks me.
I scowl at him. “We need to ride together.”
“That’s fine.”
He’s still staring at me, even on our way out the door. Then as I grab my bag out of my car and walk to his. Until he’s forced to look away to fucking drive normally.
“What?” I growl.
“You want her to move in?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “It’s not a big deal. I just want her closer.”
“But…why?”
“Besides some psycho breaking into her apartment probably minutes after we left? To repair what you broke, you asshole.” I scowl. “Why’d you have to drag it out for a whole year?”
I wouldn’t put it past him to ignore me. It’s been an untouched subject since they started hooking up last year. I wasn’t about to rain on his fucking parade when he finally stopped acting like a complete man whore and solely focused on one girl.
I just wish she hadn’t already beenmygirl in my head.
My parents were ecstatic about it. Their oldest child found a girlfriend. And not justagirlfriend. A pretty, smart, athletic, witty…
He makes a noise in the back of his throat. Clearing it. “To prove something to myself.”
I eye him.
He shakes his head slightly, his jaw clenched. “I just wanted to see if I could stay with one person. You know. Like…”
“Oh, monogamy.” I snap my fingers. “Right. Congrats, you picked the one girl thatIwas interested in to stick with for a year.”
“Fuck off,” he grumbles. “You have her now.”
“I don’t have her now.” I ball my fists. “God, you’re so fucking blind. Iwillhave her. I will have her battered and broken, and I’ll have her when she’s healed, but in this moment? She’s alone and she’s numb and she doesn’t know what she wants because she thinks the minute she wants something, it’s going to cut her loose.”
Knox blinks a few times. Maybe he’s processing because he’s doing a great job of buffering like a computer system. He flicks his directional on and pulls into the arena parking lot. We park next to Greyson’s truck, but he doesn’t get out immediately.
He just holds out his hand. “I’ll let you check me into the wall a few times if that’ll make you feel better.”
I groan and smack his hand away. “You ass.”
He grins. “Guilty.”
Well, Icoulduse the distraction…
19
WILLOW
Violet waits for me outside the Crown Point Arts building. She’s got her bag slung over her shoulder, bursting with ballet stuff. She’s wrapped up in a huge puffy jacket, sweatpants that probably hide another layer of tights under it, and a baby-pink winter hat, complete with a pom-pom, on her head.
Her sleek blonde hair is pulled forward over her shoulders, reminding me how longmyhair used to be. There’s a light dusting of snow on her jacket, and when I tip my head back, I’m greeted with softly falling flakes.
If it would only stop snowing…
