Page 120 of Rush the Edge
Because I was up all night, wondering what I’d do if the roles were reversed. I came to the conclusion that I’d end up behind bars.
Before she can answer, I grip her chin tightly. “And don’t lie to me.”
Daisy exhales, and I have the urge to open my mouth so her breath lands on my tongue.
I wet my lip. “I’ve thought of nothing but you since the other night.”
Actually, I’ve thought of nothing but her since the moment I stepped in the elevator weeks ago.
Daisy rolls her eyes, and my grip tightens in hopes that it’ll drive my point further.
“I didn’t stay at the club for the reason you think.”
Silence lingers, and the longer Daisy peers up at me with her pretty blue eyes, the more I’m willing to come clean.
Nerves creep along my neck. “Despite what you’ve heard and what my reputation is, all I wanted to do is follow you back to the apartment and wait until your brother left so I could have you again.”
“Get a room,” someone jokingly shouts from down the hall.
Daisy and I both jerk.
Look at us, so lost in each other’s presence that we can’t even pay attention to our surroundings.
I grip the door handle behind her and shove us both inside her makeshift dressing room.
It smells like her in here, flowery and sweet like honey.
Having been snapped out of the stupor, Daisy immediately puts space between us. She’s a thousand miles away, though I could reach out and touch her if I tried.
I watch as she furiously digs into her bag for her regular clothes.
“If you didn’t stay for what my brother was implying, then why did you? I can’t think of any other reason why you’d stay.” Daisy rips the Blue Devil horns off her head and tosses them through the air. They land on my shoes. Her warm-blonde hair spills over her shoulders, surrounding her face. She’s so goddamn pretty, even when she’s angry.
I open my mouth, less confident than before. My pulse thrums quickly as I prepare for her disappointment with the real truth behind why I stayed.
“You know what”—Daisy rolls her eyes—“it doesn’t even matter. It’s not like what happened between us will happen again. I won’t let it.”
“Miles,” I blurt his name, and Daisy drops her clothes.
Her angry browline softens into confusion. “What?”
“I stayed because of Miles.” My arms fall to my sides, and suddenly, I’m eighteen again. I nervously lick my lip and begin to pace in front of her, just like the last time I confided in her. “He owed money to someone. They were meeting me at the club so I could pay them the remainder. I’d forgotten all about it until we were heading back to the apartments.”
I drag my hand across my face, suddenly hit with exhaustion.
“It hasn’t stopped. The gambling. Every time I think it’s the last time, and he leaves me alone for a while, he comes right back and asks me to bail him out again. The last time I refused, he was beaten to near death.” My voice cracks, but I cover it with more of the truth. “I even moved him in with me for a while until he healed so he could hide it from Mom, with the promise of getting help, but turns out…”
I need to breathe. The room sways, and my lungs beg for air.
I’m in a state of panic, until I feel her arms wrap around my waist.
I raise my arms and stare down at her small frame pressing against mine. Her head rests against my racing heart, and her arms tighten even more.
“Just breathe,” she whispers against my shirt. “In and out.”
I do as she says.
When my chest settles and I can feel my legs again, I let my arms land on her slender frame.
