“Wait, CJ! Please? I’m sorry. Please, don’t hate me. I…thank you for trusting me with your sister—”
CJ rounded on him. “She’s my little sister. You weren’t supposed to like her. You’re a grown fucking man.”
“I was a grown fucking man when you asked me to approach her,” Kaia pointed out. “Don’t turn this completely on me.”
“Rebel is spoiled and naïve. You like chicks who buy dick from you. It was the perfect solution.”
“I fucking fail to see how. And, yeah, Rebel’s both. She wanted me to live in some fucking treehouse! A treehouse. Not only won’t she pay my way, she can’t like me that much.”
CJ smirked. “Come with me, asshole.”
Seeing the ‘treehouse’ left Kaia speechless. It was actually ahousein a tree, not a plywood structure with a tarpaulin cover as a roof.
Rebel’s treehouse—originally built for CJ Kaia later discovered—was two stories of luxury, gaming consoles, huge TVs, and sound systems. The second-floor bedroom had a private bathroom while the one on the first floor didn’t have a tub, but a shower.
“She doesn’t…she really thinks…she doesn’t know about…”
“Regular treehouses? Rebel doesn’t know aboutregularanything, Kaia.”
He looked around the treehouse again. “So c-can I stay here?”
“No.” CJ eyed him with anger. “Diesel’s moving some chick in. I can ask Mom if she’ll let you live in the pool house.”
“You have one of those, too?”
CJ nodded.
Glancing away, Kaia shoved his hands in his pockets. “Whydidyou choose me? You know I could never be a real contender for Rebel. I’d have to work ten jobs a week just to afford her clothes.”
“Rebel was supposed to get a little crush on you, not look at you and think you’re the fucking world.”
Smiling, Kaia met CJ’s gaze. “The chi to my huahua.”
“WHAT?”
“You don’t have to look and sound so appalled,” Kaia said with a sniff.
CJ turned and stormed away, leaving Kaia no choice but to follow. Back in the main house, it had been clear that CJ would leave Kaia on his own again.
“Wait, CJ,” he’d called, hurrying to his friend…former friend.
“What now?” CJ asked irritably.
“I don’t…that’s a lot of clothes.” He’d shifted, nervous. “Can I…would I anger Mrs. Caldwell if I offered Kayce…”
CJ giving Kaia his full attention made him even more uneasy. He didn’t want to embarrass his brother and talk about their secondhand wardrobe. Mom and Dad used to bemoan the fact that Kaia and Kayce’s styles were so wildly different. Ironically, the clothes Mrs. Caldwell bought aligned with Kayce more than Kaia. Yet he was so grateful, he couldn’t help but love them.
Embarrassed, he looked at the floor.
“If you want to give Kayce half your stuff, three quarters of it, fuckallof it, Mom won’t care. It’s yours. If you don’t like it, give it to Kayce and Mom will start from scratch.”
Kaia found the idea so startling that words escaped him before he thought better. “It must be nice.” He hadn’t meant to sound so sharp.
“What?”
“Not having to worry about money.”
“Money isn’t everything.”
