“Promise, Daddy?”

  I nodded, forcing myself not to cry. I missed her. Fuck, I wanted nothing more than to sit on that old leather couch at the house with her curled up on my lap as we watched every Disney princess movie there was, both of us stuffing our faces with popcorn and juice.

  “I promise.”

  She nodded and then began rambling about her day, telling me about the friend she had at daycare, and how my mom took her to McDonald’s yesterday for dinner.

  And I talked to her for hours until she curled up on the couch and fell asleep. And only then did I close my laptop and allow the silent tears to fall down my face. Byron gripped my shoulder as he walked past me.

  “Just a few more days, bro,” he said quietly.

  I could only nod.

  I slowly came to a stop on the sidewalk, sweat drenching my forehead and making my shirt stick to my chest like glue as I looked at the familiar, red Honda Civic sitting on the side of the road. Looking both ways to make sure there wasn’t any traffic, I jogged across the street, knocking lightly on the driver’s side window.

  Paige jumped in shock before sliding out of the car, looking relieved at the sight of me. “Oh, thank God,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around me even though I was sweaty and probably smelled bad.

  I instantly wrapped my own arms around her. “What happened?” I asked.

  “I ran out of gas,” she grumbled. I could hear the embarrassment in her voice.

  I laughed huskily and gently released her. “Lock your car up. It’ll be fine for a little while. We’ll take my car to go get you gas.”

  She grabbed her purse out and locked her car, sliding her keys into the leather bag. I instantly wrapped her hand in mine, leading her back across the street to head back to campus. “Where were you headed?” I asked her.

  She sighed. “I was going to see if I could find any places hiring.”

  I shook my head down at her. “I know you’re healthy enough to work and that it won’t harm your baby, but no, Paige. I can take care of you. You don’t need to work.”

  She huffed. “Dylan, I don’t want you to have to support me for something that’s not even your fault.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Doesn’t matter if it’s my fault or not, Paige. I care about you, which means I have no problem taking care of you.”

  “I can do this fine by myself without your fucking help, Dylan,” she seethed, getting angry. I blew out a soft breath. Looked like we were already about to have our first fight. “I won’t have you ripping away my fucking independence just because you weren’t there for your ex’s pregnancy with Kaylyn.”

  I instantly came to a halt, dropping her hand as if she had burned me. My furious eyes met hers, making her flinch back from me. “The fuck did you just say to me?” I snarled. It was a fucking low blow, and she fucking knew it.

  She opened her mouth, but I held up my hand, shaking my head. “Nah, Paige. That was fucking low. I expected that from anyone but you,” I snapped. “For your fucking information, I had no goddamn idea that Heather was pregnant with Kaylyn until she popped up on my doorstep with her, handing her over to me with all of the documents that she had signed over all of her rights. Had I known she was pregnant, I would have done the fucking responsible thing and fucking stepped up, just like I did when Kaylyn was thrust into my life unexpectedly.”

  I shook my head at her, taking a step back from her. Tears were streaming down her face, but I couldn’t bring myself to give a fuck at that moment. “For you to even try to claim that I was ever irresponsible about that fucking situation just goes to show how fucking stupid you are,” I snarled, suddenly so fucking furious that I wanted to destroy something. “Figure out your fucking car,” I sneered before I turned around and jogged away from her.

  I needed to get the fuck home.

  Paige

  I couldn’t stop crying. I felt so horrible. I should have never fucking said anything like that to Dylan, especially since I knew it wasn’t the damn truth. I knew he loved Kaylyn and took care of her despite him being so young. And he never had to step up to the plate for me, but he did.

  And I had just thrown that all in his face.

  Jimmie found me near the parking garage, and he instantly jogged up to me, for once a serious expression on his face. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked gently.

  “I fucked up,” I cried. “Dylan hates me.”

  He snorted. “I highly doubt that, sunshine. What happened?”

  So, I recounted to Jimmie what happened. He clenched his jaw angrily but held himself in check. “That was fucked up, Paige.” A broken sob ripped from my lips because I knew he was right. “Dylan is probably the most responsible one out of all of us. And I can guarantee you that had he known about Kaylyn, he would have been there for Heather every step of the way to ensure that she took care of that little girl while she was pregnant.” He shook his head. “Dylan will come around,” he finally grumbled. “Just give him time. Come on. Let’s go get some gas in your car.”

  Dylan

  I tossed some clothes into a small duffel bag and then headed into the bathroom to grab my toiletries. “Yo, where are you going?” Byron asked as he leaned against my bedroom door where I was zipping my bag up.

  “Home,” I snapped, still fucking pissed.

  “You’ve still got two days of classes before the weekend, Dylan,” Byron reminded me. “Probably not wise to skip, bro.”

  “I need to fucking go home,” I told him, my voice cold.

  “The fuck is going on, Dylan?” Byron demanded as he stood up straight, no longer slouching against the wall.

  I clenched my jaw, tossing my bag back down onto my bed. “Paige. That’s my fucking problem.” I turned to face him, my eyes cold. “You know she had the fucking audacity to throw Kaylyn in my face, practically calling me fucking irresponsible because I fucking didn’t know Heather was pregnant and that I was trying to make it up by being there for her?!” I finally roared near the end.

  “What the fuck?” Byron demanded. “The fuck made her say that?”

  “Probably the fact that I was telling her she didn’t need to fucking work, that I would support her.” I shook my head, barking out a humorless laugh. “Funny of her to fucking call me irresponsible when she still hasn’t told fucking Luca that she’s pregnant with his kid!” I shouted. “But have I thrown that in her goddamn face? I fucking could have, but I’m not that low of a fucking bastard!”

  Byron shook his head. “Go on home, Dylan. Take some days to cool off. You don’t want to face her right now, not with how fucking livid you are. You’ll do something you’ll regret. Just go home, take a few days, be with Kaylyn. Then when you come back, talk to her and clear this shit up.”

  I snatched my duffel off the bed and jogged out of the room, ignoring my phone vibrating in my pocket, knowing it was probably Paige wanting to apologize.

  Right now, I didn’t want to fucking talk to her.

  5

  Dylan

  A tired sigh ripped from my lips as I dropped my small duffel bag on the floor by my bed. I was exhausted after my weekend with Kaylyn. When I came home from school, I took over full responsibility for her because, as her father, it was the right thing to do. Besides, I adored my little girl with every fiber of my being.

  But man, if she wasn’t a damn handful.

  And when I had been repacking my bag to come back to campus, my little monster had tried to pack herself in with it, claiming she was coming with me.

  It had both amused me and broken my heart all at the same time.

  I needed a fucking coffee.

  I texted Byron to let him know that I was back, but I didn’t really expect him to respond. His time was mostly taken up with Winter these days, and Jimmie was probably balls deep in some random girl right now.

  Paige had sent me one last text message on Thursday, and her words still rang in my head.

  I’m so sorry for what I said to you. You didn’t deserve it, and I didn’t mean a word of it. You’re a really, really great guy, Dylan, and I hope you’ll forgive me.

  The girl had no idea that I had already forgiven her. Sure, I was pissed—still was a little bit—but I could never hate her or hold anything against her.

  When I looked through the glass of the coffee shop on campus, my blood roared in my veins. Paige was sitting at a table, tears running endlessly down her face as Luca shot up from the table, knocking his steaming cup of coffee all over her in the process. She shrieked in pain, jumping up from her chair so fast that she stumbled, landing on her back painfully on the floor.

  I rushed into the shop, my fists clenched. Luca rushed out of the door before I could stop him. Clenching my jaw, I quickly stooped down by Paige’s side. One of the guys that worked behind the counter was checking her arms, which were quickly turning a frightening shade of red. “Move,” I snarled at the guy.

  He looked over his shoulder at me, opening his mouth to say something, but the look on my face made him shut his mouth quickly as he moved out of my way.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” I murmured, gently picking her up in my arms. She clutched my shirt in her hands, her body shaking with the force of her sobs. “Calm down,” I cooed. “I’ve got you.”

  Thankfully, the student health center wasn’t too far from the coffee shop, only a couple of minutes’ worth of a walk. I looked down at her arms, clenching my jaw at the redness. “How bad does it burn?” I asked her gently.

  “Not too bad.” She sniffled. “It just stings. I really don’t think I need to see a doctor.”

  “Too bad,” I grunted. “I ought to bash his fucking face in.”

  She shook her head. “He was pissed—it was my fault.”

  “Why were you even there with him by yourself in the first place?” I demanded heatedly. Picturing her there with him just pissed me off all over again.

  She sniffled. “He deserved to know,” she said quietly.

  I clenched my jaw, trying to reign in my temper. Luca had a mean streak in him—had seen him lose his cool with people at the fucking tracks enough to know. I didn’t want her alone with him—not now that he knew I had feelings for her. I wasn’t stupid enough to think he wouldn’t hurt her if it meant getting to me.

  “You told him about the baby?” I finally asked her.

  She nodded. “He said he doesn’t want it—that he’ll sign over all rights.” She began crying again. “This baby didn’t do anything to deserve that.”

  I tightened my arms around her. “I know that, sweetheart, I know.”

  I didn’t want to say what I thought of Luca being around a kid—didn’t want to upset her even more than she already was. So, I bit my tongue, holding my words in. I may have had a bad temper, and people that didn’t really know me may assume that I wouldn’t make a good dad, but Kaylyn had never seen me pissed. Sure, she had seen me disappointed in her, seen me scold her, but I had never raised my voice at her, and I had never laid a damn hand on my child.

  Luca though? It was no secret to anyone the shit he did to women to get his way, and I hoped with every fiber of my being that he never put his hands on Paige because if I found out he did, I would make sure to remind him of why women were to never be fucking touched.

  I sighed tiredly as I finished up my last assignment that was due on Monday, rolling my head around to pop the kinks out of my neck. Paige was passed out in my room, desperately needing a nap after the shit she had dealt with today. The doctor had prescribed her Tylenol for the burns on her arms, but other than that, he said she should be fine. Ointment if needed, but they would heal pretty quickly.

  Jimmie stepped into the dorm, his eyes trailing to my closed bedroom door. “Heard some rumors going around on campus,” he finally told me as he took a seat on the other end of the couch. I simply arched an eyebrow at him, silently telling him to keep going. He reached forward and took my laptop. My brows furrowed. “Trust me, you’ll thank me later,” he told me, referring to the laptop. “Luca has told all of his fucking friends that Paige is knocked up and trying to claim him as the father.”

  “You’ve got to be fucking shitting me!” I roared, jumping up from the table. Now, I understood why Jimmie took my laptop. I would have fucking smashed it.

  “The fuck is going on?” Byron demanded as he stepped into the dorm.

  “I’m going to fucking kill him,” I snarled, snatching my keys off of the coffee table.

  “Woah, hold up!” Jimmie shouted, getting up and intercepting my path to the door. “You can’t afford to get yourself arrested, Dylan. You’ve got to think about Kaylyn,” he reminded me.

  “Can’t fucking arrest me if they can’t find the fucking body,” I snarled.

  “What’s going on?” Paige asked as she stepped out of my room wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of my boxers, her hair messed up from sleeping.

  Byron stepped in front of me, blocking my path to the door as well. “You need to calm the fuck down,” he told me.

  “Rich coming from the likes of you,” I snarled at him, seeing fucking red.

  He clenched his jaw. I knew if I had been anyone else, I would have been knocked out cold, flat on my fucking ass. “I’m going to let that one slide, Dylan, but you need to chill the fuck out before I make you. What the fuck happened?”

  “Her fucking ex is happening!” I roared, jabbing a finger in Paige’s general direction. “And I swear to God, when I get my fucking hands on him, he won’t be able to speak another fucking word!”

  “What did he do?” Byron demanded, gripping my arm to stop me from trying to move past him.

  I shoved him away from me, and Jimmie jumped between us, keeping us apart. “Both of you fucking chill!” Jimmie shouted at us. “You,” he snapped, jabbing a finger against my chest. I shoved it off, “go in your room and cool the fuck off. You’re not leaving this goddamn dorm room. And you,” he said, looking at a seething Byron, “go to Winter’s and cool off.”

  Paige grabbed my hand and gently tugged me towards her. I allowed her to gently pull me into my room. She shut the door quietly behind us as I tried to bring my temper down, not wanting to shout at her in my rage.

  Did I need anger management? Probably. Was I ever going to get it? Nope.

  “Whatever Luca did, it’s not worth it,” she told me softly as she gently rested her hands on my upper back, pressing a gentle kiss between my shoulder blades on my spine.

  I instantly relaxed under her touch, the anger seeming to seep out of me. I turned around to face her and settled one hand on her hip, the other on the side of her neck. Wordlessly, I tilted her face up with my thumb and settled my lips over hers, tugging her closer to me. She moaned softly and slid her hands under my shirt, her hands gliding gently over my abs.

  I pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses to her neck, and she shivered under my lips, her hands clutching at my shoulders. I gently tugged her shirt over her head and unclasped her bra. Bending slightly, I pulled a nipple between my teeth, groaning softly when she mewled my name.

  I was so fucking lost in her.

  This girl had me wrapped around her damn finger.

  With my right hand, I reached up and cupped her other breast, loving that it fit perfectly in my grasp. I pinched and pulled at her nipple all while she clutched at my hair, her breathless moans and pleas filling my room.

  “No,” she protested when I moved back a little, letting her heated, lust-filled gaze meet mine, making my dick strain in my jeans.

  “Shh,” I cooed as I gently led her back towards my bed, easing her backward so she was flat on her back.

  I tugged my boxers and her panties down her legs, groaning when I saw how wet she already was. I knelt down on the floor, drawing her to the edge of the bed. She tried closing her legs, but I pushed them apart, clamping my arms over her thighs to hold them open.

  “Dylan—" she weakly protested.

  “Shh, sweetheart,” I told her softly, letting my eyes meet hers. “I promise you’ll enjoy this.”

  I remembered her telling me she didn’t like being ate out—that she had never enjoyed it, but that was only because she was with that asshat. He didn’t give a fuck about women.

  Me? I wanted to make Paige scream with pleasure.

  She shook her head at me. “Don’t waste your time,” she begged, pushing against my head.

  I gripped her wrists and pinned them to the bed, her body now completely at my mercy. I flicked her clit with my tongue, and she gasped, a moan slipping past her lips. “Just trust me,” I told her, my voice vibrating against her core. “Relax, sweetheart.”

  She nodded, but her body was still tense. I gently sucked on her clit, and she arched her back off the bed, my name falling from her lips on a breathless moan.

  And I knew right then, I had her completely at my mercy.

  I tugged on my sweatpants and used my towel to dry my hair, watching Paige through the glass of the shower door. “I could use some bacon right now,” Paige stated randomly.

  I barked out a laugh. “Hungry?” I asked her.

  “It’s your fault,” she retorted.

  I smirked. “You’re the one who was begging me to never stop.”

  She turned the water off and slid the door open, narrowing her eyes at me as she wrapped a towel around her wet body. Her face was scarlet, and my smirk widened at the sight of her blush. “In fact,” I drawled as I leaned against the bathroom wall, “I specifically remember you pushing my face—"

  “Dylan!” she shouted as she covered her face with her hands.

  I laughed softly and tugged her against me, pulling her hands away from her face as I did so. I let my eyes meet hers. “I told you to trust me, didn’t I?” I asked her softly. “I’m not him.”

  Despite her face still burning bright red, she nodded. “I know,” she admitted. “I just—it was always uncomfortable, and it always kind of hurt. He wasn’t ever gentle.”

 

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