“I could have provided for you, Daisy.”
“Zeke.” I said his name as a plea. Trying to let him know that I wasn’t stupid enough as an eighteen-year-old to think I could come to him and he would just take care of me while I did nothing.
“I could have paid for college, Daisy. I had the money.”
“What do you mean?” I had never once heard about Zeke having money, just that he worked at the local garage every day.
“I work because I want to make a name for myself, but my father came from money. So trust me when I say I could have more than provided for you, Daisy.”
“Oh my god.”
Zeke’s arms wrapped around me and pulled me toward him, lifting my feet off the ground until he was standing straight and we were eye level.
“My parents said how much of a run-down guy you were and would never be able to give me anything. I listened to them and believed them. I’m so sorry, Zeke.”
“Shush.” He tried to soothe me as I hiccupped between the tears streaming down my face. “You’re going to make yourself sick, star.”
I pulled back, the tears stopping instantly, and looked him in the eyes.
“You said star.” My voice was a whisper and even though I wanted to crawl in a hole with how ashamed I was of my actions, the smile on Zeke’s face made my heart feel a little whole again.
“I was a fool for thinking I could keep myself away from you.” He shook his head and then leaned down to place a kiss on my lips. It was soft, gentle, and I almost craved the caveman from earlier today.
“Come to my house for Christmas.” The words were out of my mouth before I could think of what I was saying.
“You’re fucking insane, star.” Zeke looked taken aback, and I could understand why. I was asking him to come over to my parents’ house, the same parents who had tried to keep me away from him.
“I want to show them that they were wrong.”
“I don’t need to show them that to know it.”
“Please, just do this for me. I want to give them one more chance.”
“How many more chances can you give a family who wants to take away love and happiness from their daughter?”
Zeke’s eyebrows knitted together and I placed a finger between them, trying to ease some of the tension he was showing. The grip on my waist tightened and I tried to fight a giggle of how much of a beast he looked like right now.
“Let’s just try.”
“And what if something happens?”
“Then we’ll leave.” If Zeke was uncomfortable at all, I would leave, no questions asked.
“So.” He leaned his head toward me. “When I say we leave, we leave?”
“Whatever you say goes.”
“I’m keeping you to that, star.”
He winked at me and in that moment, I was sure as hell he had made my innocent statement into something dirty. My sex clenched and I thought about how unprepared I was about to be for my family’s Christmas party, but also how I gave no care in the world.
