Maybe I’ve just been too bitter that they’ve had Cosette before I could. That I may have lost my chance now, and because of that I’m jealous.
But as I watched Siege play with her hair so softly, and how Dex was grabbing her legs to massage her feet?
MaybeIreally was the one who didn’t deserve her.
After all, she was right.
I’ve left her alone when she was at her lowest, and that’s how she was forced to rely on Dex.
They’re good people.
They’re deserving of Cosette.
And maybe, despite how I viewed myself, I’m the one who’s not.
15
SIEGE
“Want me to get you some chips?”
I had my arm wrapped around my little vixen, having just watched her devour her food at the cafeteria, and boy, did she finish fast.
Was it a little weird that it turned me on so much at the thought that this girl could probably beat me in an eating contest? I think so.
“Nah, I’m good. I feel like I’m going to pop any second now,” she said, the hunger satiated as she leaned sideways against me, showing signs of a food coma.
“Should I buy soda, then?” Dex asked from the other side of the table since it was my turn today to sit beside her. She didn’t want Nero to sit on one side by himself once he joined our little table, so she would always make sure one of us was sitting with Nero on one side.
Speaking of the devil…
“Hey,” he greeted, setting his tray down beside Dex’s, and he stalled for a moment as he caught sight of Cosette’s empty plate before he finally sat down. “You done?”
“Yeah,” she said in a yawn before turning her head to look at Dex. “I will take that offer, by the way. Can you please buy me a can?”
With no hesitation whatsoever, Dex rose to his feet in an instant, as if he had been snapped away with a finger. I’m pretty sure that if this were a cartoon, he would leave an outline of a shadow where he used to be, and a trail of smoke behind him with how quickly he sprung to action.
It seems we’ve toughened up all our lives just for a sweet girl to make us melt into big marshmallows.
I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself at how whipped my brother was these days, and that seemed to have caught both Nero and my little vixen’s attention.
As I shook my head, I decided to change the subject, hoping it would help conceal the thoughts that were running through my mind.
“So, what’s with the numbers painted on girls’ cheeks today?”
There. I think it has something to do with the homecoming game tonight, so this might be a good icebreaker for Nero and me.
I have to say, I’ve found it quite a challenge for me to rein in my primal urges to be possessive, not just with Dex, but with Nero, too. Seeing them make her happy in their own ways has been helping loads, though.
“It’s tradition for the homecoming game.” Cosette was the first to explain, since Nero was still chewing on his food, but he continued for her once he was done and able to talk.
“Every player asks a girl to put his number on their cheek for good luck, usually the girlfriend, if they have one. If we win, the girls with the numbers on their cheeks rush down to the field and celebrate with us, then pour water over our heads. If we lose, a non-water beverage, and it has to be sticky. Kind of a punishment of some sort, but it’s all fun.”
I nodded, the corners of my mouth beginning to curl upward into a smirk I couldn’t contain.
How could I not stir the pot when the opportunity’s right there?
“And who did you ask for yours?”
