I know what Ava said, and I believed that she liked me. Hell, I liked her too, more than I was comfortable with, but at the end of the day, she and Micah had more history. They had a deeper bond, and a part of me was scared to fully let myself feel, because what if when this was all said and done, I was tossed aside?
That was the crux of it all, wasn’t it?
Trust.
I went from being on my own to having to trust three other people with my life. Ava and Micah wouldn’t send me to jail, but Grayson felt like a wild card. Before any of this, I wouldn’t have given two shits about the social hierarchy at Blackwell, but now that I had been thrust into the deep, I had to do my own recon.
Grayson on the ice was ruthless.
He had focus and strength, he led his team, taking all of it on his shoulders, and now he was doing the same for our own little fucked-up group. He was used to making hard calls. And at the end of the day, Micah and Ava were his friends. They were part ofhisworld, and if the person behind this began to pull at our strings, I was sure if push came to shove and someone needed to go down, that scapegoat would be me.
The thought wasn’t a new one, it was just one I didn’t let myself dwell on too often. But now, after what went down, it was all I could think about. I finally felt a sense of belonging, and more than ever, it felt like it was about to be ripped away from me.
“Okay, I’m ready!” Ava shouted from somewhere on the second floor.
Her voice was soothing enough that it made me smile.
“Come on, princess, we can stop by your dad’s before going to the rink.”
She nodded at me as she made her way down the stairs. Her eyes were softer and not as haunted as they had been earlier. Her hair was now dry and in a ponytail, and she was wearing her usual black leggings and tight, long sleeves that she used for practice.
Ava needed to go back to normal, whatever that normal now was, and she had already missed half of her classes today. I figured the best way to get that sense of normality would be at the ice rink. I didn’t skate, but I raced, and the thrill of it relaxed me, as crazy as it sounded. Long drives going nowhere grounded me, so I figured skating would do the same for her.
“Cruz,” she said as she tugged on my hand. “Are you okay?”
Her big eyes seemed concerned for me. They looked softly at my face and then dipped down to my lips.
That made me smirk.
“I’m okay, princess,” I lied.
She looked at me for a few seconds longer. “If you weren’t, you’ll tell me, right? Or Micah, right?”
Fuck. That made my stomach knot up.
Instead of answering, I pulled her toward me, circled one hand around her tiny waist, and kissed her. She went up on her tiptoes, wrapped her other hand around my shoulder, and deepened the kiss.
When she pulled back, I thought I had successfully avoided her question.
“You matter too.” She said the words softly, but they might as well have been shouted by the way my ears rang afterward.
“Come on, I’ve been dying to drive your car,” she teased as she pushed past me, going toward my car.
“You can ride stick, princess?” My voice was low and suggestive.
Ava’s cheeks warmed, and her skin color was quite pretty, making her look more alive than she did when I found her in the morning.
“I think this morning proves just how well I can handle it.”
Fuck.
My cock didn’t twitch, it throbbed.
“My dad…your boss…made sure I could handle myself if I were ever stuck in an awkward situation.”
Shaking my head in amusement, I reached for my keys and handed them to her.
“Take care of my girl, princess. No one but me ever drives her.”
