One would have thought I told him I was a cannibal with the way he looked at me.
He arched an eyebrow. “You’re for real with that? Like actually for real?”
I turned on my shoulder. “Yeah?”
His brow moved up a little before he stared ahead. “Interesting.”
“Interesting?”
He smiled a little. “Just interesting.”
Already having dealt with the world’s awe of my personal preference for my own damn diet, I shook my head. “So you dragged me all the way out here because you didn’t want to go by yourself, but also didn’t want to go with one of the bazillion and a half friends you have?”
“Sometimes, being around a ton of people at any given time is overrated.” He sounded dismissive about it. “Anyway, last time I took Jax, he wouldn’t shut the hell up. Then, I had LJ getting on Jax because he wouldn’t shut up, Knight on him because he was being drama.” He shook his head as if recalling the night. “Sometimes, you just want the quiet.”
“And the dog toys?”
“A peace offering. It’s no secret you don’t like me very much.”
Maybe if he’d given me a reason beyond threats and a cold exterior that could challenge my dad’s, that would have been different. He made people not like him—at least me.
I said nothing, gazing away.
“My turn for a question now, princess.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Mr. Prinze.”
He chuckled. “Why the fuck are you vegan? I mean, how does that even work? How do you get your protein?”
A classic “omni” or omnivore question and one I was fully equipped to answer.
“There’s protein in everything you eat,” I said. “And do you have any idea how much factory farming affects the planet?”
He grinned to himself. “I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just know it’s bad, and I get plenty of protein.” I bunched up the blanket behind my head, making a pillow. “I also care about the planet and the animals, of course.”
“Of course.”
I eyed him. “Then, there’s the health benefits.” I’d lost him at this point, but chose to keep talking. I frowned. “I’m sure you saw the pictures of what I used to look like freshman year. Mira was flashing them around at that party, and that was before I changed my diet, FYI…”
I bit my lip, having spoken too much after recalling how he’d left Mira after clearly seeing those pictures. He’d looked so put off then.
Royal put me out of my misery by continuing to stare at the great wide above, and I stayed silent too.
“I did the see the pictures, princess,” he said after a while. “And I see you now. Same thing.”
Having no idea what he meant by that, I stared right at him, but to my surprise, he already had that cool stare of his on me. He dragged me in deep wherever he was, his hands folded together while he lounged on an arm. It was a loud and vibrant sound that pulled us both out of it, and Royal sat up, gazing into the truck cabin. He chuckled. “Was that the dog?”
It sounded again, and I got up. Sure enough, Hershey was on her side, snoring her little heart out, and I laughed too.
“You should hear her bark,” I said. “There’s a full-grown dog in that little body.”
“I’ll fucking say.” The bright lights from above touched his eyes, making them way too lustrous for their own good. They were as fiery as the stars above in the moonlight. He was a star and bigger than anything I could ever be. How was it someone as ordinary as my sister got wrapped up with a boy who basically ruled the world?
I think I was starting to see.
I was seeing him, and when he leaned forward, I didn’t pull away. I let him brush his lips against mine. I let him pinch my chin between two fingers and guide me into his taste. He fell away quickly, eyes on nothing but my burning lips as he tugged my hair close.