Fearless Like Us (Like Us 9)

I lock eyes with her dad again. His intense stare doesn’t hold a candle to my strict dad. And Sulli is right—he doesn’t know me. But I know about him.

I know he’s a child of a nasty divorce like me.

I know he hates blue-blooded, silver-spoon-wielding WASPs like me.

But unlike me, he grew up in the upper-class, upper-echelon of society. He attended an Ivy League with his family’s money. If I had it, I’d use it too, but I’m not even fucking sure Ryke Meadows has stepped foot in the kind of places I grew up.

I talk more to Sulli. “Akara has more in common with him anyway.”

Ryke drops his arms, brows knotting. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He sounds antagonistic.

Be polite, Banks. “It doesn’t matter, sir.”

“Yeah it fucking does. Say what you mean to say.”

Akara backs up and stands beside me. His friendly, concerned gaze makes me want to walk more recklessly, because I know Akara has my six. Even if I detonate this bitch.

“Cross the Schuylkill River”—sounds like skoo-kel from my mouth—“and you hit Chestnut fucking Hill where Akara grew up.”

Also, where Farrow lived as a kid.

I point towards the northwest. “Multi-million-dollar homes that match the ones around Villanova, where you grew up.” I lift a shoulder. “Respectfully, that’s all I meant.”

“Respectfully?” He cringes. “Cut the fucking bullshit.”

“Ryke,” Daisy nudges him. “He just has manners.”

“No, he’s a yes, sir kid,” Ryke says to me. “Always told what to do. Can’t speak his mind outright—”

“No, sir,” I cut in heatedly, “I’m a kid who was raised by a bunch of women who taught me to never utter a disrespectful word to those older than me. Especially people like my girlfriend’s parents. So excuse me for not cursing you to hell and back.”

Ryke goes from a boil to a low simmer. “Sorry…” He exhales hotly, then looks to his wife, which helps him soften a little. “I thought you were being smart with me.”

I have said “respectfully” in a smartass way plenty of fucking times, so I understand why he popped off at me.

Sulli holds out her hands like we’re all standing on thin ice that could shatter at any uneasy step. “Are we okay?” She climbs off the stool, and Akara and I instantly look at her ass.

Ryke is set to boil again. “Get the fuck out.” He points at the door.

We ignore him. “Sulli,” I call to her in concern. We weren’t checking Sulli out, even if she has a smoking ass.

Period blood is seeping through her jeans.

“What?” Her brows furrow.

Akara tells her, “You’re bleeding.”

“Oh fuck.” She looks between us. “Is it bad?” She turns around so we can examine her ass better, and I’m fucking aware her dad is watching us inspect the blood stain.

Daisy mentions something about tampons and leaves for upstairs.

“It’s pretty bad, Sul,” Akara says.

“Really? Fuck.” She makes a worried face at us. “I just put a super-plus tampon in like an hour ago.”

I chew down on the toothpick. “It’s gotta be the birth control. You’ve been bleeding since you started it.”

She sighs. “I’d let my gynecologist know, but she has a habit of ghosting my emails.”

“I’ll text Farrow,” Akara takes out his phone. “He can refer you to a new gynecologist.”

She tries to relax. “My periods aren’t usually this fucking heavy either.” She sighs. “At least the cramps have been mild so far—knock on wood.” She secretly and lightly knocks on Akara’s dick without her dad seeing.

If Ryke noticed, a blood vessel would burst in his eye, and his eyes only carry a severe case of rage right now.

Sulli turns more towards the kitchen. “Dad,” she says to the stone statue that is Ryke, “at least I’m not pregnant. Fucking yay?”

He swallows hard. “You’re sleeping with them?”

Akara clamps a firm hand on his mouth, looking to me like we’re fucked.

Welcome to our knucklefuck shitshow.

Neither of us turn away or close our eyes from the train wreck.

And Sulli mutters, “Uh, fuck, I thought…I thought you inferred that when Banks said the whole thing about touching me at the quarry…shit, fuck.”

“I didn’t want to jump there, Sul,” Ryke tells her.

“Well, now I guess you fucking know that I lost my virginity.” She grows a little hotter and defensive. “Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the details of which guy took it.”

Akara and I try to hide our peeking smiles just hearing Sulli stick up for herself.

Ryke rakes a hand through his hair. “It’s your body, your choice. I wouldn’t tell you who to sleep with, and I’m fucking sorry if you thought I would.” He sounds sincere and attempts to calm. But his nose flares.

He looks fucking tortured.

Who knows what’s going on in his head? He could be standing there, thinking about how I’m six-seven, tall and big and his daughter was a virgin.

Christ.

I hope he’s not picturing me hurting her.