“That means more than you know.” I hugged her tight. “I promise you’ll only see the best side of me going forward.”
I left my mother’s house with tears in my eyes. It didn’t hurt as bad as it did when I moved out, but it still felt like goodbye. A weight was lifted off my shoulders. In a way, I was saying goodbye to the girl that used to live there. I had become someone else entirely. I was lucky to have a family that loved me and even luckier to have two wonderful men waiting on me. Some people that went down the dark road I traveled never found happiness. They let despair consume them. I had felt that darkness nearly consume me and after seeing the light again, there was no way I would ever stray from what truly mattered. I simply couldn’t put myself through that. Life was too good to waste, and mine finally belonged to me.
Now to take care of my homework—and go to bed with a satisfied smile on my face.
Chapter Fifteen
Kacey
“You were out pretty late.” Harlan looked at his arm, which didn’t actually have a watch. “Way past curfew.”
“I have a curfew?” I winked at him and smiled.
“You don’t call—you don’t text. Hell, a letter might have made it home before you did.” Gabe walked out of the kitchen and leaned against the wall. “Do you want anything to eat?”
“Sorry, my mom wanted me to stay for dinner.” I walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch.
“How did it go?” Gabe followed me into the living room and sat down across from me.
“It went much better than I expected. Probably a lot better than I deserved, considering how I left things. Not to mention the fact we showed up like thieves to get my stuff.” I shrugged and nodded. “She’s on board with Thanksgiving, and I kept the story simple, not that it helped when she found out I was living with some guy I just met.”
“Did you tell her I was rich?” Gabe tilted his head and grinned.
“That… never came up in conversation.” I shook my head back and forth. “All right, I need to go work on some school stuff before bed. You might not want to wait up for me.”
“Seriously?” Harlan raised his eyebrows. “You’re going to break the sex streak already? I thought that came after the honeymoon.”
“Tomorrow—I promise.” I leaned forward and sighed. “You’re the ones that wanted me to go to college in the first place.”
I worked in the office until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I managed to catch my head before it slammed into the desk and finally turned off the light. My assignments needed work, but I had a good start. I was starting to regret agreeing to meet Abby later in the week after spending so long at my mother’s house. I was also starting to regret my decision to take so many classes my freshman year. I thought I could manage a little extra since I wasn’t working, but it was clearly a mistake. I walked up to the bedroom we shared and looked at my two sleeping men. Just seeing their gorgeous bodies on display made me tingle, but I was too tired to do anything about it. I crashed between them and felt their arms instinctively reach out to hold me.
How did I get so freaking lucky?
Two days later
I spent the next two days working as much as I could during the day and taking advantage of every break. It was exhausting and I didn’t get a lot of sleep, but I woke up with a smile on my face between Harlan and Gabe. My body seemed to be slowly adjusting to my new schedule—and functioning on very little sleep. I was getting about as much sleep as an average college student probably would, but I wasn’t spending my nights partying at a club. The only party I cared about was one we made when the three of us were together. I considered canceling on Abby but I had made enough progress to carry me into the weekend, and I didn’t want to stand her up—especially if she was planning to ask me to stand by her side as her Maid of Honor.
“Wow, you look great!” Abby greeted me as soon as I arrived at her table. “What do you want to drink?”
“Maybe just a water?” I tilted my head and shrugged.
“Water—shit. I wouldn’t have asked you to meet at a bar if I knew you weren’t going to have a drink with me.” She sat down and motioned for one of the waitresses. “Did you, like, quit or something?”
“I’m just taking a break.” I smiled and ordered a water when the waitress arrived. “I think I had more than my fair share when I was riding my crazy train.”
“I was worried about you, I’ll admit.” She nodded and leaned against the table. “But you’re in college now, right? You can live a little. Getting wasted is a college tradition.”
“I made the mistake of signing up for way too many classes for that.” I chuckled and looked around the bar. “This place is busier than usual.”
“I just think you were usually too drunk by this point to notice.” Abby laughed and shook her head. “It’s so good to see you again, Kacey. How are things going with—what’s his name?”
“Harlan? Yeah, they’re good. I mean, we’re just roommates.” I shrugged and twisted my lip into a half-smile. “There’s another guy, though. Harlan’s friend—Gabe. He’s amazing.”
“So you are seeing someone.” A wicked smile formed on her face. “Tell me everything! Oh my god, did you lose your virginity?”
“Well…” I looked down at the table and grinned.
“Yep—tell me everything!” Abby nodded quickly and leaned closer.