Her phone buzzes almost immediately, and I watch her lean over, pathetically letting my eyes drop to her ass for the few brief seconds it's off the bed.
"I'm just exhausted. Someone made me go to this party until early this morning," she jokes, still masking the fact she's uncomfortable around me.
When she reads the text, her smile blooms—a real, genuine, warming smile. My chest tightens again at the mere sight of it. She's the only one to evoke such a reaction, and I'm starting to really enjoy it.
"That party had you smiling, so it couldn't have been too bad. I thought you might want a reminder about what fun looks like, in case you forget sometime soon."
"Thanks," she says with a sweet laugh.
Thank God. My Raya is back.
"Better. Hungry? You've been hiding all day, so I assume you've got to be starving."
"I ate some of my tuna earlier. I have a few cans up here."
Ah hell. My nose wrinkles as I subtly sniff the air, but all I smell is her delicious scent. There's no way I'm immune to that canned shit's smell.
"That's disgusting. I'm actually getting so used to the smell that I didn't even notice it. Why the hell do you eat so much tuna? It can't possibly be that good,"
I say, feeling my stomach churn.
I think she loves rolling her eyes at me. She turns her attention back to the book before saying, "It's that cheap."
I sit up immediately, feeling my anger try to bubble over. Oh hell no! I've done nothing but be good to her, and she's going to act as though I won't let her have food from the pantry? She might as well slap me in the damn face.
"Wait. You're eating that shit because you don't have money or something?" I ask, barely keeping myself from raising my voice.
Shame crosses her eyes. Or embarrassment. I'm not sure which.
"No. I've got some money, but food is just food. It's something that goes in your stomach to keep you alive. I'm not going to spend massive amounts of money on something just to enjoy it for a few minutes."
Food is food? She's not going to spend money? She doesn't have to spend money, dammit. Christ, it's one of the perks of living with me—a food lover.
"Hell no," I growl, fuming at this point.
I pull her out of the bed, ready to drag her pretty little ass down the stairs and force feed her.
"What the hell, Kade?" she says in a new octave, sounding either startled or mad.
Well, if she's mad, she can just be mad. But she'll be mad with a full stomach that isn't defiled by canned tuna.
"Have you seen the pantry? There's more shit in there than anyone can eat, and you're choking down that vile shit because you need to save cash? That's a little insulting, Raya. Go find something that you want to eat."
A familiar sound bubbles free from her lips, but it doesn't hold the charm it normally does. She's laughing at me? Why is she laughing at me? I'm not joking. This isn't funny.
"Kade, believe it or not, it's not vile. I grew up on tuna in a can. It's what we lower class citizens do."
I keep pulling her as I process her words. I don't know how she grew up, but she's here with me now. She needs to live like I do, or I'll feel like shit.
"Promise me you'll start acting like you live here, too," I say at last, coming down off my crazy high.
I stop and turn to look at her, making sure she sees how dead serious I am.
"I promise," she says, her smile trying to spread.
"Good." That's a start. I let go of her hand to continue to head down the stairs, and then I continue. "Dad called and wants you to come to a charity event next weekend at his house. You game?"
"Me? Why?" she asks, sounding genuinely perplexed as she follows me.