"Because he likes you." I shrug, acting as though my father hasn't been in my ear about making sure Raya comes. "Take it as a compliment. He doesn't like many people."
Including me, most of the time.
"That would be... weird, wouldn't it? Me at some ritzy function meant for people like you. I'll probably pass, but tell Mr. Colton thank you for me."
Her self-deprecating comments aren't going to fly around me. My grandfather is one of the classiest men I know, and he didn't have but a few dollars to his name at one point in his life.
"First of all, people like you? You mean people that don't wipe their asses with money? I can assure you my father prefers people like you, since he used to be one of you. Secondly, you'll fit in just fine, and I'll be there. It's not like you'll be in the trenches alone. Come on. Don't make me go deal with all the rich people kissing my father's ass by myself."
Her smile is adorable as she gets lost in thought. She has to come, or else I'll end up leaving early. It's impossible to leave her here alone for long.
Ah, hell.
"You sure?" she asks, bringing me back from my pathetic thoughts.
"Positive. I'll drive you back to the store to get a dress. You'll need something nice."
"There're a ton of dresses in there, thanks to you tossing half the store on the counter," she says, feigning exasperation.
It's refreshing that she has no idea what kind of glamour goes into an event like this.
"Not good enough. You need something a little more flashy. It's one of those parties. If you feel like it, we'll go right now."
I'm not sure if this is an excuse to get her alone in a dressing room again or not.
"Um... I don't care to wear one of the others. I'd rather wear one of the others, actually."
I go to grab her hand again, smiling as I do so. "Either you come with me to find you a dress, or I'll go alone. Are you sure you want to let this fall in my hands?"
She'll go.
"I trust you," she says while shrugging, pulling her hand out of mine.
Game on.
I laugh as she heads back up the stairs. She doesn't know me at all if she thinks I was joking.
Chapter Eight
Blurring the Lines
A week changes a lot. A hell of a lot.
I just thought I was getting addicted to Raya last weekend. Now I know I am.
I haven't gone any-damn-where without her very much. We've had every meal together, she's fallen asleep in my lap a couple of times—which is incredibly frustrating for painful reasons—and all we've done is talk. It's like I know everything about her, yet nothing at all.
She doesn't tell much about her past. In fact, she doesn't speak about anything at all very much. She's mentioned her family some, but nothing past the surface. I know she's close with her family—at least her mom's side. She hasn't mentioned a father, so I assume he's out of the picture, more than likely deceased.
Sadly, I don't think I've ever talked so much about nothing and enjoyed it this much. Neither of us have scratched too far beneath the surface, but I like it. In fact, it's my favorite time of the day.
Outside of class and necessary errands, we've become inseparable, and damn, it's surprisingly perfect. Both times she fell asleep on me, I thought about just going to sleep with her so I could see how it felt to hold her all night. Like a coward, I chickened out both times and carried her upstairs to tuck her in.
Raya is someone you have to inch closer to. You can't just look at her and see to her core. She makes you earn it, even work for it. And I happen to have excellent work ethic.
Where I excel in work ethic, I suck at patience. I've been waiting forever. How long is it going to take her to get ready? Raya isn't usually so high maintenance.
"Kade, this isn't me," she says, drawing my attention up the stairs.