Since it was Lyon’s last night here, we kind of took it easy and just sat back and relaxed. There was no mention of work for the first time since I met Lyon and his squad, and I got to see another side of them that I didn’t think existed. They actually knew how to relax, though Lyon seemed a bit testier than usual I imagine it was because his precious daughter got herself involved in something without him.All he’d said about the L.A. thing, to me at least, was that some kid had got himself in some shit, and he was gonna go take care of it because the girls were fans. Then he went on a rant about Hollywood being a cesspool of fucknuts. As with most things that come out of his mouth, it was convoluted as hell, but with this guy, you take what you can get. All the same, I realized that I was going to miss the hell out of the guy.Silla was spending time with her parents, getting to know Starks, who was in no hurry to leave, and I half wondered what he was going to do at the end of the ni

I knew it was coming. I’m not sure about all that just went down here, but I could see it in her eyes that she was at breaking point and was barely holding on by a thread. I’ll deal with the Nikki situation later, but right now, there were more pressing matters on her mind that needed to be taken care of.It's amazing how well I’ve come to know her in such a short amount of time. But I can read her almost as well as I know myself. It’s almost as if I can feel her without even having to see with my eyes.Right now, she’s in pain, and though I can surmise it has something to do with Starks showing up in her life, I won’t know until she tells me. Dealing with her is like handling a newborn babe. So soft and precious, something to be handled only with care, and for a man like me who has no real experience with such things, I was having to feel my way around.Patience, Gabriel; you need lots of patience here. I’ve been running full speed ahead from the moment I realized and accepted that sh

I was dead on my feet and drained from all the excitement of the day. My chest hurt from holding too much in, and I was confused and afraid. But his words gave me solace. It was so strange having a voice of comfort that it was taking some getting used to, but I was learning to accept that feeling of relief I got with him.Somehow in the pit of my stomach, I knew that I could trust Gabriel. I didn’t realize it until now, but a part of me had been holding back, not yet quite sure or willing to believe that the life he was offering me, a life that sounded too much like a fairytale, could truly be mine.I didn’t realize that a part of me had been secretly doubtful or that I had been holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Life had never been very kind to me, so why should I expect things to change so drastically out of the blue?No wonder my chest hurt. It’s because I’ve been holding my breath all this time in some sort of fear that I’d wake up one day and this would all be

After spending a restless night, I came to the realization sometime in the early morning hours that I had been coming at this thing all wrong. Sure, I hadn’t meant to get caught by that simpleton, but I shouldn’t have shown my hand to Gabriel so soon, either.I know it was my circumstances that had caused me to act so rashly, something I never would’ve done had I not been so stressed. I’m usually more well-equipped to handle such things and give more thought to my execution when time allows, but there was no use crying about it now that the deed was done. I have to do damage control before it was too late. Though how I was going to hide my hate and disdain for the country bumpkin, I wasn’t sure. At least her ignorant backwoods upbringing would work for me this time, as I’m sure she’s not sophisticated enough to see through my ploy, and it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve dealt with something similar.The one thing I have going for me is that I always get my way. I’ve never lost out

“Don’t cry. If you cry, then I’ll cry, and that will only make things harder for both of us.”“I know; I don’t mean to be such a baby, but I’m going to miss you.”“Speaking of which… wait, before I say anything, has Gabriel said anything more to you about going to school in New York?”“Nothing more than what I already told you. He knows someone who can get me enrolled in a very prestigious school there.”“You didn’t refuse him, did you?”“No, if my grades were horrible, I would’ve felt guilty accepting. But I know the only reason I didn’t get into an Ivy League school was because of Sam.”I shrugged my shoulder nonchalantly because she was giving me the side eye. I knew why she was asking because of my innate ability to shoot myself in the foot, but I had no plans of sabotaging myself this time.“Good girl! I thought I was going to have to go upside your head again.”“Why do you ask anyway?”“Because Wolf is making noise about me going to school out there. Apparently, he’s already look